[BosCard]

I'm not surprised at the start, for two reasons in addition to the lack of almost any reasonable practice (one week total of on-court practice before the first match?):  there is no substitute for game experience, and the current lineup has precious little; and because we are missing our two best and most experienced players (one apparently is out for the season). Prep accolades are not necessarily predictive of immediate freshman productivity: I remember reading from self-styled experts before last season that Kendall Kipp was going to be a stellar outside hitter for us immediately, but it turned out not so much. I suspect this team will have a steep learning curve over the course of the season. It was going to be a rebuilding year anyway, after losing so many starters from last year.

The team has talent but they are struggling with poor passing and unforced errors.  Berty and Baird really struggle to pass and they are 2/3's of the passing of the current team.  They likely pass more than 2/3's of the opponent's serve since they are targeted.  Hopefully this will change soon when McClure (a very good passer) and Lougeay (presumably a good passer since she is a DL/Libero) come back and then we will have 5/6 good passers and 1/6 passing from Baird.

The bigger problem comes next year when McClure graduates.  Then we are left with a Libero and probably Baird and Kipp passing.  And remember as much as Berty and Baird are struggling passing, they are still ahead of Kipp.  So possibly our current situation of Berty and Baird passing will actually get worse next year when it is Kipp and Baird passing.  Since passing is so critical, I predict that they will convert Ogilve back to an OH2 next year because they need 6 rotations of her passing along with 6 rotations from Lougeay or the '21 DS/Libero.  Then you DS Baird for the back row and you have 5/6 good passers and you can keep Kipp on the court at all times for her back row hitting.

[BosCard]

I'm not surprised at the start, for two reasons in addition to the lack of almost any reasonable practice (one week total of on-court practice before the first match?):  there is no substitute for game experience, and the current lineup has precious little; and because we are missing our two best and most experienced players (one apparently is out for the season). Prep accolades are not necessarily predictive of immediate freshman productivity: I remember reading from self-styled experts before last season that Kendall Kipp was going to be a stellar outside hitter for us immediately, but it turned out not so much. I suspect this team will have a steep learning curve over the course of the season. It was going to be a rebuilding year anyway, after losing so many starters from last year.

The team has talent but they are struggling with poor passing and unforced errors.  Berty and Baird really struggle to pass and they are 2/3's of the passing of the current team.  They likely pass more than 2/3's of the opponent's serve since they are targeted.  Hopefully this will change soon when McClure (a very good passer) and Lougeay (presumably a good passer since she is a DL/Libero) come back and then we will have 5/6 good passers and 1/6 passing from Baird.

The bigger problem comes next year when McClure graduates.  Then we are left with a Libero and probably Baird and Kipp passing.  And remember as much as Berty and Baird are struggling passing, they are still ahead of Kipp.  So possibly our current situation of Berty and Baird passing will actually get worse next year when it is Kipp and Baird passing.  Since passing is so critical, I predict that they will convert Ogilve back to an OH2 next year because they need 6 rotations of her passing along with 6 rotations from Lougeay or the '21 DS/Libero.  Then you DS Baird for the back row and you have 5/6 good passers and you can keep Kipp on the court at all times for her back row hitting.