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Post by tillie1014 on Dec 16, 2015 15:47:01 GMT -5
As an addendum to my previous comments let me make the observation that if Bryanna was telegraphing with any regularity it seems impossible to believe that Salima would not have been all over it. Unfortunately I was only a tv viewer of most of the matches and that did not allow me to observe her hand and body posture with any accuracy.
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Post by bob2061 on Dec 16, 2015 16:58:22 GMT -5
A comment I heard over and over was that Bryanna was setting the ball too close to the net causing hitters to get a net violation. This happened when we had good and not-so-good SR. Accuracy has been a major problem this year and hitters were ecstatic when they got an accurate set leading to an easy score. Of course when the team is OOS it is much easier for other teams to predict which hitter will be set.
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Post by bob2061 on Dec 16, 2015 17:01:57 GMT -5
I like your optimism but sometimes we need to be realistic. Our team this past year was in usually good shape but simply did not have adequate defensive players to keep rallies going against the better teams. Then later injuries started taking a toll. I can't recall the last time we played a freshman libero who wasn't a liability on the court. You simply need time to master that position coming in from high school. BTW we probably will not be bringing in any DS transfer. Even Coach Rose has said that he doesn't have a replacement for Megan Courtney. BTW I'm pretty sure you will be able to root for a Big Ten team in the Championships next year. The initial post makes a lot of suppositions with not much evidence. There's no evidence that this team "wasn't prepared physically" like previous years. Pretty sure the players would tell you that the physical training/preparation was identical to past years. In mentioning players of the past, it is very unfair (and wrongheaded) to assume that they were somehow more dedicated or determined than any player on this team. Even more unfounded is to look at some player coming in as the undeniable answer to present holes or issues. I can point to MANY players on the present team who would put any incoming recruit to shame when it comes to work ethic, desire, or dedication. Like most club/HS players yet to begin PSU training, we can echo the villain in "Silence of the Lambs" as he called down into a well to his next victim, "You don't know what pain is!" (OK--a little dark, but you get the picture.) My point is that you are unfairly, and I think unintentionally, insulting many players who have given everything they have to this program and institution,...and then some. And let me remind you, all but the present freshmen have something that no incoming (nor likely you or I) have--one or two National Championship trophies. Now, if you want to argue that some new DS might have more "ability" than what PSU might have returning or what they had this year, OK. That will only be determined next year. As far as the stated reason that PSU "simply did not have adequate defensive players to keep rallies going against the better teams" as a main reason for failure this year, I think that would fall quite a ways down on the list of problems. One of the MAIN reasons, and probably THE main reason, was stated by someone earlier: the team's inability to create runs of points, mostly generated via excellent serving. 2014 PSU generated 243 aces at a 1.91/set clip compared to the 2015 team's 125 at 1.12/set. That is a significant drop-off. And it doesn't even account for how many times Hancock's serve put an opponent out-of-system, producing free or weak down balls for easy transition points. Dominant teams in any sport THRIVE on the ability to score easy points--in bunches: the home run, the quick strike long pass, the fast break. If a team consistently must slug it out for points and cannot generate runs of "easy" scores, the likelihood that they will struggle at times, even breakdown, increases substantially. Couple this problem with PSU's struggles with closing blocks (which was likely somewhat tied to serving), and the defense will be put upon to "extend rallies." Conversely, PSU's serve receive for much of the season struggled. Through much of 2014, PSU's SR was handled by Gonzales, Courtney, and Frantti/Pierce, and accounted for 61 reception errors (Courtney led all with 26). In 2015, PSU passers had 89 reception errors with Holcomb and Frantti accounting for over 60% of those. You can go look at the 2015 Reception efficiency % if you like--you might be surprised. The main difference between this year's team and the last two was Hancock: her serving, her ability to freeze blockers or get out of a bad rotation by turning on a 2nd ball at any moment, and possibly most importantly, her intimidation factor. This kid gave the impression that if she wasn't playing volleyball she'd be driving an 18-wheeler down I-70. Either way, she was going to run you over. At any rate, the 2016 PSU team has a long way to go. Above message makes a lot of sense. Perhaps serving talent should be a much higher priority since Micha was such a weapon. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2015 18:13:13 GMT -5
I really think that the 2012 team would have won the title were it not for the injury to Micha in the semis. That (maybe) and the oft-forgotten fact that a blown call on set point in game 2 kept Oregon alive (and they eventually came back and won a game they actually lost). Down 0-2, it was highly unlikely they were coming back to win it. That's a good shoulda, coulda, woulda from the 2012 Final Four. Personally, I'd like to think so, but Hancock was still hurt. Might Oregon have won three straight sets? They did in 2011. What kind of shape was Hancock in two days later? --but Carp set PSU to a win over Texas in 2010.
We'll never know, but it's a very valid point.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2015 18:21:46 GMT -5
As an addendum to my previous comments let me make the observation that if Bryanna was telegraphing with any regularity it seems impossible to believe that Salima would not have been all over it. Unfortunately I was only a tv viewer of most of the matches and that did not allow me to observe her hand and body posture with any accuracy. This happened periodically, not all the time. Some matches it was very prevalent and other matches were very clean. There was no consistency in the offensive production. I don't think it was one person's fault by any means. The losses and bad play, like you said, started from passing to setting to hitting. Also, it seems like this team was lacking confidence down the stretch when they'd get down a few points. However, I'm just conjecturing. Perhaps they lacked the quality to make up those points in the serve. I don't know for sure, but that's what I have perceived. Since last year, I have firmly believed that next year's team will be better than this year's team. Also, I have very high expectations for the 2017 team, barring any serious injury(ies). |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2015 18:32:13 GMT -5
Your description (that I've been unable to copy) of Micha almost got me teary-eyed. The 2015 team had a tough act to follow. Imagine all the Tulsa fans (Tulsa has fans?) who've been saying shoulda, coulda, woulda for the last four years? |
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Post by tillie1014 on Dec 16, 2015 19:15:05 GMT -5
She, Micha, would never have gotten the recognition should she have remained there.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2015 19:25:46 GMT -5
She, Micha, would never have gotten the recognition should she have remained there. I know. Is there a better "What if" story in PSU volleyball history. Or, what are some other great PSU Volleyball "What if" stories? |
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Post by psumaui on Dec 16, 2015 21:47:28 GMT -5
I like your optimism but sometimes we need to be realistic. Our team this past year was in usually good shape but simply did not have adequate defensive players to keep rallies going against the better teams. Then later injuries started taking a toll. I can't recall the last time we played a freshman libero who wasn't a liability on the court. You simply need time to master that position coming in from high school. BTW we probably will not be bringing in any DS transfer. Even Coach Rose has said that he doesn't have a replacement for Megan Courtney. BTW I'm pretty sure you will be able to root for a Big Ten team in the Championships next year. The initial post makes a lot of suppositions with not much evidence. There's no evidence that this team "wasn't prepared physically" like previous years. Pretty sure the players would tell you that the physical training/preparation was identical to past years. In mentioning players of the past, it is very unfair (and wrongheaded) to assume that they were somehow more dedicated or determined than any player on this team. Even more unfounded is to look at some player coming in as the undeniable answer to present holes or issues. I can point to MANY players on the present team who would put any incoming recruit to shame when it comes to work ethic, desire, or dedication. Like most club/HS players yet to begin PSU training, we can echo the villain in "Silence of the Lambs" as he called down into a well to his next victim, "You don't know what pain is!" (OK--a little dark, but you get the picture.) My point is that you are unfairly, and I think unintentionally, insulting many players who have given everything they have to this program and institution,...and then some. And let me remind you, all but the present freshmen have something that no incoming (nor likely you or I) have--one or two National Championship trophies. Now, if you want to argue that some new DS might have more "ability" than what PSU might have returning or what they had this year, OK. That will only be determined next year. As far as the stated reason that PSU "simply did not have adequate defensive players to keep rallies going against the better teams" as a main reason for failure this year, I think that would fall quite a ways down on the list of problems. One of the MAIN reasons, and probably THE main reason, was stated by someone earlier: the team's inability to create runs of points, mostly generated via excellent serving. 2014 PSU generated 243 aces at a 1.91/set clip compared to the 2015 team's 125 at 1.12/set. That is a significant drop-off. And it doesn't even account for how many times Hancock's serve put an opponent out-of-system, producing free or weak down balls for easy transition points. Dominant teams in any sport THRIVE on the ability to score easy points--in bunches: the home run, the quick strike long pass, the fast break. If a team consistently must slug it out for points and cannot generate runs of "easy" scores, the likelihood that they will struggle at times, even breakdown, increases substantially. Couple this problem with PSU's struggles with closing blocks (which was likely somewhat tied to serving), and the defense will be put upon to "extend rallies." Conversely, PSU's serve receive for much of the season struggled. Through much of 2014, PSU's SR was handled by Gonzales, Courtney, and Frantti/Pierce, and accounted for 61 reception errors (Courtney led all with 26). In 2015, PSU passers had 89 reception errors with Holcomb and Frantti accounting for over 60% of those. You can go look at the 2015 Reception efficiency % if you like--you might be surprised. The main difference between this year's team and the last two was Hancock: her serving, her ability to freeze blockers or get out of a bad rotation by turning on a 2nd ball at any moment, and possibly most importantly, her intimidation factor. This kid gave the impression that if she wasn't playing volleyball she'd be driving an 18-wheeler down I-70. Either way, she was going to run you over. At any rate, the 2016 PSU team has a long way to go. Whole lot of negative off of just what my "opinion" is in some of these areas: Lets start with the players wearing down. I know what it feels like to push my self to the limit, and I know what it looks like in peoples faces and body language when people have hit the wall, yes, I saw some of the players near the end of the season hit the wall and that comes from lack of total commitment to strength both mental and physical and endurance training. It's not just in some Penn State players, I have seen it over the years in other teams also. Yes, they may have worked their butts off during the season but I think some of them needed to work much harder so they didn't hit that wall at end of season. As Russ himself said, some of the players don't go hard all the time and they need to. To me, in my honest expert opinion, that tells me that either they are trying to conserve their energy or that some of them don't have the needed drive to push themselves from start to finish. Need to push yourself hard in training so you won't have to conserve energy during a match. Yea, I'm pretty sure the coaches give them excellent strength and endurance training but you have to push yourself even further than the strength and endurance training you receive in school if you want to have a chance of winning it all. As far as insulting players, I'm only talking about some of the players not every player, and no, I don't think I am insulting them at all. I call it the way I see it based on my many years experience in extreme fitness training. I know most of players on team show the drive and dedication for success but you need all the players to have that mentality drive and focus and I just didn't see that from all the players this year. I wrestled in HS and always went hard from start to finish and did much more training than just training inside the gym. In my mind, conserving energy during a wrestling match was not an option. Same as with Basic Training, (wrestling prepared me for the grass/sand drills) and the 12-15 mile road marchs with 40 lb ruck, they gave us tough training and I pushed myself even harder than the Drill Sergeants did and when I came out, I couldn't even pull my old jeans past my knees over my quads because they were that big  It's called self-motivation and I still have it today as a military retiree as I cycle over 400 miles a week in preparation for my cross country ride this coming summer. Training starts in the mind and if the mind isn't right then the body cannot push itself to the limit. When I see people like Micha, I think, that's the kind of player we need at every position. In that aspect, she reminds me a lot of myself. I guess that is why she is my favorite player from Penn State. I saw this fire in her from the first time I saw her at the Under Armour match in 2010. I wish all of the women on the team had Micha's fire, drive and intensity. You either have it inside your or you don't I guess. I think she used her anger and frustrations with dealing with Russ against her opponents which was not so good for them. Bryanna said she thinks she can be as good or better than Micha; I hope she can accomplish this. I have been hoping Bryanna would do more setter dumps/kills so she could hold off blockers more like Micha did. Maybe she will do more next season. Russ and his coaches can give them the tools but it's up to them to use them to push themselves to their limit. The whole team, not just most of them. I didn't mind shanked passes as much as not getting to balls at all. There were many times this season balls hit back court floor and shouldn't have. Passing needs to improve greatly next season and I think having Kendall White and Holcomb competing for the Libero spot will be great for both players and the team. I'm far from an expert in volleyball but I am an expert in reading body language and extreme fitness and can easily tell if someone hasn't prepared enough. |
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Post by nyline on Dec 17, 2015 2:35:33 GMT -5
The initial post makes a lot of suppositions with not much evidence. There's no evidence that this team "wasn't prepared physically" like previous years. Pretty sure the players would tell you that the physical training/preparation was identical to past years. In mentioning players of the past, it is very unfair (and wrongheaded) to assume that they were somehow more dedicated or determined than any player on this team. Even more unfounded is to look at some player coming in as the undeniable answer to present holes or issues. I can point to MANY players on the present team who would put any incoming recruit to shame when it comes to work ethic, desire, or dedication. Like most club/HS players yet to begin PSU training, we can echo the villain in "Silence of the Lambs" as he called down into a well to his next victim, "You don't know what pain is!" (OK--a little dark, but you get the picture.) My point is that you are unfairly, and I think unintentionally, insulting many players who have given everything they have to this program and institution,...and then some. And let me remind you, all but the present freshmen have something that no incoming (nor likely you or I) have--one or two National Championship trophies. Now, if you want to argue that some new DS might have more "ability" than what PSU might have returning or what they had this year, OK. That will only be determined next year. As far as the stated reason that PSU "simply did not have adequate defensive players to keep rallies going against the better teams" as a main reason for failure this year, I think that would fall quite a ways down on the list of problems. One of the MAIN reasons, and probably THE main reason, was stated by someone earlier: the team's inability to create runs of points, mostly generated via excellent serving. 2014 PSU generated 243 aces at a 1.91/set clip compared to the 2015 team's 125 at 1.12/set. That is a significant drop-off. And it doesn't even account for how many times Hancock's serve put an opponent out-of-system, producing free or weak down balls for easy transition points. Dominant teams in any sport THRIVE on the ability to score easy points--in bunches: the home run, the quick strike long pass, the fast break. If a team consistently must slug it out for points and cannot generate runs of "easy" scores, the likelihood that they will struggle at times, even breakdown, increases substantially. Couple this problem with PSU's struggles with closing blocks (which was likely somewhat tied to serving), and the defense will be put upon to "extend rallies." Conversely, PSU's serve receive for much of the season struggled. Through much of 2014, PSU's SR was handled by Gonzales, Courtney, and Frantti/Pierce, and accounted for 61 reception errors (Courtney led all with 26). In 2015, PSU passers had 89 reception errors with Holcomb and Frantti accounting for over 60% of those. You can go look at the 2015 Reception efficiency % if you like--you might be surprised. The main difference between this year's team and the last two was Hancock: her serving, her ability to freeze blockers or get out of a bad rotation by turning on a 2nd ball at any moment, and possibly most importantly, her intimidation factor. This kid gave the impression that if she wasn't playing volleyball she'd be driving an 18-wheeler down I-70. Either way, she was going to run you over. At any rate, the 2016 PSU team has a long way to go. Whole lot of negative off of just what my "opinion" is in some of these areas: Lets start with the players wearing down. I know what it feels like to push my self to the limit, and I know what it looks like in peoples faces and body language when people have hit the wall, yes, I saw some of the players near the end of the season hit the wall and that comes from lack of total commitment to strength both mental and physical and endurance training. It's not just in some Penn State players, I have seen it over the years in other teams also. Yes, they may have worked their butts off during the season but I think some of them needed to work much harder so they didn't hit that wall at end of season. As Russ himself said, some of the players don't go hard all the time and they need to. To me, in my honest expert opinion, that tells me that either they are trying to conserve their energy or that some of them don't have the needed drive to push themselves from start to finish. Need to push yourself hard in training so you won't have to conserve energy during a match. Yea, I'm pretty sure the coaches give them excellent strength and endurance training but you have to push yourself even further than the strength and endurance training you receive in school if you want to have a chance of winning it all. As far as insulting players, I'm only talking about some of the players not every player, and no, I don't think I am insulting them at all. I call it the way I see it based on my many years experience in extreme fitness training. I know most of players on team show the drive and dedication for success but you need all the players to have that mentality drive and focus and I just didn't see that from all the players this year. I wrestled in HS and always went hard from start to finish and did much more training than just training inside the gym. In my mind, conserving energy during a wrestling match was not an option. Same as with Basic Training, (wrestling prepared me for the grass/sand drills) and the 12-15 mile road marchs with 40 lb ruck, they gave us tough training and I pushed myself even harder than the Drill Sergeants did and when I came out, I couldn't even pull my old jeans past my knees over my quads because they were that big It's called self-motivation and I still have it today as a military retiree as I cycle over 400 miles a week in preparation for my cross country ride this coming summer. Training starts in the mind and if the mind isn't right then the body cannot push itself to the limit. When I see people like Micha, I think, that's the kind of player we need at every position. In that aspect, she reminds me a lot of myself. I guess that is why she is my favorite player from Penn State. I saw this fire in her from the first time I saw her at the Under Armour match in 2010. I wish all of the women on the team had Micha's fire, drive and intensity. You either have it inside your or you don't I guess. I think she used her anger and frustrations with dealing with Russ against her opponents which was not so good for them. Bryanna said she thinks she can be as good or better than Micha; I hope she can accomplish this. I have been hoping Bryanna would do more setter dumps/kills so she could hold off blockers more like Micha did. Maybe she will do more next season. Russ and his coaches can give them the tools but it's up to them to use them to push themselves to their limit. The whole team, not just most of them. I didn't mind shanked passes as much as not getting to balls at all. There were many times this season balls hit back court floor and shouldn't have. Passing needs to improve greatly next season and I think having Kendall White and Holcomb competing for the Libero spot will be great for both players and the team. I'm far from an expert in volleyball but I am an expert in reading body language and extreme fitness and can easily tell if someone hasn't prepared enough. I think one thing that isn't addressed in either of these posts is the possibility that key players, like Frantti and Washington, may have been playing with significant physical issues for all or most of the season. More than the typical bumps and bruises. Hard to say how much that affected their play (if they were, in fact, significantly less than 100%). But I think we may well veer off the mark if we conclude any player didn't have the commitment, self-motivation, drive, toughness, whatever, to excel. Drawing on personal experience, I ran cross country and track in college at a school that was ranked in the top 20. I fractured my right foot before cross country season (playing touch football; oops) and tried to run in a race before it was sufficiently healed. It refractured (or just got phishstixed-off) and I ran the last two miles or so in significant pain. I also finished well back in the pack. Looking at my face, and my body language during the race, one might have concluded I lacked the drive and and commitment, or toughness, or self-motivation, or whatever, to succeed at the highest level. Looking at my now purple/black foot an hour after the race, now swollen to what seemed to be twice it's size, one might have said "how the heck did you run three and a half miles on that foot? Are you crazy? (Answers: 1) don't know; 2) yes.) Point being, if we're not inside the shoe/gym, we really don't know what's going on. For my part, I certainly don't. |
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Post by cross5 on Dec 17, 2015 8:12:03 GMT -5
Dominant teams in any sport THRIVE on the ability to score easy points--in bunches: the home run, the quick strike long pass, the fast break. If a team consistently must slug it out for points and cannot generate runs of "easy" scores, the likelihood that they will struggle at times, even breakdown, increases substantially. Couple this problem with PSU's struggles with closing blocks (which was likely somewhat tied to serving), and the defense will be put upon to "extend rallies."  Dig this!   Move over! (note the left hand on the wheel too  ) |
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Post by cross5 on Dec 17, 2015 8:16:31 GMT -5
All in good fun. We love these girls and wish it would have turned out another way. We have been fortunate many many times to not have this end this way.
Ultimately the team was right there this year but had to find new ways to win. Just fell short.
Looking forward to seeing how much our returning players grow next year.
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Post by happyvolley on Dec 17, 2015 11:45:05 GMT -5
The initial post makes a lot of suppositions with not much evidence. There's no evidence that this team "wasn't prepared physically" like previous years. Pretty sure the players would tell you that the physical training/preparation was identical to past years. In mentioning players of the past, it is very unfair (and wrongheaded) to assume that they were somehow more dedicated or determined than any player on this team. Even more unfounded is to look at some player coming in as the undeniable answer to present holes or issues. I can point to MANY players on the present team who would put any incoming recruit to shame when it comes to work ethic, desire, or dedication. Like most club/HS players yet to begin PSU training, we can echo the villain in "Silence of the Lambs" as he called down into a well to his next victim, "You don't know what pain is!" (OK--a little dark, but you get the picture.) My point is that you are unfairly, and I think unintentionally, insulting many players who have given everything they have to this program and institution,...and then some. And let me remind you, all but the present freshmen have something that no incoming (nor likely you or I) have--one or two National Championship trophies. Now, if you want to argue that some new DS might have more "ability" than what PSU might have returning or what they had this year, OK. That will only be determined next year. As far as the stated reason that PSU "simply did not have adequate defensive players to keep rallies going against the better teams" as a main reason for failure this year, I think that would fall quite a ways down on the list of problems. One of the MAIN reasons, and probably THE main reason, was stated by someone earlier: the team's inability to create runs of points, mostly generated via excellent serving. 2014 PSU generated 243 aces at a 1.91/set clip compared to the 2015 team's 125 at 1.12/set. That is a significant drop-off. And it doesn't even account for how many times Hancock's serve put an opponent out-of-system, producing free or weak down balls for easy transition points. Dominant teams in any sport THRIVE on the ability to score easy points--in bunches: the home run, the quick strike long pass, the fast break. If a team consistently must slug it out for points and cannot generate runs of "easy" scores, the likelihood that they will struggle at times, even breakdown, increases substantially. Couple this problem with PSU's struggles with closing blocks (which was likely somewhat tied to serving), and the defense will be put upon to "extend rallies." Conversely, PSU's serve receive for much of the season struggled. Through much of 2014, PSU's SR was handled by Gonzales, Courtney, and Frantti/Pierce, and accounted for 61 reception errors (Courtney led all with 26). In 2015, PSU passers had 89 reception errors with Holcomb and Frantti accounting for over 60% of those. You can go look at the 2015 Reception efficiency % if you like--you might be surprised. The main difference between this year's team and the last two was Hancock: her serving, her ability to freeze blockers or get out of a bad rotation by turning on a 2nd ball at any moment, and possibly most importantly, her intimidation factor. This kid gave the impression that if she wasn't playing volleyball she'd be driving an 18-wheeler down I-70. Either way, she was going to run you over. At any rate, the 2016 PSU team has a long way to go. This is probably my favorite description, all time, of Micha Hancock. Yes, seriously great. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2015 17:31:29 GMT -5
This is probably my favorite description, all time, of Micha Hancock. Yes, seriously great. While living in the past is no way to go forward, thanks to PSUMAUI, we can go back and watch a large number of Micha's matches. He has her first and if you subscribe to tomclen's site, you can get the '13 and '14 championship runs.
We all hope there are great moments to come. But for now, it's sort of like the grieving process where we start with living in Egypt.
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Post by nyline on Dec 17, 2015 17:48:27 GMT -5
While living in the past is no way to go forward, thanks to PSUMAUI, we can go back and watch a large number of Micha's matches. He has her first and if you subscribe to tomclen's site, you can get the '13 and '14 championship runs.
We all hope there are great moments to come. But for now, it's sort of like the grieving process where we start with living in Egypt.
It's a great river. What's wrong with it? |
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It's called self-motivation and I still have it today as a military retiree as I cycle over 400 miles a week in preparation for my cross country ride this coming summer. Training starts in the mind and if the mind isn't right then the body cannot push itself to the limit.
)