#2 Huskers vs. #13 Wisconsin

For people that follow volleyball regularly, should a fan be concerned about this loss or does this sometimes happen and we can still have an excellent season?  Losing in straight sets doesn't seem like a good sign.

 
4skers89 said:
For people that follow volleyball regularly, should a fan be concerned about this loss or does this sometimes happen and we can still have an excellent season?  Losing in straight sets doesn't seem like a good sign.
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This is not cause for alarm.

Defending champs Stanford have more of their team back from last year and have more losses than us.

We will still go deep into the tournament this year.

 
4skers89 said:
For people that follow volleyball regularly, should a fan be concerned about this loss or does this sometimes happen and we can still have an excellent season?  Losing in straight sets doesn't seem like a good sign.
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Lots of semantics in this.  I still think we are a very good team.  We have a lot of talent.

But I think we're a step or two back from where we've been the last several years.  We make more mistakes and don't have that go-to hitter when we need a point - other than Stivrens, who is neigh on unstoppable, but that's not quite the same.

So I'm expecting us to lose a few more this year.  We still have Penn State, Wisconsin and Minnesota on the schedule.  And Michigan won't be a push-over.

So, like I said, it depends on the semantics.  If you're expecting us to be the #1 team in the country, win the B1G title and make the Final Four, I think there's plenty of signs that we going to struggle to do that.  If you're expecting us to be competitive but lose a few more in the regular season and maybe make a Sweet 16 or Elite 8 exit, I think we're plenty good enough to do that.

 
Thanks @knapplc and @Mavric.  I've caught a few big matches over the years when they were playing for high stakes and what little I've seen this season didn't quite seem the same.  I noticed Stanford lost to BYU after beating us so I didn't know what to think.   Some kind of championship would be nice this season.

 
4skers89 said:
Thanks @knapplc and @Mavric.  I've caught a few big matches over the years when they were playing for high stakes and what little I've seen this season didn't quite seem the same.  I noticed Stanford lost to BYU after beating us so I didn't know what to think.   Some kind of championship would be nice this season. 
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There's a lot of parity in college volleyball these days. Lots of talent in states across the Big Ten landscape. It used to be that if you weren't recruiting California, you weren't going to get the top talent.  Now, if you're not recruiting Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas, and half a dozen other mid-central states, you're going to miss out. High School volleyball in Nebraska is insane. Kids from Class C routinely go to D1 schools.

That's why you're seeing Stanford fall to BYU and Minnesota, but nearly sweeping Nebraska in Lincoln. That's why you're seeing a four-loss Wisconsin team beat Nebraska and a four-loss Illinois team taking us to five sets.

It's great for the sport. It's no fun watching your second-ranked team get swept at home, but it means the sport is really healthy.

 
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