Undertow

Not much of a difference in the initial rankings with how the season ended last year. If you overlay the final poll of the 2018, it doesn’t take a lot of manipulation to come up with the pre-season poll. In fact, Louisville is the only team in the top 25 in the pre-season that wasn’t in the final top 25 of 2018. Not sure if this is a lack of imagination on part of the voting coaches, or if teams at the top are just doing a good job of recruiting and training to maintain the status quo. Stanford at the top is not surprising to anyone. They had 5 All-Americans on the floor against Nebraska in the finals and return all of them with the exception of middle blocker Tami Alade. Then they go out and get an All Pac-12 middle transfer from UCLA. Then they go out get the no. 1 recruiting class for 2019. The Color Cardinal are stacked and loaded. While the Pac-12 is a tough conference, it clearly isn’t the grind at the top that the B1G is. Stanford is a cut above everyone else. But you have to admire the Color Cardinal. They don’t duck anybody. Stanford opens non-conference play with a couple of ho-hum opponents, then they have Florida, Texas, Penn State, Minnesota, Nebraska and BYU to close out the non-conference portion of their schedule. All pre-season top 10 teams. Almost like a B1G schedule in the middle of October. The Pac-12 has 5 other teams in the top 25 occupying positions 11-25 and 2 other schools receiving votes. Last year was a quagmire for Pac-12 teams in the bottom half of the top 25 with each taking turns beating up on each other. At one time, there were 7 teams ranked from 14-25 with two others receiving votes. Oregon and USC ended tied for 2nd in conference with 13-7 records. This year, it will be slightly different as Oregon has the horses to break out of the pack and hang around the top ten most of the year. For the other schools……… it’s more of the same mosh pit with the weekends characterized by 5 set matches and plenti-o-upsets. Nebraska at no. 2 is not as clear cut as Stanford is at no. 1, but is largely there because of the “Cook Factor” and the reality the Huskers have made 4 final fours in a row. Plus they did have the No. 2 recruiting class behind Stanford. The top five B1G schools that finished in the top 10 last year, are also ranked in the top 10 this year. There might be some disagreement on who slots where, but putting Minnesota at no. 3 makes sense if you’re just looking at the number of returning All-Conference players. However, after experiencing the growing pains of replacing a POY caliber setter in 2018 for the Huskers, I believe that Minnesota replacing Seliger‑Swenson, Illinois replacing Poulter, and to a lesser extent Penn State replacing Weiskircher is going to be tougher sledding than people might expect. Particularly in the first half of the season. I would probably flip Wisconsin and Minnesota. I would probably also swap Penn State and Illinois as the orange & blue lost All-American middle Bastianelli in addition to Poulter. Michigan and Purdue are also included in the top 25, but no other B1G team is even receiving votes. The B1G will be a deeper conference this year and I expect teams like Ohio State, Maryland, and Michigan State to compete for tournament berths with Iowa and Indiana as dark horse picks. In 2017 the SEC was a two team conference with no one else in the picture. Last year, the two teams were challenged a bit. And while it is still Kentucky’s and Florida’s conference to lose this year, there are even more teams getting into the competitive mix. Look for Tennessee, Missouri, and South Carolina to be in the top 25 discussion along with LSU and their no. 10 recruiting class. And it won’t be long before aTm and their 200 + million dollar athletic budget starts participating in the volleyball ARMS race. The SEC is an improving conference as opposed to ……………. The ACC is again down to Pittsburgh and Louisville with the Panthers gunning for a hometown visit to the final four. And while Florida State is a consistent presence in the NCAA tournament, this conference, surprisingly, is not a very good volleyball conference. The ACC has one final four appearance in tournament history (Florida State in 2011) which is the same as UT@Arlington. If Dani Busboom can somehow maneuver through the pig sty that IS Louisville Athletics (The Bird Cardinal), she could have a chokehold on this conference for years to come. Texas again has a lot of returning talent, again has a highly regarded recruiting class, again is the prohibitive favorite in the B12, again is ranked in the top ten, and again will find a way to squander a title run. Texas did win the title in 2012, but are 1 – 7 in final fours since 2008. Baylor also is a very athletic team, however, they are maddeningly inconsistent. They will beat a top 5 Wisconsin team, then within 24 hours lose a match to something called UT@Rio Grande Valley formally known as Pan American University (go fightin’ Vaqueros????). With a year of seasoning along with a good recruiting class, a young Kansas squad should also compete for a tournament slot. It will be interesting to see how TCU’s top 5 recruiting class translates to the court. Iowa State is another possible tournament entry albeit more of a long shot. BYU is again in the top 10 and has a chance to make a statement early in non-conference play with matches against Stanford, Texas, and Marquette. Last year I called the West Coast Conference the “Conference That Sucks” because BYU was plowing through it effortlessly. That depiction was sorely inaccurately as the West Coast Conference placed 4 teams in the Tournament and 2 (San Diego and BYU) made the 2nd weekend (the sweet 16). It appears that BYU, Loyola Marymount, and San Diego are again in contention to make the Tournament with Pepperdine being a team to watch. There is little to no depth to this conference after those 4 teams. The Big West and the Big East are similar to the ACC in that there are one or two contenders will be in the top 25 all season long but the remainder of each conference is largely non-competitive. Cal Poly is the bell cow of the Big West with perhaps Hawaii providing some competition. The Big East has Marquette and Creighton and ……….nobody else. The advantage of a weak conference is that a team can post an inflated win – loss record and get an inflated ranking. The disadvantage of a weak conference is that the AVCA poll will punish the hell out of a team than finally succumbs to a loss in said weak conference, at least they did last year. The AAC doesn’t have a team in the top 25 but has two teams that made the NCAAs last year in UCF (undefeated in league play) and Cincinnati (the team with the best player in the nation – Jordan Thompson - assuming she doesn’t go pro after her electric performance on team USA in the VNL and the Olympic Qualification Round Robin). Tulane will also compete for a tournament spot as they made the finals of the 2018 NIVC (the women’s volleyball equivalent of the NIT) and had a top 25 recruiting class. Wichita State was down last year after having to replace multiple All-Americans on the 2017 squad, but I don’t anticipate the Shockers will be down for long. The remaining conferences (including the Missouri Valley) are probably represented by a single entry i.e. the conference winner in the NCAAs. Missouri State and Northern Iowa have the potential to get multiple berths from The Valley, but it is not likely. A more detailed look at the B1G teams will occur when the B1G announces their pre-season rankings. Is a 6’01” transfer from Auburn enough to replace Poulter at setter and feed Prince and Quade at Illinois? Does Coyle from Iowa recover from her knee injury to be able to lead the Hawkeyes to a Tournament berth? Do new facilities and a top 5 recruiting class propel Ohio State into the top 25? But back to the national discussion briefly and specifically as it relates to the Huskers. The pre-season poll looks to be more of the same from last year. Nebraska at no. 2 is a good start for the Huskers but will be hard to hold on to with the competitiveness of the B1G.

Admittedly this is just CBS Sports version on the All-Time All American teams at the 150th anniversary of the sport. But for Nebraska fan, it is a fond look back at the excellence of the past: https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-turns-150-all-time-all-america-team-features-the-games-greatest-ever/ As the article states, four Nebraska players and five positions on the first team, 2 more than anyone else. Nebraska also has 3 on the 2nd team and 2 "honorable mentions." Like most all-time lists, there is a certain amount of recency bias, but this list isn't too bad in that regard. 1st team - Frazier, Rimington, Suh, Rodgers (two positions: punt returner and all purpose player) 2nd Team - Will Shields, Rich Glover, Alex Henery Receiving votes - Aaron Taylor, Dominic Raiola The one name that sticks out to me not on the list for Husker fan is Bob Brown. I was too young to remember much of his college days, I just know he was the Baddest O-Lineman on the planet in the late 60s and early 70s.

This news is a little dated but with the upcoming season upon us, the 2019 NCAA Division 1 recruiting rankings as determined by "an elite group of Div 1 coaches" is as follows: https://volleyballmag.com/2019-ncaa-womens-recruiting-rankings/ Stanford is 1 and Nebraska 2. Per the article there is a "gap" between the top two and Oregon at 3. As far as B1G teams, the Buckenidiots are 4 and Purdue is 7. They only picked the top 10 but the usual suspects made "honorable mention" namely Penn State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Not only did Ohio State recruit well, but they are moving into new digs as is Indiana. And remember Northwestern just got new facilities in the last half of the 2018 season. A veritable volleyball ARMS race in the B1G. TCU is the big surprise in the top 10 recruiting list at 5. I thought it was amusing that the author had to point out that Texas was in the top 6 for the 4th straight year. There are two edges to that sword. Yes Elliot can recruit well in fertile recruiting grounds, but he recently is losing players also. The prime example is 2017 Gatorade POY Lexi Sun. And there have been others. He has someone on the Texas staff that can coach up the middles well, but there isn't a ton of Texas players (other than middles) on the USA roster.

A new walk-on was added to the 2020 commit list. Abby Johnson, a 6'4" Middle Blocker / Outside Hitter is the newest Husker. https://journalstar.com/sports/huskers/volleyball/attending-two-nebraska-volleyball-camps-this-summer-earned--foot/article_e8f4a409-95c9-5a5b-9660-340a4db77c35.html#tncms-source=infinity-scroll-summary-siderail-latest By my count, that is three committed, one more potential commit on a basketball scholarship and one de-commit. 2020 Madi Endsley OH SCH 6’ 03” To Washington 2020 Kalynn Meyer MB SCH 6’ 03” 2020 Lauren Ware MB / OH BB 6’ 05” (Not Committed 2020 Annika Evans S WO 5’ 09” 2020 Abby Johnson OH / MB WO 6’ 04” SCH is scholarship player, WO is walk-on, and the BB designation means Ms. Ware would count against the basketball scholarships. Again, the team currently has 12 scholarship players and no one graduates. A lot of things can change in a year, but right now a scholarship player will have to redshirt in 2020.

As noted in the previous post, The US swept Argentina 25-22, 25-17, and 25-13 to punch their ticket to the 2020 Olympics. See the article for more detail and for an unofficial box score: https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2019/August/04/Olympics-Bound-US-Women-Claim-Ticket-to-Tokyo Kiraly went with the same line up that finished against Bulgaria including Larson and Robinson on the outside. I started watching the match, but unfortunately found out that Hulu still hasn't figured out how to buffer live sporting events. It literally locked up after a Thompson kill in the first set that put the US ahead 12 to 11. Even after multiple resets, uninstalls and installs, on both Roku and FireStick, the NBC channel would lock up at the same exact place. So a word of caution for those of you who, like me, don't watch a lot of TV, but subscribe to a streaming service to watch the fall sports. Make sure that if you subscribe to Hulu, pick out a live sporting event during the trial period to see if you have "issues." This is the 2nd time I'll cancel out of Hulu because they can't get live sports right. I was hoping that after two years they would finally figure it out. My internet connection is plenty fast enough (65 - 70 mps) and I don't have that problem with Playstation Vue or YouTube TV. I would try Sling TV but they don't have BTN which, obviously, is a deal breaker. Streaming issues aside, just looking at the box score, it appears that the pins again had most of the attacks with the middles once again MIA offensively, although not to the degree of the first two matches of the tournament. Thompson had another solid outing at opposite, even though she started the match with two hitting errors and anther attack getting stuffed in the first three attempts in the match. And under the "I may be slow, but I'm not very bright" category, I finally figured out that the reason Ogbugo wasn't starting at the middle was she didn't make the trip even though she was on the roster initially. I was looking at the team photo following the win over Bulgaria and saw she wasn't in it. Then I looked at the box score and she wasn't even listed. I know she was on the roster for the tournament so she must have been a late scratch. Of course, they didn't mention anything about her missing in the first two telecasts nor can I find out any info as to why she wasn't there. Anyway, congrats to team USA and, of course, in particular to Robinson and Larson who both played key roles in securing the qualification berth.

So much for the so called "favorable draw." While the US did win, they had to punch, kick, scratch, and claw their way to victory with a 5 set win over Bulgaria 21-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-20, and 15-10. Some details: https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2019/August/03/US-Women-1-Step-Closer-to-Olympic-Berth Kiraly swapped the outsides out, starting Kim Hill and Larson, and keeping the remainder of the starters the same. After a first set loss, Thompson was put in at opposite for Drews. And when the US went down 2 sets to 1, Robinson replaced Hill. The 5 setter wasn't a case of the US playing down to the competition, Bulgaria played well above their ranking. In taking the first set, I believe that Bulgaria was error free. In fact, both teams minimized the errors in the extended match with the US committing just 11 and Bulgaria 13. As well as Bulgaria played, it was disturbing from a USA perspective to see a 5'11" outside jack up nearly 20 kills. And Paskova got the majority of those by pounding it through, over, and around the block. There wasn't many points won by tooling the block that you might expect from a smaller player. The US didn't have an answer for her until Robinson blocked her twice in the 5th set. Hill had a strong start and led the US in kills after 2 sets. She cooled off in the 3rd as Thompson started to heat up and was getting the majority of the sets. Larson was consistent and steady throughout and ended up with the most points on the US team. Robinson did exactly what Kiraly wanted her to do, and provided a spark that, in essence, turned the match around. There was a point in the 5th set tied at 9 where Robinson had a sequence of plays that resulted in two kills and a block to give the US some breathing room at 13-9. For Husker fan, it is interesting to note that when Kiraly needs the momentum to change in a match, he turns to Robinson (this match down 2-1) and Larson (VNL championship game down 2-0). Drews didn't have a strong first set, but that was largely because Hill was getting most of the attempts. I thought Kiraly subbed her out too quickly. When Thompson came in the 2nd set, she also didn't impact the match immediately as Hill and Larson continued to get most of the action. However from the 3 set on, Thompson was impressive with her athletic display and fearless nature. She ended up tied with Larson for the most kills even while playing one less set. Carlini had a good night at setter and really set herself apart with her defensive skills. There were several times she was diving on the floor and extending rallies. And in a crucial stretch in the 2nd set, she was involved in 3 blocks that turned the momentum to the US. That's the advantage of having a 6'2" setter. To say Megan Courtney had an uneven performance at libero would be generous.....and polite. She did a much better job receiving this match and she had some outstanding covers. But her bump sets were horrific, often times leaving the attackers no room (and no choice) but to tip the ball over. Contrast that to Larson having to set a handful of times and dropping it on the proverbial dime so that the attacker could "swing away." Larson does so many of the little things with precision. The consummate pro. The middles did a decent job defensive but were absent again on the offensive side. Washington did get two kills back to back in the 5th, but that nearly doubled her output for the match. Ogbogu did not see the court again. Not sure what is going on with her. A comment on the coverage on the Olympic Channel. You would think that two required timeouts per set (after the first team to 8 and to 16 points) would be enough to get the necessary commercials ran. But not on the Olympic Channel. Coming back after commercial, you would find that 2 to 3 points were missed in the TV coverage. Very odd and annoying. One more win against Argentina and the ticket is punched to Tokyo. Argentina lost to Bulgaria in 4 but beat Kazakhstan in 4. Hopefully the US will dispatch Argentina with a little more breathing room than the Bulgarian match.

After starting out a little shaky (maybe a slight case of the yips) the US swept past an overmatched Kazakhstan team 25-17, 25-10, and 25-10. https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2019/August/02/Robinson-Leads-US-Women-Past-Kazakhstan Kelsey Robinson did Husker Nation proud and led Team USA with 11 kills on 16 attempts and 13 total points. Jordon Larson did not play. Some thoughts on the match. For one match (and it's important to remember it is just one match), against an inferior opponent, Megan Courtney was a dumpster fire. From the first serve in which they aced her, Kazakhstan was targeting the US libero, and was somewhat successful. At least 3 of their 4 aces in the match were aimed at Courtney and it may have been all 4, I can't remember for certain. The announcers were commenting how "unusual" it was to target the opposing libero in the service game. The color commentator made a remark in the middle of the match of how the libero position was a weakness for the US and "why can't they find a legitimate libero who plays the position when they can select from over 300 collegiate programs?" referring to the fact that Courtney is a converted outside and will return to the outside when she resumes her professional career. Kiraly finally subbed her with Mary Lake midway through the third set, unfortunately Ms. Lake was also unimpressive in her short stint. Robinson and Bartsch-Hackley played the entire match on the outside. KRob did an excellent job on the attack as evidenced by her team leading kills, but it is her all-around play that is particularly impressive. As one example, when Courtney was having "issues" receiving, Kiraly had KRob help cover for Courtney when KRob rotated to the back row. Bartsch-Hackley had solid stats, but did not have a particularly outstanding game. A very quiet 7 kills on 17 attacks and the Kazakhstan block, as weak as it was, has some success against her. I was a little surprised that Kim Hill did not see playing time in the third set when the substitutes started coming in. Hill did not play in the VNL and has not played since her professional season ended in May. Drews and Thompson excelled at the opposite position. Drews played the first two sets and Thompson played the third. Drews hits the ball so damn hard it routinely will clock above 90 km/hr. And Thompson is just a freak athlete that can leap out of the gym. Thompson has some holes defensively (i.e. when and where to cover on a tipped ball), but that is just inexperience and will come with more playing time. This position is turning out to be a strength for Team USA. The setter position is also a strength and Carlini had an efficient game. Poulter played in the third set and there was no drop off. Those two are so good (plus you have Micha Hanc$%k and Seliger-Swenson in the wings) that Carli Lake left USA Volleyball. Ogbogu did NOT start in the middle, instead it was Dixon and Washington. Somewhat of an upset since the only match Ogbogu didn't start in the VNL (as least that I can remember) is the final match in the preliminary round against Thailand. The middle was solid, but not spectacular. Rettke played a portion of the third set and looked disjointed.....probably a bit of nerves. The middles didn't get a lot of offensive opportunities, which against Kazakhstan doesn't matter. But against better opponents, more balance will be needed. Bulgaria is next. The Bulgarians beat Argentina in 4 sets after dropping the first set in a deuce. Bulgaria finished last in the VNL in 2019 and is relegated to the Challengers Cup in 2020. Team USA still has to win the matches, but this is shaping up to be a very favorable draw in order to qualify for Tokyo.

I thought I saw where Foecke had signed professionally, but couldn't remember the article. I finally stumbled on it again at the Flo Volleyball site. It isn't the top article, it is the 3rd article down that talks about where members of the VNL 25 player roster were going in the upcoming professional season: https://www.flovolleyball.tv/articles/6486068-a-closer-look-at-the-final-vnl-roster-for-the-usa-women Foecke is going to Italy, Larson is going to China after playing in Turkey for the last 5 seasons, and Robinson is staying in Turkey, but signing with a different team. There were a few unsigned, most notably Tori Dixon and Annie Drews. Foecke will need to make a decision by the fall of 2020 whether to enter vet school at Iowa State or to continue a professional volleyball career. She was accepted at Iowa State and they even worked with her to keep her spot into vet school open for a year. My understanding it is pretty difficult to get into vet school, but I would think that is a "life choice" that could be delayed.

I put this under Husker Volleyball, mods / admins please feel free to move if necessary. The roster has been set for the US Women's Volleyball team for the 2020 Olympic Qualifier later this week. It has a definite Nebraska flavor, but is missing one ingredient: https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2019/July/26/US-Women-Set-Roster-for-Olympic-Qualifier Ms. Foecke did NOT make the roster this time around and instead, Kim Hill joins the list of outsides that includes Larson, Robinson, and Bartsch-Hackley. The remainder of the team is the same as the VNL roster for the final round including Courtney and Lake at libero. Hill has Olympic experience and has starred in international competition before. At the 2014 FIVB World Championships she was selected as the MVP, was a member of the 2016 Olympic Team that got the Bronze, and was the leading scorer in the 2018 VNL title game against Turkey. She didn't play a set in the 2019 VNL and originally I thought she was ousted when the 25 player roster was announced. That turned out to be incorrect as Ms. Hill did make the VNL roster, she just didn't travel or play at any of the sites. Apparently that was her decision after a long professional season in Europe. The teams competing against the US in the qualifier are Argentina, Bulgaria, and Kazakhstan. The US is a combined 41-1 against the three opponents. The fun starts Friday August 2nd and is a round robin affair with each team playing 3 matches over 3 days. Team USA WILL BE televised via the Olympic Network on Friday, NBC Sports on Saturday, and NBC proper on Sunday. Final thought. The only players on this roster that were on the 2016 Olympic Team are Hill, Larson, and Robinson. Seems like a ton of turnover, but it is also indicative of the level and depth of talent coming in to Women's USA Volleyball.

An update on the U18 USA team as they cut the roster to 12: https://journalstar.com/sports/huskers/volleyball/nebraska-volleyball-recruits-chosen-for-youth-national-team/article_d448f503-1c7a-5f96-9785-8da5b378315f.html and https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2019/July/26/USAV-Names-Girls-Youth-National-Team-Roster Orr, Rodriguez, and Krause made the cut, Batenhorst did not. For people counting at home 3 of the 12 are committed to Nebraska, 7 of the 12 are committed to B1G schools, 2 are uncommitted, 2 are committed to PAC-12 schools (Stanford, UCLA), and 1 committed to a Big 12 member (Kansas). Nebraska was the only school with multiple commits, and a Penn State commit was NOT on the list. The U18 team will represent the US in the U18 world championships in Egypt September 5th through 14th. I'm sure this is a great thrill for the girls, but it is also slightly inconvenient, as their high school volleyball seasons will be in full swing as they play overseas.

I think this hire is more important from a leadership perspective than a "setter technique" one. While there is no doubt that Hames, Drewnick, and Annika Evans will learn a ton from a setter's technical aspect, Hunter's experience as a captain and a leader may be more valuable to Stivrins and Hames as they assume new roles on the team. She will be a huge asset as a sounding board for those two as Stivrins and Hames take the reigns and try and maintain the close knit culture that was established by Hunter and (somewhat surprisingly) maintained by Foecke and Maloney. And of course it helps that Stivrins was able to experience Hunter's abilities first hand in that 2017 season.

In the article contained in the preceding post about Annika Evans, Wagner makes a statement that only Nebraska players are in the 2020 class. That's odd, because I still had Madi Endsley, 6'3" outside hitter from Cali coming in 2020. So I search for info and there she is making an oral commitment to the Huskers in June of 2016 and appears still committed as of July of 2018. Then the next thing a see is a twitter announcement on November of 2018 where she has committed to Washington. Can't find an article as to why she decommitted, but it could have something to do with the fact that she would have to redshirt her freshman year. The same will be true with Kalynn Meyer, 6' 3" middle blocker from Superior unless a spot is created by transfer. Meyer is an interesting athlete. She throws the shot and discus in track and field. She popped a throw of nearly 180' in the discus at the state high school meet recently as a JUNIOR. I was curious how that would translate into college as the weights typically change in the throws depending on the age group. Turns out (at least what I pulled up) 1 kg is the weight of the disc in high school, college, and for international events for women. Which means she would have placed 2nd in the B1G championships this past year and around 10th in the NCAA championships. Pretty impressive. With Evans coming in at setter, at least Cook has a plan B if someone pulls an Atherton who took her "space shuttle" serve to North Carolina as Hunter was exiting and Hames was coming in. I do wonder if Drewnick will find enough playing time to keep her at Nebraska with Kennedi Orr, a setter as highly touted as Hames, coming in 2021.

A final tag on the VNL thread from the Women's Volleyball Pan Am Cup. The USA ran away from the competition by beating Columbia 3-0 in the semis, and the Dominican Republic 3-0 in the finals for the gold. Details from the Columbia match: https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2019/July/13/Team-USA-Breezes-into-Pan-American-Cup-Gold-Medal-Match Details from the Gold Medal match https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2019/July/14/Pan-Am-Cup-Gold-US-Women-Win-Third-in-Row The USA dominated the tournament going 6-0 and losing only one set the entire competition. The sweep over the Dominican Republic was particularly impressive since it was reported that they (the Dominican Republic) fielded the same team that went 8-7 in the VNL and just missed the playoffs. The USA also garnered many of the individual awards for the tournament including a couple of former Huskers (K. Rolfzen - best attacker, Wong-Orantes - best libero, best receiver). Both Kadie and Justine started 5 of 6 matches and hopefully improved their status in the overall scheme of USA Volleyball. Next for the Women's USA team is an Olympic qualifier in Louisiana against Bulgaria, Argentina, and Kazakhstan starting August 2nd. 3 matches in 3 days in a round robin affair.

Didn't know a good place to post this, so instead of creating a new thread I stuck it at the end of the VNL thread. The team selected for the Pan Am Cup (of which there are two former Nebraska players K Rolfzen and Wong-Orantes) has made it through pool play undefeated at 4-0 and jumps past the quater-finals to the semi-final round due to being the top team in the pool. In the four matches, they've lost one set (24-26) to Puerto Rico. https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2019/July/10/US-Women-Defeat-Puerto-Rico-Advance-to-Pan-Am-Semis The team consists of a mixture of names from the VNL 25 player roster that didn't make the final round team (Lowe, Kingdon-Rishel), players that were part of the 30 invited for the VNL tryouts but didn't make the cut (Rolfzen, Wong-Orantes), and then some big names from the next tier (Plummer from Stanford, Jones-Perry from BYU, Hannah Tapp from Minnesota). Some of the vets took a pass like Carli Lloyd and Kim Hill. Not quite the USA's 2nd best team, but a solid assemble of talent. The semis are on the 13th and the medal round is the next day. BTW both Rolfzen and Wong-Orantes are major contributors in the matches thus far. Some thoughts on the VNL final round. Robinson has apparently supplanted Larson on the outside. However, Bartsch-Hackley did not look that impressive in the semis and finals. Poulter and Dixon gave the US a spark in the semis against China (props to Kiraly for having the confidence to put in Poulter, a rookie, at that moment), and Larson and Dixon literally changed the momentum and won the match when they came in the third set down 0-2. And congrats to the opposites as Drews was the final round MVP and of course Thompson went off in the first match against Brazil with 30 kills on 51 attempts. Next is the Olympic qualifier in early August which is on home turf in Louisiana. It wouldn't surprise me to see two Nebraska gals, Larson and Robinson, starting on the outside with Bartsch-Hackley coming off the bench. Dixon was clutch in the middle when it counted so she may get more time. Ogbogu is a definite starter at middle, and Washington had a good final round, so maybe Dixon's role will be similar to what happened in the VNL semis and final matches. Come off the bench and provide a spark. The opposites are set with the dynamic play of Drews and Thompson. Kiraly appears to be sold on Poulter along side the other 6'2" setter Carlini with Lloyd out of the picture for now. And then you have the libero position........Kiraly seems set on Megan Courtney. Lake didn't sniff the court in the four final round matches. And for Nebraska fan, of the 8 outside positions slotted for the VNL finals team and the Pan Am team, FOUR (4) are occupied by former Huskers. Not that Coach Cook needs another recruiting pitch to aspiring young girls, but that fact should carry some weight in itself.

The US team won pool B in VNL finals play by beating Brazil in fairly convincing fashion 25-18, 25-19, 20-25, and 25-21. Here are stats and photos of the match: http://www.volleyball.world/en/vnl/women/schedule/9998-usa-brazil/post Jordan Thompson lit it up with 30 kills in 51 attempts from the opposite, while Larson and Foecke went 11 kills in 28 attempts and 10 in 26 respectively at the 'attack' or outside position. Highlights from the match: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbvugvld9HI&list=WL&index=7&t=0s Some Thompson centric highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g83lZnNx1Xc&list=WL&index=5 This is likely the 17th different line up in 17 matches in VNL play for Kiraly. The guess that this iine up would be heavy with the 7 people who didn't play in the first match of pool play came to fruition as it was a different line up with the exception of setter Carlini (not unexpected) and ........wait for it........libero where Courtney again played the entire match and Lake sat. I've given up trying to get into Karch's brain on the libero position. Kiraly did use 8 players this match by subbing in Robinson for Foecke. It had to be while Foecke was rotating to the back row since Kelsey had 0 kills on 0 attacks. For those scoring at home, Jordan Thompson still has eligibility left at the University of Cincinatti where, last year, she had the third most kills in a single season in NCAA history. The US will now play China in the semis (the "late" game starting at 7:30 AM Saturday morning). Turkey, which won pool A play, will compete against Brazil. At this point it is foolish to try and predict the line up, but since I have no self-respect I'll take a stab at it. Bartsch-Hackley and Robinson on the outside, Ogbugo and Washington in the middle, Drews intially at the opposite, Lake at libero (I know, pure guesswork) and Carlini at setter. Kiraly will be more a little more liberal in substituting and Thompson will essentially split the opposite time with Drews. If either outside struggles, Larson will be first off the bench.

I'm pretty sure that this was the 16th different line up in 16 VNL matches for Kiraly. He also doesn't like to substitute often going with 7 regardless how the match progresses. It will be interesting to see what he does against Brazil since the US has already qualified for the semis (actually both teams have qualified) with Poland being eliminated. It's just a matter do you want to play Turkey on the 5th or on the 6th. My guess it will be heavy with the 7 who didn't play in the first game with maybe the exception of Ogbogu in one middle and Carlini at setter. As far as Wong-Orantes, her status in USA volleyball seems to have dropped off precipitously. From starting on the 2018 VNL team, to being replaced in the 3rd game by an outside hitter, to not even making the VNL team this year. In fact she originally was NOT on the Pan Am roster when it first came out on June 27th. https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2019/June/27/Youthful-Womens-Roster-to-Represent-USA-at-Pan-Am-Games Then they revised the roster (doesn't say why changes were made) and they added her as the 2nd libero. https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2019/July/01/USAV-Selects-Womens-Pan-Am-Cup-Roster

The finals of the VNL arre here. The US started pool B play by defeating Poland 21-25, 25-16, 25-15, and 26-24. Here are some stats and photos of the match: http://www.volleyball.world/en/vnl/women/schedule/9994-usa-poland/post Kiraly went with 7 again with Drew at opposite, Bartsch-Hackley & Robinson at attack, Ogbogu & Washington in the middle, Carlini at setter, and the big surprise at libero, Megan Courtney. Foecke and Larson didn't play. Drew had 21 kills in 41 attacks while Robinson was 15 in 30. Bartsch-Hackley had an off night having only 9 kills in 26 attacks. Again I was surprised to see Courtney at libero since it was her first action since week 3 in Lincoln. An article from USA volleyball about the match: https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2019/July/03/US-Women-Down-Poland-in-VNL-Finals-Pool Next is Brazil on the 5th to complete pool B play as Brazil and Poland play tomorrow. Pool A consists of China, Turkey, and Italy. Turkey defeated China 3 - 1 in the first match of pool A play.

The Huskers have completed the volleyball portion of the Asian trip and ended up going 3 wins 4 losses. The 2nd day in Tianjin was supposed to be a match, but instead turned into another practice session with an informal scrimmage. https://twitter.com/Huskervball/status/1145307026370781184 Now a couple of days sight seeing then back to the States https://twitter.com/Huskervball/status/1145352759635582977

The roster has been set for the final rounds of the VNL for 2019. Here is an article detailing the next matches in China: https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2019/June/29/US-Women-Head-to-VNL-Finals-Seeking-2nd-Gold Larson, Robinson, and Foecke populate the outside position along with Bartsch-Hackley. That trio of Huskers is almost a complete list of the elite outside hitters Cook has produced in the past decade. The only other American not on that list would be Kadie Rolfzen, and she made the USA team selected for the Pan Am games. The Pan Am roster is essentially the best of the remaining USA players not making the VNL 25 player roster and also includes Plummer from Stanford on the outside, Hannah Tapp from Minnesota in the middle, and Samantha Seliger-Swenson at setter. I badly missed on my prediction for the libero position as both Lake AND Courtney are on the team (no idea yet why Courtney didn't play the last 6 matches of the preliminaries) . The middles I guessed better at as Rettke was added to join Ogbogu, Washington, and Dixon. Gibbemeyer is the odd man out. The biggest surprise for me (aside from Courtney making the trip) was Poulter being the other setter. I didn't realize Carlini was also tall, but both setters for the US are 6'2". Carli Lloyd started all 19 matches at setter last year during the VNL and was the setter for the 2016 Olympic Team which got the bronze. And she didn't make the roster. And for all the B1G fans counting. 11 of the 14 players on the final VNL roster are from B1G schools with Nebraska leading the way with 3. Matches start July 3rd and teams making it to the semis out of pools will play 4 matches in 5 days.

For those following along, Mary Lake, one of the liberos, could not enter Russia for the final week of pool play because she lost her passport on the flight from China to Russia (or it was stolen from her). Megan Courtney has 'health issues" and has had them since pool play in China. What they are exactly----no idea. For the final round, I expect one of the libero slots to be filled by Lake and the other by committee. As I stated previously, I think Foecke has earned a spot on the 14 team roster headed into the finals. It will be interesting to see if Rettke makes the finals roster or not. Nixon and Gibbemeyer would be the ones on the chopping block in my opinion. I know Ogbogu makes it, and I think Washington has earned a spot as well. And now, a VLOG from one Kelsey Robinson:: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZDOyMDyNFA The fact that I'm watching this video (and actually enjoying it) probably means I have to turn in my man card. Which is fine. My man card wasn't worth a ton anyway. And finally, a shout out to Karsta Lowe. Since she has rejoined the team, she has been relegated to the bench with the opposite position playing time being dominated by Drews and the freak that is Jordan Thompson. So when Karch finally calls her number, she simply puts up a 20 spot to lead all US players in the match against Thailand. A consummate PRO. You have to appreciate that.

The 2021 recruiting class is already making an impact on the U18 USA team https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Features/2019/June/20/USAV-Selects-Girls-Youth-National-Training-Team Of the 24 girls selected, 4 are committed to Nebraska (Orr, Rodriguez, Batenhorst, and Krause). The only 2021 Nebraska recruit not to make the team is Rylee Gray, a middle from Elkhorn, who is still a highly regarded recruit. The B1G has 11 commitments on the team, 8 to the other Power 5 conferences, and 5 uncommitted. That's right. Nebraska has more representation than any CONFERENCE outside the B1G.

The US finishes the VNL preliminary round at 12 wins and 3 losses, tied with China for first. They also tied with China with 35 points. Evidently the tie-breaker isn't head to head since China is listed as number 1. It probably goes sets won / lost ratio then points won / lost ratio since that is how it is listed in the standings. China had a superior sets won / lost ratio over the US. https://www.volleyball.world/en/vnl/women/resultsandranking/round1 Congratulations to Mikaela Foecke as I think she played her way onto the final round roster. She was a late add to the team in Russia and Mary Lake was a late withdrawal. Lots of speculation about Lake withdrawing (everything from personal reasons to Karch not being happy with her reception percentage) on the VolleyTalk boards but no concrete news. Lets talk USA team Libero which is turning into the proverbial "riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma." Lake is pulled at the last minute. Megan Courtney makes the trip but doesn't play a set AND (depending on which box score you look at for the China match), hasn't played in 6 matches. First Karch sticks Robinson at the position against the Russians, which makes sense since that is what Kelsey played the majority of last year in the VNL after Kiraly dumped Wong-Orantes from the line up early on. And then he puts Bartsch-Hackley, his best attacker and one of his better servers, back at Libero, a position she can do neither, in the Netherlands match. For the Thailand match, I was betting on Larson at Libero and instead he puts in a rookie with Foecke. I have no idea what is going on with Megan Courtney. Unsubstantiated rumor is that Kiraly thinks she is too slow. If that is the case or if she was injured, why was she on the roster. And still no word on the status of Mary Lake. Hell, if Kiraly is looking for more athleticism at Libero, he should take a long look at Kenzie Maloney. Or talk Kayla out of retirement (just kidding). The final round is next. Last year they split up the six teams into two pools of 3. Those three teams play each other with the bottom team being eliminated from each pool. I don't know how the tie-breakers go (last year none were needed), but I imagine that if all three teams go 1-1, then they go to the match points (3 points for a slaughter, 2 points for a close win, and 1 point for a close loss), then sets won / loss ratio, and finally points won / loss ratio. I'm not sure how they decide to set up the pools, but last year when the US won the preliminary round, one pool had the 1, 2, and 5 ranked teams, while the other pool had 3, 4, and 9 (9th being China which had automatic entry since they hosted). After pool play, the remaining four teams play a typical semifinals (no. 1 team from pool A plays no. 2 team from pool B and vice versa) and finals. If you get out of pool play, the teams play 4 matches in 5 days. I don't know if, or how often, a team can adjust it's 14 roster line-up in the final round, but all indications are that Foecke will be on that list with Larson and Robinson. And at this point I would guess that Kiraly will carry one Libero, and rotate an outside hitter to that position if necessary. And finally, what is the deal with China. Out of the 5 weeks of pool play, they play in their own country for 4 of them. China in week one went to Brazil (where they went 1-2 by the way) and since have not left the country (4 weeks and 12 matches going 11 - 1). Plus for the 2nd year in a row they host the championship. I understand that women's volleyball is popular in the country and as a pro, the Chinese leagues and teams pay well, but still, it looks a little rigged. Just sayin'.

Football, men's basketball, men's golf, men's tennis, women's rifle, women's gymnastics, baseball, women's golf............. There may be more.

Not to go far off topic, but it is related tangentially. Does anyone know if Devaney can be expanded by 1000 to 2000 capacity? Used to be 13.5K for basketball. Wisconsin recently (last year) uncovered the upper decks of their arena and increased capacity from 5900 to 7100 (approximately). They don't sell out as much as the Huskers, but they increased their average attendance by 1000 putting them above Hawaii. If it can be expanded, does the athletic department have any plans to do so? With the growing popularity of girls and women's volleyball and the insatiable demand of Nebraska fan, I would think it would be a smart bet to gain a million or so in revenue to the department. Particularly if you could somehow add some suites.

Here is a link to the US - China results and photos. No video yet; that will be populated later in the day. https://www.volleyball.world/en/vnl/women/schedule/9969-china-usa/post Obviously a huge win and a sweep to boot. China had been rolling along and was on its home court. Again Kiraly played only 7 players with the only difference between the Poland and China line ups was Washington for Dixon in the middle vs China. It will be interesting when Rettke becomes available if Washington goes out of the rotation or if one of the more experienced middles takes a seat (Ogbogu isn't going anywhere). After that comment I went and looked at the stats and saw Courtney was the only US player in the top 15 in digs and had nearly 1.5 more digs per set than Lake. I was going to throw that stat back but decided against it. A good thing I held back. Apparently Kiraly agrees with @knapplc assessment of the libero position. In wins over Poland and China, Lake played every set and Courtney played none. As the line up starts to get more defined, Kiraly is going with Lake over Courtney. The next set of matches are in Russia and, at least by rankings, this is the easiest group the US has had (Russia, Netherlands, and Thailand). The US currently sits in 4th and has a two match lead over Japan and Poland (6 & 7 in the rankings). Barring a complete collapse, it appears the US will make the final round of 6 for the 2 million bucks.