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Post by nyline on Aug 6, 2018 16:12:43 GMT -5
We've posted a Q&A with Talking Head on DigNittanyVolleyball.com. Here's the link: www.dignittanyvolleyball.com/qa-with-talking-head-preseason-edition/And here's an excerpt: DigNittany: We’re joined once again by our friend, Talking Head, who has kindly agreed to share his thoughts, insights and wild speculation about the Penn State Women’s Volleyball team’s upcoming season. As longtime readers know, Talking Head played D1 Volleyball and has coached the sport for many years. It’s no secret that the Nittany Lions lost a lot to graduation following the 2017 season. To quantify that, we compiled the chart below, which shows the offensive output of the five leading attackers from 2017 who graduated (who also happen to have been Penn State’s five leading attackers in 2017), and the output from the top three returning attackers. The most daunting statistic: the Nittany Lions lose 86.7% of their 2017 kills (from the top eight attackers). That’s a lot of offense to replace. But there will be a lot of new faces and a lot of new talent. For the Q&A (and the complete chart) Click Here.  |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2018 21:08:07 GMT -5
Nice to see Talking Head returning to share his/her insights.
I think I need to quibble with Talking Head's comparison of uncertainties for this year's team with those facing the 2011 team. Going into 2011, while the team lost Blair Brown, Arielle Wislon, Fatima Balza, and Alyssa D'Errico, they retained Kristin Carpenter (we thought she'd set), 2009 FOY Darcy Dorton, and three "monster" front row players who made quite an impression in the 2010 Final Four--Deja McLendon, Ariel Scott, and Katie Slay. This year's team doesn't even come close to the experience those players represented on the 2011 team. As things turned out, we didn't know that Dorton would never come back from her injury and that Coach Rose would go with Hancock vice Carpemter.
I'm hoping the new players are incredible and can lead PSU to a successful season. I like the returning players, but I don't think they compare favorably with the players who returned for 2011.
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Post by nyline on Aug 6, 2018 21:18:34 GMT -5
I don't think Talking Head was comparing the personnel for the two teams as much as noting the similarity in the number of question marks for each going into the season, compared to the lower number of questions for the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 teams. On that point, I agree with TH.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2018 21:31:22 GMT -5
I don't think Talking Head was comparing the personnel for the two teams as much as noting the similarity in the number of question marks for each going into the season, compared to the lower number of questions for the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 teams. On that point, I agree with TH. Perhaps so. Next time you get the opportunity to speak with the Big Guy*, ask him whether 2011 or 2018 presents more uncertainty? But certainly, 2011 had more questions than any season from 2006 through 2017. *The Big Guy, aka Coach Rose. |
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Post by Millennium on Aug 7, 2018 3:20:15 GMT -5
I don't think Talking Head was comparing the personnel for the two teams as much as noting the similarity in the number of question marks for each going into the season, compared to the lower number of questions for the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 teams. On that point, I agree with TH. Perhaps so. Next time you get the opportunity to speak with the Big Guy, ask him whether 2011 or 2018 presents more uncertainty? But certainly, 2011 had more questions than any season from 2006 through 2017.
I think another important question to ask Talking Head would be whether the rest of the field has improved from 2011 to now. It seems to me that the quality gap between teams in the Big10 has decreased. I think there is far more parity nowadays (except Rutgers).
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Post by nyline on Aug 7, 2018 6:02:13 GMT -5
Perhaps so. Next time you get the opportunity to speak with the Big Guy, ask him whether 2011 or 2018 presents more uncertainty? But certainly, 2011 had more questions than any season from 2006 through 2017.
I think another important question to ask Talking Head would be whether the rest of the field has improved from 2011 to now. It seems to me that the quality gap between teams in the Big10 has decreased. I think there is far more parity nowadays (except Rutgers).
Good point. I think (unfettered by fact) that the answer undoubtedly is "yes." But those 2007 to 2010 Penn State teams (particularly 2008, GOAT) were, in many ways, outliers. |
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Post by elliotberton on Aug 7, 2018 11:08:46 GMT -5
The point about the early season schedule seems correct. The quality of these opponents should allow the team to gain confidence, the young players experience, and the staff a chance to experiment.
Mr. or Ms. Head was careful to avoid "wild speculation." I particularly appreciated the references to the staff. In seasons such as this where there are so many new players, the coaches will be more important than ever.
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Post by traveler on Aug 10, 2018 18:41:24 GMT -5
2011, 2014, 2018. Every 4 years we have a bumper crop of frosh...lots of uncertainty. Even more potential, I'd say.
And remember, Reed and Washington were both wearing heavy duty leg braces at the first tourney at Villanova.
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Post by Millennium on Aug 10, 2018 19:34:40 GMT -5
2011, 2014, 2018. Every 4 years we have a bumper crop of frosh...lots of uncertainty. Even more potential, I'd say. And remember, Reed and Washington were both wearing heavy duty leg braces at the first tourney at Villanova. I think we may have a tough go at it early on, but with Weiskircher (Redshirt Senior setter) it may not be that bad.
Having said that, I really would like to see the Freshman setter, Blossom, win over the starting role by midseason and go on a tear to end the season.
That would make me really happy.
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Post by cross5 on Aug 11, 2018 9:48:01 GMT -5
2011, 2014, 2018. Every 4 years we have a bumper crop of frosh...lots of uncertainty. Even more potential, I'd say. And remember, Reed and Washington were both wearing heavy duty leg braces at the first tourney at Villanova. This crew of 2018 freshmen are built differently than the 2014 bunch. They look more physical and stronger and (knock on wood) healthier coming in. |
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Post by nyline on Aug 11, 2018 15:09:32 GMT -5
2011, 2014, 2018. Every 4 years we have a bumper crop of frosh...lots of uncertainty. Even more potential, I'd say. And remember, Reed and Washington were both wearing heavy duty leg braces at the first tourney at Villanova. This crew of 2018 freshmen are built differently than the 2014 bunch. They look more physical and stronger and (knock on wood) healthier coming in. Early days, but there's a lot of potential with this class. |
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Post by Millennium on Aug 11, 2018 15:50:35 GMT -5
This crew of 2018 freshmen are built differently than the 2014 bunch. They look more physical and stronger and (knock on wood) healthier coming in. Early days, but there's a lot of potential with this class.
And a lot of people, especially on VT, are forgetting that we have Weiskircher returning as a Redshirt Senior.
I expect her to play better this season and be more confident in her last year with PSU.
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Post by nyline on Aug 11, 2018 16:48:42 GMT -5
Early days, but there's a lot of potential with this class.
And a lot of people, especially on VT, are forgetting that we have Weiskircher returning as a Redshirt Senior.
I expect her to play better this season and be more confident in her last year with PSU.
Having said that, I think Penn State is rated too high in both the VT poll and the AVCA poll. Coach Rose voted them #16. I think that's probably a better guess about where they'll be (in terms of actual quality, not poll ranking) in the early stages than #10 or certainly #6. |
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Post by Millennium on Aug 11, 2018 16:56:23 GMT -5
And a lot of people, especially on VT, are forgetting that we have Weiskircher returning as a Redshirt Senior.
I expect her to play better this season and be more confident in her last year with PSU.
Having said that, I think Penn State is rated too high in both the VT poll and the AVCA poll. Coach Rose voted them #16. I think that's probably a better guess about where they'll be (in terms of actual quality, not poll ranking) in the early stages than #10 or certainly #6.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing. I wanted to see where Russ placed PSU when the AVCA poll came out and then forget all about it.
I'm certain that ranking reflects what Russ has seen so far in practice.
EDIT: Where did you find that? I was looking for the ballots on the AVCA website, but to no avail.
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Post by nyline on Aug 11, 2018 18:07:32 GMT -5
Having said that, I think Penn State is rated too high in both the VT poll and the AVCA poll. Coach Rose voted them #16. I think that's probably a better guess about where they'll be (in terms of actual quality, not poll ranking) in the early stages than #10 or certainly #6.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing. I wanted to see where Russ placed PSU when the AVCA poll came out and then forget all about it.
I'm certain that ranking reflects what Russ has seen so far in practice.
EDIT: Where did you find that? I was looking for the ballots on the AVCA website, but to no avail.
I interviewed all three coaches yesterday. I'll be posting those interviews next week. Coach Rose stressed that as of Friday, he's only coached the players for two days. When he filled out his ballot, he hadn't coached them at all. |
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