[Hieronymus]

I agree at times that Parks setting looks horrid.  And when Yu is in the offense appears to run smoother.  It is obvious she is naturally a better pure setter at this point.  However, when you go back and watch the games when Yu  was setting, you start to notice that her involvement of the middles is much lower than when Parks sets.  Looking back over them just now, when Yu sets, the pins average almost triple the attempts individually as the middles individually.  Then when you look at the stats when Parks is setting, the middles often times get just barely under the attempts individually as the pins individually -- it is much more spread around.  

Let's be real about our pins -- they are not power pins that are going to take over a match like Torrey Stafford, Olivia Babcock, etc.  And they also at times struggle against a big block.  So, while Yu sets more purely and it looks nicer, our offense does tend to do better with Parks (even if quite ugly at times), as she runs a more balanced offense, which allows our pins to score more efficiently (even if they are having to tip sometimes due to poor sets) due to the block on the other side having to stay true with our middles.  When Yu is setting, the other teams' middles cheat and make our pins less effective (while our middles are already not being utilized). 

I think the bigger problem we have is at the DS level.  Pringle is just ... aye.  I have slowly become more fond of Blyashov over Kurt in general, but given that Pringle does not play when Blyashov is playing, I strongly prefer Blyashov just for that reason.  And it is just not passing, it is floor defense.  Outside Rubin and Etzler, our floor D is really rather atrocious, to be honest.

 2024 
Francis 2.46 kills/set
Andrew 1.46 kills/set
Total 3.92 

2025
Andrew 2.53 k/s
Sayer 2.35 k/s
Total 4.88 

That is a notable increase vs. last year - nearly 1 kill /set - or about a 24% increase. Parks is very good at getting it to the Middles. It’s not just the hitting percentages that are up, it’s volume as well.

[Hieronymus]

I agree at times that Parks setting looks horrid.  And when Yu is in the offense appears to run smoother.  It is obvious she is naturally a better pure setter at this point.  However, when you go back and watch the games when Yu  was setting, you start to notice that her involvement of the middles is much lower than when Parks sets.  Looking back over them just now, when Yu sets, the pins average almost triple the attempts individually as the middles individually.  Then when you look at the stats when Parks is setting, the middles often times get just barely under the attempts individually as the pins individually -- it is much more spread around.  

Let's be real about our pins -- they are not power pins that are going to take over a match like Torrey Stafford, Olivia Babcock, etc.  And they also at times struggle against a big block.  So, while Yu sets more purely and it looks nicer, our offense does tend to do better with Parks (even if quite ugly at times), as she runs a more balanced offense, which allows our pins to score more efficiently (even if they are having to tip sometimes due to poor sets) due to the block on the other side having to stay true with our middles.  When Yu is setting, the other teams' middles cheat and make our pins less effective (while our middles are already not being utilized). 

I think the bigger problem we have is at the DS level.  Pringle is just ... aye.  I have slowly become more fond of Blyashov over Kurt in general, but given that Pringle does not play when Blyashov is playing, I strongly prefer Blyashov just for that reason.  And it is just not passing, it is floor defense.  Outside Rubin and Etzler, our floor D is really rather atrocious, to be honest.

 2024 
Francis 2.46 kills/set
Andrew 1.46 kills/set
Total 3.92 

2025
Andrew 2.53 k/s
Sayer 2.35 k/s
Total 4.88 

That is a notable increase vs. last year - nearly 1 kill /set - or about a 24% increase. Parks is very good at getting it to the Middles. It’s not just the hitting percentages that are up, it’s volume as well.

[BostonCard]

thanks. I think the stats echo my observation that Parks is comfortable and effective setting the middles. 

I agree with paloalto and others that she has been less effective setting the OH’s and consequently we’ve seen a lot more rolls and tips than last year (we’ve also been blocked a bit more than last year but not by much).  I think Rubin has been effective at it and opposing defenses have had to respect her ability to take an effective swing at a poor set, but the other three pin hitters less so which is why Kurt and Harvey are hitting less effectively than last year.

Thanks everyone for the high quality discussion. I always learn a lot reading this thread.

BC

[BostonCard]

thanks. I think the stats echo my observation that Parks is comfortable and effective setting the middles. 

I agree with paloalto and others that she has been less effective setting the OH’s and consequently we’ve seen a lot more rolls and tips than last year (we’ve also been blocked a bit more than last year but not by much).  I think Rubin has been effective at it and opposing defenses have had to respect her ability to take an effective swing at a poor set, but the other three pin hitters less so which is why Kurt and Harvey are hitting less effectively than last year.

Thanks everyone for the high quality discussion. I always learn a lot reading this thread.

BC

[paloalto]

Looking at the stats should we conclude freshman Logan Parks is better at setting the middle than senior Kami Miner (future Olympic setter)?

Just kidding of course.  But looking at the stats in a vacuum that would be the conclusion.

There are so many variables from season to season. One example: After playing 23 matches Stanford has one win against a top 25 ranked team this season. I will be interested to see how things go against UNC on Friday.

[paloalto]

Looking at the stats should we conclude freshman Logan Parks is better at setting the middle than senior Kami Miner (future Olympic setter)?

Just kidding of course.  But looking at the stats in a vacuum that would be the conclusion.

There are so many variables from season to season. One example: After playing 23 matches Stanford has one win against a top 25 ranked team this season. I will be interested to see how things go against UNC on Friday.

[BostonCard]

lol. Good point, but if there was one *relative* weakness to Miner it was that she didn’t connect as well with the Middles as she did with the pin hitters.  But that’s just picking nuts; of course the team would be better with Miner.

Still, I’m not hallucinating, right.  The offense with the middles has gone much smoother, and I don’t think it’s that freshman Sayer is a brobdingnagian upgrade over Sami Francis or that Andrew has made a brobdingnagian jump from freshman to sophomore years.

BC

[BostonCard]

lol. Good point, but if there was one *relative* weakness to Miner it was that she didn’t connect as well with the Middles as she did with the pin hitters.  But that’s just picking nuts; of course the team would be better with Miner.

Still, I’m not hallucinating, right.  The offense with the middles has gone much smoother, and I don’t think it’s that freshman Sayer is a brobdingnagian upgrade over Sami Francis or that Andrew has made a brobdingnagian jump from freshman to sophomore years.

BC

[BobK]

Andrew is quicker and big improvement on the slide. Andrew is from a rural area low key HS and travel so
a soph year imrovement would be expected but I see a big jump.

[BobK]

Andrew is quicker and big improvement on the slide. Andrew is from a rural area low key HS and travel so
a soph year imrovement would be expected but I see a big jump.

[paloalto]

lol. Good point, but if there was one *relative* weakness to Miner it was that she didn’t connect as well with the Middles as she did with the pin hitters.  But that’s just picking nuts; of course the team would be better with Miner.

Still, I’m not hallucinating, right.  The offense with the middles has gone much smoother, and I don’t think it’s that freshman Sayer is a brobdingnagian upgrade over Sami Francis or that Andrew has made a brobdingnagian jump from freshman to sophomore years.

BC

I agree. I see no hallucination.

Stanford's conference schedule this year could not have been better. They get Pitt, SMU, and UNC on the home court. They get Pitt and UNC on Fridays. That means the two teams travel across the country on Thursday and play on Friday.

Have any of the players from Pitt or UNC ever been on Stanford's campus let alone played in Maples Pavilion? Scheduling is ideal. It's up to Stanford to take advantage.

[paloalto]

lol. Good point, but if there was one *relative* weakness to Miner it was that she didn’t connect as well with the Middles as she did with the pin hitters.  But that’s just picking nuts; of course the team would be better with Miner.

Still, I’m not hallucinating, right.  The offense with the middles has gone much smoother, and I don’t think it’s that freshman Sayer is a brobdingnagian upgrade over Sami Francis or that Andrew has made a brobdingnagian jump from freshman to sophomore years.

BC

I agree. I see no hallucination.

Stanford's conference schedule this year could not have been better. They get Pitt, SMU, and UNC on the home court. They get Pitt and UNC on Fridays. That means the two teams travel across the country on Thursday and play on Friday.

Have any of the players from Pitt or UNC ever been on Stanford's campus let alone played in Maples Pavilion? Scheduling is ideal. It's up to Stanford to take advantage.

[Hieronymus]

lol. Good point, but if there was one *relative* weakness to Miner it was that she didn’t connect as well with the Middles as she did with the pin hitters.  But that’s just picking nuts; of course the team would be better with Miner.

Still, I’m not hallucinating, right.  The offense with the middles has gone much smoother, and I don’t think it’s that freshman Sayer is a brobdingnagian upgrade over Sami Francis or that Andrew has made a brobdingnagian jump from freshman to sophomore years.

BC

I agree.  I see no hallucination.

When usage and efficiency are both up for MB’s, it’s not a hallucination and my eyes say the same thing.

I have never really poked at MB numbers before, but one related interesting data point is Nebraska actually gets even more from its MB’s - a bit over 5 K/set and around a .420 efficiency.

I thinks it’s safe to say Miner probably did underutilize the middle in comparison.

I have no idea who should start and is better utilization of the middles worth a drop in pin efficiency, but I do think the recent conversation does show what Parks does well.

[Hieronymus]

lol. Good point, but if there was one *relative* weakness to Miner it was that she didn’t connect as well with the Middles as she did with the pin hitters.  But that’s just picking nuts; of course the team would be better with Miner.

Still, I’m not hallucinating, right.  The offense with the middles has gone much smoother, and I don’t think it’s that freshman Sayer is a brobdingnagian upgrade over Sami Francis or that Andrew has made a brobdingnagian jump from freshman to sophomore years.

BC

I agree.  I see no hallucination.

When usage and efficiency are both up for MB’s, it’s not a hallucination and my eyes say the same thing.

I have never really poked at MB numbers before, but one related interesting data point is Nebraska actually gets even more from its MB’s - a bit over 5 K/set and around a .420 efficiency.

I thinks it’s safe to say Miner probably did underutilize the middle in comparison.

I have no idea who should start and is better utilization of the middles worth a drop in pin efficiency, but I do think the recent conversation does show what Parks does well.

[SkiBum80]

Regarding this discussion, to me, the well timed and successful attack of the quick set to the middle blocker is a highlight that raises volleyball to contest with soccer for the “beautiful game” label.

[SkiBum80]

Regarding this discussion, to me, the well timed and successful attack of the quick set to the middle blocker is a highlight that raises volleyball to contest with soccer for the “beautiful game” label.

[BostonCard]

1762321041[/url]']
Regarding this discussion, to me, the well timed and successful attack of the quick set to the middle blocker is a highlight that raises volleyball to contest with soccer for the “beautiful game” label.

Agree.  Love the well executed quick-set, but everything has to be done to the precision of a Swiss Watch to execute it correctly.

I feel like most of the success this year has been on the slide.  Still requires good communication, but a bit easier to execute than the 1.

For fun, look at Foluke Akinradewo hitting the quickset in these highlights.

https://youtu.be/Vv9Maw3uMds

BC

[BostonCard]

1762321041[/url]']
Regarding this discussion, to me, the well timed and successful attack of the quick set to the middle blocker is a highlight that raises volleyball to contest with soccer for the “beautiful game” label.

Agree.  Love the well executed quick-set, but everything has to be done to the precision of a Swiss Watch to execute it correctly.

I feel like most of the success this year has been on the slide.  Still requires good communication, but a bit easier to execute than the 1.

For fun, look at Foluke Akinradewo hitting the quickset in these highlights.

https://youtu.be/Vv9Maw3uMds

BC

[M T]

For fun, look at Foluke Akinradewo hitting the quickset in these highlights.

https://youtu.be/Vv9Maw3uMds

Forget Michael Jordan, she's got Professor Brainard shoes!

[M T]

For fun, look at Foluke Akinradewo hitting the quickset in these highlights.

https://youtu.be/Vv9Maw3uMds

Forget Michael Jordan, she's got Professor Brainard shoes!

[SkiBum80]

1762321041[/url]']
Regarding this discussion, to me, the well timed and successful attack of the quick set to the middle blocker is a highlight that raises volleyball to contest with soccer for the “beautiful game” label.

Agree.  Love the well executed quick-set, but everything has to be done to the precision of a Swiss Watch to execute it correctly.

I feel like most of the success this year has been on the slide.  Still requires good communication, but a bit easier to execute than the 1.

For fun, look at Foluke Akinradewo hitting the quickset in these highlights.

https://youtu.be/Vv9Maw3uMds

BC

Awesome!

[SkiBum80]

1762321041[/url]']
Regarding this discussion, to me, the well timed and successful attack of the quick set to the middle blocker is a highlight that raises volleyball to contest with soccer for the “beautiful game” label.

Agree.  Love the well executed quick-set, but everything has to be done to the precision of a Swiss Watch to execute it correctly.

I feel like most of the success this year has been on the slide.  Still requires good communication, but a bit easier to execute than the 1.

For fun, look at Foluke Akinradewo hitting the quickset in these highlights.

https://youtu.be/Vv9Maw3uMds

BC

Awesome!

[ca245]

I'm guessing that we won't have the Taraflex court for the UNC match, because there is a WBB game on Thursday and it takes more than 24 hrs to install it. It's a shame to have the court but then it can't be used once mid-November. comes around because of the MBB and WBB games.

[ca245]

I'm guessing that we won't have the Taraflex court for the UNC match, because there is a WBB game on Thursday and it takes more than 24 hrs to install it. It's a shame to have the court but then it can't be used once mid-November. comes around because of the MBB and WBB games.

[TonyLima]

For fun, look at Foluke Akinradewo hitting the quickset in these highlights.

https://youtu.be/Vv9Maw3uMds

Forget Michael Jordan, she's got Professor Brainard shoes!

That’s some serious muscle. And reflexes. And volleyball court sense.

[TonyLima]

For fun, look at Foluke Akinradewo hitting the quickset in these highlights.

https://youtu.be/Vv9Maw3uMds

Forget Michael Jordan, she's got Professor Brainard shoes!

That’s some serious muscle. And reflexes. And volleyball court sense.

[johnbar]

I'm guessing that we won't have the Taraflex court for the UNC match, because there is a WBB game on Thursday and it takes more than 24 hrs to install it. It's a shame to have the court but then it can't be used once mid-November. comes around because of the MBB and WBB games.

I think you are correct.  My question is, since BB season has started, will there be more concession stands open (with more variety)?

[johnbar]

I'm guessing that we won't have the Taraflex court for the UNC match, because there is a WBB game on Thursday and it takes more than 24 hrs to install it. It's a shame to have the court but then it can't be used once mid-November. comes around because of the MBB and WBB games.

I think you are correct.  My question is, since BB season has started, will there be more concession stands open (with more variety)?

[Card10Fan]

Setting is really bad again with Parks against Carolina. SHOCKER! We are in a close first set back and forth. NC starting to pull ahead.

[Card10Fan]

Setting is really bad again with Parks against Carolina. SHOCKER! We are in a close first set back and forth. NC starting to pull ahead.

[BostonCard]

Not a great start.  No TV for me because I’m a victim of the ESPN/Youtube catfight, but we are down 13-15, so maybe good I’m not watching.

BC

[BostonCard]

Not a great start.  No TV for me because I’m a victim of the ESPN/Youtube catfight, but we are down 13-15, so maybe good I’m not watching.

BC

[mbdude]

blyashov playing 6 rotations, doing ok

[mbdude]

blyashov playing 6 rotations, doing ok

[TonyLima]

Not a great start.  No TV for me because I’m a victim of the ESPN/Youtube catfight, but we are down 13-15, so maybe good I’m not watching.

BC

Or not.

[TonyLima]

Not a great start.  No TV for me because I’m a victim of the ESPN/Youtube catfight, but we are down 13-15, so maybe good I’m not watching.

BC

Or not.

[mbdude]

taylor yu in now

[mbdude]

taylor yu in now

[Griffins78]

And setting our middles. She’s turned things around

[Griffins78]

And setting our middles. She’s turned things around