Usa Nt 2018

    From Reddit r/volleyball

    Karch Kiraly, Will he Wake up from his Dream? I hope Not!

    In a most somnambulist manner Coach Kiraly has stumbled upon his best starting 7 in a fashion that goes against everything he has done before. He grabbed Kelsey Robinson from her OH position and inserted her mid game for a struggling JWO. Previously Kim Hill only got that kind of treatment. Then when the Hill/MBH combination didn’t click and he got better success from Larson/MBH he benched Hill, his 2014 WC gold MVP.


    But when his Murphy, MBH, and Larson combo struggled in the gold medal VNL match against Turkey he moved MBH to OP and brought back Hill to join with Larson and that team pulled out the match in impressive closing fashion.


    With the big summer friendly being a four match week in Brazil will Karch play coy and go back to trying different Hill/Larson/MBH combinations using his traditional lefty Opposites? Or will he go all in with MBH at OP and then try to quickly burn-in a new third OH.


    Madi Kingdon has the inside track. She played well last year on the B-team but couldn’t quite grab a spot on the A-team. Sarah Wilhite was just given a long look at #3 but just didn’t grab the opportunity. The dark horse here is Megan Courtney and whether she has recovered enough from her ACL tear to compete this year.


    In 2015, the wake Karch, got caught up in experimenting with his players and never could quite settle on his group and in doing so lost the magic from the 2014 WC gold medal. This fed right into his last-minute decisions on who would go to Rio and a frustrating Bronze medal.

    Hopefully now we have a sleeping/woke coach who has slipped on the Ring and will let it guide him to another WC gold.

    L; Robinson and Courtney

    Opp: Lowe and Murphy

    OHs: Hill, Larson, Bartsch and Kingdon

    S: Lloyd and Hancock

    MBs: Akinradewo, Ogbogu, Gibbemeyer and Adams


    I'm not sure who will be the last MB. I guess Karch will choose between Adams and Dixon. Chiaka Ogbogu played really well recently so I think Karch will pick her.

    I think both Adams and Dixon will go.

    Quote from SHAME

    Karch and his questionable choices... :whistle:

    Which one didnt you like this time?:lol:

    Kingdom hasn’t been playing all to well and has lost of what she had been doing last year. Terminating the ball, slow in the back court. Whilte can put up a good block much better than Kingdom. Don’t know about Lowe over Drew’s but then again I’m not in the gym.

    I'd for sure have taken Kindgon instead of Wilhite. Drews over Murphy too, but hey, sometimes it works for Karch...


    Ogbogu could've been a good choice too, but I guess the others being more experienced was a bigger factor in choosing who to go. Also it's kinda funny how Wong-Orantes used to play all the tournaments from 2017 onwards and now she's relegated to what, their fourth libero?

    Quote from saishuu

    I'd for sure have taken Kindgon instead of Wilhite. Drews over Murphy too, but hey, sometimes it works for Karch...


    Ogbogu could've been a good choice too, but I guess the others being more experienced was a bigger factor in choosing who to go. Also it's kinda funny how Wong-Orantes used to play all the tournaments from 2017 onwards and now she's relegated to what, their fourth libero?

    It's hilarious, their real libero can't do a libero's job.:D:D

    JWO electing not to play in the pro leagues is the reason why she's not going to be wearing the USA colours anytime soon. She was a promising prospect but her limited exposure to international level of play is the sole reason why she's at the bottom of NT libero hierarchy.


    Is it really a surprise why Wilhite was favored over the other options? In addition to being a better blocker she's also a more stable passer than both Lee and Kingdon. We all know Murphy is going no matter what but Lowe getting the nod over Drews after Annies impressive showing in the friendlies is a bit of a shocker...ok not really. I kind of expected it but at the same time I feel for Drews.


    I would think one of the deciding factors on some of the selections has to do with this possibly being the last hurrah for quite a few of the NT mainstays. I think a couple of that MB position would open up after this tournament.

    Quote from Sillynameplus567

    Is it really a surprise why Wilhite was favored over the other options? In addition to being a better blocker she's also a more stable passer than both Lee and Kingdon.


    I would think one of the deciding factors on some of the selections has to do with this possibly being the last hurrah for quite a few of the NT mainstays. I think a couple of that MB position would open up after this tournament.

    Considering how much more Kingdon has played since last year, yeah. Plus she's a lot more reliable in attack and her reception isn't bad at all. She seems solid in most elements, to be honest.


    Also I don't really see any of the MBs retiring before 2020, unless Foluke pulls a surprise announcement out of the blue. She might be the the first of the bunch to retire from the NT, right? The others, besides Gibby, are still fairly young.

    Kingdon has a heavier arm, sure, but I feel like Wilhite is a more complete player right now and the powers that be seem to agree. I think the coaches prefer someone who brings a bit more stability in the back than another "terminator" since they already have MBH and Hil(?). Basically they needed a discount Larson and for now that's Wilhite.


    The USA gym have a lot of very talented MBs in their pipeline. A lot of them have much higher ceiling than any of the current MBs behind Foluke. Some of them are ready to step up the plate and might actually steal a spot or two before Tokyo. Maybe not retire but a healthy competition that might push some of them out of the A squad. I dont think it's impossible for any of those in the pipeline right now to claim a spot on the NT next year. Think of what a season can do to someone like Alhassan and Ogbogu.

    Quote from serdar

    Which one didnt you like this time?:lol:

    Drews and Kingdon out, Murphy and Wilhite in. Not to mention he destroyed all the liberos NCAA producted in the last years (Wong-Orantes is very talented, just like Hagglund) and had to sacrifice Robinson on that position. I wonder what will happen with Caroline Knop and Morgan Hentz from Florida and Stanford... they'll probably suffer the same faith as the other liberos.


    On the other hand I find Carlini better than Hancock, but I'm ok with the second picked instead of Lauren, considering she's a fire weapon from the service line.

    Quote from SHAME

    Drews and Kingdon out, Murphy and Wilhite in. Not to mention he destroyed all the liberos NCAA producted in the last years (Wong-Orantes is very talented, just like Hagglund) and had to sacrifice Robinson on that position. I wonder what will happen with Caroline Knop and Morgan Hentz from Florida and Stanford... they'll probably suffer the same faith as the other liberos.


    On the other hand I find Carlini better than Hancock, but I'm ok with the second picked instead of Lauren, considering she's a fire weapon from the service line.

    Why is it Kiraly's fault that liberos don't play overseas in professional leagues?

    Quote from serdar

    Why is it Kiraly's fault that liberos don't play overseas in professional leagues?

    He's the one who choaches them the whole year. Didn't he see Wong-Orantes might need to play abroad? Was it necessary to humiliate her and Benson giving their spot to 2 wing spikers along the summer? He knows very well that liberos abroad have very limitated possibilities. He could talk to them and tell to find a good pro league (Benson played for a weak french team, of course her development was slower than her teammates' who play in the better leagues of the world). Just take Guidetti and how he took care of the libero position giving it to Stam and find the difference: there was a plan behind, he didn't humiliate the other liberos and Debby had 2 years to prepare herself for the OGs. Kiraly had no plans (or at least plan B) for the liberos and gave the spot to Kelsey all at once. I wonder why there's no plan B for the opposite, since Murphy does nothing more than making number on court since the 2015. Oh, right. He doesn't see it yet, just like with the liberos... :whistle:


    No news from Wong-Orantes, but Benson signed for Dresdner. Her last chance to improve and keep her spot into the team.

    The problem for USA liberos is that overall for liberos it's hard to find a spot in a top league. Italy has plenty of own good liberos, they won't sign any foreign libero unless it's a star player usually. Turkey and Russia won't do it either due to foreigner limits, so the best American liberos can do is France, Germany, Romania I guess.