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Post by nyline on Oct 17, 2015 8:48:57 GMT -5
Match against Purdue starts at 7:00 p.m. Here's a link to our Match writeup: Match Day: Penn State vs. PurdueAnd here's an excerpt with Russ Rose quotes: Although #7-ranked Ohio State downed #18 Purdue (15-3, 6-1 in the B1G) last night in five sets (25-15, 25-27, 24-26, 25-23, 15-9), the Boilermakers came very close to knocking off the Buckeyes, and would like nothing better than to do just that to Penn State (16-2, 5-2 in the B1G) tonight. Penn State won its match last night against Indiana, and although Coach Rose saw some good things from his new lineup (6-2 RS Fr. Nia Reed started at RS, replacing the injured Megan Courtney, while Simone Lee moved to OH and 5-4 Sr. DS Lara Caraway started in the back row), he said his team would need to play significantly better to defeat Purdue: About Purdue
In the Ohio State match, Purdue showed that it has multiple options on offense. 6-4 Jr. Annie Drews totaled 17 kills and 11 digs, followed by 6-1 Fr. OH Alexa Smith (13 kills, 13 digs and 2 aces), 6-4 So. MB Danielle Cuttino (9 kills), 6-0 Sr. OH Sam Epenesa (9 kills), and 6-1 RS Jr. MB Faye Adelaja (8 kills). 5-8 Sr. libero Amanda Neill came up with 20 digs, followed by Smith (13), Fr. Brooke Peters (12) and Drews (11). For the season (prior to the Ohio State match) Annie Drews leads the team with 4.32 kills/set, followed by Faye Adelaja (2.39 — and a team-best .452 attack %), Sam Epenesa (2.21), Danielle Cuttino (2.12) and 6-0 So. OH Azariah Stahl (2.10). Purdue’s .294 team attack % leads the B1G. The back row has been anchored by 5-8 Sr. libero Amanda Neill (3.91 digs/set, with 16 aces). 6-1 So. setter Ashley Evans has contributed 2.68 digs/set. |
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Post by cross5 on Oct 17, 2015 9:07:49 GMT -5
PSU is playing a very susceptible passing team in Purdue . Add in fatigue and being at home I would like to see a bit more risk in their serving.
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Post by Onthebench on Oct 17, 2015 9:31:27 GMT -5
Smith toward the end of the match had few serve receiving errors. On the other hand, their serves are pretty solid evenly. i think PSU can put up good blocks, especially in the middle, they'll have a good chance to win. Otherwise...
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Post by nyline on Oct 17, 2015 10:15:36 GMT -5
Smith toward the end of the match had few serve receiving errors. On the other hand, their serves are pretty solid evenly. i think PSU can put up good blocks, especially in the middle, they'll have a good chance to win. Otherwise... What did people think about Reed's blocking? I thought she looked very good in the first set, but got tooled once of twice after that. |
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Post by bob2061 on Oct 17, 2015 11:13:53 GMT -5
Reed puts up a big block and will upgrade her technique as she gets more experience in matches. I wonder why she didn't play sooner?
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Post by nyline on Oct 18, 2015 12:11:36 GMT -5
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Post by bob2061 on Oct 18, 2015 12:38:17 GMT -5
I think Russ says it all above except that we were very well prepared for Purdue by the coaching staff. I have been skeptical of our defense in the past but it was very good against the Boilermakers. It was a great effort against the 1st place BIG team. Hopefully we can stayed focused with our serving.
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Post by traveler on Oct 18, 2015 13:17:40 GMT -5
what i really liked: PSU out-dug Purdue 42-32. differential in hitting approached .200 pts. only 1 Purdue hitter was in the .200s; Drews was limited to .091!?
that said, setter Evans must have watched the Taylor Tashima show last week and succeeded 4 times to dump. We did better at containing that threat than against NW, but we need to more clearly send the message that we're wise to that move.
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snj
Sophomore
Posts: 67
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Post by snj on Oct 18, 2015 14:19:13 GMT -5
Another fine writeup from Nyline...
I saw marked improvement compared to the matches of the last several weeks. Much more organized and calm, disciplined play, little of the chaos that has plagued them. An interesting combination of players against IU and PU, playing Lara quite a bit and Nia as well. All the combinations seemed to play pretty well together, which impressed me.
Very interesting to me that with PSU's best overall player to date out for a time with an injury, other players appear to be stepping up and making stronger contributions. Were the other players on the court relying too much on Megan previously? Perhaps Nyline might ask a question of that sort at the next press session, would be curious to hear what Coach says. Seeing her in the walking boot gave the impression she will be back before the end of the Big Ten season. They could be quite potent when Megan returns if they keep playing in balanced roles, eg. she does her share but the others don't do less.
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Post by cross5 on Oct 18, 2015 15:48:46 GMT -5
PSUs errors in almost every area were very low. The players played with a lot of intensity,focus and communication.
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Post by cross5 on Oct 19, 2015 11:52:12 GMT -5
It is pretty obvious that these girls have really found their game and working hard for each other when you have a sideout rate of 82% and 83% in the last 2 sets against a good Purdue match. They haven't been close to that mark since game 1 of Nebraska
Nice chemistry, leadership and determination to make things work.
The Courtney injury has indeed forced some introspection for some players. WHEN she is ready to come back the team could go on a real nice run in the 2nd half.
I have seen NOTHING from Michigan which leads me to believe they will be an overly formidable obstacle on Wed.
5-3 in League play (16-15) in Sets
Fri., Sep. 25 vs. No. 20 Purdue * TV Cliff Keen Arena L, 3-0
Sat., Sep. 26 vs. Indiana * Cliff Keen Arena W, 3-1
Wed., Sep. 30 at Michigan State * TV East Lansing, Mich. L, 3-0
Sat., Oct. 3 vs. Michigan State * Cliff Keen Arena W, 3-2
Wed., Oct. 7 at Iowa * TV Iowa City, Iowa W, 3-2
Sat., Oct. 10 at No. 4 Nebraska * TV Lincoln, Neb. L, 3-1
Wed., Oct. 14 vs. Rutgers * TV Cliff Keen Arena W, 3-1
Thu., Oct. 15 vs. Maryland * Cliff Keen Arena W, 3-0
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Post by phillytom on Oct 19, 2015 12:29:57 GMT -5
I have seen NOTHING from Michigan which leads me to believe they will be an overly formidable obstacle on Wed. Eek, I hate when even fans talk like that. There's hardly a team in the B10 that can't be formidable on a given night, as the Wildcats just demonstrated. |
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Post by cross5 on Oct 19, 2015 12:32:51 GMT -5
I have seen NOTHING from Michigan which leads me to believe they will be an overly formidable obstacle on Wed. Eek, I hate when even fans talk like that. There's hardly a team in the B10 that can't be formidable on a given night, as the Wildcats just demonstrated. That's why I said "overly" or to an excessive degree. Warner nor Abbott are not even close the player that Tashima is. A setter as good and active as Tashima is, always is an x factor. PSU should be OK , if Courtney is not ready to go. But you are right, have to respect every opponent, especially on the road. |
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Post by nyline on Oct 19, 2015 13:55:25 GMT -5
It is pretty obvious that these girls have really found their game and working hard for each other when you have a sideout rate of 82% and 83% in the last 2 sets against a good Purdue match. They haven't been close to that mark since game 1 of Nebraska Nice chemistry, leadership and determination to make things work. The Courtney injury has indeed forced some introspection for some players. WHEN she is ready to come back the team could go on a real nice run in the 2nd half. I have seen NOTHING from Michigan which leads me to believe they will be an overly formidable obstacle on Wed. 5-3 in League play (16-15) in Sets Fri., Sep. 25 vs. No. 20 Purdue * TV Cliff Keen Arena L, 3-0 Sat., Sep. 26 vs. Indiana * Cliff Keen Arena W, 3-1 Wed., Sep. 30 at Michigan State * TV East Lansing, Mich. L, 3-0 Sat., Oct. 3 vs. Michigan State * Cliff Keen Arena W, 3-2 Wed., Oct. 7 at Iowa * TV Iowa City, Iowa W, 3-2 Sat., Oct. 10 at No. 4 Nebraska * TV Lincoln, Neb. L, 3-1 Wed., Oct. 14 vs. Rutgers * TV Cliff Keen Arena W, 3-1 Thu., Oct. 15 vs. Maryland * Cliff Keen Arena W, 3-0 Their big problem is playing in Cliff Keen Arena, which began life as a swimming pool, so exerts an uncanny energy on the Wolverines, sometimes causing them to go off the deep end. |
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Post by cross5 on Oct 19, 2015 14:41:08 GMT -5
It is pretty obvious that these girls have really found their game and working hard for each other when you have a sideout rate of 82% and 83% in the last 2 sets against a good Purdue match. They haven't been close to that mark since game 1 of Nebraska Nice chemistry, leadership and determination to make things work. The Courtney injury has indeed forced some introspection for some players. WHEN she is ready to come back the team could go on a real nice run in the 2nd half. I have seen NOTHING from Michigan which leads me to believe they will be an overly formidable obstacle on Wed. 5-3 in League play (16-15) in Sets Fri., Sep. 25 vs. No. 20 Purdue * TV Cliff Keen Arena L, 3-0 Sat., Sep. 26 vs. Indiana * Cliff Keen Arena W, 3-1 Wed., Sep. 30 at Michigan State * TV East Lansing, Mich. L, 3-0 Sat., Oct. 3 vs. Michigan State * Cliff Keen Arena W, 3-2 Wed., Oct. 7 at Iowa * TV Iowa City, Iowa W, 3-2 Sat., Oct. 10 at No. 4 Nebraska * TV Lincoln, Neb. L, 3-1 Wed., Oct. 14 vs. Rutgers * TV Cliff Keen Arena W, 3-1 Thu., Oct. 15 vs. Maryland * Cliff Keen Arena W, 3-0 Their big problem is playing in Cliff Keen Arena, which began life as a swimming pool, so exerts an uncanny energy on the Wolverines, sometimes causing them to go off the deep end. THAT is an excellent point. Forgot about that!! |
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