2024 PSU WVB Thread
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
- Start date
From my mother’s high school, Academy of the Holy Cross.
Sellman is a huge get for PSU. PSU has 2 really talented pin hitters in this year's recruiting class. But I always am fearful of depending too much on true freshmen.
From the current roster, listed as OH:
- Karis Willow
- Camryn Hannah
- Jess Mruzik
- Anjelina Starck
- Caroline Jurevicius
- Alexa Markley
Hannah, Mruzik, and Starck are departing after this season, and Hannah and Mruzik are a significant chunk of PSU's points.
Willow has barely appeared in games for PSU. I think she was in 1 game in 2023, and 2 games this season. Jurevicius has been very good, though she seems to be mostly a right side player. Alexa Markley has been a bit of a mystery. She started 9 matches in 2022, and made the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. She played in the 2023 season, but not as much as she had in the 2022 season. This season was even more of a mystery. She played a lot in September, but has only played a few times since then. I believe (can't confirm) that she played less this season than in either 2022 or 2023. She played a lot of right side in past seasons, so Caroline's time this year may have come at the expense of Alexa. But the bottom line is that only 3 experienced OHs returned from this year's roster, so the question of where points were going to come from in 2024 seemed valid. Sellman can address that in a big way. I still wouldn't mind seeing another OH via the portal, but I have no idea how much room is on the roster, and what the PSU coaches are seeking in the portal.
From the current roster, listed as OH:
- Karis Willow
- Camryn Hannah
- Jess Mruzik
- Anjelina Starck
- Caroline Jurevicius
- Alexa Markley
Hannah, Mruzik, and Starck are departing after this season, and Hannah and Mruzik are a significant chunk of PSU's points.
Willow has barely appeared in games for PSU. I think she was in 1 game in 2023, and 2 games this season. Jurevicius has been very good, though she seems to be mostly a right side player. Alexa Markley has been a bit of a mystery. She started 9 matches in 2022, and made the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. She played in the 2023 season, but not as much as she had in the 2022 season. This season was even more of a mystery. She played a lot in September, but has only played a few times since then. I believe (can't confirm) that she played less this season than in either 2022 or 2023. She played a lot of right side in past seasons, so Caroline's time this year may have come at the expense of Alexa. But the bottom line is that only 3 experienced OHs returned from this year's roster, so the question of where points were going to come from in 2024 seemed valid. Sellman can address that in a big way. I still wouldn't mind seeing another OH via the portal, but I have no idea how much room is on the roster, and what the PSU coaches are seeking in the portal.
You typically don't target deep corners, but instead target a particularly weak passer or seams between passers to put them in conflict with each other. Teams accept a number of missed serves if they are also getting aces and are keeping the opponent out of system. It's a numbers game. IIRC 2:1 errors to aces ratio is perfectly fine. I don't know where we finished up last night but we did have a number of aces, especially in set 1.
Topspin serves are ridiculously easy to pass compared to float serves, unless you have an exceptional one like Micah Hancock does. Given a mediocre float vs. a mediocre topspin jump serve most coaches are taking the former without question.
The NCAA requires a Taraflex floor for these games. Many schools home gyms already have one so they just played on their regular floor, keeping their usual logos and such. Rec hall still has a wood floor so they have to install a Taraflex floor on top for these games to abide by the rules, hence the neutral looking floor with NCAA logos.
Played volleyball in my ute for a commonwealth campus. They used to have the commonwealth campus championship tournament in Rec Hall. We loved playing on the Rec Hall courts. Easier diving and sliding vs these new fangled floors. Then again, things have certainly changed in, gulp, the last 40 years(damn, just realizing how old I got....). Looking forward to watching the match on Thurs night at 9:00 PM(hopefully I can stay awake that late).
I can.Imagine such a video today with a “college” football player.
I'm hoping this isn't the last Match Day post I get to post this year.
A heads up. Weeks/months ago, without paying any attention to the date, I agreed to my wife's request to attend a play with another couple this evening. I'll certainly miss the Pitt - Louisville semi. And I may miss the early parts of the PSU - Nebraska semi. So until I check in with a post, I'm out for the start of the PSU match, and as such won't be posting about the early results.
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