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Post by nyline on Nov 30, 2018 4:59:37 GMT -5
I would have said that it is a "step down" in terms of rankings from the 2006 to 2014 classes, but the 2018 class was ranked #1 and just produced a 1st Team All Big 10 (who was also Big 10 FOY), a 2nd Team All Big 10, two other freshmen who started and performed very well, and a fifth freshman who started one match, played every set (or nearly every set) and probably will be a starter next year. That group of freshmen has helped PSU to the #8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. So they've lived up to their ranking. Who knows whether the three freshmen for next year will outperform their rankings -- personally, I think they will -- but in any event, I think the staff missed on a couple of players (it's a razor-thin margin on the top recruits), but this class is hardly chopped liver, and they have several very good recruits (including two very good OHs) coming in 2020 and 2021. I'd say it's premature to be "worried" yet. What did you say? "No" and "Yes" spring to mind as alternative possibilities. I told him there is far more parity in NCAA VB than he might imagine, especially in the B1G. I also noted that Russ had missed on some top recruits recently, such as Thayer Hall and much of the Stanford roster. I also reminded him that Russ had a pretty good eye for talent and often looks for recruits who will fit well into the program and the culture. I like your answer better than mine. Glad you answered and not me. |
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Post by bob2061 on Dec 24, 2018 23:22:06 GMT -5
I am amazed at how Nebraska keeps getting to the final four with all this parity. They must be the luckiest team alive.
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Post by nyline on Dec 25, 2018 7:26:49 GMT -5
I am amazed at how Nebraska keeps getting to the final four with all this parity. They must be the luckiest team alive. Nebraska's success in the past four years in getting to the Final Four is undeniable -- though it hasn't been purely due to recruiting success in the traditional sense (i.e. identifying great players early on, recruiting them, and convincing them to enroll at your college/university) but also through attracting transfers (Briana Holman and Lexi Sun being the two most recent, and relevant to Nebraska's success in the past four years). Having scholarship transfers join your program requires either having an unfilled scholarship available, or making one available. Some critics of Nebraska believe John Cook has been more willing than other coaches to push out scholarship players who turned out not to be as good as he hoped. The accuracy of that belief is difficult to determine unless you are an insider in the program. However, there have been alot of players transfer out of the Nebraska program over the years. Nebraska also recruited, in my opinion, one of the greatest players during of the past four years -- Mikaela Foecke. So looking only at the past four years, one can say "Nebraska keeps getting to the final four." Broadening the scope a bit, it's clear that Nebraska, like all the great programs -- Penn State and Stanford being the two most prominent -- has had its ups and downs in getting to the Final Four. Looking at a 20 year period -- 1998 through 2018 -- Penn State and Nebraska have both made the Final Four 10 times. Stanford has made the Final Four 11 times. Here's a link to a table showing all the Final Four teams since 1998: www.dignittanyvolleyball.com/final-four-team-records-1998-to-2018/ |
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Post by Millennium on Dec 25, 2018 15:07:35 GMT -5
I am amazed at how Nebraska keeps getting to the final four with all this parity. They must be the luckiest team alive. Mikaela Foecke is a huge reason for Nebraska's success the past 4 years. She shows up in big games, digs and passes better than most OH's in the country, and is a very efficient and powerful hitter.
I'm really curious to see how the Huskers do without her in 2019.I'm glad she's graduating. LOL! |
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Post by pacanj on Dec 26, 2018 13:08:15 GMT -5
I see Sophie Walls is a setter transfer from Univ of Miami. Anyone know any background there? Wouldn’t have guessed we were looking for a 5’11 right hander.
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Post by nyline on Dec 27, 2018 9:24:12 GMT -5
I see Sophie Walls is a setter transfer from Univ of Miami. Anyone know any background there? Wouldn’t have guessed we were looking for a 5’11 right hander. I don't have any information that Penn State was "looking for" any setter, but given that Gabby Blossom is the only returning full-time setter (Krause played DS, though she can set) it makes sense that the staff would be open to someone transferring in. Walls gives them depth. Walls is a bit of an unknown quantity (to most fans, anyway), given that she only played in one match in 2018 for Miami (she may have been injured.) www.hurricanesports.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=11883 fwiw, Miami's starting setter from 2018, Haley Templeton, returns for the 2019 season. In addition, setter Savannah Vach -- the #26 PrepVolleyball.com Senior Ace for 2019 -- will join the Hurricanes in 2019. Maybe Sophie Walls thought she would have a better chance to see significant playing time at Penn State (which is different from saying Penn State is dissatisfied with the potential of Gabby Blossom). Here's a write-up from when she committed to Miami: texas.vype.com/houston/post/7261 Here's an article from the Houston Chronicle when she was named the Greater Houston Player of the Year: www.chron.com/sports/highschool/article/All-Greater-Houston-Volleyball-The-Woodlands-12478563.php |
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Post by traveler on Dec 27, 2018 12:51:42 GMT -5
I am amazed at how Nebraska keeps getting to the final four with all this parity. They must be the luckiest team alive. Mikaela Foecke is a huge reason for Nebraska's success the past 4 years. She shows up in big games, digs and passes better than most OH's in the country, and is a very efficient and powerful hitter.
I'm really curious to see how the Huskers do without her in 2019.I'm glad she's graduating. LOL! Based on what Karch said about her during the match, I'd say, "welcome to the National Team." |
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Post by elliotberton on Dec 27, 2018 18:37:43 GMT -5
I suspect that Ms. Foecke will be given a shot to play for the National second team that competes in the Region and Pan AM tourneys. It is obvious that the leap from college to International play is huge and our first team is populated by older players who were the best in college a number of years ago. The roster is crowded and the competition just to be a back up seems pretty fierce.
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Post by tillie on Dec 28, 2018 12:46:05 GMT -5
nyline:
Regarding coach missing on some recruits implies that he never talked with them? That I doubt. But players of that caliber have many alternatives and playing for PSU may not have the cachet that it had in previous years.
I suspect that the players made a choice and it did not happen to be in our favor.
C'est la vie
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Post by nyline on Dec 28, 2018 12:52:53 GMT -5
nyline: Regarding coach missing on some recruits implies that he never talked with them? That I doubt. But players of that caliber have many alternatives and playing for PSU may not have the cachet that it had in previous years. I suspect that the players made a choice and it did not happen to be in our favor. C'est la vie I agree with you completely -- I certainly never intended to suggest that our staff didn't talk with recruits they wanted. |
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Post by Millennium on Dec 29, 2018 7:01:14 GMT -5
Mikaela Foecke is a huge reason for Nebraska's success the past 4 years. She shows up in big games, digs and passes better than most OH's in the country, and is a very efficient and powerful hitter.
I'm really curious to see how the Huskers do without her in 2019.I'm glad she's graduating. LOL! Based on what Karch said about her during the match, I'd say, "welcome to the National Team."
Actually, I read a while back that Foecke was going to bypass playing pro and enroll in veterinary grad school instead. She would be a great additional to the national team, IMO.
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Post by tillie on Dec 30, 2018 8:14:17 GMT -5
Cannot say now that "Parker is not elite"
Seems the pros in the game disagree
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Post by newfoundballer15 on Feb 16, 2019 19:21:51 GMT -5
I hope I'm not reading too far into this but PSU Volleyball posted a team picture in their Instagram story 2 hours ago and Jonni Parker was the only team member not in the photo, both Sophie Walls and Lauren Clark were there. Also she does not have PSU volleyball in her Instagram bio any longer which I thought was there before. Don't want to start any rumors just questioning why she would be the only one excluded from the photo!
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Post by nyline on Feb 16, 2019 21:15:54 GMT -5
I hope I'm not reading too far into this but PSU Volleyball posted a team picture in their Instagram story 2 hours ago and Jonni Parker was the only team member not in the photo, both Sophie Walls and Lauren Clark were there. Also she does not have PSU volleyball in her Instagram bio any longer which I thought was there before. Don't want to start any rumors just questioning why she would be the only one excluded from the photo! Well, she was in this one from February 6th. I don't think there's any story here. /photo/1 |
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Post by newfoundballer15 on May 28, 2019 13:41:46 GMT -5
There's speculation on VolleyTalk that Iman Ndiaye decommited. She removed PSU volleyball from her Instagram and Twitter and removed her commitment picture from both as well. She does still have a picture on her instagram with the other commits from her class though.
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