OT Women's NCAA Volleyball Semifinal Tonight
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nwhoopfan
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This is certainly a more competitive match than the first one. I'm having a hard time figuring out whether Stanford was just completely dominating, or if BYU had a really bad night, or a combination of the 2.
nwhoopfan
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Illinois takes set 1 25-22. Nebraska hadn't lost a set so far in the tournament until now.
Apparently Minnesota getting knocked out didn't hurt attendance (FF is in Minneapolis). The championship match on Saturday is sold out and I think they said tonight is as well.
Apparently Minnesota getting knocked out didn't hurt attendance (FF is in Minneapolis). The championship match on Saturday is sold out and I think they said tonight is as well.
DefenseBB
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I found their comments on attendance odd or self promoting as the Final Four attendance has usually been good. 13,000-17,000 depending on the venue. Obviously the Big10 has the biggest support and Midwest locations (particularly Nebraska) do very well.
nwhoopfan
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Yes, FF usually has good attendance wherever it is at. Seattle hosted it a number of years ago. UW making it to the FF certainly helped, but they got thrashed in the semifinal and fans still showed up for the Championship (Penn St. vs. Wisconsin).
nwhoopfan
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These announcers are ridiculously biased toward Nebraska. It's been Nebraska this, Nebraska that the whole match. Shut up already about Nebraska!
15-14 Nebraska in set 4. The more this match has gone on, the less impressed I've been. Both teams have played really well at times, but both have had long stretches of sloppy, mistake filled play. I'd like to think Stanford should be able to beat either one of them.
15-14 Nebraska in set 4. The more this match has gone on, the less impressed I've been. Both teams have played really well at times, but both have had long stretches of sloppy, mistake filled play. I'd like to think Stanford should be able to beat either one of them.
nwhoopfan
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Illinois w/ a brutally poorly timed service error puts them down 22-20. You just cannot do that at that point in the match. Their serving was great in set 1 and 2 but has really gone downhill since.
Now 23-20, we're going 5. I don't think I've mentioned yet, I really don't like Nebraska. I thought they were going down. They'll have all the momentum going into the 5th. Dang it. Illinois really let this slip away from them.
Now 23-20, we're going 5. I don't think I've mentioned yet, I really don't like Nebraska. I thought they were going down. They'll have all the momentum going into the 5th. Dang it. Illinois really let this slip away from them.
nwhoopfan
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Congrats to Nebraska on the comeback, but Illinois really has to be disappointed in themselves. Up 2-0, you have to close it out. (I'm getting a little ahead of myself, it's 14-11, but there's no way Illinois is winning this match).
bballnut90
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Just got back from Target Center...what a freaking match. Regardless of what happens in the finals, I got my money's worth tonight.
Illinois was a little bit too much of a 1 trick pony with Quade and it ultimately came back to bite them in the 4th/5th when she struggled finding the floor. Poulter was a joy to see in person, she contacts the ball at such a high point and her sets to the pin are absolute bullets. I think Carlini is the best collegiate setter I've ever seen, but in raw setting ability I think Poulter is better than Carlini. We couldn't see a replay of the overturned call, but even without it, but from another forum it sounded like the overturn was questionable at best. Tough way to go out, but honestly Illinois didn't deserve to win that 5th set with 3 consecutive services errors and passing breaking down.
For Nebraska, their setter struggled in stretches but made some big plays for them too. Foecke seemed to have a quiet night and then I saw she finished with 19 kills and hit .300....very impressive. Stivrins was great (when she was set), Schwartzenbach is still so raw offensively but had a couple of good swings. Sweet was effective for the first time in a while, and Sun was her normal streaky self but overall played quite well. Maloney was a stud per usual.
First match was a snoozer. Gray was absolutely stellar and BYU just looked completely overmatched. Setter Haddock also struggled locating sets and BYU was self destructive with hitting errors. Hentz looked great, so did Plummer, so did all of Stanford's players.
Looking at the final, it has all the makings of being an absolute classic. You have 2 of the very best programs ever: a big underdog in Nebraska who will be playing in front of a home crowd, and Stanford who is the favored juggernaut. I think the x-factor will be Lexi Sun for Nebraska...if she plays like she did tonight, Nebraska has a good shot. She needs to choose her shots well and come through when they're stuck with her/Hames/Schwartzenbach upfront.
For Stanford, I think Megan McClure is their x-factor. If she can't terminate against Nebraska's good defense, they'll become over-reliant on Plummer who doesn't excel taking a ton of swings in long matches.
Looking at skill/random breakdowns I'd say:
-Leftside hitting: Advantage Stanford
-RS hitting: Advantage Stanford
-Middle Hitting: Advantage Stanford
-Libero Play: Draw/Slight edge Stanford
-Blocking: Advantage Stanford
-Backrow attacking: Advantage Nebraska
-Coaching (in game strategy): Advantage Nebraska
-Backrow defense: Edge Nebraska
-Passing: Edge Nebraska
-Experience/late game situations: Draw
Can't wait for Sunday, should be a heck of a match.
Illinois was a little bit too much of a 1 trick pony with Quade and it ultimately came back to bite them in the 4th/5th when she struggled finding the floor. Poulter was a joy to see in person, she contacts the ball at such a high point and her sets to the pin are absolute bullets. I think Carlini is the best collegiate setter I've ever seen, but in raw setting ability I think Poulter is better than Carlini. We couldn't see a replay of the overturned call, but even without it, but from another forum it sounded like the overturn was questionable at best. Tough way to go out, but honestly Illinois didn't deserve to win that 5th set with 3 consecutive services errors and passing breaking down.
For Nebraska, their setter struggled in stretches but made some big plays for them too. Foecke seemed to have a quiet night and then I saw she finished with 19 kills and hit .300....very impressive. Stivrins was great (when she was set), Schwartzenbach is still so raw offensively but had a couple of good swings. Sweet was effective for the first time in a while, and Sun was her normal streaky self but overall played quite well. Maloney was a stud per usual.
First match was a snoozer. Gray was absolutely stellar and BYU just looked completely overmatched. Setter Haddock also struggled locating sets and BYU was self destructive with hitting errors. Hentz looked great, so did Plummer, so did all of Stanford's players.
Looking at the final, it has all the makings of being an absolute classic. You have 2 of the very best programs ever: a big underdog in Nebraska who will be playing in front of a home crowd, and Stanford who is the favored juggernaut. I think the x-factor will be Lexi Sun for Nebraska...if she plays like she did tonight, Nebraska has a good shot. She needs to choose her shots well and come through when they're stuck with her/Hames/Schwartzenbach upfront.
For Stanford, I think Megan McClure is their x-factor. If she can't terminate against Nebraska's good defense, they'll become over-reliant on Plummer who doesn't excel taking a ton of swings in long matches.
Looking at skill/random breakdowns I'd say:
-Leftside hitting: Advantage Stanford
-RS hitting: Advantage Stanford
-Middle Hitting: Advantage Stanford
-Libero Play: Draw/Slight edge Stanford
-Blocking: Advantage Stanford
-Backrow attacking: Advantage Nebraska
-Coaching (in game strategy): Advantage Nebraska
-Backrow defense: Edge Nebraska
-Passing: Edge Nebraska
-Experience/late game situations: Draw
Can't wait for Sunday, should be a heck of a match.
nwhoopfan
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I think that's an understatement. She was great early but I thought clearly ran out of gas. There was no #2 option. I think she had 82 swings for the match! That's ridiculous. Get her an ice bag for her shoulder.
The replay looked very inconclusive to me, but ultimately I don't think it would have mattered. Illinois was barely hanging on. I have a hard time believing they would've ever strung 2 points together to win the 5th.
edited--that's cool you got to attend, a Final 4 in any sport must be quite the spectacle
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