Posts by mdacs

saishuu wrote:

Rio so far has the worst reception in the league from the games I've seen. It was only a matter of time until they began struggling to be honest. Kosheleva, Peña, Monique and Gabiru together was a time bomb just waiting to happen. Bernardo really needs to work something out and I'm afraid that means either benching Kosheleva or moving her to the OPP position, with Kasiely (and then Drussyla when she returns) and Peña as starter OHs.

I believe the best option would be Peña as OPP. Her best games last season was as Monique’s substitute. She could help the reception system as well. Then Kosheleva can still attack from position 4.

Monique has been the worst receiver and worst attacker in comparison with Koshe and Pena. I don’t see any reason to keep her in the starting team.

Mkmalaluan wrote:

She was called in the hnder 23 brazilian volleyball team. Topped the blocks in the qualifying round but had some inconsistencies in the attack!

Last yr, during carol gattaz’s injury she subbed her and even won 1-2 viva volei teophy for her team in minas!!!

I thanked stefano lavarinni for the opportunity of using her in the attacks. She just blocked heidy casanova of volero le cannet; zehra gunes of vakif, sloetjes of vakif, kyk of vitra, larson of vitra, boskovic of vitra and zhu of vakif!!! She has a strong hand and powerful blocks!!!!!

I know that. My point is that there was nothing we should be too positive about Mayany before. She hasn't had chances to play against high-level teams. She did well before, we know that, but she was too inexperienced and it was only her 2nd season playing in Superliga. In this tournment, we could see that she is a girl with not only potential but also with great concentration and courage to face superior teams.

saishuu wrote:

So now that the WCCH is over, how is everyone feeling about Minas, Praia and the league so far in general?

Might be way too early, but I actually think MInas have a good shot at winning Superliga this year. And I'm glad Mayany is stepping up and taking Mara's spot too, as she's been underperforming since last season. I'm also surprised she got a best MB nod too and I'm really glad for her as well. Hopefully she manages to keep on playing consistently throughout the season.

About Praia, I'm not too confident on them yet. It's still too early for anything and we've seen Paulo Coco do his thing for a few years now, almost taking Minas to the finals in 2016/2017 and then winning it all with Praia last year, so I don't know. I do think they're the two best teams this year, though, unless Sesc drastically improves once Drussyla comes back (which, imo, is unlikely given how she'll only return in the playoffs).

Fluminense and Osasco might round up the fight for the last spot in semifinals, and I'll be rooting for the former as I really like Fluminense's style. Wouldn't be mad it Barueri made it too, but we all know how unlikely that is. There's Bauru too, but eh...

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I guess the WCH is important both for Praia and Minas in two very different ways.

It was the confirmation for Praia that the system they want to put together is not working. I am sure Michelle won't last, that's a fact. She's worse than Amanda, so I think hiring her was not a good decision. Then, they need to decide what to do with Rosamaria. I don't think she should bench, but I don't think she should take Fawcett's spot either. Fawcett is an opposite who can score mostly with HIGH SETS. She's almost 32 years old, and she won't be the fastest attacker suddenly. So, I think Paulo should rethink the way the team is playing. Carli needs to adapt her style to the attackers she has because Praia ain't no USA NT to play with that crazy fast sets. There's an evident connection problem between the setter and attackers, and that's something they need to improve right away,since we're already on the 6th round of Superliga.

I believe Minas gained confidence during WCH. The victory against Eczacibasi was very meaningful for the team, and I believe they are happy with the silver considering that they were there to try to make it to the podium. Among the top teams, Minas is the one playing better at the moment. On a negative note, we have to mention Minas' bench. Superliga is a long champsionship, and I don't know whether Malu, Lana and Georgia are ready to do anything more than serving. Minas has the worst bench in comparison to the top teams in SL.

About the other teams, I know it is soon, but all have shown a high level of inconsistency. Osasco is improving tho. I saw their last match and Hooker did a reasonable job. And I also think Angela Leyva is playing better than last season. But, IMO Sesc is the only team that can challenge Minas and Praia, because they have, in general, a good roster. I just don't think that passing with Monique, Gabiru, Kosheleva and Peña is a good option. Since Kosheleva and Peña are the ones playing better, I would like to see Peña as OPP, Kasiely and Kosheleva as OH. Monique is underperforming both in attack and reception.

beri wrote:

The team wouldn't be where it is without money but there are multiple 100s of people working in VakifBank and they all are a piece to the success puzzle.

Well, those people have a salary as well.

But definitely I agree that is not all about money to hire players, Vakifbank has a lot of extremely capable professionals and structure. However, we have to recognize that this requires money too.

About Praia, because of our currency, the money they have invested might be less than some other middle teams in Europe.

Zhu is SO AWESOME. 21 points. 62% in attack. This girl is simply amazing.

Congrats to Vakif, they did a really great job once again. Kelsey played great today and I think she was one of the reasons that Vakif won, since Sloetjes did a really poor match today (7 points out of 30 sets received).

Agguerro wrote:

A lot of the commentators on volleyball Tv are not necessarily knowledgeable about the players. They know what they BRIEFLY read about, so they find it really difficult to be impartial. Even Clayton Lucas, who is the best commentator from the lot, has an obvious bias towards USA volleyball, and so sometimes the other teams are 'ignored' and not much is said about them. They obviously now about Zhu Ting's greatness, and this naturally transfers to their match commentating. The worse ones don't even seem to understand what is going on during play, and make some really terrible mistakes. But I suppose like most things, this will in time become better, especially with more dedicated channels etc - they will start to know more

This competition though is really all about Zhu Ting, she is playing at home, so its inevitable..

I am talking about the man screaming on the mic 'Zhu Ting' and vibrating every single time that Vakifbank scores. If his intention is to engage the public on the court, then do it to both teams.

kyle7in1 wrote:

That guy is a local DJ. What do you expect from him? It will be an issue if FIVB's commentator did the same thing

Then cheer for the team hosting the competition. Otherwise it is annoying because the local DJ is creating a good environment in which Vakifbank feels like playing in their gym and there is almost no recognition to Minas' team.

I have to stress that I do not mean to say that Vakif is doing well just for that. Vakif is the best team in the world ATM. I just mean to say that the commentator inside the court should not take any sides in this match, since the host is not involved.

Padar wrote:

I find that annoying as well, maybe once or twice, but throughout the match, it's just too much, it's not a concert

The worst part for me is that it seems that this is a partial championship and that Vakifbank is playing at home. If the crowd wants to praise Zhu and Vakif that's really ok, but this could not come from FIVB and their representatives (such as the annoying man on the mic).

For me it's wrong in so many ways to have someone praising Zhu Ting on the mic during the match. This is an official FIVB championship. Absurd!

As I said before, Minas won't win if all players start doing their best at the same time. Gabi scored only 3 times this set. Natalia is getting blocked a lot, but she has scored 5 times tho. We need Carol Gattaz as well, but for her to play, Minas need to organize its reception system. Leia and Natalia are struggling.

I am getting crazy with Minas' strategy to serve on Kelsey. She is even better than Gizem Orge.

Every time that a top player is underperforming, people blame the setters. Cansu is doing well so far.

Gabi made 10 points in the first set. However Minas needs to improve its game by playing with all players, that was the way we won against Eczacibasi.

Another terrible start by Natalia. Hope she get better because Minas won’t win without her.

USAvolleyfan wrote:

I'm really surprised people are acting so positive right now, because she has been given chances in the past, and has always used them really good.

Well, I don't remember Mayany getting much court time before. Last season was her first Superliga, and she was good/ok.

Anyway, she is playing well. It seems she has improved since last season, and what I like about her is her energy and, especially in WCH, I am impressed with her courage to face top teams.

I just don’t think that this strategy is fair with backup players. Minas has a really weak bench, and to put these players to play against a top team like Vakifbank is not nice because they can’t do anything on court. Are they gaining experience? Yes, but a very shameful one.

This is unusual for us Brazilians as well. I’ve never seen a Brazilian team behaving this well. Maybe they want to preserve the confidence of their athletes and give court time to backup players too.

Lavarini gave up. He will play with many back up players.

Natalia’s dumb mistakes are compromising the performance of Minas today. In the final moments of the sets she simply can’t spike. Always blocked or doing mistakes. Terrible.

IDK if you guys have noticed it, but Mayany’s (#18) jump is impressive.