'Horns vs Ducks for Whole Enchilada

LonghornCatholic

LonghornCatholic

Deo Gratias
Go Lady 'Horns!!!
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Man this is a first time with out the familiar faces in the finals. I don't know anything about oregon's game. This is going to be a good. Go Horns!

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So Oregon's coach used to coach at UT 10+ years ago! I didn't follow volleyball closely enough back then to remember his name, but it mentions it on ESPN.
 
I think he was the coach between Haley and Elliott.

Haley left Texas to coach the Olympic team in 2000.
Moore coached the team from 97-2000. We hired Elliott from USC and Haley then went to coach at USC, who we beat in the Regional Final.
 
Let's Fight tomorrow Ladies! This is what you have worked so hard for. Please bring it back to Austin. I will be cheering for you.
Hookem'
 
For anyone in Louisville, the team will arrive at the Yum Center at 5:15 EST. Texas Cheer and the LHB will be there. All fans should join in to cheer on the team.
 
Thanks for the history, s102r18. It's a great story no matter who wins. Moore gets fired by Texas, goes back to Div II for a while, takes over an Oregon program that only won a single conference match his first season, half the team departs, and look where they're at today. And then there's Elliott, who takes over a Texas program that had fallen on hard times, and has now made four of the past five final fours, including two championship matches. And to win a national championship he will have faced, and had to beat, two former Horn coaches; Haley in the Regional Final and Moore in the Championship Final. Wow, talk about backstory!

So, Moore will either complete the journey, and end up denying the program that fired him a NC, or Elliott will finally seal the deal after years of great success, and top recruits, by beating his two predecessors. But my guess is neither coach is thinking too much about the past at this point; both are focused on the task at hand. And the players certainly don't care about ancient history. Most had likley never even picked up a VB at the point Moore left, and Elliott came on board. They simply want to win.

Someone posted the following breakdown of recruit rankings for both sqauds on Volleytalk.

Oregon:
Bergsma- #65
Brenner- #22
Fischer- #97
Williams- #99
Plum- #35
Finley- #95
Jacob- unranked

Texas:
Eckerman- #5
Webster- #1
Bell- #2
McCage- #1
McNeal- #5
Allison- #9
Palmer- #73

Pretty big difference there, although Oregon has been beating squads with higher ranked players all season. Nonetheless, the Horns starting lineup has 6 top 10, five top 5 and two # 1 recruits. The Ducks don't have a single player that was even in the top 20.

We have better players, no question, but Oregon is balanced, features the National POY, and does everything well. That said if we play like we did vs. USC and Florida, and in games 1, 4 and 5 vs. Michigan, we will win....easily. No one beats us if we play like that, even our great Destinee Hooker teams, or the Penn State squad that won three consecutive titles. The problem is we don't always play like that. If we experience a letdown like we did vs. Michigan, Oregon will eat our lunch. But I am hopeful that won't happen. And perhaps even glad it did during the semis, because it gave the team a chance to make adjustments, and realize anyone can beat them if they lose focus. When you look at the stats you would think the Horns won in a dominating sweep. We led all categories, inc hitting % (double that of the Wolverines!). And yet we were tied 8-all in the 5th set, and came within four points of losing. Can not let that happen again. How do you beat a team 11 and 12 and then come within 4 points of losing? That kind of swing is absolutely crazy.

Bergsma is a great player. But we have four that have every bit as much power, and skill, as she does. If we play like we are capable we win, no matter what Oregon does. They can play better than they ever have, or the match of their lives, but can not beat a Horn team that plays at their best. I'm thinking (hoping, praying!) that's going to happen tongiht!! Go Horns! THIS IS YOUR YEAR!
 
Yes, it will be a great story for one side or the other. For Ducks and their fans, there is only the normal disappointment if Texas wins. There will be extra sting for us long-time 'Horn fans to lose to Moore and TJ-L's squad. Of the five highest-seeded teams we might have met in this year's tourney (PSU, NU, Oregon, Stanford, and USC), all but one had backstory that would make a loss more painful than normal for one side and/or both sides. Stanford was the only "normal" sort of matchup for Texas in the bunch.

I agree the coaches are not worrying about the past, and that the players were too young when it happened (and in most cases for Texas, probably had no reason to care about the 'Horns back then) to feel any connection to that stuff. It's purely an issue for the fans (and perhaps the administrators).

Having lived through the Jim Moore era in Austin, it's hard to admit but he is one of the premier developers of volleyball skill. He turned overlooked recruits into All Americans just about everywhere except at Texas. I wouldn't say Texas has superior talent just because of the recruiting rankings, because Moore can more than make up the difference through his development of skills in his players. I agree with the premise, however, that Texas will dictate the results through their level of FOCUSNESS. If the 'Horns minimize the mental lapses and avoid injury, Oregon will not beat this squad.

I've read someone's comment that Moore is judged too harshly for his time here, but that perhaps overlooks the fact that he inherited three years of Demetria Sance, arguably the best all-around player in school history. Dee finished as the 'Horns career leader in kills, kills per game, points, (now trailing only Mira Topic in those three), points per game (now trailing only Mira and Erin Aldrich--who, as a transfer, only played as an upperclassman), and get this: she was and remains the career leader in digs! Alyson Jennings came closest to catching her, and that's with the advantage of the libero role. In his fourth year when Moore no longer had Dee's powerful shoulders to carry the team, the weak state of the program was laid bare for the fans and his boss to see.

Very excited for this evening's match...GO 'Horns!

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