Posts by Tleon

    Kiraly got his starting roster wrong. If USA started with Skinner and Plummer, China may not have won this match.
    China still has the same weaknesses in service reception and defence.
    ZT, much much better alternative to WYL.
    Best of luck to the Chinese team and

    hopefully, with better cohesion, they will continue to win. 🙏

    Cai is an absolute idiot!!

    Playing such a weak team, he didn’t use any substitutes and used the same six players throughout!!
    How are the younger players going to get any match experience under this dumb coach?
    Also Diao is a real weak link due to her poor setting from off position digs, she’s also very poor in defence! I cannot remember her picking up many drop shot or spikes from the opposition!!

    I think Yao Di is more deserving of the setter spot ahead of Diao and definitely Ding Xia!
    She’s been the setter to Lyy, Yuan, WYY and ZT at the victorious Tianjin team and she’s not even in the NT squad !!
    Why?

    Having a re-look at a round 7 match between 2 unbeaten teams in Pool B, Jiangsu and Shanghai Here


    It was expected to be a close match between 2 strong teams but it turned out to be a rout for the Jiangsu team when Shanghai put up a stellar performance, they went all out attack... the stats are telling, 5 Shanghai players scored double-digit points in the 3:0 win :cheesy:

    Bricio: 15 pts 12kills in 23 attempts (52%), Gao Yi: 11 pts 10/17 (59%), Wang Yindi: 15 pts 14/25 (56%), Xue Yizhe: 11 pts (62%) and Zhong Hui: 15 points 14/29 (48%).

    Shanghai outplayed Jiangsu due to their setter’s Xu’s, brilliant setting which made Shanghai’s attacks so varied and effective!!

    She outplayed Diao by miles!! 👍

    Cai Bin is an absolute embarrassment! How can the Chinese team who’s been playing well enough to lead by 21-14 lose the third set?
    Absolutely unnecessary substitutions at the wrong time destroying the rhythm and confidence of the team!

    We have been screaming for Wyl to be substituted but WHY substitute her when she’s going to serve??? She has one of the most effective service in the team!!
    Why make that double substitution when they’re leading 24-22???

    They should never have lost that third set!!
    All his poor coaching is exposed in front of a full panel of current chinese coaches from all over China!!!!
    He should just resign now and save further embarrassment!!

    One of the special guests at the Award ceremony is Mireya Luis Hernández, perhaps the greatest volleyball player of all time. Mireya helped Cuba win Olympic gold at three consecutive Olympics.

    More on Mireya Luis


    What’s really significant here is that Luis is only 1.75m. She is perhaps the greatest female volleyball player of all time!

    Everything else being equal, height is obviously a big advantage in volleyball! However, height is not the be all and end all, there’s also agility, skills, ball sense and more importantly attitude and heart, that makes a great volleyball player.

    Give me Zhuang YS any day of the week over the likes of Wyl!!
    Cai Bin, please take note! Zhuang didn’t get awarded the World U 21 Championships MVP by chance and it’s her skill and excellence that was recognised!
    She demands and deserves a place in the China’s first team!!

    Congratulations to the Chinese U21 team for making the finals. They’re certainly not the tallest team in the tournament but they played with grit and determination!
    The fiery captain Zhuang is a stand out (and standing only a bit over 1.8m)! Tang Xin were amongst the best players in this semi.
    A big thumbs up to the coaching panel who made numerous substitutions according to the players form and confidence during the games. The substitutes all played their part during the game.
    The fifth set was a master stroke with TX replacing WYD at opposite, Zheng back as MB with her effective serves and Xie as OH.
    The libero deserves a special mention. She’s been very good and the constant factor through all the games.
    Hope Cai Bin could learn a bit about having capable substitutes in the first team that you can trust to do a job and not having subs like DQQ and the 18 year old in the main team!!!

    Since this is the Asian volleyball forum, here’s A bit about Australian volleyball.

    Volleyball was not very popular when I first arrived in Australia in the 70’s. Players and teams then mostly comes from European ethnicities that has family background in playing volleyball!

    In my time there were ethnic based teams like Vostok from Russia, the Greeks ‘Olympic’, Lebanese Cedars, etc.

    My University NSW team was most cosmopolitan!! 2 Czechs, one Ukrainian, one Estonian, one Brazilian and one Malaysian!! 😆. The style of play was mainly European based, high sets to the side positions 4 and 2. My UNSW was the first team to employ the short balls through the middle and dummy combinations to break up the big blockers.

    Volleyball is wholly an amateur sport to this very day and the better more athletic Aussies sportspersons are obviously not attracted to this sport.

    However, Volleyball’s popularity in Australia has experienced a positive surge, captivating both sports enthusiasts and casual participants.

    Australian national teams have achieved remarkable success in international competitions, solidifying the sport’s reputation and inspiring aspiring players. The triumphs of teams such as the Australian Volleyball Team (The Volleyroos) and the Australian Beach Volleyball Team have elevated the profile of volleyball in the country, attracting a growing fan base and further fuelling interest.

    The Australian men’s team is currently ranked No. 37 in the world.

    One major difference for this match against the USA was Gao Yi. She made a number of good kill blocks as well disrupting blocks that allowed the play to recycle!
    Although not as strong in attacks, she’s a better blocker than WYY and definitely Yang HY

    It’s really embarrassing that China with all their talents, keep playing a player like WYL!


    Her spiking techniques are fundamentally flawed!!! In no. 4 she’s totally ineffective particularly against big blocking teams like Poland, etc.

    All the opposition teams are targeting her with their serves, and with her poor reception, the attacking options become limited!


    All of us China volleyball fans can see that she’s not up to international standards except for the Chinese coach!!!
    There might just be some truth in J Chow’s conspiracy theory!!! 😩

    My suggestion for the next round...

    Get Wu Meng Jie (OH), Zhuang Yushan (OH/OP) and Zhou Yetong (OP)

    to replace...

    WYL, Du QQ and Yang HY (MB).

    Our two main MBs are doing ok and there is Gao Yi as backup, why not let another OH/OP take her slot?

    Unfortunately, there’s not a chance in the world that Cai will replace WYL!

    bumpsetspike


    Was Zhong Hui playing in set 3. I went out and missed the whole set :(

    Yes, Zhong Hui didn’t get any opportunities to show her wares. She had some difficult recovery sets that all she could do was push the ball over to keep it in play.
    Definitely needs more time on the court.

    I do not hold any high hopes for the chinese team, I think they will be left behind by most of the European teams. They lacked the power of the Europeans and the agility of the Japanese and the defensive competitiveness of the Thais!!

    Last outings their MBs (yuan and Wang) were abysmal, and if they don’t improve they do not stand a chance!!!

    They are really missing a Yanni and of course Zhu!!

    And I think Cai will just play these main players to the ground!!!

    I have seen replays of Tianjin’s three matches but still can’t comment, at least, not accurately on her performance. The problem is, with most sets going to Li Yingying, Vargas and the middles, CBY gets so few opportunities. Take Tianjin vs Yunnan for instance, in set 1, she had only 3 sets iirc. It’s interesting that the commentator said CBY was coming back from a bout of illness. She does look subdued at times, but I didn’t think it affected her performance which was still OK...actually more than ok if you compare with Wang Yizhu’s performance. I don’t know why, but WYZ seems to have gone backwards from last season. Her spiking was quite ordinary and her reception and retrieving was disappointing.

    WYZ replaced LYY in set 3, vs Hebei, and the other side was targeting her with their serves. Incidentally, in that set, without LYY, and even with Vargas, Tianjin struggled with Hebei who led 24-23 at one stage. It’ll be interesting to see Tianjin playing Shanghai and Jiangsu next week. Ironically, these teams might target LYY and Vargas with their blocking, and then perhaps we’ll see what CBY can really do :)


    Kinda long-winded, sorry :lol:

    I have watched the Tj matches to date. My view is that CBY is quite effective in attack. She’s got a high reach and can spike in various directions (3m line, cross court and down the line). Due to her side on spiking style, she is more effective in attack than WYZ, Jin Ye and Wang YL!
    Unfortunately, her skills in service reception and defence are sadly lacking and she’s often the target of opposition’s service and is slow and often seem loss in defence!
    Hopefully with court time and practice, she can overcome her weaknesses. I think she had great potential as an OH.

    One of the reasons TJ struggled against Hebei in the third set is because of exactly because of their poor service reception and defence. Their liberos are not that great either.
    It’ll be interesting to see how they go against the stronger teams in the league.

    Chinese coaches need to develop their younger players with more proper skills

    and athleticism and not focus on just height.

    The likes of Carol and Gabi are the best examples!
    Even though WYL performed better during this tournament it does not change the fact that her spiking actions are faulty and it does not matter how much weight she loses, there will not be much improvement in her!!
    Of the younger brigade, I like Zhuang YS, she’s has a good spiking action, is aggressive and has an attitude!!! One to bring on for the future but alas she’s only 183 cm, and as my good friend and volleyball teammate, Julian Chow say, she’ll won’t get a look in!!