2020 Olympic Games - Tokyo (Female)

    Quote from sloth

    No need to be sorry about that... No one believes we can beat Serbia anyway :lol:

    You are throwing your hat in the jinxing campaign, I see.:P

    For those who are questioning why crovolley is supporting Turkey (not just in this match, but in previous ones as well), it's quite simple: European solidarity. I don't know why that concept seems to be eluding people, because it seems its precisely that propensity of his and several other users that have contributed to sour some of our members on European teams in general (or so they claim, at least...).

    OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS! I’m back back back back back again!


    After months and months of trying, I finally got into my account. For some reason I couldn’t remember my password, nor was J getting an email.


    I’ve been watching that games, reading the forum.. I know all the drama (khm crovolley🙄) and I have lot’s of opinions.. I’m so happy I can finally be active here again, can’t wait to share them all 😇

    Btw since I work everyday it's difficult to watch live and comment but I also want to share my toughts.


    Pool A (which I didn't watch as much):

    Brazil doing a nice job, I don't know why, but whenever I watch them I always have the feeling that they are spot on. The Carols are so good btw.

    Serbia playing strong Boskoball but I think Mihajlovic's shape will have a bigger impact against better teams. If they don't have another reliable scorer it's going to be very difficult.

    Japan lost their mascot, I hope Koga can be back for quarters (even though if she isn't in shape it's honestly a waste to make her play, might just get worse)

    Korea is a team I'm not enjoying anymore to watch (sorry KYK:flower:), and Dominicans kinda blew up their chances against Korea. Still, they did good against Brazil, I was positively surprised.

    Kenia actually played some sets in level with their opponents, so I think thay can be proud.


    Pool B

    No comments for China, I'm really sorry for them, they were awesome in VNL but just couldn't do it here for injuries or poor shape or mental tiredness. Sadly, they deserve to be out here for what they showed.

    Russia is a positive surprise, I never enjoyed them particularly but holy moly, what a match against China, so fun to watch. Arina is a risinf star, Goncha an affirmed star and Voronkova I have to say a really appreciated her. Also, Malova is sooooo awesome!

    Turkey another positive surprise, their win against China and the 3 sets taken from Italy and Usa could be so important for them, they deserve to make it. Hopefully Cansu and Ebrar regain their groove for the next matches, I miss the pink lady energy:rose:. Big appreciation for Naz and Meryem who, after a bad VNL showed a really solid performance. Also, Zehra how good are you?!

    Usa is always good, but I'm not liking Poulter since VNL, she seemed sloppy. Thompson making a name for herself, super performances but got lost easily againt the turkish block who was ready for her.

    Italy still doesn't convince me 100%, they coud do better but overall I'm liking them more than Usa. Cate Bosetti is truly a jewel and De Gennaro is amazing. Still not a great Egonu, I am used to different performances from her (mainly in terms of errors). Fahr is doing such a good job in the middle, but overall everyone is doing good (Malinov still not so good tho)

    Quote from zhuperspike

    ??

    I was just joking, if their strategy is to get eliminated in the pool phase, than it's definitely working...

    There is no way in this world this is a strategy to win..

    As for China...I still can't believe what I'm seeing, to be honest. It feels like some sort of dream. It wouldn't be the first time that a favourite for gold fails to live up to the expectations, nor even the first time for team to be overcoached into mental/physical exhaustion and burnout, but for it to happen to THIS team...it feels surreal.


    Btw, it's obvious many haven't watched Serbian match against Kenya, but both Brankica and Busa looked very good. It's only Kenya, of course, but I think it makes one thing very clear. We all thought that, because Milenkovic-Blagojevic started the first 2 matches, that they are now the starting OH duo. But in retrospect (and knowing how Terzic's mind works as I do), it seems he was giving them the chance in those 2 games (against neither the strongest nor the weakest opponents in the group) to show whether they are usable on this level. They showed they aren't...it would also make sense in terms of continuity, because Mihajlovic-Busa has been the starting OH duo ever since 2018.

    First in groups will play against 4th in the opposite group. Second can play against either the 2nd or 3rd, to be determined by lot. As to how exactly the winners of quarterfinals will be paired in semis seem to be a closely guarded state secret, since I've never been able to find anything about that.:lol:

    china will be the biggest dissapointment of a team in olympics after usa in london

    Sooo lets start..


    As everyone on this forum, I'm shook(!) China is in the position they're in. Almost everyone saw them as the frontrunners, and a big favorite to defend the gold. I'm not gonna get into what the reasons behind all of this are, I just wanna say how disappointed I am to see ''fans'' attacking the team, JLP and Zhu Ting. I mean just a week ago JLP was the greatest ever, a mastermind, a coach who could do no wrong.. and I still agree, she still is all of those things. Is China not making out of group play a debacle? Yeah sure. Is she a someone who is responsible for that? Sure. The same way the players, the other coaches, and many of the Chinese staff are. Fans can be disappointed, angry.. but one failed tournament doesn't take away their worth and the things they've previously achieved. It's really unfortunate that it's the most important tournament, but true fans support their team through everything.


    I'm happy with the results of team USA..the level of play? Not so much.. So from what I've seen so far


    1. JT - obviously she's having a great tournament. Although Turkey managed to slow her down, I think she's gonna play better the next match, because Turkey is a good blocking team, disciplined in their defense, and Guidetti obviously focused on her before the game. If the other players get involved more, and USA's game becomes more unpredictable she's gonna be an ever bigger threat.

    2. Washington - after a great VNL we all expected a lot, and she wasn't delivering. Her blocking was solid, but her attack is nowhere to be found. Although that's kinda because of the sets she's getting. In the match against Turkey she was so important for their comeback, and even managed to score off off few slides, so I hope she continues growing. Also her energy is very important for the team.

    3. JWO - she's doing an amazing job overall. I have nothing more to say.. we've lacked a libero like that for so long. Banwarth was a great passer, but not really the best defender.. Davis.. I mean I don't even talk about her after the comments she's made for the queen. So I'm very happy, and we're ver lucky to have a libero like her that allows the team to play their game.

    4. Drews - a positive thing that came out of Turkey taking the match to 5, was Drews coming in and having a positive impact on the game when JT was struggling. She allows USA to run a faster offense, and can hit different angles. Now that this happened it gives other teams something to think about and makes their preparation for the US harder because they have to be ready for both JT and Drews, and since they have a different playing style, speed, and angles, I don't think it's gonna be that easy.

    5. Poulter - okay listen. I'm not saying she's playing particularly bad, I just don't see that extra special thing she had in Busto. She's doing okay setting the pins, but her connection with the middles is sooo off.. Foluke can't score a single set, every single slide is soft touched by the opposition.. and she also set JT a ton, which is not exactly her fault only. Larson decided she's not gonna swing, only throw the ball around the court, and Bartsch can't get the ball down.. at least not into the court. However I think she needs to improve her connection the the middles immediately, otherwise we're fu%^ed.

    6. Larson - she's having a good tournament, doing what she does best. I think she needs to stop with the off speed/tips/throws and actually swing at the ball. She sure know how to score.. it doesn't have to be a hard hit, high hands, roll shots, cut shots.. just to give the block something to think about. Her receiving and defense have been solid.#

    7. Bartsch - surprisingly she's receiving really good.. I mean we've seen that from her in the VNL too, but it's nice to see she's holding up. However I don't think she's contributing enough in offense.. she had a slow start against China, then got to her numbers eventually, however against Turkey she was blocked too many times, hit out too may times. She needs to to better.

    8. Foluke - I meaaaan... We all know what she can do. She might not be on the same level as she was before the pregnancy, but the sets she's been getting are trash. She was always a hard player to set in front, but she killed 90% of the slides. Now it seems like the opponent touches every ball, she simply can't get it to the floor. I was really happy she got her block going, even before she was touching a lot of balls although not getting many kills blocks.

    9. Chiaka - I am happy she was finally freed. I'm confused why she is not starting, or why it took Karch sooo long to bring her in, when IMO she's the best MB for the US right now. She's a great attacker, she seems to connect with Poulter in front a lot better than the other two, is really fast, and can close the block to the pins. Her service is a problem I understand, but we've had players with much worse serves as starters (Harmotto I see you).


    And the one thing I can't wrap my head around is WHY is Hancock here?! It's obvious Karch doesn't trust her enough to bring her in when Poulter/the team is struggling, and she still hasn't come in as a serving sub.. and that was the reason Karch mention was crucial for his decision. I'm not a Carlini stan by any means, but she would've been much more useful if Hancock gets 0 serving reps

    Quote from USAvolleyfan

    OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS! I’m back back back back back again!


    After months and months of trying, I finally got into my account. For some reason I couldn’t remember my password, nor was J getting an email.


    I’ve been watching that games, reading the forum.. I know all the drama (khm crovolley🙄) and I have lot’s of opinions.. I’m so happy I can finally be active here again, can’t wait to share them all 😇

    I’m not alone anymore :love::wavy:

    idk why me or people have the idea of bartsch receiving bad as in last tournaments she always were in top 5 receivers as example in champions and every time i see her she's stable most of time

    Quote from Jules

    idk why me or people have the idea of bartsch receiving bad as in last tournaments she always were in top 5 receivers as example in champions and every time i see her she's stable most of time

    she’s not “bad”, she’s just not great. She’s always the weakest link when she’s passing

    Quote from avid

    how was USA disappointing in London? They made the final. Anything can happen there. Russia and Italy were the most disappointing

    I don't want to open a discussion.they were dissapointing too

    Byt it was onw of best if not the best olympics in story,al.ost all teams were in good shape and usa was a step above all of teams,i don't remember a olympics in 2000 era where a team was the maximum favourite and they show it on court

    Unfortunately,they couldn't make it