Hawaii 3, UCSB 2 Top 25 scores at bottom, SC loses again

Will drop in when I can. I’m covering Wahine basketball tournament.

Match at 5 p.m. HST. believe 1420-AM pre game at 450.

So radio at 1420-am or online at ESPN1420am.com

streaming video via Bigwest.tv

Would give you a link for GameTracker but went on the UCSB site (4 p.m HST) and they say UCSB won the Match 3-1. Also had three UC Irvine players playing for UH.
Very weird.

COMMENTS

  1. wildcard November 21, 2014 5:49 pm

    video quality unfortunately is poor. live stats score doesnt work. oh well. set 2 hawai’i 1-0, up 10-9 higgins ace.


  2. Cindy Luis November 21, 2014 5:57 pm

    UH wins Set 1 25-23. not as close as the score. Hawaii led 24-21, two late semi-phantom touch calls according to radio. Wahine call timeout at 24-23. UCSB serves into the net to end it.


  3. Cindy Luis November 21, 2014 6:01 pm

    livestats not working. UH up 20-17 in Set 2. TO UCSB


  4. Cindy Luis November 21, 2014 6:07 pm

    Greeley’s kill ends it. UH wins Set 2 25-23.


  5. Big Island VB fan November 21, 2014 6:12 pm

    Since the video quality of the match between BYU-Hawaii and Dixie was better, I chose to watch that match instead. BYU Hawaii lost in four sets to Dixie. Season has ended for BYU-Hawaii. That was a quit exit.


  6. Big Island VB fan November 21, 2014 6:14 pm

    Correction: I meant to say, “That was a quick exit.” Sorry.


  7. Pot-of-Gold November 21, 2014 6:17 pm

    Yep, Hawaii actually letting both sets get close when they should have closed them out easily. Second set just seemed to be easy at times, but for some reason Hawaii didn’t pull away more than 3 points at any time. Video quality makes it difficult to watch, and you certainly can’t tell whether Hawaii had touches towards the end of the first set, as both were opposite side of the camera.


  8. Cindy Luis November 21, 2014 6:39 pm

    From what I gather from radio, some bad calls going against UH, including one in Set 3 that has helped UCSB go out on a 6-0 run and take a 19-17 lead. TO UH.


  9. Cindy Luis November 21, 2014 6:47 pm

    livestats working. radio out. UH serving for the match at 24-23. to ucsb


  10. Cindy Luis November 21, 2014 6:49 pm

    quicker than normal for BYUH, which made it to the national final last year.
    it’s tied 24-24


  11. Cindy Luis November 21, 2014 6:50 pm

    Block by UH, another aloha ball chance at 25-24. Tied 25-25. Greeley with a kill. it’s 26-25.


  12. Cindy Luis November 21, 2014 6:51 pm

    UCSB up 27-26.now tied at 27


  13. warriorfan November 21, 2014 6:54 pm

    Shame on UCSB and the dink queens on their really awful streaming and stats!!


  14. Cindy Luis November 21, 2014 6:56 pm

    Gauchos win 29-27


  15. Pot-of-Gold November 21, 2014 6:57 pm

    Same lines person making all three controversial calls, enough to get Shoji rather animated. Tough loss in the third set, just couldn’t close out the game, although to watch it through the Hawaii supporters heads was more than difficult. What a terrible camera angle.


  16. Warriorfan November 21, 2014 7:02 pm

    I wonder when Shoji and the coaches will get it that Olevao can’t pass.


  17. Maverick November 21, 2014 7:08 pm

    Hate the way the announcers are butchering the Hawaiian names: “Kaylee” rather than “Kalei”, “Waheen” rather than “Wahine”, and a couple of references to the Hawaii Warriors rather than the Wahine.


  18. bleachercoach November 21, 2014 7:09 pm

    16. Couldn’t pass last year, this year, and it seems like that will be a problem next year.
    It doesn’t take great coaching to see that is a big liability…come on we can do better than that at D-1 volleyball….”Fundamentals”


  19. Warriorfan November 21, 2014 7:11 pm

    This is just sad, wahine have no sense of urgency. This is must win. Olevao has just been awful tonight and yet Higgins sets her so much.


  20. Maverick November 21, 2014 7:17 pm

    This team definitely lacks consistency. If the Wahine make the tournament, I’d be surprised if they make it out of the subregional. Not a well-oiled machine.

    Regarding Oleavo, I am disappointed she has not improved much over last year. She’s got a rocket of an arm swing, but I think she relies too much on power rather than placement.


  21. bleachercoach November 21, 2014 7:18 pm

    It’s win set 5 or byebye


  22. woop woop November 21, 2014 7:19 pm

    i hope they lose, that way the season is over and I can move on.


  23. Maverick November 21, 2014 7:20 pm

    21. Agreed. Lose any more matches, and kiss the postseason goodbye.


  24. Cindy Luis November 21, 2014 7:21 pm

    UCSB wins 25-19.
    21. pretty much


  25. Pot-of-Gold November 21, 2014 7:23 pm

    Time to make this comeback go away, go Wahine.


  26. Maverick November 21, 2014 7:26 pm

    Greeley and Taylor are having a nice match. Not so much for our middles.


  27. Maverick November 21, 2014 7:32 pm

    Let’s see who cracks this set.


  28. bleachercoach November 21, 2014 7:39 pm

    Even if Hawaii wins the Pac 12 possibly will get all of their teams in except WSU and California…that’s how weak our conference is


  29. bleachercoach November 21, 2014 7:40 pm

    Hawaii up 13-11


  30. Maverick November 21, 2014 7:41 pm

    27. Or how good the Pac 12 is


  31. bleachercoach November 21, 2014 7:43 pm

    Yesssssssssss…..HEART ATTACK


  32. Maverick November 21, 2014 7:43 pm

    Ugly win.


  33. Cindy Luis November 21, 2014 7:44 pm

    Hawaii pulls it out 15-12


  34. woop woop November 21, 2014 7:44 pm

    UH wins…in five. Ugly.


  35. Big Island VB fan November 21, 2014 7:46 pm

    Glad that Hawaii’s season didn’t end tonight like BYU-Hawaii. That fifth set was pretty close, a nail-biter. Well, we’ll take an ugly win over a heart-breaking loss.


  36. bleachercoach November 21, 2014 7:46 pm

    Would it be something that we did get into the post season and by some miracle we take the National Championship…that would be CLASSIC!! Kick me to the curb.. (lol)


  37. hatakeman November 21, 2014 7:46 pm

    Phew!!! A WIN!!!!


  38. 'ohanaInBellingham November 21, 2014 7:49 pm

    I hope UH plays as hard on senior weekend as SBSU did tonight. Kudos to na Wahine for digging deep (if not well).


  39. 'ohanaInBellingham November 21, 2014 7:49 pm

    UCSB


  40. hatakeman November 21, 2014 7:49 pm

    Goooooooooooooooooooooooooo……….Kalei Adolpho!!!!!!!!!


  41. warriorfan November 21, 2014 7:51 pm

    pulled it off. I’d be happy if they just win the first round at this point. They will have a tough match up against someone like Colorado or BYU in the first round probably.


  42. vbfan November 21, 2014 8:01 pm

    UCSB can be tough at home they beat Santa Clara and Northridge, two teams probably going to the postseason.

    That being said they made it much harder than it had to be. They had a 4 or 5 point lead in set 3 that they couldn’t hold. You have to put teams away when you are in that position.


  43. bleachercoach November 21, 2014 8:18 pm

    Oh Colorado is very good..The “Simpson” girl is like Emily Hartong…


  44. Cindy Luis November 21, 2014 8:40 pm

    Still at Wahine basketball so can’t really discuss much. But surprised they had Manu-Olevao pass since she’s been sick all week.
    If SC loss to OSU doesn’t knock them out of the Top 25, something is wrong.

    2) Wisconsin def. 20 Ohio State 25-17, 25-15, 25-22
    5) Washington def. 13 Arizona 25-20, 25-17, 25-19
    6) Florida def. Ole Miss 25-22, 25-23, 24-26, 25-11
    7) North Carolina def. Notre Dame 25-23, 25-20, 25-16
    8) Florida State def. Boston College 25-22, 28-26, 25-20
    19) Colorado def. Cal 30-28, 25-16, 25-19

    21) Duke def. Louisville 25-15, 25-12, 34-32
    22) Arizona State def. Washington State 25-21, 25-17, 22-25, 22-25, 15-8
    25) USC lost to Oregon State 22-25, 25-19, 23-25, 13-25


  45. warriorfan November 21, 2014 8:49 pm

    Greeley match MVP IMO.
    She had 18 kills and hit over .400 but still had less sets than Tai w ho hit .070, Higgins setting decisions questionable still. You should set your hot player more.


  46. tongo November 21, 2014 9:26 pm

    42 Totally agree. Just got back from the match. Higgins has a long long long way to go. I remain hopeful. Interesting that Robin Ah Mow does not talk to Higgins even when she was subbed out. Strange! Last year, I recall Robin talking to Mita all the time. And not to end on a negative note, great win girls but you should have never let it get that far.


  47. bleachercoach November 21, 2014 9:29 pm

    Now that’s politics…You (USC) got 13 losses and still ranked?? Now that is one team that went from being #1 to very very bad…There must be some unsettling feelings going on in that department….ouch!!


  48. Sickman Fraud November 21, 2014 9:42 pm

    Oh well, I ‘ll take an ugly win than the alternative. This is nothing to do with volleyball but why isn’t the Wahine basketball games televised this weekend?


  49. R.M November 21, 2014 9:45 pm

    Greeley and Taylor carry this one. Yup kalei had the 19 kills but what about that 21 digs of nikki. Both career high for them. I wonder also why they keep tai on the game. Wahine really just used nikki, kalei and tai on the outside. They never tried huff and Long. A win is a win still proud of them for pulling it.


  50. woop woop November 21, 2014 9:46 pm

    UH got lucky. The setting is really bad this season.


  51. LanaiBoy November 21, 2014 10:05 pm

    Just back from the Wahine basketball. Kuehu had 29 points and 15 rebounds. She looks like an All-American candidate. Cindy, what was the ruckus all about in which the Cal coach got kicked out of the game resulting in four technical fouls shots? The Cal players and coaches seemed embarrassed.


  52. wildcard November 21, 2014 11:07 pm

    well at least wahine won. but they need to keep from doing that again. senior night is vs davis and they dont want to botch that up especially because davis is a ‘weakling’ compared to na wahine. if they lose to that *knock on wood* that would be not only forget postseason but thats killing your season in embarrassment (and thats the last thing na wahine need. topping off the bad, bad loss to byu last year)

    greeley, taylor, and magill did a fine job. mendoza didnt do too good a job as a libero unfortunately and this is in her hometown. she had most aces for na wahine though only a pair and did do a libero kill. however, she was also the most sundered by an ace, and her hitters and setter had way more digs than her, nikki had more digs than her alone and greeley and higgins each had about the same as her. if the team were down 2 sets to none guarantee she would of been relieved as libero.


  53. tongo November 21, 2014 11:08 pm

    Tai may still be sick so give her credit for trying. She appears to be overly focus on trying to crush every ball. So much effort is used to generate the “out of park” hit that she never sees the block forming. So, she routinely hits directly into the block. Even when she sees the line or corner open, she misses it with too much power. She tried tonight to hit high hands several times – but over hit it out. She may want to focus her energy on seeing the block first and foremost, and then placing the ball where the block “ain’t”. Tonight, NT and KG did well with many well placed shots that were not crushed but simply placed where the block wasn’t.


  54. blunite November 22, 2014 12:32 am

    My guess is that Higgins was told to set Tai Manu Olevao as was the case in the previous road games. And even if Shoji did not tell her to set TMO, he made no attempt to rectify the situation. Either way an undesirable trait. Strange that Kahakai was not subbed in for Mendoza. If Shoji has lost confidence in Savannah then use one of the other DS. TMO is ill and this match does not make her condition better. Hawaii coaches should consider starting Megan Huff or Ginger Long as a replacement in the next match. One glaring oddity is that neither Nikki Taylor nor Tai Manu Olevao typically resort to the dink shot. Errors can be expected when the girls play while jet-lagged.


  55. noblesol November 22, 2014 5:38 am

    UCSB served tough, the UH pass off the serve was all over the place and had Higgens reaching at the net or running hard off the net to get to the pass. In set three the dig, pass, and set went from inconsistent to consistently bad, and the hitters were getting trap set at the net or under set or just a ricochet to try to better. Greely adjusted to what she got and when the set wasn’t there or the block was formed she’d just get it over or tool the block. Tai was consistently set too low or close to the net, and finesse under stress was not in her toolkit this night. She tried some tips but seemed self-deflated by them. Koelsch came in and got more time, and the setting improved some but the dig and pass were still anything but consistent. Both UH middles had off nights and were too frequently late to form the block. Maglio got some time on the court but not enough to see any differentiation in play. UCSB did a good job of taking advantage of the block when it was there and tooled it effectively. Set four, momentum had completely swung to UCSB and UH fought to get back into it. UH lost set four but by the end of the set UCSB had come back down to earth and Wahine regained some focus. The fifth set was close and hard fought, but UCSB made more mistakes then UH, and UH took advantage. Shoji’s best move was to play Koelsch more starting in the third set, and some well timed timeouts throughout the match to kill UCSB momentum and refocus and recapture their own.


  56. tongo November 22, 2014 5:57 am

    In the 5th set, I too was shocked that Savannah was not starting immediately as we went with SM, KG and Tai in the backcourt. The Gacho lefty ace server put us immediately in trouble with 2 tough serves but a foot fault saved us on her 3rd serve. I totally didn’t understand the staff thinking.


  57. OrbitalRipZ November 22, 2014 7:01 am

    Several fans on this blog mention a possible Round 1 matchup between Colorado and Hawai’i. Not me. I am thinking Colorado State (Mountain West AQ) or BYU (WCC AQ) hosting a subregional, and adding Idaho State and Hawaii to the mixture.


  58. LC November 22, 2014 8:23 am

    I fell asleep after set 3.No comments.


  59. wildcard November 22, 2014 8:48 am

    well i guess na wahine just got lucky with the first 2 sets (luckily gauchos served net and kalei greeley finished off the 2nd with a break out) and barely escaped in 5 sets. otherwise their game was all in disarray. hawaiiathletics.com says that the team lost in 5 sets even though the headline/recap says they won. also the box score goes to a vs fullerton at home match in 2012 much to the live stats not working or going to ucsbs box score which also sometimes is unavailable.

    i guess tmo must of still been sick but she killed some where it counted and since she didnt play the home match vs ucsb, likely the gauchos didnt know her power this year and she might of been used as a ploy to keep the gaucho block occupied even though essentially her only move was to attempt to smash through the block.

    nikki taylor had more than 20 digs compare to mendoza so the hitter is doing most of the defensive work and so is greeley and higgins, all having to dig deeper (and fortunately not a hole to eventually bury them) instead of hitting offense or setting. few of you mentioned strange that kahakai didnt take over, from what it looked like kahakai was only used for fewer passes and only dug a few times.

    whatever it was, mendoza was being outmatched as libero by spindt but after 4 sets are over, i suppose it had to be too late to change libero in set 5 or perhaps shoji wanted mendoza to bask in her town and/or he expected mendoza to be like last ucsb game at home and they didnt plan/equip kahakai with the libero jersey.

    somebody else also mentioned the jetlag thing, much to say redeye=ridiculous even if they do got it easy than having to go to a couple of places in the wacky wac (which not all were ‘western’). remind me history why hawai’i left pcaa/big west and joined the wackity wack in the first place? whatever it is, regardless if they had a ‘day’ to recuperate, the redeye thing seems to be intended by design and thats just terrible.


  60. wildcard November 22, 2014 8:52 am

    direct link for future use

    http://www.bigwest.org/story.asp?story_id=16075


  61. Cindy Luis November 22, 2014 10:17 am

    51 cal got t’d up for running onto the court to protest a non call and questioning why officials didn’t stop play when one of her players was rolling around the key in pain Then got the second T when continuing to argue Finally ejected
    59 because The WAC began requiring that all member schools move all sports to the WAC so Hawaii San Jose St Fresno St. etc moved over


  62. Z November 22, 2014 10:58 am

    Wahine had their chances in the 3rd set. They just could’nt finish. Something Dave needs to fix. Dave seems to like to stick with the starters in hopes that they will find a way to work themselves out of a funk. But I would not be surprised if he made some changes in the next game. I think part of it is not wanting to mess with the chemistry of the players who are already on the floor.

    Kuehu was amazing but Beeman needs to find a way to keep the level of play up when SK is resting on the bench. There is an obvious difference when she is not on the floor. She does it on both ends. Hopefully other players will step it up. I think they have the talent to do so. The biggest difference in the game was assists. Something they need to work on.


  63. Ki November 22, 2014 11:52 am

    Hope nothing serious happened to Mason. Missed her presence last night.


  64. Ki November 22, 2014 12:04 pm

    59. Gotta believe that the travel pairings & the back to back games affect the play of the Wahine. I know Dave opted to be the lone wolf but with the 6-hour, red-eye flights, that’s gotta take a toll on the player’s body especially with the back to back games. None of the other conferences practice this method of scheduling. There always seems to be a day break in between games at least. Hopefully the scheduling methods change next season.


  65. mei mei November 22, 2014 12:30 pm

    great pulling that win waheeen!


  66. bleachercoach November 22, 2014 1:01 pm

    For Hawaii to win another national ever…we definitely need a great setter who can make bad passes into great kills…This is where height and athleticism comes into play. Someone like Greeley is consistent at all 6 rotations. We need a couple more like her and not just a one dimensional player…We need athletes like her not volleyball players…


  67. warriorfan November 22, 2014 1:47 pm

    Hopefully that will be Iosia, who is also taller than Higgins.
    Granato and Mitchem are great all around players. Olevao did not pass in high school and club and it shows.


  68. bleachercoach November 22, 2014 3:03 pm

    Iosia with Redondo Union High on Fox Prime Ticket Channel 1228 (Oceanic) @ 6pm tonite…CIF-SS Division 1 Championship…Can take a look at our future possible setter in 2016


  69. warriorfan November 22, 2014 3:16 pm

    playing against Mater Dei which features Alyce Wallace Ford a high flying outside going to USC but if you ask me, wouldn’t be surprised to see her transfer out after a year or two. she’s just 5′ 9 and wouldn’t work in that moon ball offense.


  70. Cindy Luis November 22, 2014 3:51 pm

    63. Mason rolled her ankle. They might rest her until January.


  71. Cindy Luis November 22, 2014 3:55 pm

    64. have discussed it earlier. He agreed to the lone wolf. He didn’t agree to being the only match of the week for all the teams playing Hawaii. either at home or away.
    It will change next year. Not sure exactly of all the details. However, the pairings remain the same for next year, including Long Beach State-CSUN. It’s a two-year thing.
    The big change like to be a day in between next year to be in line with what is done in basketball.


  72. Cindy Luis November 22, 2014 4:12 pm

    62. we’ll see what happens tonight. It was one bad rotation in Set 3 that gave up 7 straight that changed things. Greeley was the server so she was at right back during the run. It was 17-13 Next thing you know UCSB was up 20-17. UH did have match point at 24-23, 25-24, 26-25.
    UH was also in the same ‘bad rotation: at 26-25. Greeley the server, UCSB ties it. at 26.

    Agree that Shoji sometimes waits too long to sub. Adolpho seemed to be late on the block in that rotation and they finally went to Maglio and Koelsch who put up a taller block.


  73. High N Wide November 22, 2014 4:22 pm

    Its agonizing to see na wahine struggle and even more so when watching the Pac 12 network seeing how much better all of the bottom dwelling schools in this conference are currently faring in comparison. hope this is just an off year but I’m afraid it’s an indication of changing D1 landscape and things to come.


  74. Broseph November 22, 2014 5:13 pm

    BigWest TV cancelled their stream of Wahine at CalPoly tonight? Any radio coverage?


  75. jmy November 22, 2014 5:30 pm

    UH just lost set 1, 25-19….Taylor playing well, no one else really contributing…


  76. heluhelu November 22, 2014 5:32 pm

    http://player.listenlive.co/27961


  77. Astroboy November 22, 2014 5:32 pm

    Check the Diggin Na Wahine blog. There are links for audio/video/livestats. The video feed is a webcam at the end of the court and pretty useless. The audi program is on NBC radio instead of ESPN.


  78. heluhelu November 22, 2014 5:33 pm

    live stats http://gopoly.com/sports/wvball/2014-15/boxscores/20141122_bsnh.xml

    radio broadcast 2-3 plays behind live action.


  79. Kazu November 22, 2014 5:34 pm

    After the match I can see that this team may go to the NCAA tournament but will not make it through the first round. I think next year Taylor,Magill and Greely will be the leaders. Hope the bench and the new recruits will contribute.Was an ugly match. The only thing that made it exciting was the announcer


  80. LONGSaMUSNT November 22, 2014 5:37 pm

    59. Your posts clearly show your ignorance and that you didn’t actually watch the match. Nikki Taylor did not “do most of the defensive work” just because she led the team in digs. It was because the majority of the attack/and the block was deflecting the ball to her assigned coverage area. You need to get it into your head that there are going to be matches that someone other than the libero will lead the team in digs. That’s just the way it is. It happened when Longo was the libero, Maeda, Ka’aihue, Lee, Watanabe, Villaroman, Ilustre, etc. You get my drift. Because your continuous and repetitive attacks on Mendoza since the beginning of the season is just tired. Are you really insisting Kahakai replace Mendoza? She is even less stable and consistent than Mendoza.


  81. islandman November 22, 2014 5:39 pm

    74. Radio broadcast on AM 1500


  82. Cindy Luis November 22, 2014 11:53 pm

    74 and beyond. it is very frustrating when I put up a post with links long before the match starts and it doesn’t show up on our website. Or people can’t seem to find it.


  83. heluhelu November 23, 2014 7:07 am

    82 ESPN threw a curve. Game wasn’t on 1420 but game was broadcast on 1500 tho KHKA 1500 now branded by NBC Sports (didn’t know until yesterday). Also seems hoi polloi not the only ones occasionally bamboozled by SA comment/link filter?


  84. wildcard November 23, 2014 3:57 pm

    80. really? i went on the road and was at the match myself to watch this. (i mentioned the streaming video and live stats because i checked them out on my tablet to catch a replay of a rally if possible.)

    on paper yeah nikki taylor did most of the work. note i said ‘most’ of the work. i could of said more like ‘all’ the work. also to your ignorance, i was analyzing mendozas performance as a libero in her competitiveness. and its not only because one teammate got more digs than her. liberos have a tough job as is with immense competition. what causes a libero to lose out in competition i take by short a few select criteria: of significance, did a teammate lead in digs other than the libero? did teammates combined have significantly more digs than the libero? number of digs of the libero compared to opponent libero. and if the libero lost the most passes (ie got aced)

    again this is just a short criteria but if at least 3 of the above is true, then that libero didnt do too good a job. i didnt base mendoza didnt do too good a job as libero only because she got outdug by a hitter. your example of longo was also false as she never had 3 of the 4 criteria i mentioned above. others too. note that this is just a comparison, the libero doesnt have to have lots of digs just as long she is not perceptibly outdug. and no i wasnt suggesting kahakai replace mendoza at the time. i even suggested it was too late for that. kahakai less stable and consistent than mendoza? what about the vs irvine match at irvine?

    and again no i wasnt suggesting kahakai replace mendoza in that match. for your sake, i would have no libero and have long in instead. 😀


  85. LONGSaMUSNT November 23, 2014 8:30 pm

    84. You’re kidding about Ginger Long, right? Are we talking about the same player who’s been given every opportunity but has consistently struggled on offense, defense, serving and reception?


  86. LONGSaMUSNT November 23, 2014 8:45 pm

    Yes, Kahakai is less consistent than Mendoza. You are giving me one match as an example of Kahakai being better Mendoza. I can give you more than that to prove why Mendoza is simply the better choice. I am not saying Mendoza is perfect, but she is the best choice for UH right now and your repeated attacks on her is just exhausting. Yes, she is better than Kahakai and Long. Remember that time Kahakai couldn’t pass a decent ball? Or what about that time she took over the libero job but had to be replaced? Who is the libero now? Don’t get me started on Long. I have been rooting for her since the beginning, but it’s clear she isn’t made for this level of volleyball. Not as a hitter, libero, serving specialist or defensive specialist.

    Your “criteria” is ridiculous. I can tell you right now that Longo and all the other liberos in UH history has had matches in which someone else on the team had more digs, the combined team digs were significantly more than the libero digs (this criteria is stupid and has zero merit), and that the opponent libero had more digs. Let me enlighten you why. I already explained to you about the first point. Examples: Kim Willoughby, Lily Kahumoku, Kanani Danielson, and all those other star hitters for UH had matches in which they had significantly more digs than the libero. Second criteria: Stupid and pointless because OF COURSE THE COMBINED TEAM DIGS will be better than the liberos total digs. I mean, what the heck?! Third criteria: If your hitters are struggling and the opposing blockers are doing a good job of getting touches on the ball, then obviously the opposing libero is going to get more digs. If your blockers are struggling and not getting touches on the ball, you can’t expect your libero or any of your back row players to dig up every single full-velocity spike.


  87. wildcard November 24, 2014 10:14 am

    85 and 86. lol lmao!! im amazed that you actually replied to this old blog. so ill find more entertainment off of you.

    85. yes i mean ginger long since its pretty obvious shes your favorite player. consistently struggled? not really. she was still used for where needed/it counts. she was a whole lot better digging bullets than mendoza and kahakai (ucsb at home match). at least her reaction was impressive, she gave that ‘panic’ look on her face when the ball was coming down meaning the ball got her attention and she made a priority to get it back into the air. contrast that with mendoza who althoughs gotten better but she did sometimes notably flinch to get/receive the ball meaning she hesitated and that could definitely be costly. as for offense, long still has a high velocity gun. she just needs to utilize it better by sundering off the block instead of trying to penetrate it.

    86. kahakai less consistent than mendoza? ok whatever you win. one is good at the beginning pass as to one is good at the ending pass. and btw im not making repeated attacks on mendoza but since she is the current libero i will site her performance as such compared to what a libero should be, at least expected competitively in contrast to a regular ds. calm down and quit reacting as though im always picking on mendoza. hell even that example i gave about vs irvine at irvine, i had sited before in previous blogs mendoza actually wasnt at fault and was more like the hitters got in her way when she was trying to dig/receive the ball and shoji after down 2 sets to none decided to swap liberos to provide a spark like he said. in essence however, it is the libero got relieved here unfortunately. and you said a time kahakai couldnt pass a decent ball, where? oh you talking about when kahakai was relieved as libero vs the beach at home. that was because of a couple off the net serves (lucky) by the beach which i still say the front row should of simply attacked it back instead but thats another story. kahakai did get relieved as libero here yes, but putting mendoza back in still eventually got the outcome was a defeat. compare that with mendoza got relieved at irvine and got kahakai in, eventually the outcome was a victory. number of times mendoza relieved as libero 2, kahakai 1. the first of course was vs asu and kahakai got nearly twice more digs done than mendoza in half the amount of sets played (thats bragging points alone). additionally do not forget mendoza is a senior and as a captain gets to be treated with higher standards than kahakai as a frosh.

    those criteria i gave were meant as a mini-gauge on a liberos competitiveness (im talking about lets say what libero is competitive enough to make the usa volleyball team). your examples of where a hitter has significantly more digs than a libero means those liberos didnt do a ‘good job’ that match expected of a libero. hell even longo a ‘champion’ libero didnt make the usa volleyball team especially if it was somebody outdug her. bottom line: if a hitter or setter has more digs than the libero, that libero is not doing a very good job because that hitter could of been hitting offense and of course the setter needs to set for the offense not dig (holes deeper), thats how it is on paper anyways.


Comments are closed.