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TexasDPT

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Everything posted by TexasDPT

  1. Parra looks more comfortable in the starting line-up. Skinner has all the physical tools to be a great player but she doesn't have it mentally yet. She just makes too many silly mistakes and looks like she's overthinking things. I know she wants to be a 6-rotation player (and that may have been a deal for her transferring here), but I think that responsibility is too much for her right now. If Elliott continues to start her in the line-up, he should let her be successful as a front-row player only and just build up her confidence and success in that role in Texas' system...and then slowly start giving her more responsibilities
  2. Caffey looking good in the middle...blocking may not be as good as Bergmark's, but she adds an offensive attack that makes the team better
  3. Texas...where players come to become bad at passing...j/k
  4. I feel like this is the reason why high-level Liberos/DS's did not want to commit Texas. The staff were just bad evaluators of talent or they had the reputation of being unable to develop talent. There's only a few Liberos that I think developed well during JE's tenure: Heather Kisner, Sarah Palmer... maybe Alyson Jennings, Nicole Dalton, and Cat McCoy. But the most impactful Liberos have been transfers: Morgan O'Brien and Zoe Fleck. Emma Halter seems like a promising Libero, but so did Nalani Iosia her freshman year. I will say Emma has better ball control and hustle at this point so I am hopeful. I hope JE continues to realize the importance of these players and if he can't develop them, then get them via the transfer portal!
  5. Gotta figure out that OH1 spot. And Opp too. Madi is so inconsistent with her hitting. She has a tough time adjusting to a "not-so perfect" set on the left pin. But she puts up a big block at the net. Parra only has one shot (sharp cross-court) and she tends to hit it out when she tries to go around the block. Her blocking is her weakest skill. Molly looked liked she turned the corner with her hitting against OSU in game 1. But the past two games have shown if she isn't getting a perfect in-system set, she doesn't have the power to put the ball down. Devin can hit from both pins and puts up a big block. She just needs more playing time IMO. I feel like the best line-up would be starting Devin at OH1 and Madi at Opp.
  6. If an athlete is on an indoor scholarship, she can play beach. If the athlete is on a beach scholarship, she cannot play indoor. This is to prevent schools from adding beach solely to gain more scholarship money in indoor.
  7. Yes! This is the type of backcourt Elliott should have built with all of the past teams...It would have lead to more Championships.
  8. This is when Jerritt needs to sub in a back row DS passer for Skinner in this rotation if passing breaks down.
  9. I don't understand why Phillips keeps getting penciled in as the starter at Opp when there are better options. She's only effective with a quick, in-system set. Out-of-system (high ball to the right pin) she is terrible and she isn't terminal on the left pin (typically where the Opp hits when receiving serve in rotation 1). Granted passing was a mess in the regional final match against Nebraska, but Phillips had 13 attempts and only earned 1 kill....That's not going to cut it against elite teams. And to make a deep run in the tournament, the right pin hitter has to be just as effective as the left pin hitters. I do think Molly has a quick arm swing and knows how to hit angles, that's why I think she is more suitable at the MB2 position. Devin and Madi are better options at Opp, with Madi being more terminal...but I'm pretty sure Madi is intent on being a 6-rotation left side hitter. Both can hit in- and out-of-sytem and have a wider range of shots than what Molly can produce. If Bella does end up starting at MB with Asjia, then I can see Phillips being the starter in the beginning of the season for her experience then Devin taking over as she acclimates to the speed of the college game. Backrow defense should be stout with Fleck, Akana, Halter, and even Heinrich. I hope Elliott takes a cue from Nebraska and subs the back row with the BEST defensive players on the team (sorry, but Parra is mediocre at best as a DS). The back row floor defense is what's going to keep us in games. Texas should have more than enough fire power in the front row to make up for possible back row attack options. My ideal line-up: Lib - Fleck Setter - SKT or Ewert OH1 - Logan OH2 - Madi MB1 - Asjia MB2 - Molly or Bella Opp - Devin DS for Opp - Akana DS for OH2 (if needed) - Emma
  10. I'm counting 17 players on the roster for the Fall..probably the largest roster Elliott has ever had. He can actually create 2 full teams that can challenge each other. The biggest thing this squad needs to run the table is for the "B" team to constantly challenge the "A" team every single practice, especially during conference play since the other Big 12 programs really don't prepare us for the tournament IMO. I really hope to see another top program in the preseason. It'd be nice if they would schedule a top-tier program towards the end of conference play, like they did several years ago with Florida...but I guess KU, Baylor, and @WVU will have to do...
  11. Seriously….this off-season has been crazy! This sucks to say but with all the new additions, if Texas doesn’t win the Natty, what does this say about Elliott?!?!?
  12. I'm pretty sure volunteer coaches cannot do any off-campus recruiting like at high school or club volleyball tournaments. But she will be able to meet recruits on official/unofficial on campus visits.
  13. Aren't she and her brother trying to become a NIL-packaged deal?
  14. I'm interested to know how the coaching responsibilities are going to be delegated. I just want to see Jordan Larson being in charge of training proper back row defensive ball-control and serve-receive passing to all the pin hitters and Liberos/DS's. That should be our #1 priority, along with teaching them how to read opposing hitters. I really hope that Logan, Madi, Melanie, and Devin receive excellent training technique from Larson and develop into complete 6-rotation pin hitters. I think Fleck will only get better under Larson's tutelage, and hopefully Keonilei Akana decides to transfer in and take over the libero position for the following season. If not, Emma Halter will need to develop or Elliott can of course just go back into the transfer portal. David Hunt will probably be handling the offensive schemes, which I think he will do fine with considering all the athletes on the fall roster. I just want the starting setter (Saige or new Jenna) to be able to run the offense at a consistently high level and be able to locate sets to any hitter on the floor. Better ball-control should definitely help them in doing so. I'm assuming Erik Sullivan will continue being in charge of the defensive schemes and scouting reports. Texas has traditionally been decent at blocking so Erik can continue on focusing on the first-line of defense, while Larson trains the second-line (back row floor defense). The only downside I see with this coaching staff is not having a female coach of color representing the type of players Texas has been known to attract...I guess time will tell with the 2024 recruiting classes and beyond...
  15. Nalani Iosia is officially in the transfer portal. I guess she saw the writing on the wall with Fleck coming in and taking her spot in the Spring matches...but was it really a surprise? Iosia played just as poorly as Petersen did when she was the libero. I just wish she had made her decision earlier to give Reilly Heinrich more playing opportunities in these Spring matches. I'm glad we have Fleck as our starting libero and hopefully incoming Freshman Emma Halter will come in and compete with Heinrich for Petersen's spot in right back. We also have Devin K. coming in who could possibly play in the back row if she doesn't earn playing time in the front row. I just really want our back row players to actually develop because the trend with developing recent past players has been piss poor (Rounsaville, Hahn, Petersen and Iosia). I was hoping Jordan Larson would help with that aspect of the program but there are rumors she continues to receive offers to play professionally and is considering going that route after her current stint in Italy ends.
  16. Just a spring match...doesn't affect the Fall at all
  17. Kaitlyn Hord announced she is transferring to Nebraska. While Hord would have been nice to have on the team, she was more of a luxury than a need and I really think Molly will do well at MB. At least we know that the open scholarship will be going to a setter, which we will definitely need if SKT were to be injured.
  18. Whoever they get, hopefully she’ll be able to legitimately play and contribute at this level. Whenever back-up Riley Fisbeck came in as setter, she was tuuuurible.
  19. Yeah, I wonder if that conversation happened. If so, I can see why it would affect her decision to step away. She's too competitive to be relegated to a bench player after being a starter for 4 years. But in reality, her serving or passing skills would not have put her ahead of others players to be on the court. She performed well with the inconsistent passing/ball control issues and had set the team for 4 years. She already had an established connection with all the hitters and I understand why she was starting over of SKT. But her height was always the issue and we just don't have stellar back row defense to counter that. I'm just excited to see how this team performs in the fall with all the recent changes that have happened.
  20. Thankful for Jhenna's time at Texas, especially when it was evident Shook wasn't cutting it as the starting setter. Jhenna really turned that TCU match around her freshman year when Elliott inserted her into the match and she never looked backed and became an All-American setter. I'm excited to see SKT develop her timing with all the hitters on the Spring roster as all of them are starters for the fall season as of now. Out of the incoming freshmen class, I can see Devin earning playing time and if we end up getting Kaitlyn Hord from PSU even better. Honestly, I trust Elliott with whoever he brings in as a back-up setter...He's already made a splash hire with Jordan Larson and brought in the the #1 Libero and OH transfers. Hopefully, he can find a setter with collegiate experience who can take over in 2023 as Swindle acclimates to the collegiate game....I wonder if Cabello is now regretting her decision to transfer...
  21. Larson is considered one of the best passing and attacking (because she see's the court so well and has wide array of shots) OHs in the world...this only bodes well for our OH development which should include our ball control and back row defense. Plus, Fleck is going to be covering a lot of real estate in serve-receive and back row defense which will help keep us in-system more. If anything, it should light a fire under Erik's ass to step up his coaching or maybe Jerritt just hands over all ball-control coaching to Larson instead...
  22. I'm sure it's a stepping stone before she heads back over to Nebraska to take over the program....but at least we'll have her for 3-4 years.
  23. I think Molly is going to surprise a lot of people next season...She has a quick arm swing and can move the ball around because she sees the court well. The problem she had playing Opposite is that she isn't a terminal hitter with a well-formed double block on her. She may not have the lateral movement Butler had, but she can still put up a formidable block in the middle.
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