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2020 (Spring 2021) Season Notes


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  • Mavric changed the title to 2020 (Spring 2021) Season Notes


  • 4 weeks later...

Drewnick opting out leaves the team a bit thin at setter, especially in the year of the COVID. Evans now becomes backup, a freshman walk-on who herself is coming off a significant injury. Also curious to see how this affects the double sub when Hames is getting abused on the front row. It appears that Schwartezbach will assume the blocking role left open by Anezka's departure, but can Evans fill in for Drewnick? I seem to recall that it was mentioned that in one of the 'Conversation with the Cooks' podcasts that Knuckles was learning how to two hand set vice bump set in certain situations. I don't know if she would be proficient enough to run an offense in an emergency situation. Base on Cook's response to a general question about the topic (COVID protocols depleting a certain position) in his pre-season press conference, I would lean towards 'NO' as the answer.

And an OBTW, according to the BTN website both Indiana-Nebraska matches are being televised next Friday and Saturday at 6 PM EST. Friday is on BTN proper, Saturday is on BTN plus.

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The B1G pre-season volleyball poll is out and the coaches voted Wisconsin number 1 which is not surprising since the Badgers were number 1 in the national AVCA poll. What is a bit surprising is the coaches voted them number 1 with unanimity. That doesn’t happen often in the B1G, particularly since there are multiple teams in the top 10 nationally. The last time a school was a unanimous selection was (I believe) Nebraska in 2016 following their 2015 national championship. And that Nebraska team DID win the B1G conference, but lost in the national semis to the Shorthorns. The rankings:

1)      Wisconsin

2)      Minnesota

3)      Nebraska

4)      Penn State

5)      Purdue

6)      Michigan

7)      Ohio State

8)      Illinois

9)      Michigan State

10)  Northwestern

11)  Indiana

12)  Maryland

13)  Iowa

14)  Rutgers

 

I would have flipped Nebraska and Minnesota, but otherwise don’t have much to quibble about.

 

Wisconsin
Strengths: Obviously middle with POY candidate and national team member Rattke along with Hart who was honorable mention All-American. The two top outside hitters return (Haggerty and Loberg) who were also All-Americans. To top it off they have a 1st team All-American senior, Sydney Hilley, returning at setter to run the show. Hilley is probably one of the top two setters in the country (Madison Lilley from Kentucky being the other). This is a very senior laden team with a lot of experience in big time matches.
Issues: Not many. They did lose an All-Conference opposite in Duello and are having an open competition between three newcomers, two freshman and one transfer, to replace her. No one so far has claimed the spot. They also lost their libero and main defensive specialist, which may have narrowed the gap with Nebraska a bit, however, Coach Sheffield is saying that senior libero Lauren Barnes ‘has made a huge leap forward’ this year and may be ‘one of the best bro’s we’ve had’ at Wisconsin. How much of that is real and how much is coach speak remains to be seen. They did also get a libero/defensive specialist to transfer from Wichita State where she was All-Conference in the American Association.

 

Minnesota
Strengths: Samedy is back at opposite along with Pittman in the middle, both All-Americans. They did lose an outside All-American in Hart, but return Rollins who was third on the team in kills. Heir apparent to Hart looks to be Taylor Landfair who was prep volleyball’s No. 1 overall prospect in 2020 and part of the No. 2 recruiting class that Minnesota acquired. Jenna Wenass is also a highly recruited outside.

Issues: Their setter position was a bit ‘unsettled’ last year after the departure of Seliger‑Swanson and injuries to Kylie Miller, a senior transfer from UCLA, but they still managed to get to the Final Four largely on offensive firepower. I don’t see McMenimen as the starter with touted incoming freshman 6’3” Shaffmaster being in the picture (yes, at that size, she’s a unicorn type ala Jordyn Poulter). That said, being a freshman setter in this conference is a tough learning curve and while she will have offensive weapons all around her, there may be growing pains as she learns to adapt to the B1G. And for all the Husker fans, one Hunter Atherton (grad transfer) has made the rounds from the Big Red, to North Carolina, and now to Golden Rodent land.

 

Penn State
Strengths: The Trio of Hord (middle), Parker (opposite), and Gray (middle) are all All‑Americans and back as juniors. Feeding them is All-Conference junior setter Gabby Blossom.
Issues: Lost All-American libero Kendall White, who was also the leader on the team, and a host of defensive specialists. There is not a senior on the team so one of the juniors will have to step up and fill that leadership void (circa Nebraska 2019). Their outsides last year were not special (4th and 5th on the team in kills), but have Anne Fitzpatrick, 2020 Florida Gatorade POY, coming in to alleviate that situation to some degree. She IS a bit undersized at 5’11” for an outside in the B1G.

 

Purdue
Strengths: They have their All-American outside hitters and top two kill artists back in Cleveland and Newton. Their setter, Hayley Bush was 3rd in the conference and 17th in the nation in total assists but didn’t receive any post season accolades. They also return an experienced libero (Hourning) and defensive specialist (Oltec). Oltec also led the B1G with 50 aces. Those five positions are either juniors or seniors and represent a solid foundation for this season.
Issues: The Boilermakers lost both redshirt senior middles to graduation (one was All-Conference, both were effective). Their big issue is playing in the B1G. Purdue would likely win the ACC and compete for 2nd or 3rd in the SEC or Big 12. In the B1G it appears Purdue is stuck in 5th, with an outside shot at overtaking Penn State.

 

If this were a normal season with 8-10 non-conference games to pad the win-loss records, it wouldn’t surprise me if the top 5 teams in the B1G ended up in the top 10 nationally, similar to 2018. After those 5, there is a gap to the next tier of teams which consist of only two; Michigan and An Ohio State. Michigan is young but have a returning outside in Paige Jones and highly recruited outside Jess Mruzik. The Wolverines will be breaking in a new setter however. The Buckenidiots have a new coach and new facilities. They’ve had injury issues the past couple of seasons, but do have young talent on their roster with the top two leaders in kills returning on the outside and solid incoming recruiting class led by middle blocker Rylee Radar and opposite Emily Londot.

 

8 through 12 is anybody’s guess. Michigan State has a lot of experience returning but had no one with post season accolades last year. The other teams are young and have holes to fill. Indiana has new facilities and a solid recruiting class (15th nationally), but are probably one to two years away from being a tournament team contender. Illinois has lost too much over the last two years with Poulter, Quade, Bastianelli, and Cooney all gone. Their 8th place ranking is probably too high. Northwestern returns outsides Nia Robinson and Temi Thomas‑Ailara and may push up from number 10.

 

And firmly ensconced at the bottom are Iowa and Rutgers. Rutgers has a lot of players returning and a new coach, but there is probably not enough improvement to climb past 13. While Rutgers is trending slightly up, Iowa is trending down. They lost their leading attacker, libero, and setter (Brie Orr, Kenndi’s sister). It will be rough year for the Hawkeyes.

 

Nebraska is a year older and, hopefully, wiser and better. The Big Red filled in one deficiency of lack of offense at the 2nd middle blocker position with Meyer and Caffey. Here’s anticipating another year of tutelage and practice improve the passing so Hames isn’t running all over the court for balls to set. At the pre-season press conference, Cook was raving about the servers he has at his disposal. Again, we will have to wait and see if this is just rhetoric trying to build confidence in his team (Trust It, Big Girl) or reality. But I don’t think they have enough to beat Wisky. I have the Fightin’ Schwartzenbachs at number 2 in the B1G and number 2 in the country at the end. All of that, of course, depends on the seedings and match ups when tournament time comes around. I do like the idea of a tournament ‘bubble’ in Omaha if COVID is still an issue in April. Otherwise, a gaggle of B1G teams could end up in the same regional ‘pod’ to try and reach the Final Four.

 

Let the games (and fun) begin.

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