Reader R.A. writes: “I fundamentally agree with all you said, though I’ll add one observation. OSU’s kill shots were strong and well-targeted, plus their dinks almost always fell between our unsuspecting players. In sharp contrast, ours were more like “wound shots,” half-hearted, little power, thus easy for OSU to handle. For example, Carter Booth, our best player last night, got three kills off the side of her hand, which accidently went where OSU blockers didn’t anticipate. Glad for the points, but definite mistiming with Shaffmaster. And our dinks — most were handled midair because they were telegraphed, unlike OSU’s, which caught us off guard. The guy behind me observed early how Landfair became tentative in her shots. She made 2-3 good ones at first, then backed off after several fails, thus her .027 hitting. Overall, Gophs had no answers how to respond to an obviously superior team.”
John: We haven’t had a consistent middle-attack since Pittman declined her “bonus” year of eligibility. But 7 of Booth’s 8 kills were off quick-sets (interestingly, almost all of Gros’s kills come off of slide, let’s hope future opponents don’t figure that out); you won’t hear me complaining about half of them being miss-hits. I consider quicks to be the most difficult attack in volleyball, requiring perfect coordination between setter & hitter. Booth is a raw freshman; the coordination between Shaffmaster and Booth should get even better.
And yes, the Buckeye Team that swept the Gophers in 3 sets last night were the superior team — last night. But all 3 sets were close; I’m not wiling to concede that the Buckeyes will be the superior team at the end of the season.
Reader J.S. writes: “Great analysis, very insightful. That match was hard to watch. The Gophers, on paper, are top drawer but they can’t seem to play consistently, even vs mediocre teams – Northwestern being a prime example. Yet, when they get their blood up, they take out Wisconsin which tells me they can play with the best, when they want to. The stats show their weakness in that given set, but we don’t seem to be seeing the “gotta-wanna” that it takes to be top tier. They aren’t adapting mid-match, or more importantly, mid-set. It seems to me that on-court leadership is an issue, as well as a sense of urgency. Ohio State has it, the Gophers don’t. Maybe some time with a sports psychologist would be beneficial.
And finally, it’s time to up the quality of the refs again. Haven’t seen it that bad for a very long time now. I’m not saying that just about the calls against the Gophers, but also for the calls against Ohio State. Double contacts calls were far too lax at this level of play and the missing four hit calls on “never went” right in front of the head ref were stunning. At this level of D1 play, refs should be crisp and strict on correct hitting, basic calls, and that should be consistent right up and through the championship match. Without that, as play progresses to NCAA tourney play, then ref calls can become a factor in key matches if players suddenly have to adapt to a tighter-called game.
Really appreciated the upstream look at the Seligers. ”
John: I agree that this team is under-performing. Call it “intensity,” call it “killer instinct,” call it “gotta-wanna,” call it “leadership.” Whatever you call it, it needs to there if this team is to realize its potential.
I agree that the ref missed the “never went” call – and it came at a critical time in the 3 point, 3rd set. But balls hitting the tape into a block is a tough, bang-bang, call. As a front-row player, I always thought that “play-on” should be the default call unless the ref was 100% certain that it “never went.”
L.S. notes that, last night, both the Gophers and the Buckeyes (and even the ball-girls) wore green hair ribbons in honor of Mental Health Awareness.
John: Thanks for that, L.S., Mental Health Awareness is an important issue.