2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League

  • Well, when you set the parameters:


    1)Must be a leftie


    2)Must not be named Destinee Hooker


    3)Must not be named Nicole Fawcett


    she's probably the best that is left in the (much reduced) pool. ;)


  • You know where I come from ... that is the big question. If you aren't tall enough to have the option of hitting over the block you have to hit around it, right? In terms of the "dance" of volleyball, hitting around the block is more danceful and attractive to watch. MB attacks are the best. Big guns hitting high sets time after time after time just isn't pretty. Maybe advantageous, though.


    Then there is defense. If you pack your team with redwoods you run the risk of losing on defense. USA seems to strike a pretty good balance. They need a libero, however.


    USA scares me as an opponent more than Serbia, by a lot.


    absolutely they will need a good libero...where is their best possible libero ?..a good libero plus working OPPs
    i share your opinion..a running Usa seems more dangerous than Serbia from which you know what to expect (of course Serbia is also a very strong team, the best team in europe currently )

  • of course Serbia is also a very strong team


    Yes! Not to take anything away from Serbia. I also really like their MB, can't remember of her name, something-vic I think. Serbian names have too many syllables and weird double-consonants to stick in my head easily.

  • Well, that narrows it down to... three players. :lol: I guess you mean either the pretty blonde one or the pretty dark haired one, so, which one is it? :D


    The pretty one with dark hair, speaking of hitting over the block:


    That picture kills me :D

  • i remember Takeshita had blocked Gamova :rolll:


    And Chizuru Kotoh's famous revenge block on Kosheleva after Koshe delivered a monster facial unto her--World Cup 2015 :dance6: .

  • Murphy is okay, but she is not the game changer. usually the OPP will be the main scorer since they are out of reception. and when the receiving goes awry, you need OPP to kill the ball. USA had that with Hooker (up until the 2012 Olympics -- crazy how Brazil downgraded her to 14 points). I don't see that with Murphy. the thing is USA tried to play this super fast game with short sets to the outside but when things get chaotic they seem to lose direction. USA need another Logan Tom who can kill the ball out of system. they have great middles. but wing spikers and libero is an issue for them.


    on a side note, Thailand is just like Brazil in a way -- everyone on court come to play. the balls are distributed fairly. and Nootsara is one of the last creative setters of this generation, I think. Pornpun is slowly catching up. cannot wait to watch Thailand VS Japan.



  • but you didn't delete the cretin's original offensive comment.


  • Murphy is okay, but she is not the game changer. usually the OPP will be the main scorer since they are out of reception. and when the receiving goes awry, you need OPP to kill the ball. USA had that with Hooker (up until the 2012 Olympics -- crazy how Brazil downgraded her to 14 points). I don't see that with Murphy. the thing is USA tried to play this super fast game with short sets to the outside but when things get chaotic they seem to lose direction. USA need another Logan Tom who can kill the ball out of system. they have great middles. but wing spikers and libero is an issue for them.


    on a side note, Thailand is just like Brazil in a way -- everyone on court come to play. the balls are distributed fairly. and Nootsara is one of the last creative setters of this generation, I think. Pornpun is slowly catching up. cannot wait to watch Thailand VS Japan.

    Your every comment is about Nootsara. :hit:
    Thailand are decent team but I cant see them making any surprise this year. They have the worst reception.

  • Your every comment is about Nootsara. :hit:
    Thailand are decent team but I cant see them making any surprise this year. They have the worst reception.

    i think it is fair to give credit where it is due. nootsara is definitely not one of those boring setters that play safe volleyball. and i am not saying Thailand is going to be one of the top 3 teams either, i am just saying that Thailand with this new generation of players are exciting to watch.

  • congrats to Italy..i didnt expect them to win 3-0 over K Sorea..this means they are improving


    also Dutch team is close to getting a 3-0 win over Japan..and they beat Japan in 3 sets


    id like to see Carol on the court instead of Adeniza

    congrats to Italy..i didnt expect them to win 3-0 over K Sorea..this means they are improving


    also Dutch team is close to getting a 3-0 win over Japan..and they beat Japan in 3 sets


    id like to see Carol on the court instead of Adeniza

    But she has a strong serve which is good

  • Holy cow, what a fun match! Surprised how evenly matched, crescendoing in the 4th set. At 23-23 the Floor Touch Challenge obscured by a leg. Oh the Drama! Buijs chokes a serve at set point. NED won the set 31-29 but the Belgians are the ones who looked like they got better, more confident, and tried harder when things got crunchy. Composure has big value. NED took the 5th set 15-10 but it didn't look like BEL choked. It didn't even look like they lost :box:


    I love this tournament.


    I'm considering bringing Belgium into my circle of embrace. Mostly because of bad-ass Herbots. She rolls up her sleeves. That's bad-ass. Her serve set up is bad-ass because there's no sense to it. It's pure branding. Smart girl. If you saw her walking down the street you'd think "I bet that girl can run, jump, pull up, sit up, and throw a softball pretty well". Very athletic. She's fascinating to watch prowl the court off the ball. Grobelna seems like a smart player. Good team chemistry. They all seem like they try really hard for one another. I like that. They pancake the ball a lot. And the coach doesn't bother me. I will watch them more and learn more of their names. Like the libero's. And Celine Van Gestel. I'll learn her name. She's awesome. There's no thread here for the Belgian NT. :huh:


    Netherlands have a deep team. I can't tell who's A team and who's B-team. I miss De Kruijf, though. I don't get the other MBs. I don't think I've ever seen Belien score a point. Koolhaas is pretty invisible for a giant.


    Daalderop, Plak, De Kruijf, Slöetjes, is a great core four. Balkestein is a great captain. Daalderop over Buijs but I haven't seen a lot of them. Dijkema fan, but 'Laura' doesn't fit her. Dark haired libero has built-in eye makeup.


    I'll watch this match again.

  • Someone above mentioned how MBs are the most fun to watch, and I could not agree more. Serbia seems to have the strongest middles right now. Any from Stevanovic, Rasic or Veljkovic can deliver, though you can see from Rasic's game that she's fresh from injury. Italy's Lubian is a revelation, I can't wait to see more of her, I'm sorry but one of Bonifacio or Danesi has to go. Lubian, Chrichella, Folie will do the job. Brazil still has the best team block - Ade is a monster in block. Oh my

  • Someone above mentioned how MBs are the most fun to watch, and I could not agree more. Serbia seems to have the strongest middles right now. Any from Stevanovic, Rasic or Veljkovic can deliver, though you can see from Rasic's game that she's fresh from injury. Italy's Lubian is a revelation, I can't wait to see more of her, I'm sorry but one of Bonifacio or Danesi has to go. Lubian, Chrichella, Folie will do the job. Brazil still has the best team block - Ade is a monster in block. Oh my

    Adenizia, Bia, and Carol are all good blockers but they seem to be lacking in the attacking department. Maybe the connection with Roberta is not there yet. Dani Lins with Thaisa and Fabiana were to most fun to watch.


    Is there something in the water in Serbia coz they seemed to be having all the best MBs in the world? Both in the men and women's department.