TexasDPT

Location, location, location… for whatever reason, Ella doesn’t have it. When she set flat-footed during the tournament run last year, her location was the best it was all season. Since she’s returned to jump setting, her set location has been terrible. Besides Madi, Ella struggles to find consistent rhythm and location with any of the other hitters. And even Madi was having a hard time adjusting to her sets, let alone the new middles and opposite. If you watch closely, the hitters are unable to take full swings on their approaches because Ella’s sets have been so inconsistent. A lot of it also has to do with the passing and backrow ball control. We just don’t have it this year. We’ve had 3 elite back row defenders for the past 2 years and now we are having to rely on Wenaas this year, who just isn’t at the level of an elite DS. Blame JE for not prioritizing a ‘little’ in the transfer portal last year but instead loading up on hitters with no ball control. This just makes Ella more ineffective because she’s unable to set on the run and her secondary bump setting is a weak part of her game. But yes, we do miss her front row blocking and ability to attack in the front row. But without good ball control, the latter can’t be utilized. So now, we’re having to give up blocking for 3 rotations in the front row with Carlson but who can set the ball more consistently to ALL the hitters.

The block is improving which is a good sign. Madi is starting to play at a high level again. Teams are definitely going after Jenna in serve receive and she’s holding it down. She’s passing 1.87 out of 3. Hopefully she can get that number up to 2. Devin is thriving in the 6-2. If anyone needs to step up their play, it’s Swindle. Her setting and bump setting have been so bad. She really needs to better the ball. Emma has been the team’s rock.

Averi is in the front row when Devin is serving. It allows them to run the slide to Ayden for that rotation.

I'd like to think that Akana was being subbed for Madi so that Kaylei could play in front of her family, but the times Madi was passing in serve-receive, she was shanking balls. Plus, Madi's serve has gotten away from her recently, which I think is why Akana was serving for her. Madi played 6 rotations at Baylor and was subbed out only at the end of sets 2 and 3 for Akana's serve and ball control, so maybe they were just giving Madi a break for this match. I think Jenna is actually thriving in the 6-2. She can focus on serve-receive and back-row defense without having the pressure to produce offensively....although she and Devin are showing that they can put the ball down with Averi's good setting. Averi's setting location and tempo to the left pin have really improved, giving Jenna a lot of 1-on-1s. She's also giving Devin the sets she needs to terminate on the right. They had 15 and 12 kills, respectively, while hitting over .400 for the match. Swindle OTOH is just so inconsistent, and Madi and Reagan are having to adjust way too much. They are still finding ways to get their kills but Ella is just making it so much harder for them. Blocking in the middle is going to be an ongoing issue, especially with Mari getting faked out so much and both being late to close the block especially during in-system plays. I'm sure we'll see improvement, but it's just frustrating seeing them struggle with the same plays. With only one day to practice between Baylor and Hawaii, it seems the focus was on improving the offense, and they hit .455 for the match. Aggie is up next and they play Wisconsin tonight, so the staff should have a good scouting report on them and a week to make some improvements.

Too many errors for the Horns. Mari gets faked out way too much leaving the pin blockers 1-on-1. The problem with the 6-2 is that the passing and ball control need to be efficient to run it effectively and we’ve regressed back to the norm after 2 years of good ball control. Everyone has regressed in that area…

For the past two seasons, Texas has had an elite backrow with three “Littles” (2022: Fleck, Akana, Halter and 2023: Halter, Akana, Barnes). This season, Wenaas has been playing backrow, which has been hurting the team in my opinion. Yes, she is digging up balls defensively, but her backrow play is also putting the team out-of-system in transition. She also has been in serve-receive all 6 rotations, and teams are targeting her because her overall play is notoriously known to break down in high-pressure situations. I believe the staff have been giving Jenna the starting spot based on her performance in the National Title run last season. But that was more of an aberration than the norm. They finally pulled the trigger and played Lauenstein on the front row because Jenna wasn't producing. Unfortunately, Jenna is now DSing for her in the back row, which really doesn't solve the team's need. . . . ball control! But to answer your question, there is NO reason to have Jenna in the back row. Her ball control/defense is mid and there's no reason to utilize her back row attack because it's not effective. Obviously, we are not privy to what goes on in practice, but there are two other DS (defensive specialists) options (Freshmen Emerick and Ramirez) that they are not wanting to utilize. Either Jenna is outplaying them in practice or the coaching staff are being loyal to her in her Sr year.

Agree with Jenna’s passing and back row play. She’s just too inconsistent each match. I actually liked the 3rd set lineup. But Akana should be Whitney’s DS and play middle back, and Devin should be playing 6 rotations at Opposite. Devin showed she passes well enough on serve receive even when she was being targeted. She would need to improve her right-back defense.

Having Swindle at setter helps with putting up a solid block on the right pin and keeps the opposing defense on their heels since she can attack on second contact when she's in the front row. Most importantly, she can set Madi the way she needs to in order to terminate the ball from both the front and back rows. When Madi is hitting efficiently, then the ball can be spread around more to the other hitters because the defense won't be able to camp out on her. The only thing Ella really, really needs to work on is setting in front of the MBs to run quick/gap/31 attacks from the middle... that's the one thing Carlson is so much better at... but I'll take that deficiency if the pins can produce like tonight. With the setter issue hopefully solved, the coaches can now focus on Mari and Ayden's blocking. Both are still slow in reading the setter and therefore, are so slow in closing the blocks. It's gonna be a rough ride until they both get more experience and playing time. I'm still not a fan of Jenna playing back row, but she's serviceable. She has that spot locked down unless one of the DS's can step up their play.

With regards to Swindle, I think part of the problem is that she went back to jump setting which actually makes her setting worse. We all saw that once she had to start setting flat-footed in the tournament because of her injury, her location and timing actually improved. I think if she returned to that, she would be the starter because her blocking is definitely needed in the front row. But I also think not having a true 3rd DS is hurting the team in transition. Yes, Jenna can play back row but she doesn’t consistently better the ball when digging it up in transition. And her passing tends to break down in high pressure situations. Plus, she shouldn’t be an option attacking from the back row anyways..

And Texas finally started targeting Wucherer on serve receive and she’s not a good passer…

We need a DS to come in and move Wenaas out of the back row.

Devin was in the stands with a mask on

Ames has been unimpressive…time to put in Bunton.

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out in the fall. I just hope they don't run a true 6-2...maybe use it situationally though.

Hot takes after watching all the spring matches: I can see Averi being the starting setter in the fall, which I didn't think initially. Her setting tempo and location just puts all the hitters in a better position to attack—that was clearly evident from the end-line view of the court in the IG feed against UTSA. Ella provides the better block and setter attack option, but her location was inconsistent...maybe because she's gone back to jump-setting? If so, she should set flat-footed b/c she locates the ball so much better. Madi and Jenna will start at OH. Madi needs to continue to work on her serve-receive and ball control (especially if she wants to succeed at the next level), but her attack window allows her to crush any ball. Jenna's offense was better with Averi's sets, and her all-around game looks good. She may be playing all 6 rotations unless one of the DS's (Reese or Brennan) learn to play middle-back effectively. OH Depth chart after Madi and Jenna is: Helmers > Miller >>> Byrd. It was nice to finally see Helmers on the court after not playing for 1.5 years (concussion, opted out of playing her Sr high school season, and then shoulder surgery). I know she has been injured for a while, but Byrd's offense is a fraction of what she showed last spring. It looks like she has focused so much on trying to develop her ball control that she has forgotten how to attack. IMO, she should be training at Opp, especially considering the OHs coming in for 2025. I was worried about the MB position, but Singletary and Ames played really well this spring. Both are offensive weapons...just need to continue to get better at reading the setter (especially Mari) which will come with time and playing experience. Nya's knee surgery was last summer - hopefully she's not having any serious lingering effects from it and its all precautionary. It may be imperative to cross-train Byrd at MB if so. For Opp, I think either Devin or Reagan could start. Just like Jenna, both looked so much better hitting off of Averi. Reagan is better offensively, but Devin brings in a solid blocking presence. I just don't see Tomkinson logging any meaningful minutes. She and Miller would probably start at a mid-level program. Lauenstein could be the dark horse for either pin position in the fall. We just don't know the extent of her injury. Halter and Akana have their positions locked up; just need Akana to get healthy. Next up, European trip. Hopefully we get some good videos posted from their matches. They use a different ball over there, so passing/ball control is going to be an adventure for them but will make them better.