09-06-2014, 12:05 PM
It was a stressful, thrilling, exhausting match to watch. Over the years we have had many, which makes watching our Women's Volleyball team so fun.
We started out tight but where we struggled was in the rotation with Inky out. McGehee was just not getting to the block in time. We sorely miss Carly. There were several times that Hancock dumped it over because our MB wasn't paying attention. Without the MB blocking effectively it left the court more open to PSU hitters and made defending and digging much harder. In contrast, PSU's MBs played well and is why our outside hitters were almost always hitting against a double block. When we got it through - their block left narrow windows that their back line could cover well.
Their setter, Micha Hancock is first-team all-american - the best in the country and she showed it with a number of spectacular plays as well as setting fast and accurately. But, she made several errors that cost them the match. Many errors in serving and several timely errors quick hitting the ball out or into the net. They were momentum swings.
I credit the match to Dunning. He made several substitutions throughout the match that proved to be crucial. He kept switching in Lutz for McGehee - neither were effective - until finally Lutz made her presence felt with several blocks (with no elevation). And substituting in Brown to serve for Burgess.
We started out tight but where we struggled was in the rotation with Inky out. McGehee was just not getting to the block in time. We sorely miss Carly. There were several times that Hancock dumped it over because our MB wasn't paying attention. Without the MB blocking effectively it left the court more open to PSU hitters and made defending and digging much harder. In contrast, PSU's MBs played well and is why our outside hitters were almost always hitting against a double block. When we got it through - their block left narrow windows that their back line could cover well.
Their setter, Micha Hancock is first-team all-american - the best in the country and she showed it with a number of spectacular plays as well as setting fast and accurately. But, she made several errors that cost them the match. Many errors in serving and several timely errors quick hitting the ball out or into the net. They were momentum swings.
I credit the match to Dunning. He made several substitutions throughout the match that proved to be crucial. He kept switching in Lutz for McGehee - neither were effective - until finally Lutz made her presence felt with several blocks (with no elevation). And substituting in Brown to serve for Burgess.