[76lsjumb]

While I, too, noticed the, er, ... aggressive... use of megaphones by the UT cheerleaders and band [especially], and also wondered whether their use of same complied with NCAA rules, I'm not exactly sure why folks appear so bent out of shape by that.  Indeed, it you look at the stats, our serve and serve receive games [which, presumably, is where any adverse effect would be most apparent] were actually better in Set 2 [when we were on the UT Band side of the net] than either Set 1 or 3.  We had one service error in Set 2 [Plummer, channeling her inner Kristin Folkl, as she is wont to do] and zero serve receive errors/aces.  On the other hand, in Set 1 [while on the "friendly," non-UT Band side of the court], we had three service errors and gave up two aces, and in Set 3 [again, on the "good guys" side] we had 2 service errors and gave up 1 ace.  Empirically, then, we did better under megaphone pressure than otherwise.

Also, at the Wisconsin match the previous evening -- with the benefit of no opposing megaphones -- our service game had many more errors [both serving and receiving].  Indeed, the atmosphere for that match was much more akin to a library or a morgue than to a sporting event [other than golf or tennis].  In fact, that is an ongoing gripe I have about the wvb fan base [indeed, Stanford fan bases as a whole].  Florida, Penn State, and Nebraska fans don't satisfy themselves with golf claps; there's no reason why we should.  Also, as has been noted [I think], the LSJUMB quite often "assists" the opposing server by yelling "bounce, bounce, bounce..." as she dribbles before serving.  More power [even megaphones, perhaps  ;D ] to them...

In short, I think the UT band and cheerleaders did us a favor.  The energy level was much higher for the UT match, and it sure looked to me like our team fed off that higher level -- including the megaphone "harassment" -- to turn in one of the better performances of the year.

As for being disruptive, I can't imagine anything more disruptive than the ASU "curtain of doom" [or whatever they call it] that they have for visiting team free throw shooters at b'ball games.  Compared to that spectacle, those megaphones  [especially the little ones the UT band had] seem almost cute...

[76lsjumb]

While I, too, noticed the, er, ... aggressive... use of megaphones by the UT cheerleaders and band [especially], and also wondered whether their use of same complied with NCAA rules, I'm not exactly sure why folks appear so bent out of shape by that.  Indeed, it you look at the stats, our serve and serve receive games [which, presumably, is where any adverse effect would be most apparent] were actually better in Set 2 [when we were on the UT Band side of the net] than either Set 1 or 3.  We had one service error in Set 2 [Plummer, channeling her inner Kristin Folkl, as she is wont to do] and zero serve receive errors/aces.  On the other hand, in Set 1 [while on the "friendly," non-UT Band side of the court], we had three service errors and gave up two aces, and in Set 3 [again, on the "good guys" side] we had 2 service errors and gave up 1 ace.  Empirically, then, we did better under megaphone pressure than otherwise.

Also, at the Wisconsin match the previous evening -- with the benefit of no opposing megaphones -- our service game had many more errors [both serving and receiving].  Indeed, the atmosphere for that match was much more akin to a library or a morgue than to a sporting event [other than golf or tennis].  In fact, that is an ongoing gripe I have about the wvb fan base [indeed, Stanford fan bases as a whole].  Florida, Penn State, and Nebraska fans don't satisfy themselves with golf claps; there's no reason why we should.  Also, as has been noted [I think], the LSJUMB quite often "assists" the opposing server by yelling "bounce, bounce, bounce..." as she dribbles before serving.  More power [even megaphones, perhaps  ;D ] to them...

In short, I think the UT band and cheerleaders did us a favor.  The energy level was much higher for the UT match, and it sure looked to me like our team fed off that higher level -- including the megaphone "harassment" -- to turn in one of the better performances of the year.

As for being disruptive, I can't imagine anything more disruptive than the ASU "curtain of doom" [or whatever they call it] that they have for visiting team free throw shooters at b'ball games.  Compared to that spectacle, those megaphones  [especially the little ones the UT band had] seem almost cute...