UTVballfan
100+ Posts
Well, it was awesome to see a bit of UT volleyball. A hundred or two of us diehards turned out on a beautiful Saturday morning to check out the team.
First the injury report. The good news is that Ashley Bannister, Sydney Yogi, and Cristina Arenas were all back in action. Hannah Allison appeared to show no effects of her injury either.
The not so good news: Amber was wearing sweats, and sure enough, didn’t play at all. Bailey Webster was suited up, but didn’t play either. Bummer!
The overall personnel situation: no sign of our seniors, Jen, Juliann or Lauren. Everybody else reported for duty, including spring frosh, Madelyn Hutson. I guess Kat Bell and Haley Eckerman report in the summer or fall.
And on the coaching front: noob coach Erik Sullivan was there for most of the match, and really engaged. He doesn’t appear to have any shyness issues. Elliott was Elliott, and Salima was her normal engaging, upbeat self.
Line-up wise, the only major surprise was Sarah Palmer at OH, undoubtedly due to no Bailey, no Amber, and no Kat. Haley Cameron was slotted out at RS and the frosh staked out the middle. Hannah and Michelle split the setting, with Hannah’s slot in the rotation sync’ed with Rachael’s.
In terms of the level of play, Rachael looked like she’ll be ready for another stellar year.
Ashley Bannister really stood out. She played all the way around, hit well from outside, had a TON of good swings from the back, and showed some moves on D. Looks like the coaches are seeking to establish her as a passer, along with Sha’Dare, Sarah and Sydney.
We have a chance to be a really good blocking team. Madelyn is 6’5” and looks like she’s been working hard. Rachael is getting her normal great penetration, and both Sha’Dare and Ashley Bannister were getting after it too.
I couldn’t tell much about Madelyn’s arm swing. She pounded a few hard ones, but neither setter found the middles very much. As well, there were a bunch of back-sets wandering around in vain looking for the RS hitter. I think Sarah probably took more swings than anybody. But hey, this is the spring.
I wondered about the chemistry. I don’t think anyone is going to have the same forceful personality of Juliann. But that’s fine. It doesn’t have to hinge on one particular person. I don’t think Penn St. or Stanford had just one leader, for example. The main thing is, I think our players like each other, and trust each other. I think they’ll have great chemistry, in fact.
It’s early, but I think we’re gonna have a really good team again. If Madelyn keeps working hard, she can slot in for Jen Doris. And if our fronts get healthy and stays healthy, we’re gonna have a lot more options at OH. Plus we have two awesome setters.
Could be really cool, kids! Get pumped!
First the injury report. The good news is that Ashley Bannister, Sydney Yogi, and Cristina Arenas were all back in action. Hannah Allison appeared to show no effects of her injury either.
The not so good news: Amber was wearing sweats, and sure enough, didn’t play at all. Bailey Webster was suited up, but didn’t play either. Bummer!
The overall personnel situation: no sign of our seniors, Jen, Juliann or Lauren. Everybody else reported for duty, including spring frosh, Madelyn Hutson. I guess Kat Bell and Haley Eckerman report in the summer or fall.
And on the coaching front: noob coach Erik Sullivan was there for most of the match, and really engaged. He doesn’t appear to have any shyness issues. Elliott was Elliott, and Salima was her normal engaging, upbeat self.
Line-up wise, the only major surprise was Sarah Palmer at OH, undoubtedly due to no Bailey, no Amber, and no Kat. Haley Cameron was slotted out at RS and the frosh staked out the middle. Hannah and Michelle split the setting, with Hannah’s slot in the rotation sync’ed with Rachael’s.
In terms of the level of play, Rachael looked like she’ll be ready for another stellar year.
Ashley Bannister really stood out. She played all the way around, hit well from outside, had a TON of good swings from the back, and showed some moves on D. Looks like the coaches are seeking to establish her as a passer, along with Sha’Dare, Sarah and Sydney.
We have a chance to be a really good blocking team. Madelyn is 6’5” and looks like she’s been working hard. Rachael is getting her normal great penetration, and both Sha’Dare and Ashley Bannister were getting after it too.
I couldn’t tell much about Madelyn’s arm swing. She pounded a few hard ones, but neither setter found the middles very much. As well, there were a bunch of back-sets wandering around in vain looking for the RS hitter. I think Sarah probably took more swings than anybody. But hey, this is the spring.
I wondered about the chemistry. I don’t think anyone is going to have the same forceful personality of Juliann. But that’s fine. It doesn’t have to hinge on one particular person. I don’t think Penn St. or Stanford had just one leader, for example. The main thing is, I think our players like each other, and trust each other. I think they’ll have great chemistry, in fact.
It’s early, but I think we’re gonna have a really good team again. If Madelyn keeps working hard, she can slot in for Jen Doris. And if our fronts get healthy and stays healthy, we’re gonna have a lot more options at OH. Plus we have two awesome setters.
Could be really cool, kids! Get pumped!
