We know the Regional Finals are OVER but we want to share the Talking Turtles THOUGHTS about the matches. Enjoy!
What a night! And I mean one heck of a night for volleyball fans across the country. Turtle surely has tons to say tonight, and not even sure where to begin. Let’s get the easiest region out of the way – Penn State. Cake cake and more cake.
A round of applause to the fighting Oklahoma Sooners – you played your hearts tonight against a charging Penn State Nittany Lions, however it was not quite enough. Everyone knows Penn State has certainly been given some cake in this year’s post season, but you (Oklahoma) didn’t quite have enough firepower. The first two sets were highly contested, but in the end it was too much Nittany Lions. Again I must reiterate I do not understand how a team can lose the weekend before the tournament starts and still get a high seed, and basically the Final Four handed to them on a platter (facing Duke in the Regional Final, after Duke’s 3-1 win over Missouri).
Onto the Dayton region, both USC and Stanford had little trouble against both Indiana and Ohio State. State took a game off Stanford tonight, and hit an incredible 318. I do not think I have ever seen a team hit that high, and still lose a match. Stanford Cardinal – what does that say about your defense – anchored by Ailes is Nails? Awful hitting errors plagued Stanford tonight, and in a Regional Semifinal, that should NOT be happening, especially for the #4 seed. Negative hitting numbers by RS hitter Spelman is NOT going to cut it! As I have stated before, other players need to step up and produce if Stanford wants and plans to return the Final Four. You also need to (as mentioned previously) play with some heart, some passion, and a fighting spirit. Tomorrow night against USC Trojans you will certainly need to bring your best match. The Trojans are playing their best ball of the season, and have consistently improved week by week. A solid effort all around tonight for them, they will most definitely be ready for Stanford. Hard hitting by the two outside hitters for USC will cause Stanford some problems. Their role players MUST step up and have their best match of the season in order to pull out the win. If USC passes well, and can at least slow down a tiring Klineman, look out! My prediction for tomorrow night’s final – Stanford in four or five.
(image from Cobra Mag)
In the second to last Regional Semi tonight, it was on and poppin’ in Austin! The first match of the night proved to be the biggest and best upset of the night – perhaps even the tournament. Poor Mary Wise – couldn’t even buy your way out of this one, could ya? Where do I even begin with this match? Buckle your seatbelts readers, because I am about to let the Gators – HAVE IT! Set one was very good – competitive, spirited, and close. The Gators saw their lead shrink and Purdue was letting them have it on defense. A clearly underrated libero was showing out tonight passing completely on target, and reaching for balls left and right. And it didnt stop there. With 5 players over with 5+ digs Purdude Boilermakers double Florida dig total (37 – 61). In addition to that, Purdue also out hit The Gators – 51 – 31 kills, 47 – 30 assists, and 327 hitting percentage to an incredibly low 122. Can you say…BEAT DOWN?!
Yes, most players for Florida were not playing well at all – both setters completely trapping hitters, making very poor decisions, and simply looking lost on the court. Their block was pretty much nonexistent. Passing was heading straight for the ceiling, from all passers on the court. You are supposed to be the #1 team in the country – the number one seed overall, and you outright stink up the court as you did tonight. Hmm I know everyone is currently saying it (and has been actually for most of the season), but clearly OVERRATED! I will warn you – if you are pro Florida, you might not want to read moving forward, because I am about to get ugly (sort of like your game tonight).
Miss Rivers – what’s with the different shoes, pink shoelaces, and matching pink headband. Dig for the Cure is over honey – long ago. Was there a bit of individuality tonight? A small portion of separating yourself from the team in your potential last match? Or did you forget your team shoes tonight? It was evident by your crap warm up that looked completely off in the timing, your slower than usual movement, and lackluster approaching. Your odd warm up spilled right over into your off night during the match. Do not get me wrong, you had flashes of nice moments, some fire and intensity for your team, however it was generally too little too late. You were not the only one however on the night that ended your team’s season. Kristy – starting outside hitter – do you want to pass a little? The only thing seemed passing with you tonight was funk! Yes, some nice kills from the backrow, however not enough and not consistent. Truth be told, you should have been subbed many points before it actually happened, yet your coach made some poor choices (which I will definitely get to). RS hitter Ms. Tangerine Wiggs – honey RuPaul is calling to have you as a contest on Drag U. Buy some power honey. I am not sure where your’s went to, but it was nonexistent tonight! No blowing and a very soft offensive effort by you tonight did absolutely nothing for your team. You were NOT the only one however. Middle blockers Cassandra Anderson and Lauren Bledsoe – not your fault sweeties, your teams weak passing did not help you out all. I do feel bad for Lauren in her final match of the year. A very solid stellar year, and you are Forced to go out in this tarnished fashion. I do not think I can recall the last #1 seed to go out in round 3 – Regional Semi finals. Your efforts last week against Florida State gave us a clue actually as to how you would step out on the court tonight against Purdue. Speaking of Purdue – Ariel Turner, Ariel Turner, and Ariel Turner. What a great fantastic night for the Outside Hitter. This woman hit hard from the front and backrow. Boilermaker’s defense was just absolutely fantastic! Running balls down, never giving up on plays, one-arm stabs at balls, and solid steady passing led them to this huge win over the #1 team. And it did not stop there. Role players such as #10 and #17 had very solid matches, and produced when their team needed them. A phenomenal job by the setter Jaclyn Hart, nearly missing a triple double. Purdue came out firing from the get-go, and never ever let off the gas! Poor Gators were never able to recovery from the incredibly close set 1 loss at 26-28.
(Mary Wise/ Image from GatorCountry.com)
No onto Mrs. Wise. Nothing personal honey, but I am about to let you have it as well. When are you ever going to learn? Things are NOT going to handed to you. You might be able to change a call on your home floor, but this is a neutral site, and your antics do not cut it here. You owe your team a huge apology. I am not sure what your problem is with Stephanie Ferrell, but she has more experience than any one else on this team, and you keep that girl on the bench. Most of the season you have let the sun rise and shine off the asses of Rivers and Jaeckel. Both of them an incredibly inconsistent with passing and their offense. You allow the team to get down 6-7 points, then bring in Ferrell to create a miracle. Did you NOT learn your lesson earlier in the season against Penn State, when she came in to reel off 3-4 points in a row. The girl is good. The team and you might not like her – appearing to give her the cold shoulder here and there, but she can and does terminate, pass OK, and does have a wicked jump serve. I am sorry, but did you watch her in last year’s tournament? Oops, where was your team in last year’s tournament – certainly NOT in a Final Four like Stephanie was – as a starting Outside Hitter. When something is NOT working, you need to make changes early on – much earlier than being down 6, and expecting one player to make a major difference. And get the ball to your BIG gun, Kelly Murphy. She barely had attempts tonight, and when she did, Kelly was trapped and having to adjust drastically. The girl is a National Player of the Year Candidate and she ONLY swung at the ball 17 times…something is wrong there! Instead of trying to show your team you have their backs on the court as well, by yelling and challenging every call (albeit bad calls) from the refs, you need to be telling your team, “…Find heart right now! Dig deep and make smart percentage shots. The ball is NOT falling our way, but make it work for you!” This is an incredibly sad occasion for The Florida Gator program – bad coaching, bad set selections, and simply CRAP playing! Can anyone recall a #1 team going down in the Sweet Sixteen? I am drawing a blank, but this will certainly be remembered, especially after Wise’s antics last week. Its always a rule of thumb (as I mentioned with Hawaii) if you are playing bad one week during the tournament, more than likely that awful play will lead into the following week. Great season Gators, but your reign has come to an end, (and although I was pulling for you) rightfully so!
The second match in Austin proved to be a very good one as well – very much as advertised! Both Illinois and Texas went back and forth in points. The first couple of sets were somewhat close and strongly contested, but set 3-5 was some of the best volleyball I have seen all season. It was clearly a time where the home crowd willed their team to victory with over 3500 screaming fans booing the ref for their awful and incorrect calls. Where do I begin with this one? Lets start with coaches Elliott and Hambley (oh so cute!). Some very interesting and aggressive changes in the line ups, position match ups, and definitely challenging calls. There was even a well deserved yellow card given to an angry Jerritt Elliott, after some incredibly controversial calls by the referees. Tonight’s match between the Fighting Illini and the Texas Longhorns saw numerous lead changes in each set, long runs by each team, some fantastic defense by both sides of the net, great solo blocks, and some serious kills. Like I love to do, lets talk more about some of the players tonight.
(image from TexasSports.com)
For Illinois, once again very impressed with freshman Jazmine O. She had a very solid night as a freshman, and did everything that was asked of her. Serves that forced some bad passing, kills from the left side that left the opponent wondering, taking an area as a blocker, and even picking up a few good digs. Her counterpart Colleen Ward, a normal name on the National scene, had a very good night as always. Her first 5-6 kills, kept her hitting over 600% in the first couple of sets, and she was doing everything she could to keep them ahead. However, the team struggled often with shank passes, missed blocking assignments, and hitting errors (including the sometimes inconsistent Ward). Their other big gun, RS Bartsch seemed as though she tired completely as the match wore on and on. Barely jumping as high, hitting the ball well out of bounds, and just simply looking tired.
I want to address a few players. First starting with Illinois; you do indeed need more production out of the middle positions. However, your passing definitely saw a breakdown as the match wore on. Texas serving picked up, and was a lot more aggressive. Anchored by Bonilla, the freshman libero passed and played some of the most solid defense I have seen all session as well. However, as alluded to the passing brown down so much that the middles stopped being set – and both of them. Each are terminators and they will need to step up against UT. Best players for Illinois was hands down Ward, Bonilla, and Jazmine O. The match was somewhat in Texas’ hands actually. When their passing and defense is on, they are completely a different team.
Texas, Texas, Texas – I hope you do realize your fate is completely in your hands. Passing was very solid and good when needed the most. Passing two man with Palmer and McNeal works very well, as long as they communicate effectively. Offensively there are options with McNeal, Faucetter, Roberson, Doris, and Adams. Speaking of Adams – damn! I do not recall ever seeing a females’ hands as big as they are. Huge girl! Her hands are huge, incredibly insect like long arms, and hard work. Her blocking is simply outrageous – reading the hitters very well, reaching/pressing across the net leaving no room, and her hand positioning is impeccable. In addition to all of these skills, she is a phenomenal athlete! If UT can continues to pass well to get Rachael the ball, look out FINAL FOUR! The girl is amazing. She is actually one of my unsung heroes for the match, both her and Sha’ Dare McNeal. McNeal is the team’s Cassidy Lichtman (Stanford), who passes, blocks, hits, sets, and serves effectively. She does every single thing this team asks of her, and then some. She is aggressive, quick offensive, a good solid blocker, and has a good court sense. Both McNeal and Jen Doris are two players that did NOT receive any love from the committees regarding their All-Region honors. Doris, especially was one of the conference’s Best hitters, the nation’s best hitters, and a very solid blocker, yet she received no love what so ever. Hhmm oddly enough Iowa State saw three players make the team, yet “Where Are They Now”! Both players showed tonight they deserved to get love and respect from the committee and coaches nationally.
My MVP for the match goes to Ms. Faucette. For the first time all season, I truly saw her as a leader on this team. To take two players to the side, come through big when the team really needed the point, and remain steady throughout the match was fantastic. One of the finest matches I have seen from her all season. I certainly did not see her as a National Player of the Year Candidate before tonight (although she has been playing very well over the past month). But, for what she showed and did for this team tonight – hands down she now has to be in consideration. Even more so after both Murphy and Delano go down tonight (for Florida and Nebraska). If Texas can rest and come out focused, passing well, and get more kills from McNeal and Roberson, I certainly see them making their third straight Final Four! Tomorrow night (Saturday) Texas will need to show up and show quickly. Purude is not backing down, and we should expect them to come out firing.
Seattle Region’s, arguably the toughtest regional saw it to billing. Cal started off in a tough 3-set win over Minnesota Golden Gophers. Playing some of their best ball over the past 4-5 weeks the Gophers were riding a win streak that including a win over Penn State (also overrated). With scores just two points apart, this was a battle from the start. Lead by Senior Gibbeymeyer, Minnesota gave a very valiant effort, but the Bears are on a mission in my opinion. As I have mentioned before, and Carli Llyod has stated, they want Penn State! Heaven forbid they get that change, because it will certainly be a totally different match than it has been over the past few years. The numbers were not necessarily reflecting on both sides, but this was a good one as advertised.
At home and that may will them to win as well, The Washington Huskies are making a run! Stellar defense, offense when needed, some errors creeping in here and there, but fight and determination earns their victory over Nebraska. What do we all think about that? Ding Dong the Witch is Dead! Finally, Nebraska not given an easy route to the Final Four, making them travel, and they certainly succumbed to the pressure. Another tightly contested match, UW proved to be too much for the Cornhuskers. Crazy sickening defense on both sides of the court, good tough serving, and hard hitting Outsides, Middles, and Rightsides took them to the Regional Final against Cal (UW). Another solid season for Minnesota; it was very sad to see Lauren’s career end as such, especially after their 2009 appearance. It really was not the offense or blocking defense for Cal this time around; they simply played the bigger points better than Minnesota. Cal has more experience, and that proved to be the difference tonight.
(image from Nack Athens)
Turtle out!