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Post by nyline on Oct 1, 2015 12:25:31 GMT -5
We've posted a Q&A with Club Coach for the Penn State-Nebraska match. Here's the link: Penn State vs. Nebraska: Q&A with Club Coach
And here's an excerpt:
DigNittany: We’re speaking this week with Club Coach, who has coached numerous highly successful club and college women’s volleyball players.
DigNittany: #4-ranked Nebraska (11-1) is coming to Rec Hall on Friday in what may be #1-ranked (13-0) Penn State’s biggest challenge of the season so far. Which is to say, the Huskers are a very, very good team, led on the front row by 6-3 Jr. RS Kadie Rolfzen (who was named last week’s B1G Co-Defensive Player of the Week, after averaging 3.14 digs and 1.57 blocks/set in wins at Creighton and at Iowa State – where she chipped in 17 digs for good measure), 6-3 Jr. MB Amber Rolfzen (who in the Huskers’ match against Iowa on Saturday, had a team-high 11 kills — a .556 hitting % — and added 6 blocks), 6-3 Sr. MB Cecilia Hall, 6-3 Fr. OH Mikaela Foecke (who earned her second-straight B1G Co-Freshman of the Week award last week, after averaging 3.7 kills/set with a .375 hitting %) and 5-11 RS So. Setter Kelly Hunter. The backrow is once again anchored by 5-6 Jr. libero Justine Wong-Orantes. (Is this really only her third year? It seems she been digging balls against Penn State for at least five.)
In his press conference on Monday, Nebraska head coach John Cook said that this week’s road trip for Nebraska may be the toughest in the country (the Huskers take on Ohio State on Saturday night.
The Huskers are already playing at a very high level – they didn’t get their #4 ranking because of voters like their mascot (though we do). A two-fer: Do you think Nebraska will need to find another, better level to beat Penn State this Friday? And conversely, can Penn State defeat Nebraska if they play at the level they did against Minnesota this past Saturday (for more on that match, Click Here)? Club Coach: Those are difficult questions to answer, as match-ups play such a big role in outcomes. Certainly Nebraska will have to play as well or better than they have all season. Penn State is their toughest opponent, and the match is on the road. On the other side, the Nittany Lions are at a point in their program where if they go five, people start asking “whats wrong with PSU”? Of course the answer is . . . Nothing. Winning at the level achieved by the Penn State women’s volleyball program is NOT a function of being great every night, it’s a function of finding a way to win on the nights when you aren’t great. No program in the history of collegiate volleyball has been better at that.
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Post by cross5 on Oct 1, 2015 15:20:10 GMT -5
As always well done NY LINE and Club Coach.
Looking forward to this match perhaps more than any other in the B1G
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Post by nyline on Oct 1, 2015 16:16:39 GMT -5
As always well done NY LINE and Club Coach. Looking forward to this match perhaps more than any other in the B1G It should be a good one. It occurred to me that the "zen volleyball" play-in-the-moment mantra from Coach Cook makes triple sense given that he has two zen players right now: Amber and Kadie Rolfzen. |
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Post by bob2061 on Oct 2, 2015 17:59:02 GMT -5
We've posted a Q&A with Club Coach for the Penn State-Nebraska match. Here's the link: Penn State vs. Nebraska: Q&A with Club Coach
And here's an excerpt:
DigNittany: We’re speaking this week with Club Coach, who has coached numerous highly successful club and college women’s volleyball players.
DigNittany: #4-ranked Nebraska (11-1) is coming to Rec Hall on Friday in what may be #1-ranked (13-0) Penn State’s biggest challenge of the season so far. Which is to say, the Huskers are a very, very good team, led on the front row by 6-3 Jr. RS Kadie Rolfzen (who was named last week’s B1G Co-Defensive Player of the Week, after averaging 3.14 digs and 1.57 blocks/set in wins at Creighton and at Iowa State – where she chipped in 17 digs for good measure), 6-3 Jr. MB Amber Rolfzen (who in the Huskers’ match against Iowa on Saturday, had a team-high 11 kills — a .556 hitting % — and added 6 blocks), 6-3 Sr. MB Cecilia Hall, 6-3 Fr. OH Mikaela Foecke (who earned her second-straight B1G Co-Freshman of the Week award last week, after averaging 3.7 kills/set with a .375 hitting %) and 5-11 RS So. Setter Kelly Hunter. The backrow is once again anchored by 5-6 Jr. libero Justine Wong-Orantes. (Is this really only her third year? It seems she been digging balls against Penn State for at least five.)
In his press conference on Monday, Nebraska head coach John Cook said that this week’s road trip for Nebraska may be the toughest in the country (the Huskers take on Ohio State on Saturday night.
The Huskers are already playing at a very high level – they didn’t get their #4 ranking because of voters like their mascot (though we do). A two-fer: Do you think Nebraska will need to find another, better level to beat Penn State this Friday? And conversely, can Penn State defeat Nebraska if they play at the level they did against Minnesota this past Saturday (for more on that match, Click Here)? Club Coach: Those are difficult questions to answer, as match-ups play such a big role in outcomes. Certainly Nebraska will have to play as well or better than they have all season. Penn State is their toughest opponent, and the match is on the road. On the other side, the Nittany Lions are at a point in their program where if they go five, people start asking “whats wrong with PSU”? Of course the answer is . . . Nothing. Winning at the level achieved by the Penn State women’s volleyball program is NOT a function of being great every night, it’s a function of finding a way to win on the nights when you aren’t great. No program in the history of collegiate volleyball has been better at that.
Club Coach assuming Penn State will be tougher opponent for Nebraska than Texas was. After the Minnesota match I am no longer positive of that fact. Our past history is fantastic but that was then and this is now; so if we can't take this match for granted. If Megan Courtney has an off-night we will probably lose because she is the keystone for our teamwork on offense and defense. |
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Post by bob2061 on Oct 3, 2015 9:57:30 GMT -5
Well Club Coach was wrong. Matchups trump talent. After Nebraska kicked our butts the last 3 sets I can only imagine what Texas could do to us. Coach Rose had better come up with another plan to right the ship. Nia Reed and Jelena Novakovic are still sitting on the bench (or standing on the sidelines).
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Post by nyline on Oct 3, 2015 10:15:31 GMT -5
Well Club Coach was wrong. Matchups trump talent. After Nebraska kicked our butts the last 3 sets I can only imagine what Texas could do to us. Coach Rose had better come up with another plan to right the ship. Nia Reed and Jelena Novakovic are still sitting on the bench (or standing on the sidelines). Still working on the write-up (very lazy this morning; apologies) but one thing Coach Rose said last night was that Penn State may not have the bench depth that some people perceive it to have. I read that as a statement that he's not holding the next Ariel Scott on the bench just to preserve a year of eligibility. |
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Post by Onthebench on Oct 3, 2015 10:40:22 GMT -5
Well Club Coach was wrong. Matchups trump talent. After Nebraska kicked our butts the last 3 sets I can only imagine what Texas could do to us. Coach Rose had better come up with another plan to right the ship. Nia Reed and Jelena Novakovic are still sitting on the bench (or standing on the sidelines). Still working on the write-up (very lazy this morning; apologies) but one thing Coach Rose said last night was that Penn State may not have the bench depth that some people perceive it to have. I read that as a statement that he's not holding the next Ariel Scott on the bench just to preserve a year of eligibility. That's very disappointing to hear. I would've hope Novakovic and or Gorrell would be given some chance at playing given how Lee and Frantti under performed so much last night. If Coach Rose does not think they are ready, then at least explore red-shirting them and see if they can improve to be part of next years line up. |
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Post by nyline on Oct 3, 2015 12:34:08 GMT -5
Still working on the write-up (very lazy this morning; apologies) but one thing Coach Rose said last night was that Penn State may not have the bench depth that some people perceive it to have. I read that as a statement that he's not holding the next Ariel Scott on the bench just to preserve a year of eligibility. That's very disappointing to hear. I would've hope Novakovic and or Gorrell would be given some chance at playing given how Lee and Frantti under performed so much last night. If Coach Rose does not think they are ready, then at least explore red-shirting them and see if they can improve to be part of next years line up. If they don't play at all (which they haven't) they are eligible for a redshirt season. |
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Post by bob2061 on Oct 3, 2015 13:39:15 GMT -5
If they are getting a redshirt then that will mean we are replacing Courtney and Whitney with Lee and (?) next season. Sounds to me like a formula for mediocrity for next year. What the heck is going on?
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Post by nyline on Oct 3, 2015 13:48:34 GMT -5
If they are getting a redshirt then that will mean we are replacing Courtney and Whitney with Lee and (?) next season. Sounds to me like a formula for mediocrity for next year. What the heck is going on? That's going to be true (the "who" not the "mediocrity" part) whether or not they redshirt (except if they play, or Nia Reed were to play, this year, they would be more experienced next year.) I think "what is going on" is it's incredibly difficult to maintain consistent excellence. Penn State is a very good team this year. Ask Stanford. Ask Wisconsin. Heck, ask Nebraska. They just may not be the best team this year. Or next year. We'll see. I'm not giving up hope. |
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Post by nitneliun on Oct 4, 2015 16:06:13 GMT -5
I'm really curious about Novakovic. If you are going all the way to Serbia to recruit a player, shouldn't the expectation be that player is capable of making some kind of contribution right away? Did Russ overestimate her ability?
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Post by nyline on Oct 4, 2015 16:25:37 GMT -5
I'm really curious about Novakovic. If you are going all the way to Serbia to recruit a player, shouldn't the expectation be that player is capable of making some kind of contribution right away? Did Russ overestimate her ability? It's a big adjustment for any freshman. Perhaps it's been a bigger adjustment for Novakovic than was anticipated. I do believe, based on Coach Rose's comments that "our bench may not be as deep as some perceive it to be" that he's not holding anything back. Whether she (or any other players who haven't played this season) will improve enough to be difference-makers next season is a question way above my pay grade. I hope so. |
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