Friendly NT Matches

    That Bartsch hair color... :white:


    She needs to let a professional fix this asap, looks like she just poured cheap hair dye on her head at home and hoped for the best lol. It is not even spread throughout all of her hair :rolll::rolll:

    Both Dani Lins and Carol played really well and Rosamaria is fighting again! Gabiru is a completely mess! I know Drussyla was with libero's shirt just for being on the bench, but even her, without her fingers, would do a better job jeez

    Quote from beri

    That Bartsch hair color... :white:


    She needs to let a professional fix this asap, looks like she just poured cheap hair dye on her head at home and hoped for the best lol. It is not even spread throughout all of her hair :rolll::rolll:

    there was someone here who had trouble distinguishing Bartsch from Kim Hill. Maybe they tweeted Bartsch and asked her to do something to help. :cheesy:

    Brazil 0 x 3 USA (27/29, 23/25, 18/25)


    BRA: Dani Lins 1 (1a), Tandara 15 (13a, 1b, 1s), Rosamaria 10 (7a, 2b), Amanda 13 (11a, 2b), Carol 6 (5a, 1b) and Bia 2 (1a, 1b). Gabiru (L). In: Roberta, Fernanda Tomé, Adenízia 2 (1a, 1b). Adv. err.: 19 points.


    USA: Carlini 1 (1s), Drews 11 (9a, 2b), Bartsch 15 (14a, 1b), Kingdom 8 (6a, 2b), Ogbobu 11 (5a, 6b) and Dixon 6 (5a, 1b). In: Hancock 1 (1s), Lowe 3 (2a, 1b). Adv. err.: 23 points.


    PS: Unofficial stats.

    I don't think that Kutiukova will play as an OPP...

    Still no Shcherban!

    Brazil is dead. Maybe Garay and Thaisa can help in the WCH. I like Dani Lins, in only game she showed she is a hundred times better than Roberta. But I think we will fight for Final 6 this year, with chances of not reaching that phase.

    Quote from Sidney

    Brazil is dead. Maybe Garay and Thaisa can help in the WCH. I like Dani Lins, in only game she showed she is a hundred times better than Roberta. But I think we will fight for Final 6 this year, with chances of not reaching that phase.

    Brazil was playing quite well till the semifinals during the VNL after that they havent been playig well till now...im guessing they will raise their level at the WCH

    Quote from Canter

    Brazil was playing quite well till the semifinals during the VNL after that they havent been playig well till now...im guessing they will raise their level at the WCH

    Yes, their level will rise, but the level of the other teams will rise also.

    Inconsistency is the main issue right now. In one day we can beat China with their full squad, in the other day we might lose to USA C-team by 3x0...


    I think the USA and China are the best teams in the world right now, far from the others. Serbia, Netherlands, Brazil and Italy will probably complete the F6. I dont trust Russia and Turkey. Let's see.

    Quote from Sidney

    Yes, their level will rise, but the level of the other teams will rise also.

    Inconsistency is the main issue right now. In one day we can beat China with their full squad, in the other day we might lose to USA C-team by 3x0...


    I think the USA and China are the best teams in the world right now, far from the others. Serbia, Netherlands, Brazil and Italy will probably complete the F6. I dont trust Russia and Turkey. Let's see.

    actually none of the teams looks superb or unbeatable to me...e.g. you can beat the usa but you have to be as consistent as they are during the whole match...i had high opinion of china before but they didnt show anything special at the VNL...some top teams know better now how to slow down Zhu Ting..i dont know maybe Z Changning could make a difference for china.with her,Zhu could be more effective

    i still like serbian team..they have an "OH" problem...they need Tijana and Brankica to be at the same time on the courth ..dutch team is a good team but they have difficulties beating the top teams when it counts most such as semi finals etc..i like italy..they may do better than the dutch team at the wch..young/new turkish team need to play the same way as in the VNL and should reach its top shape at right time.also, absence of Naz Aydemir seems to be a "problem." at times..i dont know what to expect from russia..they could do better or worse than expected

    Just watched the Final match between Netherlands and Russia, and Russia should have won it in 4 sets, but they let NED catch up with them and force a decider but ultimately Russia winning by a very close 16-14 in the 5th. I was expecting NED to have the upper hand, but the Russians put up a good fight. Goncharova is still rusty and not on her usual level, I guess she hasn't played in like two months so I guess that's not a surprise. Voronkova is filling in nicely as OH1 and I think at this point, Kosheleva will not be greatly missed. Surprisingly Startseva is feeding more to the MBs than the usual (at least on this match). On the other hand, I think NED should work on their blocking, for a top team I think they are average in this element. Sloetjes and Maret had a good game. Maybe the return of Robyn will take this team to the next level.

    I find the performances of China and the Netherlands worrying and underwhelming.


    But everyone can raise their level till Wch, I think there are a lot of competitive teams and it will be tons of fun.

    For me: Italy is the dark horse!! They're quite super explosive and lately they have been good defensively as well, that's a killer combination.

    Quote from beri

    I find the performances of China and the Netherlands worrying and underwhelming.


    But everyone can raise their level till Wch, I think there are a lot of competitive teams and it will be tons of fun.

    For me: Italy is the dark horse!! They're quite super explosive and lately they have been good defensively as well, that's a killer combination.

    I agree! I'll also be cheering for Italy next to turkey 🎉 they have a great generation now that can play for 3-4 Olympic cycle just like generation of piccinini, lo Bianco etc has done before.

    Quote from Sidney

    Yes, their level will rise, but the level of the other teams will rise also.

    Inconsistency is the main issue right now. In one day we can beat China with their full squad, in the other day we might lose to USA C-team by 3x0...


    I think the USA and China are the best teams in the world right now, far from the others. Serbia, Netherlands, Brazil and Italy will probably complete the F6. I dont trust Russia and Turkey. Let's see.

    Hahahahaha this is just a friendly match. But this will give us idea that roberta is better than dani lins. Especially in the fifth set.



    Roberta better at back row sets, opposite sets...

    dani lins better at oh hitter spikes and mb sets
    But may falter when the pass is not ok!

    I’ve seen roberta’s runs compare if the pass is not good!


    Drussyla and fe garay will be the duo!

    Rosamaria is tested as second opposite but will be starter if tandara is move to oh (if natalia wont be ok)


    Gabi is awesome!!! As always!


    Adenizia no. 1 - i like her! Territorial in her spot

    Thaisa with her current state is no. 3

    Carol is fast i put her at no. 2

    Bia is good at blocks in russia and servia but if the games is brazil vs usa, she should be bank!!!


    I really dont like gabiru post surgery!! Suellen come back real quick


    And to amanda she is not a nt material. Her pass is declining..,



    I just hope ze is just secreting her players for the wch or else brazil is doomed!!


    Btw rosa maria is brilliantly doing great!!!!!

    Brazil 2x3 USA (25x15/25x23/21x25/23x25/15x17)

    Stats (not official)

    Brazil: Gabi (OH) 21 -1b, 1a-, Tandara (OPP) 17 -1b-, Rosamaria (OH) 13 -1a-, Thaísa (MB) 10 -3b, 2a-, Adenízia (MB) 7 -5b-, Dani Lins (S) 6 -1b, 3a-;

    USA: Lowe (OPP) 17 -3b-, Kingdon (OH) 17 -2b-, Gibbemeyer (MB) 14 -5b, 1a-, Lee (OH) 9 -1b, 1a-, Adams (MB) 8 -2b, 1a-, Drews (OPP) 5 -1b-, Carlini (S) 3 -1b, 2a-, Hancock (S) 3 -3a-.

    Lowe is definitly player who USA was missing. Yeah She is not TOP OPP in the world but She is the best one in USA next to Hooker and Nicole right now.

    But again what will Karch do with Bartsch ? She is great player and it is to bad to watch her on the bench... Maybe they should put Larson as libero :|

    A few observations from the Brazil v USA friendly series so far, a particularity about Brazil..


    USA's roster has got really good depth. Karch has so many combinations now he can rely on and USA's athleticism and fast system is working well. However USA still doesn't seem to have have a player who can consistently score on an off ball - this will be crucial against big blocking and serving teams. Lowe seems to be better at using the block now. though.


    Brazil are inexplicably a bit of a mess. In my opinion their main issue seems to be the lack of consistency from the outside players, in all skills - pass, hitting and blocking. Gabi on the outside (yes she is still coming back from injury but that's a bit of an old excuse now to be honest) is very inconsistent. She made 21 points yesterday, but gave away so many more points at crucial times. It is this lack of consistency that is affecting their play. She also sometimes lacks the presence of mind to make the right choices at the right time, be it at a time wen she really needs ot step up on her passing, or when attacking at a crucial point. In this aspect, Drussyla seems better than her..This is also what Fe Garay and Jacqueline (in her prime) were able to do - and this is very important for Brazil's style of play. Rosa Maria has shown a much better level in these matches than we have seen so far this year.


    Gabiru improved a bit more this match, but she still has a long way to go to be able to dominate more space on court for passing. This also affects consistency, and this is why they are blocked a lot.



    Dani Lins brought a lot of stability to the team. She serves well, and has good precision generally. Most of the time the players had the ball in the right place, at least in this last match.


    Thaisa, though still quite slow (arguably against one of the fastest playing teams at the moment), again is technically good. Among all middles she can set, she can pass a free ball very accurately and defence is not tragic. Of course when she was at her peak she was also the point scoring middle player in attack - and that is generally missing in the team so far. Adenizia contributes in blocking but her attacking is not quite at the level of other middle players, and she is a mess in defence and often causes confusion on free balls on so many occasions. The one really improved thing in her game is actually her serve - she has found some consistency with this now it seems. All in all though the middles are the best Brazil can offer at the moment and in good form they can be dominant.


    As for Tandara, she 'burns out' quickly these days - she seems to be carrying a lot of responsibility on her shoulders and gets stressed a lot - so much siging and heavy breathing on every mistake. This is also another reason why Dani Lins is needed, she seems better at shouldering responsibility, which will allow Tandara to play a bit more freely.


    I'm sure they will continue to improve. I'm going to Montreaux so it will be interesting to see how much better they will be in a competitive competition.