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TexasDPT

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Posts posted by TexasDPT

  1. Congrats to Logan and Brionne for getting 1st Team All-American Honors and Jhenna receiving 3rd Team Honors.

    Skylar and Asjia were robbed as they were given Honorable Mention nods.

    Me thinks we will see a fired up Skylar and Asjia in the next match against Wisconsin. 

    • Hook 'Em 4
  2. 54 minutes ago, orangeut said:

    Butler, to me is our most powerful hitter and best blocker, but she sits

    Texas will live and die with its left side hitters....that’s been Jerritt’s M.O. since he’s been here.  And that’s ok as long as he puts the best hitters on the pins. 

    With the available players this season, Butler should have been playing on the left side with Eggleston...put the biggest leaper in gym on the left side who touches 11 feet and can hit over the blocks (like Hooker and Webster).  

    Keep Fields on the right pin and let Phillips (her most natural position) and O’Neal patrol the middle.  Molly is a great blocker on the right pin, but she doesn’t have the arm to consistently terminate from that side of the net...plus she showed she can hold down the middle when Butler was out with injury last year.  Elliott’s offense will never run through its middle blockers...he just needs them to be serviceable offensively but be strong blockers defensively. 🥺

    If the 6’3 Opposite hitter (Malual) from Italy actually makes it to Texas next spring, that will actually help out the left side hitters because she is used to terminating high balls from the right pin. 

    • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
  3. 45 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

    Is it outdated, or just fundamentally inadequate?

    On serve-receive, Elliott coaches his players to be 'safe' with difficult serves and to just pass the ball to the 10-foot line. So the setter has limited options...usually going to the left pin.  That's why he needs big hitters because the opposing defenses are just going to camp out on them either with their block or backrow D.

    When Texas is in their transition defense and the opposing hitters get past the Texas block, back row players are coached just to get the ball up.  That's why you see the setter running all over the place...and when this happens, Texas has only one option to just set the left pin hitter. 

    The only time Texas is in-system is if the passers get a lollipop serve on serve-receive or if the Texas block can slow down the ball enough to get a decent pass up to the setter to run an offense with other hitting options. 

    The elite teams train their passers and backrow players to consistently dig/pass the ball in front of the 10 foot line and 3-4 feet off the net between zones 2 and 3 so the setter can run a more consistent offense.  Watch UCSB's and Louisville's setters...they don't have to run around the court like Jhenna does to get to balls...that's why they can win without elite hitters on their rosters.  

    That's why Shook can't set this offense....she isn't fast enough to get to balls and has terrible location when she is always on the run (yet she can set her club teams to National Championships where the passing was solid).  Jhenna does well with what she is given (as did Chloe Collins) but they are still blocking liabilities in the front-row.

    So for Texas to get better, Elliott either has to change his coaching philosophies or we are going to have to wait for someone new.

     

    • Like 4
  4. 3 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

    Youth/lack of leadership is the obvious answer.

    But the other one is having little or no viable alternative to two six-rotation players.

    Defense matters, Jerritt.

    Jerritt focuses a lot on blocking, which is fine when the opponents have weak hitters.  But when Texas faces hitters of the same caliber who can hit over the block or with teams that run fast-tempo offenses, backrow defense truly gets exposed...just like in years' past.

    Jerritt either needs to get:

    1)Haley/Bailey-type left side hitters with strong DS's for them in the back row with a strong passing Opposite (like Ashley Engle or Sha'Dare McNeal) to run his offense

    or

    2) start recruiting 6-rotation OH with libero-like passing skills if he wants 6 rotation hitters 

    .... but having 2 six-rotation OHs with mediocre passing skills isn't going to work.

     

     

    • Like 2
  5. Elliott needs to sub in a DS for either Logan or Micaya in the back row on serve receive for better passing.  We lose a back row attacker, but I think passing will improve for Jhenna to run a cleaner offense. 

    Also, Texas needs to cut down on service errors. 

    • Like 2
  6. 3 hours ago, Js1 said:

    Big ole match tonight in Waco! 

    Also, 2020 Melanie Parra from Mexico re-affirmed her commitment.  She's probably still going through the Clearinghouse because she's an international student.  We (and Elliot) all know about her, but Elliot cannot say anything about her in public until she signs. 

    Think of her as Amy Neal in size, but Sam Bricio (USC) in skill.  A 17 year old playing 6 rotations with Mexico's national team is pretty impressive. 

    Couple other scouting notes on our 2020 class:

    • Iosia is going to be the DS next year.  Mark it down.  With Hahn graduating, there is an immediate void.  Iosia is one of the best out-of-system setters in HS volleyball.  Her topspin jump serve is amazing.  She also has a float serve, so she can mix it up.  
    • Cabello won't play much, but she will gain experience on the bench and in blowouts (hopefully) to get experience for taking over for Gabriel in 2021. 
    • I hope Madison Williams make a full recovery from her ACL injury sustained last month.  With Micaya graduating, we need her alongside Logan at the OH spot.  Otherwise, the undersized but very skilled Parra will pair with Logan (and I am okay with this if Williams needs to RS to recover). 
    • With Iosia likely able to handle secondary setting, we can "go big" quite often, bringing in Molly to replace Jhenna in the front row and not miss a beat with Iosia setting out of the DS position. 

    All good points.

    Cabello is coming in this spring, so it will be interesting to see what happens at the setter position.  Does this mean Shook may be transferring since there will be 3 setters on the roster again? I still just don't see Shook beating out Gabriel (even with the little time she has had on the court, she still has trouble setting consistently to the left pin).  And if Cabello can set with good location to the pins and to Brionne, she just might beat Jhenna out of her spot... Michelle Kocher was the apparent heir at setter until Hannah Allison came early that spring and won the position.

    But I really do like the idea of Iosia taking over Hahn' position and keeping with the system we have now with Molly subbing in for Jhenna in the front row.  They could actually try a 6-2 system next year.  The addition of Parra should improve ball control, serving, and even attacking (she sees the court really well and isn't afraid to attack the block), but she'll give up points with her blocking...but I still think she and Logan will be playing all 6 rotations next year. 

    And even though we probably don't need the attacking option and will defer to defense/ball control, I'd really like to see Skyler play all 6 rotations at Opp.  She actually has a strong serve and attacks the D ball well (back row attack from right back of the court).  Right now, we need better floor defense behind Jhenna's block, but maybe that may change with 6'1 Cabello setting in a 5-1 system.

    • Like 1
  7. 19 minutes ago, Js1 said:

    It's very likely Nalani will be the highest ranked libero in the 2020 class. 

    Nalani is the highest ranked Libero coming in at #18.  

    OH Madi Williams is #9 and Setter Naomi Cabello is #6. 
     

     

    • Like 1
  8. 21 hours ago, Sandlot said:

    Here’s something for those that think Jerritt is just the recruiting coordinator.

    https://youtu.be/s9WZV_xYU_I

    At the 1:00 mark, this is why Texas will never be a strong ball control team.

    Jerritt coaches them to "play the ball high, 20 ft, and 10 ft off (the net)"...meaning the back row players are already planning to pass the ball near or behind the 3 meter line and therefore limiting options in the transition offense.  The only place the setter can put the ball is to the left pin (the typical Texas offense for the past decade). 

    Even with hard driven balls, you still want to try to pass the ball 3-5 ft off the net, so that the setter can run an offense with more attack options and to keep the opposing defense guessing where the ball is going.  But he doesn't coach that and focuses so much more with blocking to slow down the ball (which, in itself, is a good thing).  

    But when Texas starts facing opposing teams with elite hitters, the block becomes a non-factor and the weakness in passing/ball control is truly exposed (pretty much every post-season tournament run minus 2012 - but no team could really stop Haley/Bailey that year even though every team knew they were getting the ball).

    Texas has had some of the most elite hitters in the country in recent history: Destinee Hooker, Juliann Faucette, Bailey Webster, Haley Eckerman, and Paulina Prieto-Cerame...but none of them could pass as a left-side hitter at the next level and because of that, most had their careers end early (all of them had to transition to the Opposite position after college but Hooker is the only one who made the move successful). 

    Elliott has done so much for the Texas program, but this will always be the thing he is remembered for.

    • Like 1
  9. 8 minutes ago, perfectchaos007 said:

    White needs to ditch her big serve. Just not worth the inconsistency, and she's even worse when the pressure is on

    She tried switching to a float serve last year and she made even more errors.

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