PSU vs Terps/Knights

Slacker staffs aside, we've posted our write-up for the PSU-Maryland Match.  Here's the link: Terps Shell Lions (In 1st Set) – Drop Match 3-1

Forum posters will notice that our slacker staff came up with what we think is a great idea (particularly because it involves virtually no work and no thought on our part): we've including some of the posts from the match thread to reflect the fans thoughts about the match.  We have a link to the thread, but we didn't include the posters' handles.  If you think we should include them, let us know.

Here's an excerpt:

[Don’t] Bet the Farm.

Going into last night’s match at the XFINITY Center between #1 Penn State (22-2, 11-2 in the B1G) and Maryland (12-15, 2-11 in the B1G) most Penn State fans would have predicted a sweep. C’mon, be honest. That’s what you would have predicted. That’s what Massey Ratings predicted (in fairness, the “100%” figure is for probability of a Penn State win, not a Penn State sweep.

Things didn’t turn out quite as Penn State fans had expected, as the Maryland Terps, coached by former Penn State assistant Steve Aird and former Penn State Director of Volleyball Operations Adam Hughes, jumped all over the Nittany Lions at the start of the match, taking the first set 25-21 (siding out at 77% to 66% for Penn State)

Order was restored to the universe — temporarily — as Penn State took the next two sets 25-17 and 25-12. In those two sets, Penn State’s side out percentages were 72% and 83%, respectively (Maryland’s were 50% and 40%). But Maryland didn’t (you know, there are just too many cliché temptations here) . . . give up in the 4th set, playing with determination and grit and pushing the Nittany Lions hard, before falling 25-22.

After the match, Maryland head coach Steve Aird complimented his team and the Nittany Lions:

No serving subs must try to make a tough serve and they miss, so what ?

I may be misunderstanding your point, but from what I've observed, I think Coach Rose holds the serving subs to a very high standard -- and serving out or into the net often times will get them put to the back of the substitution rotation.

PA fans are tough on all their sports teams. When their team loses, they don't have a bad day, they have a bad week. However, I see where your coming from, it's nice to know when to critique and when to complement and there was plenty of both to go around in last nights match.

So, I finally got to see the match. Thank you Psumaui!!! There were a lot of ugly errors in set 1, which is why some fans were getting a little upset. No one wants to see those types of errors this late in the season. Laura B. mentioned that there were many errors even in the early morning practice session, so it seemed to carry over into the game. Having said that, even with MD hitting very efficiently, the score was tied 15-15 midway through the 1st set, so PSU wasn't out of it. In the 2nd and 3rd set, it was a totally different story. Then in the 4th set there was evident lack of communication on the PSU side, as in the 1st set. As SNJ mentioned in an earlier post, PSU seems to play down to their competition at times, but you have to give MD credit they played with a nothing-to-lose mentality. However, one thing I've noticed about this PSU team is that they can take it to another level when they want. They can turn it up a notch, shift into a higher gear and leave other teams in their dust. When they're playing good teams they focus and get the job done. I can't shake the feeling that the #1 ranking was a jinx this week. I think that sometimes players begin to think they will win games on merit alone and this may have been part of the reason for their weak/slack play early on in the match.

I really like her play of late.  I guess the B1G coaches did too. Here's a video interview with her prior to the Maryland match (SIAP).  One moment I think is great: When Tony Mancuso starts to ask Bryanna what it's like to have so many great hitters as options, she starts to grin before he even finishes the question:

#1 Congrats to Coach Aird and his Maryland team on playing hard for most of the match. Looks like good things going on there.

However,

Not going to sugarcoat this win. The PSU team left a lot of plays on the floor and the communication issue throughout much of the match was evident.

Whitney and Coach Rose - Straight to the point that we all saw.........regardless of the end stats.    Missed digs, reception errors, lack of talking, flubbed attacks. careless stuff 

I, WE, all believe in this team and can see them playing for a National Championship.  I truly believe this but I wonder if there was a similar approach to this match as the Northwestern one.   Can't afford it.....even if remotely true.

www.collegian.psu.edu/sports/women_volleyball/article_377b5360-8438-11e5-81d7-dbaaf7f8c993.html

“It was excitement,” Whitney said of the winning point. “It was definitely more of a grind than we had anticipated, and that was the problem. We had come out casual, and we knew we had to get our stuff together on our side of the net if we wanted to win the set and put the match away. It was just excitement and relief to move on.”

Penn State won’t enjoy much respite after beating Maryland. The Lions head on the road by bus to take on Rutgers (4-20, 1-11) tonight.

Coach Russ Rose described his team’s performance against the Terrapins as a letdown after last week’s sweep of Ohio State in two games. As a result, he said he doesn’t know what to expect against the Scarlet Knights.

“It was nice to win, but it was painful to experience. [The Lions are] not a very consistent group,” Rose said of the contest against the Terrapins. “I don’t think we did a very good job preparing them, and I don’t think they did a very good job comprehending that every team in the conference cares about their performance and cares about their team. I thought we played with much more urgency and cohesion last week.”

Clearly there were issues with many of the passers tracking the balls. We rarely see bad shanks and misjudged balls from PSU passers but last night had a months worth.   Very few passes were in-system, even when the team was rolling.  I saw Courtney and Holcomb overplay balls in front of other passers who clearly had a better bead on the ball.   The tape doesn't lie and I'm sure the coaching staff is addressing this

Holcomb had 5 digs and missed on nearly a dozen that I would term "playable". 

I have a feeling Coach Rose sees much much more that we all do combined and has a plan in place to get these girls to the highest level.   Heck, maybe one that we don't see coming!