Volleyball Preview: Texas vs A&M
by TempestHorn on Nov 9, 2007 4:22 PM CST
12 comments
The Lone Star Showdown Part Two
The worm has certainly turned in the volleyball series with aggy. After they swept us in 2000 and 2001, the two teams had three years where they split the season series - each team winning on its home court. Each of those three years in Austin, the matches were an epic 5-game battle. Now Texas has swept aggy two years in a row and Friday night we will be looking to make it three straight years. The last two years in Austin haven't even been close, and I do not think the third time will be the charm for A&M.
Positional Breakdown
Outside Hitters: Juliann Faucette and Destinee Hooker for Texas; Sarah Ammerman and Mary Batis for A&M.
Advantage: Texas There are not many outside hitter combos that are going to compare favorably to the duo of Faucette and Hooker. They know it, we know it, and everyone in Sacramento is about to know it come December 15. Ammerman and Batis had respectable outings against the Horns in College Station. I expect the Horns to clamp down the block on the aggie duo.
Right Side Hitter: Ashley Engle for Texas; Kelsey Bryant for A&M.
Advantage: Texas With the emergence of Faucette and the solid play by our middles, Ashley has been able to focus on her all-around game rather than being the kill co-leader with Destinee. In my opinion, no one has the all-around game of Engle. She’s not going to lead the team in kills, aces, assists or digs. But in most matches since her return, she will be 2nd in all of those categories. On a team with as much talent as Texas, that fact should not be lost. She makes at least one play per match where you go "How in the hell did she just do that?" Bryant is an Austin Westlake product so she’ll probably have a decent showing, but she is not in the same league as Engle.
Middle Blockers: Lauren Paolini & Brandy Magee for Texas; Kelly Stanton & Jillian Phillips for A&M.
Advantage: Texas Last time in College Station, Jillian Phillips took it to us. She was the lucky recipient of several over passes by Texas. Do not expect the same luck to occur for her in Austin. Our serve receive has improved dramatically since then. Phillips does get off some monstrous kills. I expect Pao and Magee to put "The Stall" on her a la their shutdown of Tracy Stalls of Nebraska.
Setter: Michelle Moriarity for Texas; Kristen Schevikhoven for A&M.
Advantage: Texas Aggy nicknames their setter Chevy. This fact pretty much says it all in that here at Texas we have a Rolls Royce and aggy is stuck with a Chevy. And it’s a metro.
Libero: Alyson Jennings for Texas and Jen Moore for A&M.
Advantage: Texas I’ve seen nothing spectacular from Jen Moore in the two matches I’ve seen of A&M. If I was able to make out the lineup correctly on the shoddy internet video of the KU match, look for Jennings to serve up lots of points. They now have her serving when we are in the rotation where Ashley, Pao and Destinee are playing front line. I call this the "Amazon Front Line" as it represents 6’5", 6’4" and 6’3". The opposing team’s hitters get pretty intimidated when these three are on the front row at the same time.
I expect our record 10th sweep against A&M. Ammerman, Batis and Phillips will get some kills but expect Texas to clamp down on them and force Stanton and/or Bryant to beat them. The A&M block is pretty good so Michelle will need to do an excellent job of distributing the ball to keep the aggy blockers guessing.
We are cruising into the home stretch. Texas Tech is here in Austin next Wednesday and should not prove to be any real threat. Senior Day is Saturday November 24th. Please come out to support our seniors: Michelle, Brandy, Alyson and Jen Christian. They have taken this program on their backs and restored it to its once proud tradition. They deserve to go out with the 3rd sellout of the year.
--TempestHorn--
All comments, FanPosts, and FanShots are the views of the reader-authors who create them.
0 recs |
12 comments
Email
Print
Comments
Prediction
Our 10th sweep in a row.
Brandy has been my favourite player for five years now, I'll be sad to see her go. But I guess she can remove that restraining order on me now huh Tempest? :-)
I'll miss Michelle too, she's been a rock. But I'll miss her Mom even more! What a cool lady.
Ali from Cali is definetly fun to watch, and has been the anchor of the back row for four years. Thank god we have depth at the position, and some good recruits coming in. We've just taken Alyson for granted back there.
Best of luck to our seniors, wherever they're headed next.
by patienthornsfan on Nov 9, 2007 9:00 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Good news for Texas from the PAC10
#5 Stanford defeated #4 Washington last night. Washington was breathing down Texas' neck in the polls. Stanford's win sets up the Top 4 to be Nebraska, Penn State, Texas and Stanford. With Penn State and Stanford hosting that means Nebraska and Texas will go to either Florida or Wisconsin for the regional.
In addition #6 USC was upset by #20 Oregon. Interestingly enough, USC is coached by former Texas coach Mick Haley and Oregon is coached by former Texas coach Jim Moore.
by TempestHorn on Nov 9, 2007 9:03 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
I'd say Texas goes to Florida
Given that Wisconsin is the lower ranked of the two hosts, and is closer to Lincoln, Nebraska will go to Madison. I wouldn't mind that. The Gators ain't got no bite this year. yuk yuk
by patienthornsfan on Nov 9, 2007 9:11 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
BTW, Tempest....
What the heck is a "pin hitter"? From Coach Elliot's post-game reactions:
On his team’s offensive effort: Our middles were very efficient tonight and I felt like our pin hitters got really smooth as the match continued. When we get good production from our pins like we have so far this season it allows us to get more quality production from our middles.
by patienthornsfan on Nov 9, 2007 9:23 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Pin Hitter
I know pin hitter refers to the outside hitters. I think it may also be the term that encompasses both the outsides and the right side hitter. So hitting from the pins is hitting from the right and left side of the net.
by TempestHorn on Nov 9, 2007 10:19 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
hmm
I've been playing volleyball for 6/7 years now and I have never heard the term "pin hitter."
On a different note, I just might cry watching these seniors go. I mean... honestly, Michelle's mom? She should really just stay and be the team mom forever. Not high-fiving her before every match is going to be absolutely depressing.
I want so bad for these seniors to go out with an absolute bang. They deserve it. Ill reiterate my past statements when I say that when these girls make it to Sacramento to the Final 4, I'll be right there with them every step of the way. It is safe to say this is a team that is easy to become attached too.
(On a side note: Nebraska won two 3-2 matches right after they got swept in Austin. They still have to play Oklahoma who has the most legitimate threat of pulling the upset. I'd love to see Texas with the Big 12 Title outright and not have to share with Pavan and those stupid 'Huskers.)
by Bdub on Nov 9, 2007 9:56 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
BON, any advise on game logistics tonight?
We're driving in for the Gazelles tonight and football tomorrow. How long should I provide for the will call window at Greg? Where to park? I wonder if I can use the Longhorn Foundation pass tonight (Brazos Garage). Thanks.
by Horntod on Nov 9, 2007 11:14 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Advice
I would recommend getting there by 6 sometimes there can be a long line at the ticket window. If your tickets are G&A the earlier you get there the better seat you will have, if reserved you could probably cut it even closer.
Your football parking pass will not get you into the Brazos garage. I believe it's $5 to park there, but free parking across the street in front of the Bob Bullock History Musuem.
by TempestHorn on Nov 9, 2007 1:43 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Streak is over
... but a win's a win.
Texas dropped a game but still took out the Aggies, 30-27, 30-17, 27-30, 30-22. Once again the Horns had all five of its offensive stars in double figures - three of whom had double-doubles. Unbelievable! Add to that a solid defensive effort from Michelle, who had a double-double of her own (assists and digs) and Alyson, who had a team-high 18 digs.
Texas continues to play at an unbelievably high level on both offense and defense. They out-hit aTm .431-to-.221 and out-blocked the Aggies 10.5-to-6.0. The Longhorns have now hit .348 or better in each of their last 10 matches and have recorded 10 or more blocks in their last seven matches. That's just sick. The only facet of the game where this team struggles is at the service line, and service errors were a problem last night - 13, with only 4 aces, compared to the Aggies' 7 and 6.
Four matches left...
Tempest, I noticed Dee Sance was at the game. Is she going in the Hall of Fame or something?
by patienthornsfan on Nov 10, 2007 2:23 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Domination
Just to give you a view of how dominant this team is (Big XII games only):
HITTING PERCENTAGE Kills Errs Total Pct
------------------------------------------------------
- Texas............... 944 238 1924 .367
- Nebraska.......... 890 245 1972 .327
Nebraska has owned the top of this stat for as long as I can remember. This year, Texas LEADS THE COUNTRY!
- Texas 1190 335 2531 0.338
- Penn St. 1386 415 2922 0.332
- Nebraska 1276 354 2840 0.325
- Stanford 1421 393 3298 0.312
There's your final 4 teams, BON'ers.
Other stats (Big XII games only):
ASSISTS G No. Avg/G
-------------------------------------------
- Texas............... 52 880 16.92
- Nebraska............ 49 821 16.76
KILLS G No. Avg/G
-------------------------------------------
- Nebraska............ 49 890 18.16
- Texas............... 52 944 18.15
And the biggest surprise of all:
BLOCKS G Solo Asst Total Avg/G
-------------------------------------------------------
- Texas............... 52 52 257 180.5 3.47
- Nebraska............ 49 42 188 136.0 2.78
Individual stats:
Hitting Percentage
Player Team Cl G Kills Errs Total Pct
------------------------------------------------------------------
- Paolini, Lauren..... UT JR 52 149 27 270 .452
- Magee, Brandy....... UT SR 51 127 28 225 .440
- Hooker, Destinee.... UT SO 46 217 53 445 .369
Brandy is 4th nationally (full season to date).
Kills A freshman, leading the conference!
Player Team Cl G No. Avg/G
-------------------------------------------------------
- Faucette, Juliann... UT FR 52 261 5.02
- Hooker, Destinee.... UT SO 46 217 4.72
Assists
Player Team Cl G No. Avg/G
-------------------------------------------------------
- Moriarty, Michelle.. UT SR 52 794 15.27
Michelle is also 4th nationally.
If you look at this list, we have five strong candidates for All American honors, and one strong candidate for Freshman of the Year. Would have had six, if Ashley hadn't been injured.
by patienthornsfan on Nov 10, 2007 3:10 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
All-Important RPI
Texas stands 5th currently. Slightly worrying, but should take care of itself as the Pac 10 continues to eat its own.
- Nebraska
- Stanford
- Penn State
- USC
- Texas
by patienthornsfan on Nov 10, 2007 3:14 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Burnt Orange Nation
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
