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Black Friday Volleyball versus Wisconsin
- Thread starter BGRed
- Start date
An interesting match where either team can win.
I was thinking about John Cook's frequent comment about how hard it is to win the B1G compared to the National Championship. He was the head coach at Wisconsin from 1992-1998. His teams finished the conference ranked 7, 5, 5, 7, 5, T1, 2. He led them to 5 tournaments but never got past the Regional Finals (4th round).
Now that he's at Nebraska, and after joining the Big Ten, he has led the Huskers to 5 final fours and 4 national championship games, 2 wins, 2 losses. Here is the team's conference performance for those years.
2015 - Record 17-3, Rank 2 losing to OSU, MINN, WISC then won the National Championship (Texas)
2016 - Record 18-2, Rank 1 losing to OSU, MINN then eliminated in the Final Four (Texas)
2017 - Record 19-1, Rank T1 losing to WISC then winning the National Championship (Florida)
2018 - Record 15-5, Rank 3 losing to MINN, OSU, WISC, PSU, ILL then losing the National Championship match (Stanford)
2021 - Record 15-4, Rank 2 losing to WISC, OSU, WISC, MINN then losing the National Championship match (Wisconsin)
On one hand Cook makes his case. On the other hand I think he underestimates his game management skills. Records aside, the Huskers go deep into the Tournament year after year with few exceptions.
I was thinking about John Cook's frequent comment about how hard it is to win the B1G compared to the National Championship. He was the head coach at Wisconsin from 1992-1998. His teams finished the conference ranked 7, 5, 5, 7, 5, T1, 2. He led them to 5 tournaments but never got past the Regional Finals (4th round).
Now that he's at Nebraska, and after joining the Big Ten, he has led the Huskers to 5 final fours and 4 national championship games, 2 wins, 2 losses. Here is the team's conference performance for those years.
2015 - Record 17-3, Rank 2 losing to OSU, MINN, WISC then won the National Championship (Texas)
2016 - Record 18-2, Rank 1 losing to OSU, MINN then eliminated in the Final Four (Texas)
2017 - Record 19-1, Rank T1 losing to WISC then winning the National Championship (Florida)
2018 - Record 15-5, Rank 3 losing to MINN, OSU, WISC, PSU, ILL then losing the National Championship match (Stanford)
2021 - Record 15-4, Rank 2 losing to WISC, OSU, WISC, MINN then losing the National Championship match (Wisconsin)
On one hand Cook makes his case. On the other hand I think he underestimates his game management skills. Records aside, the Huskers go deep into the Tournament year after year with few exceptions.
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A master!
Yesterday's press conference
huskers.com
️ Weekly Presser | Nebraska Volleyball - Nov. 21, 2023
The Official Athletic Site of the University of Nebraska, partner of WMT Digital. The most comprehensive coverage of the University of Nebraska on the web with rosters, schedules, scores, highlights, game recaps and more!
huskers.com
Yep. Reveals the truth to what he is saying - playing volleyball in the B1G prepares teams well for the NCAAs as we and many of our conference mates go deep into the tournament. It only gets tougher from here on out with the addition of the PAC schools. It’s going to be a real gauntlet…
Cook is a master at getting his teams prepared for big games. So is Sheffield. Should be an interesting match. I give the edge to Wisconsin because of home court advantage, and because this match means much more for them than it does for us. In order to get a top four seed and regional host bid they must win this match. For Nebraska, we already sewed up the B1G championship, and are guaranteed to host a regional whether we win or lose.
Last time we won by the barest of margins. Wisconsin's home court advantage will be big, and we have shown a tendency lately to get rattled in matches on the road. Last time we played them Anna Smrek was a non-factor, and Wisconsin depended too much on Sarah Franklin. I expect to see Wisconsin setters sending balls to Smrek early and often to get her in rhythm and take some pressure off Franklin.
One thing I would like to see from Nebraska is quicker sets from Bergen Reilly. Lately I have noticed more of the high, slow sets to the pins, which allows the opponent to get their blockers set. That will kill us against a big, physical team like Wisconsin. The other thing that I hope we see is tough serving. If we serve like we did against Illinois, which was our best serving match of the season, I think we have a decent chance.
I wish Krause was back. I think she would make a big difference in this match. She was playing probably the best volleyball of her life in the weeks before her injury. Hopefully, she will be back for the tournament.
In the presser, Cook talked about Bergen stepping up on her setups.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!
GO BIG RED!!!
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The way Cook was talking, I believe Lindsay is day to day.
The audible was not clear, but I believe he was talking about Lindsay.
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Yeah. The impression I got from that presser was that she won't be ready to go this week. I noticed when she ran onto the court at Iowa for the dog pile celebration that she seemed to still be a little gimpy. Hopefully she will be ready next week for the start of the tournament. I would feel better about our chances at the national championship if Krause was back and fully healthy.
Absolutely!
As far as the limp, I'm hoping that's just the boot being cumbersome.
Did you notice a boot?
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I wanna win this one, wanna win it badly....BUT, the Badgers are very good and at home...IMO, regardless of how this one plays out, the match we MUST win is Saturday in Minneapolis...GO BIG RED...Good luck girls...Go have some fun today and kick in some Bucky Badger teeth!!!
After we beat Wisc here I felt we'd probably lose when we played there, home court advantage. But now that they've wrapped up the conference title, and know they will have a top 4 seed no matter what happens, I really think they will play loose with little pressure. Yes they still play for the undefeated season, but the other stuff is off the table so they can go out have fun, play hard, and let the chips fall where they may.
I agree. I don't expect us to win this match, but I do hope they play well and are competitive. If we play poorly and get swept, I will be a little disappointed. I predict we lose in 4 but the sets we lose will be close. Of course, I would love to be wrong with that prediction.
They will need to stay focused because the Saturday match will also be difficult. Minnesota has been playing good volleyball the last couple weeks.
Interestingly, undefeated volleyball teams have happened just five times by four teams (Penn State did it twice). There have also been just 11 one-win teams. I like the Huskers chances today but I will not be surprised to see Wisc win. The Minn game should be a win.
