2024 PSU WVB Thread

Bones80

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Won first set by 10. See we added the OH from OSU that gave us headaches last year.
 

Tom McAndrew

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match is still going on, but some observations:

- It's almost impossible to replace Jess Mruzik, or at least the Jess we saw in NCAAs last fall/winter
- Emmi Sellman isn't Mruzik, but she's a heck of an addition. She's been a 6-rotation player, and did well serving and killing out of the back row. She wasn't the best at digging in situations where PSU's block didn't get to a kill by Pitt
- Carolyn Jurevicius hasn't had a good night so far. Pitt's block is very active (she's almost always faced two blockers)
- I still worry how PSU will replace Camryn Hannah's points. Freshman Karis Willow has done well, but she's a different kind of player -- not as athletic as Hannah, and not as polished (not a surprise there, as she should be in the last months of high school, but graduated early to participate in PSU's spring practice)
- as usual, PSU has too many service errors

It's spring practice, and they are working out the kinks. PSU has a strong group of players -- only time will tell how they stack up against the elite teams in the B1G and the rest of the country. And to nobody's surprise, Pitt's Babock is a heck of a player.
 

Bones80

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Both teams were playing with players who won’t be on the team in the fall.
 

Nittering Nabob

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The B1G network is airing a very complimentary series of PSU WVB shows this evening.

Russ Rose’s best legacy might be the number of his former players who are now coaching at other universities.
 
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NitneLiun

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Both teams were playing with players who won’t be on the team in the fall.
Unfortunately, that isn't true for Penn State. We need to bring in a top pin hitter in the Spring portal. Jurevicius is so inconsistent (high ceiling, low floor). Karis Willow is a liability and clearly not a Big Ten starter.

Emmi Sellman did very well and showed a lot of fire and leadership. Jordan Hopp looked pretty good and will be a starting middle. Mendelson was very effective on the slide play.
 

CoolBean

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match is still going on, but some observations:


- I still worry how PSU will replace Camryn Hannah's points. Freshman Karis Willow has done well, but she's a different kind of player -- not as athletic as Hannah, and not as polished (not a surprise there, as she should be in the last months of high school, but graduated early to participate in PSU's spring practice)
Karis is a sophmore and I don't think she is the answer for the second OH. May be you were thinking of Gabrielle Nichols who came in and playing middle.
 

Tom McAndrew

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Karis is a sophmore and I don't think she is the answer for the second OH. May be you were thinking of Gabrielle Nichols who came in and playing middle.

My mistake. When I posted my quick observations, I was 1) on a Zoom presentation about a book about the Rev War, 2) watching the Phillies - Braves game, and 3) watching the PSU - Pitt WVB match. I should have held off on posting, as there was just too much going on in my world. Anyway, I forgot that Willow was a soph. She's got size, and can hit the ball if set well. But she's not terribly athletic, and I would not be confident going into the season with her as one of the main pin hitters on the team. Gabrielle Nichols was surprisingly quiet when she was in the match as a MB.

Sellman is a great addition as a pin hitter. That said, I had concerns during the early portal window, and after watching PSU last night, I still have concerns for where the points will come from. As things stand now, you'd have Sellman on one side, and Jurevicius on the other side. Caroline is somewhat inconsistent, so I do worry what will happen when Sellman is in the back row. As things stand now with the roster, the other OH options will be from 1) Karis Willow, who I indicated above is not really someone I would trust handling that roll, 2) Marin Collins -- a true freshman (I think she enrolled early; I didn't notice her playing last night, but I may have missed her, or 3) Alexis Ewing -- a true freshman whose HS doesn't allow early graduation, so she won't join the program until the summer. There were some good options in the portal in the winter, but I think (not certain) all the elite OHs have signed elsewhere. It's not a great situation for PSU, unless they can add somebody.