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The Flyer Classic This Weekend
The Flyer Classic This Weekend
Published by UDBrian
09-08-2011
The Flyer Classic This Weekend

DAYTON (OH) -- There will be a serious rumble in the Frerick's Center this weekend but first let's look at what happened last weekend.

The season is only two weeks old but we have learned some things about this volleyball team. Most of us expect this team to play their best volleyball toward the end as new/inexperienced players Isolde Hannan, Shayne Brown, Rachel Jones, Brigid Campbell and Angel Agu get playing time. The communication between hitters and Sam Selsky will also continue to improve.

I said last week that if the Flyers could win more than one match it would have been a great weekend. They won their first match 3-0 against a tough Houston team and lost two five set matches against Tennessee and Illinois. A couple of points could have won either of these matches. Yes, it was disappointing to lose those matches and consider the what ifs but it was a good weekend. Here is what coach Sheffield had to say about falling just short in those two five set matches:
 
"In both Game 5's it was just a couple of points. Against Tennessee their outside hitter took over Game 5. Serving, digging, and four kills - she was a stud. On our side, twice we had misconnections between setter and hitter. Against Illinois there were three points where we had a break down in our serve receive. In both situations those breakdowns were the difference in the Games. We'll get better in these areas. Great teams force you to play consistently at a high level. It's incredible to think that we had 2 hitting errors after two games against the Illini! Illinois' players have played in 600 more sets than our players have, and Tennessee's have played in more than 150 more sets than our players have. We'll continue to work hard and try and close the gap between us and the elite teams - but it's not as big as a lot of people probably think."

Considering the lack of experience I consider the team ahead of where I expected them to be at this time. So I asked coach Sheffield what he learned about his team last weekend and he said:
 
"At times we can be pretty darn good. This is a tough and scrappy team that plays hard. It's not always pretty but they will grind. That grinding mentality, I think the team gets that from Yvonne. We came out of the locker room with the same mentality when we were down 0-2 to Tennessee as we did when we were up 2-0 on Illinois. I thought for the most part we executed the game plans well. There wasn't a lot that surprised us in any of the matches. Defensively we were really, really tough. Kray was a monster all weekend for us and Shayne Brown had a coming out party against the Illini. Paige is also as confident as I've ever seen her. When you play top notch competition, we all learn an incredible amount."

Sam Selsky was a beast over the weekend and in particular against Illinois. She recorded the first triple double of the NCAA season Saturday against Illinois. A triple double requires a vball player to have more than ten digs, ten assists and ten kills. I have seen Sam play more than most of you so I have not been shocked at how well she has played. When asked about Sam's great play over the weekend Kelly replied:

"She changes the entire match. Because she can be so offensive it changes how teams block and it changes their defensive base positions in the back court. She is learning to work the entire court and she is learning what to look for when teams make adjustments for her and how that sets up other attackers for us. She also puts pressure on other teams even when she is not attacking because she is deceptive and people think she is going to attack. She has the green light always and we love that she stresses the heck out of other teams. Sammi's also becoming a more well-rounded player. Every single aspect of her game is evolving and you can see her confidence rising weekly. She was the puppeteer in that Illinois match and the main reason we were playing at a pretty high level."

This weekend the Flyers play three matches against teams that are receiving poll votes and will probably be playing in the NCAA tournament. All of these matches are winnable but it will require playing at the same level or even better than they played last weekend. When asked about this weekend's tournament Kelly said:

"I haven't studied every single tournament that this program has ever played in, but I feel pretty comfortable in saying that this might be the toughest, and most balanced, four team field the Flyers have ever participated in. Usually three Top 50 wins gets a team an At-Large bid. A team could pick up three just this weekend. Pepperdine is coming off of a huge win against UCLA (a team that was receiving votes as the number one team in the nation). Florida State is extremely experienced and bring back most of their players from a really good team a year ago. And Michigan returns most of their offense and ball control from a great team of a year ago. All three styles that we will go up against are EXTREMELY different from each other, and all three teams are really well-coached. Our players will learn a lot this weekend and the play should be pretty good. It's a brutal tournament. These are the type of matches competitors, coaches, and fans all look forward to. Let's brawl baby!!"

The volleyball this weekend will be very high caliber. I expect the Flyers to win at least two matches and if they sweep it will have been a GREAT weekend. Get your butts to the Frerick's Center and help the ladies this weekend.

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By NovaFlyer on 09-08-2011, 10:42 PM
Plan to be there Friday night...looking forward to the season, all college sports.
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