Opening Day

[pawball]

As you might expect, UNI prvailed.

As did MSU.

Jays did in first match, then were gotten by A&M

Somewhat surprised by Shocks destruction by PAC 10's seventh place team, Arizona. Not just by being swept but the scores....................

Season be young...............Valley might not be as strong as expected, but still could surprise.

[pawball]

Valley posted 19-12 record through the first weekend of play. One match remains, today, with Wichita vs SanFrancisco, in Hawaii.

Best wins to date are probably UNI's, vs Cincinnati in 4 on neutral court and sweep of Northern Illinois @ NIU.

Shocks won a set @ #10 Hawaii, Bears won a set @ #16 Oklahoma. Evansville won all 4 matches in NC -Greensboro tourney. SIU won @ Miss St.

Since I follow the Bears, a little report on their play:
Bears lost first set against ORU, then took next 3 Friday evening. Sat a.m. they swept SMU, which in turn swept ORU yesterday p.m. I watched the match against OU last night; Bears were very competitive, in each set except one, winning one of them 30-28. OU is a pretty imposing team at the net, very strong hitters, great setter, good retreivers. Their left-handed RH was a killing machine. Bears were extremely scrappy on the defensive end though, and OU had to play their butts off to win. I very much like the enthusiastic play of this year's Bear's team and, off what I saw think that Bears are a notch improved from last year. If Bears continue to play this quality D, they will be a real tough out for anyone in Valley. With emergence of Amber Doolittle, MB, Bears pose a hotter offense too.

[Snaggletooth]

WSU struggled against USF but did when the match 3-2.

Lost 21-25
Won 25-19
Lost 13-25
Won 27-25
Won 15-8

not sure what this says about the state of WSU volleyball.

[panther-state]

WSU struggled against USF but did when the match 3-2.

Lost 21-25
Won 25-19
Lost 13-25
Won 27-25
Won 15-8

not sure what this says about the state of WSU volleyball.

It says they have a lot of work to do if they don't want UNI to run away with the conference again. UNI cleared up a lot of doubt, this past weekend, that they can be successful without Ellie Blakenship at libero and if they would get solid play from their young players. Cincy and NIU aren't the best benchmarks by any mean but they still did well

[valleychamp]

UNI sweeps Marquette tonight in the home opener.

[JayJ79]

WSU struggled against USF but did when the match 3-2.

Lost 21-25
Won 25-19
Lost 13-25
Won 27-25
Won 15-8

not sure what this says about the state of WSU volleyball.

It says they have a lot of work to do if they don't want UNI to run away with the conference again. UNI cleared up a lot of doubt, this past weekend, that they can be successful without Ellie Blakenship at libero and if they would get solid play from their young players. Cincy and NIU aren't the best benchmarks by any mean but they still did well

One thing Ellie provided (besides that wicked serve), was a bit of a safety net. Her defensive prowess (as well as that of Chelsea Saunders) meant that many well hit balls from opponents were not only kept off the floor, but more often than not, were passed up to Bre well enough that should could set up the offensive options effectively.

This year's Panther squad has talent certainly, but lacks that defensive safety net. At least in what I saw tonight (and from what it sounded like on the radio this past weekend). Our current defense doesn't seem to have near the range as it did last year, and many of the passes aren't quite on the mark, which limits the offensive options.

It's still early, and hopefully UNI can improve on some of that. If they don't, however, I think they will struggle against the likes of Florida State, Minnesota, and Iowa State. And if they continue to have lapses like they did in the early goings of set 3 against Marquette, they could be in for osme trouble during the conference season as well.

[JayJ79]

Also, comparing how one team looked in matches against Arizona, and at Hawaii,
to how another team looked in matches against Cincinnati and at Northern Illinois,
is really comparing apples to oranges, as they say.

[panther-state]

Also, comparing how one team looked in matches against Arizona, and at Hawaii,
to how another team looked in matches against Cincinnati and at Northern Illinois,
is really comparing apples to oranges, as they say.

Which is why I mentioned that those two programs aren't the best benchmarks. However the Panthers have certainly looked impressive up to this point, considering some of the question marks surrounding how we would deal with the talent lost from last season

[strike00]

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the NIU match. NIU is a tournament caliber team and UNI swept them on their home floor, while it isn't anything to get giddy over, it's a solid early win. We'll really see where UNI is at when they take on the #25 (and probably better than that) Florida State on Friday. Hopefully the back row can continue to make strides throughout the week.

WSU played very tough teams in Hawaii. Nice job gutting out a win. A lot of things change after the first weekend so I'm not too worried about any MVC teams performance quite yet.

[dannyobyrne]

Jays were 1-3 last year after a tough opening stretch, and by the time the season concluded they were probably playing as the second-best team in the Valley -- and were the last team playing. Lam's a good coach, as is Booth. I wouldn't be too worried about it.