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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2018 7:52:59 GMT -5
IIRC, the last true freshman setter to set her team to a national championship was Nebraska's Rachel Holloway. That being said, also IIRC , Holloway is one of only two true freshman setters to ever do that. Nebraska will be good, coach Cook like coach Rose, usually has his team as one of the most improved teams from the start of the VB season to the finish. Holloway was a redshirt frosh in 2006. Welcome to our Happy Place. |
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Post by nyline on Apr 6, 2018 7:58:30 GMT -5
IMO Nebraska should now be the preseason #1 team in the country for 2018. They most likely would have been anyway because the previous winner is usually #1 in the next preseason poll. At the moment they project to be the best team on paper in my opinion. Don't forget Sun was Gatorade NPOY and prevolleyball.com Senior Ace #1. I don't know why it didn't work as well as expected at Texas but I expect her to be a dominating force at Nebraska. Nebraska has better passing to assist Sun if she gets in trouble passing the ball. They can hide her to some extent. Whoa horse. Setter Kelly Hunter is/was a once in a decade volleyball quarterback. Much like Micha Hancock's serve doesn't grow on trees. Nebraska's incoming #1 nationally ranked setter is going to have some massive shoes to fill. How many true freshman setters have led their teams to national championships? While Lexi is a dangerous front row player, it's going to take some time and hard work to replace Annika's back row prowess. Stivrin's won't have Briana Holeman to spell her at MB this season. All that being said, at this time last season NO WAY did I consider Nebraska a national championship contender given what they lost to graduation. PSU on the other hand IMHO is ALWAYS a national championship contender. That certainly has been true more years than not over the past decade+, but I don't think that right now -- April 6, 2018 -- Penn State should be considered a national championship contender. They will possibly start five true freshmen (not counting you out, Nia Reed, but you'll have some tough competition), with a sixth starter being a transfer (everyone says Taylor Leath, though not confirmed at this point) at OH, and the great Kendall White returning at libero. That's a lot of "new" and a lot of questions. Gabby Blossom enrolled in January, and people seem to have really high hopes for her. But like Nebraska's incoming freshman setter, she's a freshman. Could this 2018 team get into the championship conversation? Sure. But I wouldn't put them there at the start of the season, and we fans shouldn't be surprised if there are growing pains. |
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volleyballfan93
Freshman
It's a Rhodesian Ridgeback aka; African Lion Hound :-)
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Post by volleyballfan93 on Apr 6, 2018 9:49:58 GMT -5
Holloway was a redshirt frosh in 2006. Welcome to our Happy Place. Why thank you. I love happy places. |
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Post by bob2061 on Apr 6, 2018 12:33:33 GMT -5
Whoa horse. Setter Kelly Hunter is/was a once in a decade volleyball quarterback. Much like Micha Hancock's serve doesn't grow on trees. Nebraska's incoming #1 nationally ranked setter is going to have some massive shoes to fill. How many true freshman setters have led their teams to national championships? While Lexi is a dangerous front row player, it's going to take some time and hard work to replace Annika's back row prowess. Stivrin's won't have Briana Holeman to spell her at MB this season. All that being said, at this time last season NO WAY did I consider Nebraska a national championship contender given what they lost to graduation. PSU on the other hand IMHO is ALWAYS a national championship contender. That certainly has been true more years than not over the past decade+, but I don't think that right now -- April 6, 2018 -- Penn State should be considered a national championship contender. They will possibly start five true freshmen (not counting you out, Nia Reed, but you'll have some tough competition), with a sixth starter being a transfer (everyone says Taylor Leath, though not confirmed at this point) at OH, and the great Kendall White returning at libero. That's a lot of "new" and a lot of questions. Gabby Blossom enrolled in January, and people seem to have really high hopes for her. But like Nebraska's incoming freshman setter, she's a freshman. Could this 2018 team get into the championship conversation? Sure. But I wouldn't put them there at the start of the season, and we fans shouldn't be surprised if there are growing pains. I don't follow your reasoning. It is not uncommon for the national champ of the prior year to start the next year as the top team in the polls. I just don't see another team with the talent and depth be a stronger contender at this time. |
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Post by montanan on Apr 6, 2018 21:22:18 GMT -5
That certainly has been true more years than not over the past decade+, but I don't think that right now -- April 6, 2018 -- Penn State should be considered a national championship contender. They will possibly start five true freshmen (not counting you out, Nia Reed, but you'll have some tough competition), with a sixth starter being a transfer (everyone says Taylor Leath, though not confirmed at this point) at OH, and the great Kendall White returning at libero. That's a lot of "new" and a lot of questions. Gabby Blossom enrolled in January, and people seem to have really high hopes for her. But like Nebraska's incoming freshman setter, she's a freshman. Could this 2018 team get into the championship conversation? Sure. But I wouldn't put them there at the start of the season, and we fans shouldn't be surprised if there are growing pains. As a huskerfan, one thing I've learned the hard way is start to finish Russ Rose consistently trots out one of if not THE most improved teams in the nation. The guy is a superb coach. His attention to detail tends to get the most/best out of his players no matter how young they are. PSU will be formidable in the B1G and nationally. |
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Post by montanan on Apr 6, 2018 21:53:32 GMT -5
Does Nebraska have a volleyball site for its fans? Those who know (slacker staff?) could indicate why non-PSU volleyball fans would want to post on a dig Nittany site. Thanks! LOL! You crack me up. You gotta admit, UN vs PSU has been one of the best rivalries in college VB over the past decade. There have been a bunch of scintillating absolutely E P I C matches. One of the best was before Nebraska joined the B1G. It was a PSU championship season. IIRC, PSU hadn't lost a single set, let alone a match coming into that showdown in Nebraska. Nebraska took PSU to a fifth set in a nail-biter to end all nail-biters. Last seasons semi-final match was another hair yanker. PSU had "N" up against the wall at match point. A PSU girl passes a pinpoint P E R F E C T pass to the front row only to have two front row players run into each other and trip and fall letting Nebraska escape what most likely would have been a PSU termination and PSU victory. I about died of a heart attack during that sequence. Coach John Cook is on record saying PSU is his measuring stick. While being first and foremost a Husklerfan, I'm also a volleyball fan so I have the utmost respect for PSU vb. I also love watching Wisconsin vb phenom Dana Rettke as I did Desitnee Hooker at Texas and Inky Ajanaku from Stanford. Then there was Micha Hancock and her serve. Never mind she was also a darned good setter. Good/great VB is good/great VB no matter the team. |
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Post by elliotberton on Apr 8, 2018 11:45:52 GMT -5
IMO Nebraska should now be the preseason #1 team in the country for 2018. They most likely would have been anyway because the previous winner is usually #1 in the next preseason poll. At the moment they project to be the best team on paper in my opinion. Don't forget Sun was Gatorade NPOY and prevolleyball.com Senior Ace #1. I don't know why it didn't work as well as expected at Texas but I expect her to be a dominating force at Nebraska. Nebraska has better passing to assist Sun if she gets in trouble passing the ball. They can hide her to some extent. Whoa horse. Setter Kelly Hunter is/was a once in a decade volleyball quarterback. Much like Micha Hancock's serve doesn't grow on trees. Nebraska's incoming #1 nationally ranked setter is going to have some massive shoes to fill. How many true freshman setters have led their teams to national championships? While Lexi is a dangerous front row player, it's going to take some time and hard work to replace Annika's back row prowess. Stivrin's won't have Briana Holeman to spell her at MB this season. All that being said, at this time last season NO WAY did I consider Nebraska a national championship contender given what they lost to graduation. PSU on the other hand IMHO is ALWAYS a national championship contender. Well new friend, first let met join my older friends in welcoming you to this amazing site. Civil discourse is increasingly a lost art but we enjoy our modest effort to keep common courtesy and respect from going the way of the Emu. As to your sage points, I may be mis remembering, but I believe you answered your own question. Ms. Hancock won a Championship as a Freshman. We here spent much time analyzing how Penn State struggled to find "connectedness" two seasons ago, but seemingly found it under a rock somewhere (Brazil maybe?) and achieved better things with essentially the same players last season. |
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Post by nyline on Apr 8, 2018 14:14:06 GMT -5
Whoa horse. Setter Kelly Hunter is/was a once in a decade volleyball quarterback. Much like Micha Hancock's serve doesn't grow on trees. Nebraska's incoming #1 nationally ranked setter is going to have some massive shoes to fill. How many true freshman setters have led their teams to national championships? While Lexi is a dangerous front row player, it's going to take some time and hard work to replace Annika's back row prowess. Stivrin's won't have Briana Holeman to spell her at MB this season. All that being said, at this time last season NO WAY did I consider Nebraska a national championship contender given what they lost to graduation. PSU on the other hand IMHO is ALWAYS a national championship contender. Well new friend, first let met join my older friends in welcoming you to this amazing site. Civil discourse is increasingly a lost art but we enjoy our modest effort to keep common courtesy and respect from going the way of the Emu. As to your sage points, I may be mis remembering, but I believe you answered your own question. Ms. Hancock won a Championship as a Freshman. We here spent much time analyzing how Penn State struggled to find "connectedness" two seasons ago, but seemingly found it under a rock somewhere (Brazil maybe?) and achieved better things with essentially the same players last season. I think you are mis-remembering: Micha was a freshman in 2011 -- PSU knocked out by UCLA in the Sweet 16. As a sophomore, she injured her ankle against Oregon in the Semi-final match, which Penn State lost 3-1 to the Ducks (who then lost to Texas). Junior year -- Voila!! NCAA Championship!!! Swept the Washington Huskies (25-14, 25-13, 25-16), essentially on Washington's home court, in the Semi-finals, and squeaked by Wisconsin in the finals. |
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Post by elliotberton on Apr 10, 2018 11:12:25 GMT -5
I do so frequently mis-remember and appreciate the correction. Perhaps I should get tested for the Alzheimer gene, or do some research before mis-stating facts!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2018 11:40:17 GMT -5
I do so frequently mis-remember and appreciate the correction. Perhaps I should get tested for the Alzheimer gene, or do some research before mis-stating facts! Ahhh... researching before posting. That requires patience and who wants to exhibit that when the urge to post hits? |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2018 19:31:44 GMT -5
I think you are mis-remembering: Micha was a freshman in 2011 -- PSU knocked out by UCLA in the Sweet 16. As a sophomore, she injured her ankle against Oregon in the Semi-final match, which Penn State lost 3-1 to the Ducks (who then lost to Texas). Junior year -- Voila!! NCAA Championship!!! Swept the Washington Huskies (25-14, 25-13, 25-16), essentially on Washington's home court, in the Semi-finals, and squeaked by Wisconsin in the finals. Bringing this back to Lexi Sun, she will only make Nebraska one of the 4 or 5 teams who can win the championship in 2018 if the freshman setter Nicklin Hames lives up to her billing. Nebraska won in 2017 because of great passing and a superior setter in Kelly Hunter. In addition, one of the reasons I expect Penn State to be really good is that your incoming freshman setter, Gabby Blossom is several levels better than Weiskircher or Detering. Great setters make every other player better. She flies around the court and sets everything. At the end of the day, Nebraska and Penn State will battle for the B1G again and Wisconsin and Minnesota will try hard. If you just look at the incoming classes, Penn State and Nebraska have the best classes. . . . and so just as has been the case the past decade, they will battle for championships.. . . and Wisconsin and Minnesota will try hard. |
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Post by bob2061 on Apr 10, 2018 21:43:00 GMT -5
I am really looking forward to seeing Gabby Blossom play. You have lifted my spirits.
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Post by stillkicking on Apr 11, 2018 2:01:53 GMT -5
Well it also gives me hope for the incoming class, Lets hope there learning curve is steep and fast.
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