@BBTown Bomber @ButchCassidy85 And any others that are interested, I wanted to get started with discussing the upcoming Finals and see all of our takes on it. I'll start things off with my breakdown, add to it with anything you can/want to.
Wiscy Scouting Report:
1. Big names:
Everyone knows the names : Rettke and Hilley, for good reason. These two have been around for ages, and are two amazing players. Let's break them down -
Hilley is arguably the best setter in the nation, and directs traffic better than anyone. She can take a bad pass and turn it into gold. It's not just on the swings either, she is so accurate with her sets that it puts her swings in a position to be successful. She is also sneaky about when she does a setter attack, and almost always gets points out of them when she decides to do it. She is also a great blocking setter, having registered 85 blocks this season. The offense runs through her, and you can see where it's gotten this team.
Rettke, in what seems to be her 20th year working as a Post-Doc, is where that road usually ends. Wisconsin is one of the few teams that looks MB before pins, and with a player like Rettke, it's easy to see why. She has 398 kills with a ridiculous .437 hitting percentage. But when you're 6'8", it makes the game easier. But she's not some statue at 6'8", she can -- and will -- move around the court to receive sets and put them away. Beyond her ability on offense, with her height and wingspan she has registered 159 blocks this season, and I don't know how many block touches or shots she's affected. Simply put, she's the most dominant player on any court she steps onto.
2. Balanced attack:
Although Rettke is the main option, Wisconsin doesn't just go to her. They use her to draw a defense and then spread it around. Orzol (304), Loberg (298), and Robinson (283) all get lots of sets and put them away at decent clips.
3. Smrek:
Freshman who was recruited to replace Rettke at MB stands at 6'9" and recently has been employed as a RS hitter. Last night, she had 20 kills, and made it look relatively easy. She is one of those players who has not put up great numbers and is streaky, but is also a ridiculously talented player who will use her height to her advantage. You certainly cannot ignore her.
4. Style of play:
Wisconsin is polar opposite from Pitt. They are slow, methodical and just overpower their opponents. They've done so to Nebraska each of the last 7 times we've faced off. They don't worry about pace of play, they worry about putting swings in the right spot and hitting over the top of your block. That doesn't mean they can't push the pace, but they usually don't feel the need to do so.
With a setter like Hilley, they rarely have to worry about being too far out of system. As I said before, she takes bad passes and makes them look good. This is a luxury only Wisconsin gets to have (thank goodness she's done after this season).
Nebraska's Keys To Winning:
I don't want to blow smoke here, this is the worst matchup (in my mind) that we could have gotten. We've seen this play out twice this season, and neither one made me feel confident. The difference in my mind is that we have been playing with much more confidence and better passing since that last match against Wisconsin. We are not THAT far off from them, we just don't have Rettke or Hilley. In our last match up those two (specifically Hilley) were the difference.
With that in mind, I believe these will be our keys to success against the Badgers on Saturday -
1. Passing and Setting:
We've been doing a great job of this during the tournament run, but we need to continue to pass the ball at a high rate. If we can stay in system, our swings have been able to put points away, even against a big block (Texas). Along those lines, Hames has to set the ball accurately. We have gotten away with some bad sets, but that's because she's been on her game this tournament with the pins. However, the MBs have still, largely, been slide only ... until last night. Notice that last night Hames started pushing sets to Caffey, even from the 10' line!, and got her involved. This opened the game for the pins, and made our offense so much more robust. She needs to keep doing that. Also, the passing will lead toward my second part ...
2. Pace:
We have been playing with a higher rate of pace during much of the tournament. Part of that stems from the passing, but part of it is a conscious effort from Cook/Hildebrand to have Hames push the ball and get us moving. This has paid huge dividends. With our size/athleticism, if we can push pace it can make us even that much more dangerous. We won't get to Louisville/Pitt levels of pace, but we have bigger/stronger swings than they do so if we can push it at all that is a look that Wisconsin won't be used to.
3. Serve as an attack:
We have been using the serve as an attack this tournament. Something has clicked recently that has allowed us to serve dangerously with minimal errors. If we can continue to do that, it will be a great point towards winning. These serves don't have to result in aces (although those are nice), but instead need to pull Hilley off the net and make an out-of-system, or at least suboptimal, set the result. If we can consistently do that, then we can be on the front foot on attack.
4. The defense:
We are big enough, and athletic enough to be able to get hands on the attacks from Wisconsin (Rettke and Smrek included). We have to do that consistently. Not always as blocks back, or ace blocks, but getting block touches to help the back row and get us into our own offense. Beyond the attack, we need to use our strength, back-row defense of getting the ball up. That back row of Lexi, Knuckles, and Akana have been nails, and they'll need to show again if we want to walk away with the correct hardware.
5. Smart Plays:
Battenhorst has figured something out, and so has Kubik, during this tournament. High, flat, shots at high hands have given us so many points. Take the big swing when it's there, and sometimes even force the issue, but be smart about the swing to keep the team in the rally or put Wisconsin on the back foot.
But it's not just the swings, we have to have some smart plays. That means, we need to involved quick 1/2 to the MB, continue slides when open (but not on every play), and involve more of the combo plays (anyone notice that sweet slide 8 with a RS 9 combo that Krouse put away? How about the 2/4 they ran with Stivrins and Kubik? Combo plays rule!).
Conclusion:
I think we have a shot, but it is an uphill battle. I'd say that Wisconsin (rightfully so) will be heavily favored. With that said, the door is open. We've been playing at a level that could very easily get us to the top. But we'll need to see the best, and most complete, match of the season yet. It's the right time to be peaking.
*Hope you enjoy my entirely too long post.*
Wiscy Scouting Report:
1. Big names:
Everyone knows the names : Rettke and Hilley, for good reason. These two have been around for ages, and are two amazing players. Let's break them down -
Hilley is arguably the best setter in the nation, and directs traffic better than anyone. She can take a bad pass and turn it into gold. It's not just on the swings either, she is so accurate with her sets that it puts her swings in a position to be successful. She is also sneaky about when she does a setter attack, and almost always gets points out of them when she decides to do it. She is also a great blocking setter, having registered 85 blocks this season. The offense runs through her, and you can see where it's gotten this team.
Rettke, in what seems to be her 20th year working as a Post-Doc, is where that road usually ends. Wisconsin is one of the few teams that looks MB before pins, and with a player like Rettke, it's easy to see why. She has 398 kills with a ridiculous .437 hitting percentage. But when you're 6'8", it makes the game easier. But she's not some statue at 6'8", she can -- and will -- move around the court to receive sets and put them away. Beyond her ability on offense, with her height and wingspan she has registered 159 blocks this season, and I don't know how many block touches or shots she's affected. Simply put, she's the most dominant player on any court she steps onto.
2. Balanced attack:
Although Rettke is the main option, Wisconsin doesn't just go to her. They use her to draw a defense and then spread it around. Orzol (304), Loberg (298), and Robinson (283) all get lots of sets and put them away at decent clips.
3. Smrek:
Freshman who was recruited to replace Rettke at MB stands at 6'9" and recently has been employed as a RS hitter. Last night, she had 20 kills, and made it look relatively easy. She is one of those players who has not put up great numbers and is streaky, but is also a ridiculously talented player who will use her height to her advantage. You certainly cannot ignore her.
4. Style of play:
Wisconsin is polar opposite from Pitt. They are slow, methodical and just overpower their opponents. They've done so to Nebraska each of the last 7 times we've faced off. They don't worry about pace of play, they worry about putting swings in the right spot and hitting over the top of your block. That doesn't mean they can't push the pace, but they usually don't feel the need to do so.
With a setter like Hilley, they rarely have to worry about being too far out of system. As I said before, she takes bad passes and makes them look good. This is a luxury only Wisconsin gets to have (thank goodness she's done after this season).
Nebraska's Keys To Winning:
I don't want to blow smoke here, this is the worst matchup (in my mind) that we could have gotten. We've seen this play out twice this season, and neither one made me feel confident. The difference in my mind is that we have been playing with much more confidence and better passing since that last match against Wisconsin. We are not THAT far off from them, we just don't have Rettke or Hilley. In our last match up those two (specifically Hilley) were the difference.
With that in mind, I believe these will be our keys to success against the Badgers on Saturday -
1. Passing and Setting:
We've been doing a great job of this during the tournament run, but we need to continue to pass the ball at a high rate. If we can stay in system, our swings have been able to put points away, even against a big block (Texas). Along those lines, Hames has to set the ball accurately. We have gotten away with some bad sets, but that's because she's been on her game this tournament with the pins. However, the MBs have still, largely, been slide only ... until last night. Notice that last night Hames started pushing sets to Caffey, even from the 10' line!, and got her involved. This opened the game for the pins, and made our offense so much more robust. She needs to keep doing that. Also, the passing will lead toward my second part ...
2. Pace:
We have been playing with a higher rate of pace during much of the tournament. Part of that stems from the passing, but part of it is a conscious effort from Cook/Hildebrand to have Hames push the ball and get us moving. This has paid huge dividends. With our size/athleticism, if we can push pace it can make us even that much more dangerous. We won't get to Louisville/Pitt levels of pace, but we have bigger/stronger swings than they do so if we can push it at all that is a look that Wisconsin won't be used to.
3. Serve as an attack:
We have been using the serve as an attack this tournament. Something has clicked recently that has allowed us to serve dangerously with minimal errors. If we can continue to do that, it will be a great point towards winning. These serves don't have to result in aces (although those are nice), but instead need to pull Hilley off the net and make an out-of-system, or at least suboptimal, set the result. If we can consistently do that, then we can be on the front foot on attack.
4. The defense:
We are big enough, and athletic enough to be able to get hands on the attacks from Wisconsin (Rettke and Smrek included). We have to do that consistently. Not always as blocks back, or ace blocks, but getting block touches to help the back row and get us into our own offense. Beyond the attack, we need to use our strength, back-row defense of getting the ball up. That back row of Lexi, Knuckles, and Akana have been nails, and they'll need to show again if we want to walk away with the correct hardware.
5. Smart Plays:
Battenhorst has figured something out, and so has Kubik, during this tournament. High, flat, shots at high hands have given us so many points. Take the big swing when it's there, and sometimes even force the issue, but be smart about the swing to keep the team in the rally or put Wisconsin on the back foot.
But it's not just the swings, we have to have some smart plays. That means, we need to involved quick 1/2 to the MB, continue slides when open (but not on every play), and involve more of the combo plays (anyone notice that sweet slide 8 with a RS 9 combo that Krouse put away? How about the 2/4 they ran with Stivrins and Kubik? Combo plays rule!).
Conclusion:
I think we have a shot, but it is an uphill battle. I'd say that Wisconsin (rightfully so) will be heavily favored. With that said, the door is open. We've been playing at a level that could very easily get us to the top. But we'll need to see the best, and most complete, match of the season yet. It's the right time to be peaking.
*Hope you enjoy my entirely too long post.*
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