I don't know much about Texas v ball except it is a blast to watch, especially in Gregory. Clearly McNeal was a key player for us last year. My question, for anyone who really knows the ins and outs of this team, is how will we adjust to her departure? It seems to me that some combination of Hattis/Dalton/Neal may be used but I don't know. One thing I do know (and I know this is akin to blasphemy around here) is that I am looking forward to being in Gregory on Sept 7&8 more than I am looking forward to being in DKR om Aug. 31.
My two cents. On the upside, Bailey and Haley are still just about unstoppable outside, Khat and Molly are very very good in the middle, and Sarah and Hannah are both very strong in their roles. And all of the returning players have the confidence that comes from knowing that they are champions. But there is no one player who has the same "package" as Sha'Dare. She was a steady leader, a "go to" hitter who could be counted on to score out right, and very good at passing and digging. Chiaka may match Sha'Dare on offense, but is it fair to expect that as a freshman, she can pass and defend as well as Sha'Dare? Nicole's health is unknown (to many of us). Tiffany is red-shirting. Pilar at 5'11" is too short to match up against the OH's of top tier teams. So some questions there at RS. I suspect we'll see some experimentation, e.g. Khat or Molly at RS, and backfilling them with Sara and Chiaka in the middle. But all things considered, the team is very, very deep. They believe in their process. They won't get rattled. I believe they will contend strongly to repeat. And we fans are going to see some awesome volleyball.
I fully expect Jerritt to use a couple of different line-ups in the pre-conference games. But at the end of the day, it's gonna be about good ball control on serve-receive and in the transition game to get the ball to our hitters. The bench is deep this year so there will be lots of options. Hopefully everyone stays healthy. The only confirmed red-shirt this year is Tiffany. However, a couple of message board posters are saying that Nicole has been cleared to play but not in playing form so she may red-shirt at well.
Honestly, I think the sure-things are Molly remaining at MB, and Eckerman remaining at OH. Depending on the versatility of the other players, I wouldn't be surprised to see Khat and Chiaka shuffle between MB and RS, and Webster shuffle between OH and RS. Webster has proven in the past that she is jjust as unstoppable on the right side as on the left side, so you know what you are getting with her. Khat played OH the early part of her freshman season, so she is more than capable of hitting from the outside. If you look at the official roster, she is listed as MB/OH; no one else is. And, Jerritt didn't list anyone as a "utility" player as he has in the past. A healthy Nicole Dalton really puts Texas in a great position; but, that's still an unkown.
Just watched the Orange vs. White scrimmage. Pencil in Pilar Victoria as a 6 rotation player. She's the real deal. Chloe Collins is only 5'7" but can jump out od the gym. She is the heir apparent in the setter position. Team will be very good. Ist home weekend vs. Penn State and Stanford will tell us a lot.
