Thoughts on the big Husker win

[djlhuskerfan]

I don't understand why Wisky didn't have Smrek on the court more! We had no answer for her, offensively or defensively!

 

[weaver75]

I don't understand why Wisky didn't have Smrek on the court more! We had no answer for her, offensively or defensively!

She apparently is not a back row player or server, so as a 3 rotation player, she has to rotate out.

 

[djlhuskerfan]

She apparently is not a back row player or server, so as a 3 rotation player, she has to rotate out.

Yeah I guess that makes sense now that I think about it! When she was in we couldn't get her out of rotation so she was able to dominate.

 

[gazelle]

Yeah I guess that makes sense now that I think about it! When she was in we couldn't get her out of rotation so she was able to dominate.

She had a relatively bad match by her standards. She had one ball that was so far out of bounds it almost was into the stands.

 

[Nehunter88]

She apparently is not a back row player or server, so as a 3 rotation player, she has to rotate out.

Shows how important it is to find good 6 position players.

 

[Elwood von Kiowa]

Yeah I guess that makes sense now that I think about it! When she was in we couldn't get her out of rotation so she was able to dominate.

I'd love it if she played back row!

Actually, she's typically dominant at the net because most teams can't deal with her height and physicality. Cook has been strategizing against her and Rettke for a few years, and our team is able to counter them.

 

[Nehunter88]

 

[Husker Robbie]

Watching Cook's press conference I believe they said BTN had more viewers for the volleyball game than the football game. At least I think that is what I heard, you can't hear the questions asked so it was like getting half of the conversation.

Volleyball indeed had more viewers than football. Mainly because the Black Shorts are a lot better the the Black Shirts.

 

[HuskerInKCLand]

Not sure if this has already been mentioned, but it sure seemed to me that late in set 4 and all of set 5, the Huskers were the stronger team. Wisc's tall front line seemed to lose a little steam. Appeared that conditioning had a lot to do with the 5-set win!

 

[CrnhskrBob]

At the risk of being thought a heretic, the Huskers beat a better team. The girls will only get better the rest of the season. Consider: During the match the Huskers had 44 attack errors, 11 service errors, and 4 block errors. That's 59 plays that Wisc did not have/need an offensive opportunity. That's a huge reason why, in spite of the attack errors, the NE ladies had 19 more kills. The 2nd set is a good example. The Huskers had 12 kills and 16 attack errors. The Badgers had 12 blocks and 7 kills. It's easy to see that Wisc did not have to work hard to win the set. Had it not been for the never-give-up attitude and Harper and Merritt's performance in the late 4th and 5th sets ... fill in the blanks. Still, I think NE can clear their schedule.

Your opinion on wisky being the better team is subjective. That is ok.
I don't agree is also ok..
In the last set, I believe we had at least 2 net violations. We won on a net violation and should not be diminished for it.
The final score shows us as the better team. That is also subjective.
So, congrats on the "better" team winning!

 

[CrnhskrBob]

The thing I keep coming back to when I think about this game is that the only reason it went five is because Wisconsin got their blocking going and it took us 2 and a half sets to figure out a way to combat it. Not that the 1st, 4th and 5th sets weren't really tight - they were, and Wisconsin's offensive and defensive capabilities are excellent - but if we figure out Wisconsin's block sooner, that game may have never gone to a 5th set.

The team's youth may mean it takes them a little longer to see what's going on and analyze what opponents are doing - there have been a lot of sets this year where we get down or are in tight sets and then something seems to click and we come roaring back - but so far they've been able to figure it out before it's too late. If they were playing with fire against lesser competition it'd be one thing, but to be able to flirt with danger against, what, 8 ranked opponents so far this year? To do that and still pull out all the wins in the end says a lot of good things about this group's potential.

That is it in a nutshell. They are learning everyday. These freshmen and sophomores have so much to learn, yet they are #1!!! Think about that, ok?

Life is good, my friends. Enjoy the ride as long as possible. Having John Cook as their coach is one hell of a bonus.

Oh, one more thing: Merritt Beason is a BEAST!!! GRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!

 

[CrnhskrBob]

Not sure if this has already been mentioned, but it sure seemed to me that late in set 4 and all of set 5, the Huskers were the stronger team. Wisc's tall front line seemed to lose a little steam. Appeared that conditioning had a lot to do with the 5-set win!

Absolutely! The gals are well conditioned, for sure. Jordan says they practice hard every day. They are in great shape, for sure.

 

[jtf]

Reaction to the volleyball win….

It’s too much to call it a win of good over evil, but the Nebraska and Wisconsin teams have been built in very different fashions. Wisconsin cannibalized the rest of the conference to build their team. They took one of Minnesota’s top players plus the best players from Northwestern and Michigan State. They also took an all-Big 12 player from Kansas. The Badgers did what is within the limits of the rules, but that feels pretty slimy to me. I know that we have taken transfers, too. Lexi Sun, Kayla Caffey, Kaitlin Hord and Merritt Beason all came via transfer. However, we have mostly built through recruiting and filled gaps via transfer. I like our approach better. It feels more like what college athletics are supposed to be.

One of the consequences of Wisconsin’s strategy is that the overall conference is weakened. The B1G is very, very top heavy. There’s a massive gap between the top two and the rest. Penn State also contributed to that by taking the best players from Michigan and Ohio State. Without the flurry of transfers. Michigan State and Ohio State would have been very good this year. Minnesota is in a coaching transition, but it would have been made easier without having to replace an all conference type player. I intensely dislike Wisconsin, so the win was going to be satisfying, no matter what. It was more satisfying given the way Wisconsin built their team. That approach isn’t about developing players or people, it’s about renting talent for the sake of winning. I get that winning is important, but it seems like a shortcut to just go build a roster of players that other coaches have poured their heart and soul into and developed into elite players.

Much was made of the long losing streak to Wisconsin. The reality is that now most of our starters have never lost to the Badgers (Beason is 2-0 while Jackson, Murray, Reilly, and Choboy are all 1-0) while the cumulative record of Badger starters against the Huskers isn't as sparkling as that 10-win streak would have suggested. The team really grew up in the last couple of sets. The scary thing about this Nebraska team is they are just beginning to scratch the surface of what they can be. It should be a fun ride for the rest of the season and for the next few years.

Don’t forget Brianna Holman who was aa at LSU before transferring here. Or Kelsey Robinson who was at TN for two years before transferring to NU and earning B1G player of the year. Both also within the last 10 years. Add them to the women you mention above and the list is getting long. Good thing Cook knows exactly how many transfers can be on roster before it’s gets slimy, lol.

The weakening other conf teams is also laughable. Murray is from Ann Arbor. Dad played football there. Sister is on the UM team. It would be better for conf balance if she went there. Maybe we shouldn’t have recruited. Choboy was going to MN until McCutcheon stepped down. It would have made MN stronger if she went there. Making the conf strong at the expense of their own team is a consideration of no coach.

The whole right way idea of doing things, particularly when the right way shifts to whatever way we are doing it is laughable. Not to mention the regular undertones of transfer portal is bad, the wrong way, slimy, whatever.

We are doing it the way we are and we’re doing great. So is WI. Congrats to Huskers. Should be a great rematch in WI.

 

[wheat]

Don’t forget Brianna Holman who was aa at LSU before transferring here. Or Kelsey Robinson who was at TN for two years before transferring to NU and earning B1G player of the year. Both also within the last 10 years. Add them to the women you mention above and the list is getting long. Good thing Cook knows exactly how many transfers can be on roster before it’s gets slimy, lol.

The weakening other conf teams is also laughable. Murray is from Ann Arbor. Dad played football there. Sister is on the UM team. It would be better for conf balance if she went there. Maybe we shouldn’t have recruited. Choboy was going to MN until McCutcheon stepped down. It would have made MN stronger if she went there. Making the conf strong at the expense of their own team is a consideration of no coach.

The whole right way idea of doing things, particularly when the right way shifts to whatever way we are doing it is laughable. Not to mention the regular undertones of transfer portal is bad, the wrong way, slimy, whatever.

We are doing it the way we are and we’re doing great. So is WI. Congrats to Huskers. Should be a great rematch in WI.

I freely acknowledged we have had transfers but we've seldom had more than one or two. Fully half of the current Wisconsin roster are D1 transfers. It's a very different approach to building a team.

What an odd thought to think that because Harper's Dad played there that she should go there for competitive balance. You completely missed the point. The Michigan volleyball program did nothing to develop Harper while the Michigan State program made a very significant investment in Sarah Franklin.

Beyond that, it's good to know you're the keeper of the moral compass. I'll keep that in mind for the future, just in case I need to know what to think.

 

[Nehunter88]

The portal was a little slower to get going in volleyball compared to football, and NIL is the same.

I think a lot of transfers come from limited scholarships, limited NIL money for volleyball, and the final end to the extra Covid year. Big 10 teams brought in good Ohio State players through the portal in part because Ohio State didn't have enough scholarships and didn't have any NIL money to keep their really good players, and the same can be said for other teams. Those girls wanted to play in the Big 10 because it's the best volleyball conference so if they have to leave they want to stay in the conference.

This is where the rich get richer, even more so than football. Teams like Wisc and Nebr will be able to come up with some NIL money which can help keep players around. After this season is over if we didn't have decent NIL money look at the problem we'd have. Everyone stays and a new recruiting class is coming in.

Another thing when it comes to the really great teams, sometimes they don't go looking but players come to them. I don't believe we went looking for Beason she came to us, and you can't turn down an opportunity like that. Well the same can be said for other teams like Wisc.