Hahahaha no more justin wong orantes. She will be cut
Doubt it. She was making roster while sitting at home the last three years and she's finally going pro....so why would they cut her now? And it's not like we have an abundance of liberos in the system. We need every bro that enters the gym to remain there and be an option
Who do you guys think are indoor players of the year and most improved?
IPY - Robinson and Bartsch
MI - Drews
Drews and H. Tapp would be my most improved players. Its a true breakout year for Annie. Meanwhile H.Tapp has played herself into the A/B squad with her game this season.
Robinson without a doubt has been the most important player for us. Shes a very well rounded player now. Defensively sound and explosive offensively. Good year for her.
'K - just finished a night of following NCAA (US college) v-.ball. Afa this NORCECA tourney, I feel that KK is experimenting, before everything breaks down, so as to allow most of the current squad to (finally) get to their professional teams. One thing I do feel confident 'bout is that this team will not be the one in 2020!
Ok...Since you're confident bout it...care to explain, elaborate and expound the "will not"part. What about this NORCECA squad that made you feel that way? 😁
Who was saying that? If you're talking about werka then I think he/she meant the 2nd unit/bench/reserves and werka is right because they've been used as such for much of this season.
Yep. At this point in their young careers Carlini is a lot closer to a finished product than Poulter. This is Carlini's squad...for now. I believe Karch giving Poulter a lot of reps against tougher opponents this season is to get her ready to play backup for Carlini.
Eh....I'm pretty sure each club knows of the scheduled commitments of the NT players when they signed them. I dont realy care for this tournament either but if this is the group that we're sending to Tokyo then I'm fine with it. I think it's a welcome moment TBH.
We have, unfortunately, the disadvantage of being scattered around the world during pro season so they normally don't get this much time together. We also have 2 new setters, a whole group of new MB's not to mention a system and a libero situation that still needs figuring out. Its a pretty tiny window to address all that after the club season and before 2020 OG so we might as well take advantage of this opportunity now.
Wait why team A going to norceca continental championship? These players are for sure tired and just want to rest before playing with their club teams.
Can they just send team c, d, e there?
It's because most of them are either back in their colleges or with their professional teams already. They're the only ones left in the gym.
And some think or thought Jamie Morrison might be in consideration to replace Karch Kiraly. Morrison was just fires from the Netherlands NT. Awful timing. Perhaps they have someone in the wings and planned.
Fearing is more like it. It's also not an unreasonable thought considering how he positioned himself as a future candidate for the job. He puts himself in front of the line when he stepped away from the NT and started coaching a Euro powerhouse to pretty good results.This firing will undoubtedly put a blemish on his resume but he would definitely (whether we like it or not) be in the shortlist when Karch decides to step down.
I am guessing that Karch will be done after Tokyo. 8+ years in national team position is a ton and he’s been very successful in his position. I mean we are complaining about 2nd place at the World Cup, won the VNL for a second year in a row. A big question will be who would replace him? I can’t see any off the big name schools coaches doing it. However, a younger up and coming coach like at Oregon or Stanford might?
That really is the big question. Should we try to look outside of the usual suspects within the USA machine to guide this team? I'm not sold on Jamie Morrison and I have a really bad feeling that he's next in line. I'm also not convinced that anyone clamoring for a coaching change the past few seasons really have any idea of who they think could realistically and succesfully replace Karch. Most just want him gone.
The USA team are perpetually underestimated in this forum. Discounted their achievements when they win and almost in a celebratory atmosphere when they lose. I see you guys.
No what ifs. Serbia chose not to play their best team and Italy didn't qualify. Wait until Olympics.
This.^
Seriously, womens volleyball is one of the most unpredictable sports in the world. There's enough evidence in this tournament alone. One team getting swept by another put up a better fight against the other who gave a beating to that other team. You're kidding yourselves if you think you can predict the outcome of this tournament with your what if scenarios.
Game over. Robinson-Russia 3-2
She won the fifth by her own.
It was a nice service run but let's not go overboard. It was the inevitable Russian collapse that did it. Lol
I like the new coach for Russia. He exudes positive energy and it's clearly rubbing of to the Russian players. They're more animated and its really nice to see. Hope they keep him around.
In hockey and golf there's always a fear of peaking too early. Like Tampa domininating the NHL in the regular season and then fizzles and got swept in the first round of the playoffs. Is "peaking too soon" a thing with volleyball?
I think in the background China went on some secret nutrition and training regime. And fully committed to it. Like Batman.
Fairly recently Paul Sunderland and Kevin Barnet was talking on air about how Lang Ping told them that before she took over nutrition/fitness/stretching was not really a part of the Chinese NT regimen. Its just practice X3. She said it's one of the most important thing she learned while coaching the USA team and now they're doing all of that on top of the practice X3.
I thought we've improved a bit OOS compared to like a year or so ago. Bartsch specifically is pretty aggressive when she gets going..Annie too sometimes. There's plenty of room for improvement still but it's going in the right direction...I think.
I think that USA needs someone like Hooker (Yes, I know Karch hates her for some reason). You can't expect your reception to be perfect all the time. Who's gonna bail you out on those out-of-system balls?
I usually stay away from forums and social media in general when the Blackhawks (NHL) shit their pants. But it's only preseason so I'm a lot more level headed than usual. Yeah it would be nice to have someone like prime Hooker but the thing is they don't grow on trees. Even the second most populous country in the world only has one and for a long time they didn't have any. The US (or any team for that matter) can only hope for an elite athlete to come thru but a stable near perfect reception is something they can train and control.
KRob is a very good libero imo but will it suffice putting her there with Larson, MBH, and Hill on the OH position? Will it be enough?
With a more than capable libero we would be in system a lot more and that's how we would capitalized. We're talking about KRob here not Zhu Ting. She is not clearly above any of the outsides. Her only leg up against the likes of Hill and Bartsch is her stability and her defensive abilities. Which we desperately need more than her offensive output. Tell me which combination looks better Larson - KRob + Courtney or Larson - MBH//Hill + KRob?
I honestly think it's a total waste having KRob as libero. It's like doing the same to Jaqueline at her prime.
Like I said it's not ideal. The cup is bare at the moment. Short term, there is no one else better than her to take up that position. Long term she'd be better equipped to take over Larsons position when it's time for the Gov to bow out.
I think it's a win for the program. I think they're finally realizing how essential the lib position is especially for the system they're trying to implement. With Lake, JWO and possibly Hentz in the pipeline it would take a momentous amount of fuck ups for this to be a problem still come Paris.
To those who think its crazy to put KRob back in the lib role. Who do you think should play that role? Remember it's less than a year before the Olympics so you have to be realistic...so no Hentz or even Lake. That means we either stick with Courtney, resurrect Benson, hope JWO continues to improve or convert one of our four outsides.
This is how I see it...
▪ You have to measure and recognize the impact they could make in their positions.
▪ There's not much that separates the four main OH when it comes to playing their role.
▪Robinson is not that far ahead of the other three as an OH.
▪Larson, Bartch and Hill are more than capable of supplanting her offensive contributions.
▪Especially with steady reception and playing in system. Something Robinson can provide.
▪You can not say the same thing about their effectiveness compared to Robinson as the libero.
▪Bartsch and Hill are not steady enough. Larson maybe but she's not quick to the ball like Robinson.
▪Ideally JWO (or Lake or Hentz) would be rocking the different colored shirt for this team. But that all depends on how JWO performs in her FIRST pro season.
▪So until one viable libero breaks out within the next 10 months, Robinson I think is the only answer.
2) The libero situation is a complete disaster for the US (put Robinson there -- period -- and adjust OH's accordingly);
It's a bandaid solution but I agree. A combination of Larson - Bartsch/Hill and Robinson playing libero on the court is better than any combination of OH we have plus Courtney/JWO.
Krob is USA's best OH now, it would be stupid to put her back to play libero, and I don't think she's gonna ACCEPT it!
If they want a better chance to medal then the answer is clear. It's not that Krob isn't a very good OH, but she's the best option they have for that role for now.
I still need a reason why
Karch have to give Lloyd Murphy as her opposite while Carlini and the other setters get Drews and Lowe and they're automatically ahead of her after the world championship final 6 elimination.
Thats because Murphy was the only viable opposite for most of the time Lloyd was at the helm. Carli took over the setting duties in 2017 after Alisha retired. Unfortunately for her Lowe decided to go back to school after the Olympics and the other big hitter we have at that time (Fawcett) was dismissed from the team months before the OG. Annie made her national team debut in 2017 but didn't really set herself apart from Whitney and McMahon at that time. She didn't really breakout until 2018.
It's unbelievably sad how Carli had a pretty weak right sides most of her tenure. For two years (only, wow!) Carli was the undisputed number 1 setter in the gym. Then she got injured, then two of the most exciting prospect out of college (Carlini, Poulter) started making roster. Then Murphy retired. Drews improved, Lowe came back and Thompson surprised everyone...and then Carli called it quits. I wish she stuck around a little longer. But hey..
What happened to Carlini? She rarely played in World Cup.
Same with Hill and Tori.
I don't know what's the plan of kiraly with these players.
Well since the abrupt retirement of Carli Lloyd from the national team , the most experienced setter they have at the gym now is Hancock and then Carlini. It's safe to say that Karch is using this tournament to give Poulter all the experienced she needs to compete against tougher opponents now so she'd be "ready" if shes selected to go to the Olympics.
Same thing with Washington and Ogbogu. As good as they are now they're still pretty raw and new to the scene. Dixon's place is almost guaranteed as the only veteran MB selected to play the more important tournaments. Hill being used sporadically has more to do with her coming in late over the summer and the other OHs out playing her.
I wish I could say we played amazing (just ok) but really it's just the Dominicans hitting a wall. They played so much volleyball more than any team in the world this season and it shows.
