News About Other B1G Teams and Their Players

So Pitt, where Serena Gray transferred, is ranked #2 in the most recent AVCA poll, and very possibly will remain there, or even rise to #1 in the final poll before the NCAA Tournament. She has played very well for Pitt. But so has Allie Holland, who replaced Gray in the Penn State lineup. Because Pitt and Penn State play completely different schedules, in two very different leagues, any one-to-one comparison of statistics has to have a prominent disclaimer that the differences in schedules and the makeup of their respective teams means that the comparison is subject to material limitations. Consider that disclaimer given here. Nonetheless, here's the comparison through yesterday's matches:

Sets Played: Holland 48; Gray 51
Points/Set. Holland 2.89; Gray 3.00
Kills/Set: Holland 1.88; Gray 2.04
Hitting %: Holland .407; Gray .368
Service Aces: Holland 11; Gray 17
Serve Errors: Holland 23; Gray 23
Aces/Set: Holland 0.23; Gray 0.33
Digs/Set: Holland 0.33; Gray 0.61
Block Solo: Holland 13; Gray 7
Block Assist: Holland 49; Gray 50
Total Blocks: Holland 62; Gray 57
Blocks/Set. Holland 1.29; Gray 1.12

I think it was Jojonito who did this earlier in the season, and pointed out that at that time, the statistical performances (Caveat Noted!) were basically a wash. I think the same can be said now (Caveat Noted Again!). Gray has more aces/set, Holland has more blocks/set, and the Gray has a slight edge on kills/set -- with a somewhat lower hitting percentage.  I suspect most Penn State fans are thrilled with the performance of Allie Holland to date! And only a sophomore!

Three of Holland's aces in the Indiana match came during a long serving run in set 3 that broke that set wide open. As I recall, Serena had a similar aces-to-errors ratio in her Freshman and Sophomore seasons. I'll check.

I agree with you that Allie was very impressive in that post-Maryland interview. I suspect she is a really great teammate -- meaning someone who is dedicated to making the team better, always. Coach Rose often singles out former PSU great (and Olympic Captain) Christa Harmotto as an example of a great teammate. I know Serena is very intelligent, but I have no idea whether she was a good teammate while at Penn State. She may very well have been, but we often assume that merely because a player does well statistically, and appears happy during the matches, that they are a great teammate. It does seem that the transfers-in this season (Rollins, Pritchard, and Clark) are all excellent teammates.

She originally verbally committed to Tennessee.

Here's an updated table, that compares statistics from Serena Gray's first season as a starter (2018, when Penn State went 26-8 (14-6 in the B1G) and lost to Stanford in the NCAA Regional Final -- Serena didn't play due to injury) to Allie Holland's season so far, her first as a starter (same caveats as the original table -- apples to almonds -- both great foods, but not the same):

Sets Played: Holland 48; Gray 96
Points/Set. Holland 2.89; Gray 2.65
Kills/Set: Holland 1.88; Gray 1.84
Hitting %: Holland .407; Gray .325
Service Aces: Holland 11; Gray 13
Serve Errors: Holland 23; Gray 38
Aces/Set: Holland 0.23; Gray 0.14
Digs/Set: Holland 0.33; Gray 0.42
Block Solo: Holland 13; Gray 9
Block Assist: Holland 49; Gray 110
Total Blocks: Holland 62; Gray 119
Blocks/Set. Holland 1.29; Gray 1.24

If I'm not mistaken, Coach Rose's main concern with transfers is whether they will be good teammates and fit well into the PSU team.  This is why he called each of the coaches of these three players to check out what they were like, and I would guess, if they had any baggage that would influence the PSU team negatively.    He has built such a good culture with the PSU volleyball team that I'm sure the last think he wants is to bring in some players, no matter how skilled they are, that would negatively influence the team.  I love the way the PSU team encourages and cheers for each other.  It is so neat to watch.

Sounds to me like typical announcer hyperbole.  (It annoys me when an announcer will say, "Give WhatsHerFace a ball like that and she'll hit it 9 out of 10 times.  No she won't. The best hitters hit in the 300's, middles in the 400's.  Granted, those announcers don't know volleyball very well.)  NEB hit .250 against a pretty weak MSU team. NEB did hit .462 against MICH on Fri nite which I would attribute to the return of Stivrins to the lineup.  It seems to me that MICH is a better team than MSU.  

It's hard for a middle to have that much influence on a team.  If NEB serve receive isn't very good, then it's gonna be hard for Stivrins to be much of an influence.  Stivrins definitely brings some intangibles to the NEB team.  From what I've read, she's the emotional leader of the team.  So I would expect the level of the team to come up a bit with her playing.  NEB OH & OPP hitters have not been very good.  (Actually, that's overstating the case.)  So it will be interesting to see how the team as a whole plays over a period of time with Stivrins back.  Plus, their serve hasn't really put pressure on many teams.  The upcoming match with PSU on Friday at University Park will be very interesting.  Which PSU team will show up?  Which NEB team will be there? 

P.S. And we KNOW that NEB will really be up for the match this Friday.  Wouldn't it be nice for a team to occasionally be really down for a PSU match?