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Post by Pounce Needs Pals on Sept 23, 2016 12:31:11 GMT -6
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 23, 2016 20:14:27 GMT -6
Tonight's starters vs. Northern Kentucky: Teagan Taylor, Jenn Dore, Jess Kalous, Bridget Wallenberger, Kylie Wilks, and Caitlin Schultz, with Myanna Ruiz at libero.
The play-by-play guy noted that since Coach Johnson took over, the Panthers have not lost a home league opener.
NKU scored three consecutive points to open a 5-2 lead, and the Panthers called an early time-out. The Norse back row did a good job early of digging up Panther hits. The Panther back row started more slowly. The Panthers took another time-out when the lead grew to 11-5 on consecutive Panther errors. Out of the second time-out, the Panthers' defense, back and front row, began to gel, the front row scoring on blocks and touching hit balls, and the back row doing a better job of digging and passing to set up kills. The Panthers cut the lead to 13-10 and then to 15-14 to prompt an NKU time-out. Out of the time-out, the teams traded service errors, after which the Norse re-opened a three-point lead at 18-15. Coach Johnson then substituted Sydney Book at setter for Dore, who returned later in the set. The Panthers responded with two points to get the lead back to one. The Panthers were unable to get the lead tied, though, the the Norse pushed the lead to six set points at 24-18, and finished the set on a service ace. The Panthers hit a respectable .162 for the set, but the Norse hit .282 for the set. Again, the issue was an inability to go on a scoring run longer than three points. The Panthers held the Norse to a long scoring run of four, so the score was close until the end of the set.
In set two, it was the Panthers turn to get out to a lead. The Panthers scored four consecutive points to get the lead to 5-2, when the Norse took a time-out. When play resumed, the Panthers extended the run to seven straight, forcing the second NKU time-out. Milwaukee had hit .231 in the set to that point, to raise their match percentage to .191, while Northern Kentucky's percentage for the match had slipped to .190. The Panthers scored twice more out of the second time-out, and the lead was at 10-2 before the Norse broke the string. NKU cut the lead to six at 12-6 and 13-7, and forced the first Panther time-out by scoring two more points to cut the lead to 13-9. Out of the time-out, the Panthers regrouped, scoring two consecutive points to reopen a six point lead at 15-9, and extended the lead to seven at 17-10. The second Milwaukee time-out came when NKU again cut the lead to four at 17-13. The second time-out did not have the immediate desired effect, as NKU scored two more points. The Panthers then started a run of their own, scoring four to reopen a 21-15 lead. A two-point Panther run gave the Panthers seven set points at 24-17. The Panthers gave up one, and Schultz's fifth kill finished the set. After two sets, Wallenberger led the match with 11 kills (on a match high .381 hitting percentage). The Panthers hitting percentage was up to .213, and the Norse percentage down to .156.
The Norse rebounded to begin set three, jumping out to a 5-1 lead and a Panther time-out. Milwaukee gave up a point to extend the NKU run to four, when play resumed, then started a run of their own to cut the lead to 6-4, only to see the Norse re-open a five point lead at 9-4 and force the second Milwaukee time-out. The Panthers needed to flip the trend, which they did, taking a Norse service error and following up with two more points, prompting a Norse time-out. The Panther run continued after the break, as the Panthers scored two more to take a 10-9 lead. The teams traded two-point runs, and the lead, until a three-point Milwaukee run opened a 15-13 lead, forcing the second NKU time-out. The Panthers ran the lead to 18-13 when play resumed, but the Norse scored three points to cut the lead to 18-16. The Panthers answered with two points of their own to re-open a four point lead, which the Norse countered with run to tie the score at 20-all. The teams traded points to ties at 22- and 23-all, at which point the Panthers reached set point first at 24-22, and Wallenberger's 14th kill put the Panthers up 2-1. Schultz had eight kills through three sets and Kalous and Wilks had six each. The Panthers had eight blocks in set three, to give them a total of 16 for the match. After three sets, the NKU hitting percentage had slid below .120, and the Panthers were hitting .165.
Set four again saw NKU score first, but the Panthers quickly tied the score at two-all. The Panthers took their first lead at 4-3, but the Norse quickly re-took the lead at 6-4. The teams continued back and forth play, as neither team managed more than a two point lead until the Norse opened a 10-7 lead and Coach Johnson took a time-out. The Norse opened a four-point lead at 13-9, 14-10, and a five point lead at 16-11 on consecutive blocks, when the Panthers took time-out number two. The Norse run continued after the time-out, extending the lead to 18-11, 19-12, and 20-13. The match seemed to be destined for five sets as NKU maintained their lead at six to seven points. The lead reached eight set points at 24-16, of which the Panthers able to win one before NKU finished the set. Having seized the momentum, the Panthers saw the seize it back, forcing a decisive fifth set. The Panthers would need to seize the momentum back to win the match and keep their home league opener streak alive. Wallenberger still led all hitters with 18 kills, and Schultz had four kills to give her 12 for the match.
The Panthers took an early 3-1 lead to begin set five, but the Norse kept play close. The Norse took the first time-out of the set with the Panthers up 6-4. After NKU tied the score at six-all, the Panthers took their first time-out. The teams switched sides with the Norse up 8-7. After switching sides, the Panthers scored three (including Wallenber's 20th and 21st kills) to take a 10-8 lead, and the Norse called their second time-out. Wallenberger added another kill out of the time-out to extend the lead to 11-8. A Wilks kill (number 10, making her the third Panther with double-digit kills) made it 12-8 before NKU could snap the string. The Panthers had five match points after Wallenberger's 24th kill made it 14-9. Coach Johnson called the Panthers' second time out after the Norse fought off the first, but Schultz finished the match with her 16th kill.
The Panthers finish the match hitting .188, to .146 for the Norse. Walleberger hit .360 for the match.
Some late observations:
-Milwaukee has now played,and won, four five-set matches this season (out of seven wins total).
-In each five-set win, a late surge has decided set five, and the match, in the Panthers' favor.
-In addition to citing the Home league opener winning streak (now at 10 seasons), the play-by-play guy noted that Jenn Dore was on pace, at the end of non-league play, to become only the third player in Panther D1 history to reach 1,000 assists in a season. She had plenty of assists tonight because the match went five sets.
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 23, 2016 20:17:31 GMT -6
The other matches in the league tonight featured some surprises: Green Bay beat Valparaiso at home in four sets. After the Crusaders won the first set, the Phoenix took control.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was Wright State beating UIC in Chicago, also in four sets. The Raiders have played good volleyball at times, but never sustained the level of play enough to win consistently. Last season, they managed to sustain good play for longer stretches, though they still lost most of their matches. Tomorrow's match in Milwaukee will be a good test of how much progress they have made this year.
Oakland needed five sets, but they beat Cleveland State in Cleveland. That's a road win in a tough environment versus the defending champs and pre-season favorite. The Vikings battled (as usual, the matchup was hard fought), but Oakland came away with the win.
Youngstown State was idle.
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 24, 2016 16:43:48 GMT -6
Starting lineup for today's match with Wright State: Teagan Taylor, Jenn Dore, Jess Kalous, Bridget Wallenberger, Kylie Wilks, and Caitlin Schultz, with Myanna Ruiz at libero.
Milwaukee got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 7-3 lead in set one to force the first Wright State time-out. All phases were working: the defense scored two points on blocks, the back row was digging and passing well, and the hitters were hitting well. Out of the time-out, the Raiders scored a few points to narrow the lead, but the Panthers maintained a five to six point lead, and the Raiders took their second time-out with the Panthers up 15-7. When play resumed, the teams traded a few points until Wright State scored consecutive points and the Panthers took a time-out leading 17-12. The Panthers regrouped and reopened a seven to eight point lead to a 22-14 score. Coach Johnson took the second Panther time-out leading 23-17. Wilks had four kills to lead Milwaukee at the time-out. The Raiders strung together three straight points to cut the lead to three at 23-20. The Panthers responded by finishing the set on Schultz's fourth and fifth kills. The Panthers hit .312 in the set, to .171 for the Raiders, had 16 digs and four blocks to 12 and two for the Raiders. Wilks hit .571 for the set, and Schultz .444.
Set two began with the teams trading points and the lead, until the Panthers scored five of six points to take an 8-5 lead. After the score reached 10-7, the Raiders scored twice to narrow the lead, then twice more to tie score at 11-all, prompting a Panther time-out. The Raiders scored one more out of the time-out to re-take the lead. After the Panthers tied the score at 12-all, the Raiders scored two more to open a 14-12 lead. Milwaukee again tied the score at 14-all and 16-all, but could not get the lead back until consecutive points put them into the lead at 18-17. Wright State would not go away, forcing a tie at 18-all, but the Panther momentum continued and the lead grew to 20-18 and the Raiders took a time-out. The Raiders then tied the score at 20-all, only to give the lead back on a service error. A Maddie Williams kill (her third) opened a 23-20 lead, the Raiders took their second time-out. The Panthers scored to go up four set points, and then finished the set, 25-20, on a kill by Kalous, her sixth. At the break, the Panthers had seven kills each from Wallenberger, Wilks and Schultz. The Panthers had three more blocks for a total of seven through two sets, to six for the Raiders.
Set three started out as the first two had, with the teams trading points. A two-point Panther lead at 7-5 quickly became a 7-all tie, and the teams continued to trade two-point runs, until a three-point Panther run opened a 12-9 lead and the Raiders took a time-out. Schultz had four kills in the set to that point, to become the first Panther to reach double-digits as 11. After the time-out, the teams traded points and the Milwaukee lead continued at two to three points. The second Wright State time-out came with the Panthers up 17-14. The Panthers took a time-out when the Raiders scored twice to cut the lead to 18-16. A Raider error and a Panther block opened a four-point lead at 20-16. Wright State scored two of the next three points, and Coach Johnson called the second time-out up 21-18. The Panthers responded by scoring two of three to reach match point at 24-19. The Raiders fought off one point, but Wallenberger's ninth kill finished the deal, giving the Panthers the sweep by identical 25-20 scores.
The Panthers joined Green Bay (who swept Northern Kentucky in Green Bay) and Oakland (who again won in five sets, this time at Youngstown State), at the top of the league standings at 2-0. Wright State finished the weekend 1-1, joined by UIC, who rebounded from Friday's loss by beating Valparaiso in Chicago. Cleveland State and Youngstown State were 0-1 on the weekend, followed by Valparaiso and Northern Kentucky at 0-2.
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 26, 2016 14:08:14 GMT -6
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Post by skrapheap on Sept 30, 2016 19:52:32 GMT -6
The Panthers' matches this weekend are on Saturday and Sunday rather than Friday and Saturday, so I wound up watching other HL teams in action tonight.
Oakland went to 3-0 in league play at Wright State in four sets.
Cleveland State traveled to Northern Kentucky, and alternated wins with the Norse, winning the first, third and five sets on the road, to go to 2-1 in league play. The Norse fell to 0-3 in league play. Apparently, it was the first home match for the Norse all season, and they took the defending chaps to five sets.
Youngstown State traveled to Valparaiso. From what i caught of the broadcast, it appears Valpo's slow start (6-8 in non-league play, 1-1 in league play last weekend) is the result of injuries to key players. The Crusaders got one of those missing players back tonight, but possibly not back to full health. It didn't seem to matter much initially, as Valpo bounced back from losing the first set, and won the next two sets going away. The fourth set was closer, as the Penguins fought back from a 23-19 deficit to force a Valpo timeout at 23-22. The Penguins tied the score at 23-all, got to set point at 24-23, and tied the match at two sets apiece on a Crusader error. Set five was back and forth again. The Penguins jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but the Crusaders caught up quickly, and was up 8-6 as the change of sides. The Penguins then scored three straight points to take a 9-8 lead and force a Crusader time-out. YSU went on a run to open a 12-9 lead, and Valpo took their second time-out. The Penguins re-opened a 13-10 lead, but the Crusaders scored consecutive points to cut the lead to 13-12, and the Penguins took a tme-out. The Penguins scored two of the next three points to take the match. It was YSU's first league win; Valpo fell to 1-2.
The marquee match of the evening was in Chicago, as 2-0 Green Bay faced UIC (an impressive 12-2 in non-league play) at home. Green Bay needed extra points to win set one, 26-24. Set two continued back and forth, as neither team could get a lead of more than two points until late in the set. The Flames scored four consecutive points to expand a 20-19 lead to five set points at 24-19. Green Bay fought off two points, but the Flames finished off the set with a kill. The Phoenix were hot to start set three, getting out to an 8-2 lead, then a seven point lead at 11-4, and an eight point 13-5 lead. The Flames went on a run of their own to cut the lead to five, but the Phoenix re-opened a seven point lead at 17-10. Another four-point UIC run cut the lead to 20-16, but Green Bay went on a four-point run of their own to get to set point at 24-16. The Phoenix allowed one point to the Flames, and then finished the set. Green Bay got out to another lead in set four, but the Flames kept things close early. When the Phoenix pushed the lead to 11-6, the Flames rebounded again close the score back to 13-12, only to see the Phoenix score three points of their own to re-open a four point lead at 16-12. The Flames weren't done, however, and fought back to within on at 18-17. The Phoenix kept fighting, and re-opened a 21-18 lead to force a UIC time-out. Green Bay was able to maintain a three point lead to four match points at 24-20, and finished the set 25-21 to take the match. Green Bay finished the night 3-0 in league play, and UIC fell to 0-3.
After hosting UIC tomorrow, the Panthers will take on Green Bay Sunday in a key contest.
Over the past few years, the overall quality of play in the league has improved steadily. There are more quality players on each team. Not that long ago, a ball that did not make it to the front row on the second contact would have to be sent over as a "free ball," just trying to get ball over the net, rather than an aggressive attack to try to score a point. Now, every team appears to have players who can at least attempt an aggressive shot from the back row. Such attempts are not as hard hit as attempts from the front row, but you can tell the hitter is trying to put the ball somewhere that the defense can't get to. Top D1 programs have several such players; mid-majors have only be able to recruit such players successfully in the past four or five years.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 1, 2016 16:32:35 GMT -6
UWM started a familiar lineup against UIC: Teagan Taylor, Jenn Dore, Jess Kalous, Bridget Wallenberger, Kylie Wilks, and CaItlin Schultz; Myanna Ruiz was the libero.
The Panthers started fast against UIC, building a 14-10 lead in set one, leading to the first Flames time-out. The Panthers were hitting .482 to .143. Out of the time-out the Panthers built an 18-12 lead. Coach Johnson called a time-out after the Flames cut the lead to 18-14, after which the the Panthers built a 21-14 lead. After the Flames scored two more points, they gave one back on a rotation error, and scored one on a kill. Coach Johnson called the second time-out leading 23-18. The Panthers finished the set on Schultz's fifth kill and a block from Wallenberger. The Panther service game was effective, as the Flames had trouble both digging and passing. The Panthers hit .345 for the set to .200 for the Flames.
Set two was a much closer affair initially, as the Flames closed an early Panther lead. The Panthers called time-out with the score tied at six-all. The Flames continued to play well, building an 11-9 lead, and a 15-12 lead forcing a second Milwaukee time-out after the Panthers had tied the score again at 12-all. At this time-out, the Flames were hitting .263 to .222 for the Panthers. When play resumed, Milwaukee re-tied the score at 16-all, helped by some UIC errors, and then took a 19-17 lead to force a UIC time-out. The Panther surge continued to the second Flames time-out with the Panther lead at 22-18. The Panthers rode the service of Wilks, who had an ace. Schultz finished the set with kills 10 and 11. Wallenberger had seven kills and Wilks six for the match. Milwaukee hit .360 for the set on the strength of the late surge.
UIC got out to an early 3-1 lead in set three. After a long rally, the Flames scored to increase the lead to 6-2, and the Panthers took their first time-out. It was the Panthers turn to have trouble with serve reception, and the second time-out came with the Flames up 9-3. The lead reached 12-4 before the Panther put together their first significant run, cutting the lead to 12-8. The Panthers weren't able to get closer than that, and UIC pushed the lead to 20-13. Milwaukee then started a highly improbable and very encouraging run. UIC called a time-out after Milwaukee again cut the lead to 23-19. The Panthers cut the lead to 23-21, and the Flames called time-out number two after the Panthers fought off three set points to tie the score at 24-all, the last two points on blocks. Another kill gave the Panthers their first match point, which the Flames fought off. A rare kill by Ruiz gave Milwaukee a second match point, which the Panthers converted for a 27-25 win (and a 3-0 sweep) on Schultz's 12th kill of the match. The Panthers are 3-0 in league play, tied with Green Bay and just ahead of 3-1 Oakland, who was swept by Northern Kentucky on the road this afternoon, and Cleveland State, who beat Valpo 3-1 in Indiana today.
Wallenberger and Wilks joined Schultz in double-figures with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. The Panthers hit only .151 in set three, but finished the match hitting .252 overall, to .162 for UIC. The Panthers finished with edges in blocks (13-11), assists (42-36) and digs (44-37).
Next up for the Panthers is their toughest challenge of the young league season: Green Bay. The Phoenix finished 10-4 in non-league play, and two of their losses were to ranked teams. The Phoenix have beaten NKU and UIC, as the Panthers have, but they have also beaten Valparaiso.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 2, 2016 17:49:44 GMT -6
The word to describe the Panthers' play in set one was "sluggish." Green Bay, having had yesterday off, appeared to be more ready to play. The Phoenix played with energy the Panthers lacked. The Panthers called both times-out early in the set, and never managed to score more than two points at a time. The Phoenix used several short runs to build a lead, and had eight set points at 24-16. The Panthers had one more point before the Phoenix finished the set.
Green Bay scored three points in set two to take a 3-1 lead, and the Panthers finally got into a rhythm. They tied the score, and then built a lead. The Panthers maintained the lead to the end of the set, winning a 25-18.
The Panthers maintained their momentum in set three, getting out to an early lead and keeping their foot in the gas. The final score of the set was 25-12.
Green Bay was not daunted by falling behind, two sets to one, though. The Phoenix methodically fought their way back, overcoming an early Panther lead of 14-9 in set four, tying the score and taking a narrow lead, matching the Panthers' efforts, holding on for a 26-24 win, to send the match to a fifth set.
In previous five-set matches this season, the Panthers managed to put together a late surge to win, but the Phoenix were up to the challenge. It was Green Bay that put on the late surge, taking the match with a 15-11 win in set five.
The Panthers will look back at this match as one in which they squandered opportunities to win. Hopefully they will learn from the experience and rebound. Their task will not be easy, as they now have four matches on the road to complete the first pass through the league. They will be facing league powers Cleveland State, Oakland, and Valparaiso, along with Youngstown State. The Vikings and Golden Grizzlies are as advertised. The Crusaders have been hurt by injuries, but should still provide a challenge. The Penguins are currently 1-3, but have had the Panthers' number in recent play.
This stretch of the schedule will reveal how good this team really is, and will provide clues about how good they can be.
Green Bay will face a similar challenge, but based on the season this far, I think there are fewer questions about the Phoenix.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 4, 2016 14:09:41 GMT -6
The first RPI rankings by the NCAA are out today: RPI | Team | W (Overall) | L (Overall) | W (League) | L (League) | Prev RPI | 60 | Cleveland State | 12 | 4 | 3 | 1 | - | 87 | Green Bay | 12 | 4 | 4 | 0 | - | 142 | Oakland | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | - | 143 | MILWAUKEE | 9 | 6 | 3 | 1 | - | 154 | Northern Kentucky | 7 | 8 | 1 | 3 | - | 157 | UIC | 12 | 6 | 0 | 4 | - | 169 | Wright State | 7 | 10 | 2 | 2 | - | 194 | Youngstown State | 7 | 11 | 1 | 3 | - | 195 | Valparaiso | 7 | 11 | 1 | 3 | - |
No particular surprises here.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 7, 2016 19:20:09 GMT -6
The Panthers started slowly in Cleveland, as Cleveland State got out to an early lead and maintained it through the end of set, 25-20.
The Panthers rebounded nicely in set two, holding on to win 25-22, and then built on the momentum to take set three 25-16.
The Vikings responded by pulling out a 25-22 win in set four, to force a fifth set.
The Vikings scored the first four points of the fifth set, and the Panthers took a time-out. During the run, Mykie Olson was injured and had to be replaced by Louise Kiekhofer. Out of the time-out, the run continued to 7-0 and the second Panther time-out. The Vikings scored an eighth point and led 8-0 at the change of sides. The Viking domination continued and the Panthers could manage a total of five points.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 8, 2016 17:58:19 GMT -6
After losing a tough five-set match to Cleveland State last night, the Panthers looked to re-group against Youngstown State. The Panthers started Louise Kieckhofer and Sydney Book in place of Caitlin Schultz and Teagan Taylor, who were still in the rotation.
The Panthers got out to a 6-3 lead early in set one, which they gradually increased to 13-7, forcing the first Penguin time-out. YSU scored four of the next six points, cutting the lead to 15-11 and forcing a Milwaukee time-out, and then scored twice more to cut the lead to 15-13. The Panthers managed to keep the lead at two to three points until they went on a run to finish the set. They had six set points at 24-18, and finished the set on a Penguin error. The Panthers hit a blistering .520 for the set, getting 16 of their 25 points on kills.
Set two started out similar to set one, but the Penguins played much better, and played the Panthers close. The Panthers had five point leads at 9-4 and 13-8, and even a six point lead at 19-13, but YSU was equal to the task, fighting back to tie the score at 22-all. Milwaukee had set point at 24-23, but YSU kept fighting, tying the score at 24-all and 25-all, and even getting to set point three times, but the Panthers managed to hang on, winning the set, 30-28, on points by Kiekhofer (a kill) and Book (a kill and a block). The Panthers hit .297 for the set.
Down two sets to none, YSU came out of the break fighting hard. The Panthers had two-point leads at 2-0 and 4-2, and it was all Penguins from then on in the set. YSU took a 7-4 lead on five-point run, forcing the first Panther time-out. The Panthers tied the score at seven-all, but could not retake the lead in the set. The Penguins gradually built the lead, having seven set points at 24-17, of which the Panthers could fight off only one. The Panther attack cooled off in set three, hitting .038 to .278 for YSU.
Milwaukee rebounded to begin set four, opening an 8-4 lead at the first YSU time-out, and later a 14-9 lead. But the Penguins kept fighting, even after the lead grew to 19-13. They scored six of the next seven points to cut the lead to 20-19, and tied the score at 19- and 20-all before taking a 22-21 lead. From there, the Panthers scored five of the next six points to finish out the set and win the match, getting three kills from Schultz and two from Kalous to win 25-22. Those kills gave Schultz 11 for the match, making her the fourth Panther to reach double-digits. Kalous and Wilks also finished with 11 kills, behind Wallenberger's 15.
The Panthers improved to 10-7 overall (winning more matches in 17 so far this season that they won all of last year) and 4-2 in league play. Oakland swept Green Bay at home, and Cleveland State swept UIC in Cleveland, to forge a three-way tie at the top of the league standings at 5-1. In Dayton, Wright State overcame a two sets to none Valpo lead, winning three straight to win the match in five sets. The Raiders improved to 3-2 for the season, and Valparaiso fell to 1-5, tied with YSU. UIC is the lone winless team in league play. NKU, who swept Valparaiso last night, was idle today, and will travel to Wright State tomorrow.
There will be three matches on Wednesday night, Green Bay at Cleveland State, Valparaiso at Oakland, and Youngstown State at Northern Kentucky. The Panthers play again on the road next weekend, at Oakland on Friday and at Valparaiso on Saturday.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 12, 2016 11:42:20 GMT -6
This week's RPI Rankings for the Horizon League: RPI | Team | W (Overall) | L (Overall) | W (League) | L (League) | Prev RPI | 47 | Cleveland State | 14 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 60 | 101 | Green Bay | 13 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 87 | 104 | Oakland | 13 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 142 | 145 | Northern Kentucky | 9 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 154 | 148 | MILWAUKEE | 10 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 143 | 168 | UIC | 12 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 157 | 180 | Wright State | 8 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 169 | 199 | Youngstown State | 7 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 194 | 215 | Valparaiso | 8 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 195 |
Some fluctuation, but the week-to-week trend is downward. CSU went up significantly and Oakland even more so. NKU switched places with Milwaukee. The rest of the league dropped.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 12, 2016 17:50:50 GMT -6
There were three matches in the Horizon League tonight: Green Bay at Cleveland State, Youngstown State at Northern Kentucky, and Valparaiso at Oakland.
i guessed, going into the evening, that the most interesting match would be the Phoenix at the Vikings, a match featuring two of the three first-place teams. It was a tightly-played match, but Cleveland State controlled the first two sets, leading pretty much from start to finish in the those sets. The Vikings dominated the third set, riding a eight-point run to a 20-9 lead, and coasted the sweep from there. Cleveland State moved into first place alone, at 6-1, pending the result of the match in Michigan. Green Bay fell to 5-2.
It turned out, though, that the Valpo-Oakland match started out to be more interesting. Valparaiso, still missing several key players because of injuries, went to Michigan without their regular setter, and without designating a player to be the setter. Nonetheless, they won the first two sets, 25-22, and 28-26. The Golden Grizzlies played the Crusaders much more evenly in set three. Valpo got out to an early 3-1 lead, but the Grizzlies tied the score, and then traded points to a tie at 13-all, when the Crusaders went on a four-point run to take an 17-13 lead and force an Oakland time-out. The Grizzlies hurt themselves with service errors, which is out of character. Out of the time-out, the Crusaders expanded the lead to eight at 22-14. The Grizzlies scored five of the next six points to cut the lead to 23-18, and Valpo took a time-out. The Crusaders had five match points at 24-19, and took their second time-out after Oakland fought off the first two match points. Oakland scored two more points, but Valpo got the last kill and won the set 25-23. Valpo improved to 2-5, and Oakland fell into second place at 5-2.
The remaining match of the evening was an NKU Norse home sweep of Youngstown State. The Norse improved to 4-3 in league play, and the Penguins fell to 1-6.
Milwaukee travels to Oakland on Friday, and Valpo on Saturday.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 14, 2016 18:09:04 GMT -6
The Panthers went with the same starting lineup that they have used lately against Oakland: Sydney Book; Kylie Wilks, Bridget Wallenberger, Jenn Dore, Louise Kiekhofer, Jess Kalous, and Myanna Ruiz at libero.
The first set started out quite even, to a tie score at 10-all, when the Panthers went on a run which gave them a 15-11 lead at a media time-out. After play resumed, the Grizzlies scored three of the next four points to cut the lead to 16-14, and the Panthers took a time-out. After the time-out, replay reviews on successive plays reversed calls, and the Panthers maintained a two-point lead. Oakland narrowed the lead to 18-17 briefly, and the Panthers responded with a four-point run, forcing the second Oakland time-out, and then went up five set points. The Panthers finished the set on Wallenberger's sixth kill of the set. Milwaukee hit well for the set, .520 to .192 for Oakland.
The Grizzlies scored three consecutive points to take an early 3-1 lead in set two, then went on a three point run to take a 6-2 lead, forcing a Panther time-out. Out of the time-out, the Panthers gave up a point, scored two, and then gave up two more to make the Oakland lead 9-4. The Panthers chipped away at the lead, cutting it to 12-9 and then 13-10, but could not get closer, and took their second time-out trailing 15-10. The time-out did not have the desired effect, as the Grizzlies scored five more points. The lead reached 21-10 before the Panthers began to rally, though it would be be enough to save the set. Oakland had seven set points at 24-17 and finished the set 25-18.
Oakland got out to an early lead at 3-1, after which Milwaukee scored three straight to take a 4-3 lead, and three more to take a 6-4 lead. The Panthers were doing their damage on the left side, as Schultz became the first player to get to 10 kills. The Grizzlies responded to take an 8-7 lead. The Panthers retook a 10-8 lead off a long rally and a Grizzlies error, but Oakland quickly tied the score, and back and forth play continued. A couple of Panther errors gave the Grizzlies a 15-12 lead at a media time-out, after which the Oakland run continued to 18-12, and Milwaukee took a time-out. The Grizzlies service game was causing the Panthers a great deal of trouble (eight aces to that point in the match), whereas the Panthers were not serving well (six errors). The Panthers took time-out number two after the lead reached 20-12. Oakland had 10 set points at 24-14, and finished the set 25-15 to take a two sets to one lead.
Oakland maintained their momentum in set four, forcing a Milwaukee time-out leading 6-2. The Panthers continued to be unable to put together runs of more than two or three points, while susceptable to giving up longer runs to Oakland. The Panthers cut the lead to 10-8, then gave up three points and took their second time-out down 13-8. Another three-point Panther run prompted a Grizzlies time-out, with the lead at 14-12. The Panthers got the lead down to one a few times, but could not tie the score. Another Oakland ace gave them a 22-18 lead, and Milwaukee started a late run, cutting the lead to 22-21 and forced an Oakland time-out. The Panthers tied the score at 23-all, and Oakland errors gave Milwaukee set point at 24-23 and the set, 25-23, to force a fifth set.
Oakland again jumped out to a lead to begin set five, forcing a Milwaukee time-out up 5-2. The Panthers gave up three more points to the change of sides, one of those points on Oakland's 12th ace of the night. The lead reached 8-2. The Panthers's attempt a comeback was stopped on a replay challenge, and Oakland coasted to the victory.
The Panthers lead by Wilks's 15 kills, followed by 13 from Caitlin Schultz and 11 from Wallenberger. The Panthers were out-hit, out-blocked, and out-dug by one of the top teams in the league, and fell to 4-3 in league play. They travel to Valparaiso tomorrow to play the Crusaders.
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Post by skrapheap on Oct 15, 2016 18:56:43 GMT -6
The Panthers took the floor against an injury-depleted Valparaiso team hoping to rebound from a five-set loss to Oakland, whom Valpo swept in their previous match.
The Panthers overcame an early Valpo lead in set one, building the lead to six at 15-9 and a Crusader time-out. Valpo cut the lead to three at 21-18, but the Panthers held on to win the set 25-22.
Valpo again got out to a lead in set two, and the Panthers took their first time-out trailing 7-4. When play resumed the Panthers went on a five-point run to take a 9-7 lead, forcing a Crusader time-out, after which Valpo pulled back into a tie. Back and forth play continued, with the teams trading the lead, until the Panthers took a 14-12 lead, then a 18-14 lead on Bridget Wallenberger's ninth kill of the match, leading to the second VU time-out. Out the time-out, the Panthers gave up one point and scored the next four to take a 22-15 lead. The Crusaders rebounded to score two, and the Panthers took their second time-out. After the time-out, the Panthers scored twice to go up seven set points at 24-17. The Crusaders were able to get three points before the Panthers finished the set on Wallenberger's 12th kill.
Set three started with back and forth play, alternating between tie scores and one-point Crusader leads until the Crusaders scored three straight to take a 9-6 lead, and the Panthers took a time-out. VU expanded the lead to 12-8, when the Panthers surged back into an 16-16 tie, when Valpo took a time-out. The Crusaders then responded with a nine-point run to win the set.
The Panthers jumped out to a 5-1 lead in set four, but Valpo rallied to take a 6-5 lead, and Milwaukee called a time-out. Close play continued, with the Panthers opening two point leads on a couple of occasions. When Valpo tied the score at 20-all, the Panthers took their second time-out. From there, the Panthers scored five of the next seven points to close out the match, on Kylie Wilks's 15th kill of the match. Wilks was joined in double figures by Wallenberger's match-high 20, and 10 from Jess Kalous.
The Panthers finished their first pass through the league at 5-3, tied for fourth with Northern Kentucky, pending Green Bay's match with Wright State in Green Bay tomorrow. Green Bay is currently in third place at 5-2; a Phoenix loss would mean a three way tie for third place.
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