[MSG1716]

I agree with PaloAlto that are talent is as good or better as any in the tournament, but our inconsistent play, frequent letdowns and questionable mental toughness causes problems.  And, love to hear other people's thoughts on this, is coaching a problem.  As was noted, Houston adjusted well and it was after losing two sets before we adjusted.  Houston had only 2 players getting the vast majority of their kill attempts, yet we still weren't blocking them effectively.  In 5 sets, I figured we'd have 15-20 blocks when we only have to focus on 2 hitters.  Also, how much are the players and how much is the coach responsible for our inconsistent play?  

Last year we played flat in the elite 8 game and blew set 5 at the end.  I knew we were a better team than that, and was concerned about our killer instinct.  We got better with another year of experience this year, yet our mental toughness and focus throughout a match as well our killer instinct in the toward the end of the sets has been even worse this year.  Our talent should put us in the championship match, yet we barely won our second match against a Houston team that had played 6 matches against top 20 teams and lost all, mostly in straight sets.  Is Hambly to blame for the team not playing its best when it matters most?

Revised thoughts on this weekend anyone?  

ASU blew us away 3-0 winning the third set at 14.  They have one superstar who is also #4 (Marta Levinska) who leads the team in all offensive stats (554, 4.74 kills/set, hitting .352) with the next closest offensive player being #12 Geli Gyr with 271 kills, 2.71 kills/set, and a pretty low .229 hitting percentage.  She got 17 kill is 3 sets against us last time, the only player with double digit kills.  Let's see if we consistently double block #4.  I would assume that coaching will be focused on stopping her or at least slowing her down to 3 kills/set and under .300 hitting percentage.  If there were a chalk talk, I'd ask Coach his plans for stopping her.  We are a better team then ASU, but they are playing well blowing away #4 seed BYU in 3 again with #4 getting 17 kills (over .500 hitting percentage) and no other ASU woman in double digits.  Stop her, I think we win.  As Tara's coaching approach is, focus defensively on not letting the best player on the other team beat you, but instead make a less player bear the burden.

[MSG1716]

I agree with PaloAlto that are talent is as good or better as any in the tournament, but our inconsistent play, frequent letdowns and questionable mental toughness causes problems.  And, love to hear other people's thoughts on this, is coaching a problem.  As was noted, Houston adjusted well and it was after losing two sets before we adjusted.  Houston had only 2 players getting the vast majority of their kill attempts, yet we still weren't blocking them effectively.  In 5 sets, I figured we'd have 15-20 blocks when we only have to focus on 2 hitters.  Also, how much are the players and how much is the coach responsible for our inconsistent play?  

Last year we played flat in the elite 8 game and blew set 5 at the end.  I knew we were a better team than that, and was concerned about our killer instinct.  We got better with another year of experience this year, yet our mental toughness and focus throughout a match as well our killer instinct in the toward the end of the sets has been even worse this year.  Our talent should put us in the championship match, yet we barely won our second match against a Houston team that had played 6 matches against top 20 teams and lost all, mostly in straight sets.  Is Hambly to blame for the team not playing its best when it matters most?

Revised thoughts on this weekend anyone?  

ASU blew us away 3-0 winning the third set at 14.  They have one superstar who is also #4 (Marta Levinska) who leads the team in all offensive stats (554, 4.74 kills/set, hitting .352) with the next closest offensive player being #12 Geli Gyr with 271 kills, 2.71 kills/set, and a pretty low .229 hitting percentage.  She got 17 kill is 3 sets against us last time, the only player with double digit kills.  Let's see if we consistently double block #4.  I would assume that coaching will be focused on stopping her or at least slowing her down to 3 kills/set and under .300 hitting percentage.  If there were a chalk talk, I'd ask Coach his plans for stopping her.  We are a better team then ASU, but they are playing well blowing away #4 seed BYU in 3 again with #4 getting 17 kills (over .500 hitting percentage) and no other ASU woman in double digits.  Stop her, I think we win.  As Tara's coaching approach is, focus defensively on not letting the best player on the other team beat you, but instead make a less player bear the burden.