2018 Texas Volleyball

[texasstrong12 4668]

From DPT:

Fuck it! 

I'm calling it now....Texas will be back in the National Championship match at the end of the year.

Yaazie will start on the left pin and lead this team to several upset victories.

Micaya will be a complete 6-rotation player with a consistent, deadly serve.

Morgan will anchor the middle and be a blocking force in the M1 position.

Shook will be more comfortable and consistent running the offense after a full year of training under her belt. 

Asjia O'Neill may not start at the beginning of the season but she will eventually win out the position and be a dominant force.

Brionne Butler will be the surprise player of 2018 and use her jumping prowess to shut down opponent's left side attacker and be a consistent scoring force by hitting over the block. 

Sydney Petersen will come in and own the Libero position like Cat McCoy did her freshman year. 

Jhenna Gabriel will be the super DS for Brionne and will defend the right back like Nicole Dalton did. 

Rounsaville will elevate her game and DS for Yaazie in the back row. 

Jerritt, Tonya, and Erik will coach their asses off and prove all the doubters wrong!

[Machinator 32099]

Lexi Sun is transferring to Nebraska.

https://www.hookem.com/2018/04/03/after-one-year-at-texas-lexi-sun-to-join-nebraskas-title-winning-roster/

[DaysOff 8032]

But she's home sick

[texasstrong12 4668]

On 3/25/2018 at 1:42 PM, texasstrong12 said:

"I'm calling it now....Texas will be back in the National Championship match at the end of the year. Yaazie will start on the left pin and lead this team to several upset victories."

 

Thing is there still won't be many chances for "upset victories". This roster will still be ranked around the top 5 and rightfully so. 

 

[TwiceHorn 31705]

29 minutes ago, DaysOff said:

But she's home sick

Yeesh. Most likely spin is better coaching for her back row game. Probably the only explanation. 

[BERT 4444]

Was she not happy here?? Seems odd

[TwiceHorn 31705]

22 minutes ago, BERT said:

Was she not happy here?? Seems odd

She started out as a six-rotation player, meaning not coming off after her serve and playing the back row.  She was such a player in high school and club.  Elliott started taking her out of the six rotation as the season progressed and competition intensified (her back row play did need some work).  Best guess is that she was unhappy with that and did not see herself developing into a top-level six-rotation player at Texas/under Elliott, which is not an irrational thought at all.

 

Without even looking at the schedule, we are virtually certain to encounter Nebraska before she leaves.  Wonder how that will be?

 

Edited April 4, 2018 by TwiceHorn

[TwiceHorn 31705]

Also, scrimmage tomorrow vs. eaTme @ 8 on LHN.  Decent chance to preview the new front row I guess.

[torre 1291]

1 hour ago, TwiceHorn said:

She started out as a six-rotation player, meaning not coming off after her serve and playing the back row.  She was such a player in high school and club.  Elliott started taking her out of the six rotation as the season progressed and competition intensified (her back row play did need some work).  Best guess is that she was unhappy with that and did not see herself developing into a top-level six-rotation player at Texas/under Elliott, which is not an irrational thought at all.

 

 

 

Great explanation for those like me that follow the team but know little.   

[TwiceHorn 31705]

Also, she apparently considered Wisconsin and USC.  USC is close to home and apparently the new coach is her club coach, but is untested at the NCAA level.  Both Wisconsin and Corn have fielded better-rounded, better--passing and -defending teams than Texas has in recent history.  I guess Penn State was too far away.  Not sure why she didn't check out Minnesota, as it arguably qualifies, too (but you could make an argument that Minnesota over-emphasizes backcourt and setter play, to the detriment of pin-hitters like her).

The fact that she chose Nebraska tells me that it was a coach-driven choice.  But I dunno shit, that's just a guess.

And we will be playing Nebraska, in all likelihood, in the early fall.

[Nick Diaz 107]

As the leader of the TeamLexi recrooting board movement, I am extremely distraught at this news

[perfectchaos007 6721]

Well Lexi instantly becomes the hottest girl in Lincoln. Maybe all of Nebraska. In Austin you could see better in west campus etc.

[LCHorn 2677]

12 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

She started out as a six-rotation player, meaning not coming off after her serve and playing the back row.  She was such a player in high school and club.  Elliott started taking her out of the six rotation as the season progressed and competition intensified (her back row play did need some work).  Best guess is that she was unhappy with that and did not see herself developing into a top-level six-rotation player at Texas/under Elliott, which is not an irrational thought at all.

 

Without even looking at the schedule, we are virtually certain to encounter Nebraska before she leaves.  Wonder how that will be?

 

I don’t follow volleyball at all, but is this not the same as getting demoted to second team during your freshman year?  Hardly a death sentence as the expectation would be be improvement in subsequent years.  

[TwiceHorn 31705]

17 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

I don’t follow volleyball at all, but is this not the same as getting demoted to second team during your freshman year?  Hardly a death sentence as the expectation would be be improvement in subsequent years.  

The subtext is that she would not receive proper/adequate training/development as a back row player because no back row players at Texas receive proper/adequate training/development.

And, no, not a demotion, per se.  There seem to be plenty of hitter/blocker types that have no desire to be six-rotation players or at least are perfectly content not to be.

 

Edited April 4, 2018 by TwiceHorn

[Steel Shank 9440]

She sure did bring the hotness.

[perfectchaos007 6721]

I'm sure Lexi has her reasons for transferring to Nebraska but given they just came off a national championship it really makes her come across as a ring chaser. I hope our team is pumped with added motivation when they inevitably face Nebraska next season. 

Edited April 4, 2018 by perfectchaos007

[BERT 4444]

Makes it all that much sweeter when we beat them in the Championship game. Right??

[perfectchaos007 6721]

Yeah that would be...

[Cairn Horn88 8447]

14 hours ago, Nick Diaz said:

As the leader of the TeamLexi recrooting board movement, I am extremely distraught at this news

Me too.  Now, need pics to get over this.

[thrillhammer 684]

20 hours ago, DaysOff said:

But she's home sick

this point has been way too overlooked on this thread.  her excuse is pure bs.  i'm very disappointed in lexi and elliott for letting this happen.  their differences should have been resolved.  didn't he have the choice to make her sit out a year? this whole thing sucks shit through a straw.

[mulletpelini 5216]

5 hours ago, BERT said:

Makes it all that much sweeter when we beat them in the Championship game. Right??

[TwiceHorn 31705]

4 hours ago, thrillhammer said:

this point has been way too overlooked on this thread.  her excuse is pure bs.  i'm very disappointed in lexi and elliott for letting this happen.  their differences should have been resolved.  didn't he have the choice to make her sit out a year? this whole thing sucks shit through a straw.

She never cited a reason for leaving.  "Homesick" was pure speculation.

I don't think "their differences" could be resolved.  It is entirely possible that she saw the potential shitshow that our back row may be without Cat McCoy (it was bad enough with her), and the steps taken to address it, or lack thereof, and said vaya con dios.

The only thing Elliott could have done (and he should do this anyway) is get serious about DS talent and development.

And yeah, I guess he could have sat her last year, but she never would have signed up for that in the first place.

Edited April 4, 2018 by TwiceHorn

[TwiceHorn 31705]

Also, don't forget the scrimmage at 8 on LHN.  I'm bored af so I'm going to watch it and expect to see Brionne and Yaazie decapitate some agroidesses.

[TwiceHorn 31705]

Scrimmage notes.

Autumn with the black jersey.

Orie  getting a lot of time in the middle.

Brionne hits hard and her swing is very compact.

Can't quite figure the formation with the new faces.

[orangeut 212]

Our VB team sucks

[TwiceHorn 31705]

Look like dogshit in the second set.  Like your worst nightmare material.

 

Shook and Yaazie have no connection whatsoever.

Edited April 5, 2018 by TwiceHorn

[orangeut 212]

going to lose this set

[TwiceHorn 31705]

We look to be in deep, deep trouble in the back row.  Micaya is (mis)handling too many balls.

Edited April 5, 2018 by TwiceHorn

[TwiceHorn 31705]

Black jersey on Clair now.

[orangeut 212]

what a shitshow

[TwiceHorn 31705]

Block is still pretty solid if we're sufficiently in system to apply it.

[orangeut 212]

here we go again, losing focus

[orangeut 212]

0-7 run for aggy

[TwiceHorn 31705]

Elliott gonna earn his pay this year.

[TwiceHorn 31705]

Mirta looks VERY displeased.  Which is unusual for her, at least as a player.  She may be a megahardass coach.

Edited April 5, 2018 by TwiceHorn

[perfectchaos007 6721]

aggy up 18-17 in the 4th. Apparently they are only playing 4 sets so if A&M wins this set it's a draw

[TwiceHorn 31705]

Westerlund actually looks pretty decent.

 

Yaazie can still smoke it, but you wouldn't know from the sets she's getting from Shook apparently.

[TwiceHorn 31705]

Well, we won.  But that was pretty gross.

[perfectchaos007 6721]

Texas wins 3-1. Better to win ugly than to lose pretty I guess

[Cairn Horn88 8447]

sorry lady aggy

[kingkoopa6 8481]

I like winning.

I miss lexi

[thrillhammer 684]

that was ugly, but at least we're better than atm.  too many missed serves, no one that can dig on the back row, terrible setting, mishits, too much miscommunication and lack of knowledge of the other players tendencies.  

[thrillhammer 684]

13 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

She never cited a reason for leaving.  "Homesick" was pure speculation.

I don't think "their differences" could be resolved.  It is entirely possible that she saw the potential shitshow that our back row may be without Cat McCoy (it was bad enough with her), and the steps taken to address it, or lack thereof, and said vaya con dios.

The only thing Elliott could have done (and he should do this anyway) is get serious about DS talent and development.

And yeah, I guess he could have sat her last year, but she never would have signed up for that in the first place.

in everything i read, "homesick" was the reason.  i'm not going to dig back and read the articles again to see if those were direct quotes or not but my memory is that it was.

i didnt mean for elliott to redshirt her, what i was asking was isnt it in his authority to grant her release?  couldnt he have forced her to sit out a year at nebraska or wherever she transferred to?  seems like that would have been a strong negotiating tactic.  too many times we are sporting and when someone transfers we pat them on the back and say best of luck to the youngster.   fuck that in this case.  this was a slap in the face.  a straight up betrayal, and for purely selfish reasons. i don't believe we should reward selfishness.  homesickness, well that's something worthy of support.  sitting on the bench, sure we can all understand that.  but this was flatout selfishness.  this program could get her everywhere she wanted to go.  she will be an all american at nu, but she would have been one here.   she was the best freshman in volleyball last year, she'll be the best sophomore in volleyball this year, but she would have been that here too.   shook looked extremely unhappy yesterday, compared to last season. lexi betrayed her team, her coach, and the fans.

[Bateshorn 9969]

I'm not a volleyball person, but in non revenue producing sports it's considered extremely poor form to force transfers to sit out a year.  As in it will fuck up your future recruiting. Occasionally it happens when something extraordinary goes down, but in general, if a volleyball, soccer player, or softball player wants to transfer, you wish them the best, give them the waivers they need, and move on.

Edited April 5, 2018 by Bateshorn

[Aleemay 304]

4 minutes ago, Bateshorn said:

I'm not a volleyball person, but in non revenue producing sports it's considered extremely poor form to force transfers to sit out a year.  As in it will fuck up your future recruiting. Occasionally it happens when something extraordinary goes down, but in general, if a volleyball, soccer player, or softball player wants to transfer, you wish them the best, give them the waivers they need, and move on.

Yeah...I know Coach Johnson-Lynch got some flack for not granting Malloy a release when she transferred to Baylor from Iowa Sate. What kind of made the situation worse was when Coach Johnson-Lynch said she would have given Malloy a release but some kind of internal policy at ISU kept her from doing so.

[TwiceHorn 31705]

3 hours ago, thrillhammer said:

in everything i read, "homesick" was the reason.  i'm not going to dig back and read the articles again to see if those were direct quotes or not but my memory is that it was.

i didnt mean for elliott to redshirt her, what i was asking was isnt it in his authority to grant her release?  couldnt he have forced her to sit out a year at nebraska or wherever she transferred to?  seems like that would have been a strong negotiating tactic.  too many times we are sporting and when someone transfers we pat them on the back and say best of luck to the youngster.   fuck that in this case.  this was a slap in the face.  a straight up betrayal, and for purely selfish reasons. i don't believe we should reward selfishness.  homesickness, well that's something worthy of support.  sitting on the bench, sure we can all understand that.  but this was flatout selfishness.  this program could get her everywhere she wanted to go.  she will be an all american at nu, but she would have been one here.   she was the best freshman in volleyball last year, she'll be the best sophomore in volleyball this year, but she would have been that here too.   shook looked extremely unhappy yesterday, compared to last season. lexi betrayed her team, her coach, and the fans.

Gotcha.  Maybe so, re: betrayal.  I guess I try pretty hard to tamp down whatever personal feelings I have because of the vicissitudes of 18-19 year old kids.  And, I did go back and look and this would seem to be the quote that got the homesick speculation going:

Quote

“This is about Lexi and her family,” UT coach Jerritt Elliott said in a statement.  “We think she is a wonderful young lady. We have a lot of respect for her and wish her the best of luck.”

In retrospect, and fueled by other rumors that have gained some credibility with the corn transfer, "family" means helicopter dad attempting to manipulate her career (and possibly also being dissatisfied with the amount of fun she seemed to be having in Austin).

I didn't detect Shook looking any less happy than usual, she's kind of stone-faced.  I might even have said she looked a little more vocal and less intimidated than last year, if not happier  But the back row play is definitely interfering with her ability to do her job.

 

Sydney Petersen can't get here fast enough.  And if she's not at least the second coming of Cat, it appears that we're in big trouble.

 

And maybe this is the watershed event where Jerritt digs deep within himself and existing staff to work the back row players, or changes something about recruiting or coaching.  He's been pretty lucky so far that that lack of development hasn't interfered with the program to a greater degree.

Edited April 5, 2018 by TwiceHorn

[Chicken fried bacon 46]

The team did not look good last night.  Could be a long season next year. 

[mulletpelini 5216]

You don't want to keep players that don't want to be there either.  Yeah it sucks I feel your pain (muhahahaha), but keeping a player that doesn't want to be there just forms a cancer within your program that no one needs.  Don't want to be here?  GTFO

[TexasDPT 297]

 

On 4/3/2018 at 5:53 PM, TwiceHorn said:

Yeesh. Most likely spin is better coaching for her back row game. Probably the only explanation. 

I think Lexi's back row play is really going to be exposed playing in the BIG conference.  I foresee her only playing front row at Nebraska (as she did at Texas) because teams will target her if she is asked to pass in serve-receive and play in the back row.  But she will most likely be a more successful hitter because Nebraska's superior ball control will keep them in-system and will give her more 1-on-1 hitting opportunities which she thrives at. 

Either way, John Cook will have to deal with her helicopter dad who was rumored to be one of the driving forces of team discord last year.  Plus, she may not have liked how 'chippy' players got during practice...there's a lot of smack talk that goes on between the girls and her California disposition probably didn't jive with that.  She might be more focused on the court next year since Lincoln doesn't offer as many distractions as Austin and her boo Mo Bamba won't be there. 

[TexasDPT 297]

There are rumors that we may be getting a commit from Croatia soon... hopefully, Mirta has helped to secure a 6 rotation, ball-control pin hitter who can pass the ball and play great back row defense. 

And if Jerritt can get an experienced libero transfer, he should just go ahead and give her a scholarship.  If not, Sydney and Jhenna need to be ready to play because I don't want to see Autumn on the court next year.  Claire, maybe...but Autumn needs to stay on the bench.