Perhaps. After seeing 5-9 Aliyah Carter from Dubuque Walhert become 1st team All Conference OH at KSU, CJL didn't want to miss an opportunity on Duckworth.
2021 Cyclone Volleyball
- Thread starter CY9008
- Start date
It all comes down to recruiting. I think the coaching is there, but the team needs a lot more talent up front and a pipeline of Newsomes to actually crack consistent tourney consistency.
Recruiting may be hurt because the Big 12 is so weak in volleyball. How many good teams does a recruit get to play? A Big 12 team making the NCAA tourney isn't much of an accomplishment at all, especially if you lose promptly once you get there.
The fact that seven Big 12 teams, especially ISU, K-State, West Virginia and Texas Tech got in, tells me that they have trouble filling out the tournament. It was ridiculous. All lost right away, and really didn't have good years. And then you have our top 2 programs, Texas and Baylor, losing to lower-seeded Big Ten teams.
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Big 10 is unquestionably the top conference but if you're going to knock the B12, might as well go after the P12 as well. They didn't get a team to the Region finals for the first time since 1998.
Texas losing at home on Saturday night to Nebraska had to be devastating on several counts. Texas had a setter meltdown where former B12 SOY Gabriel was benched and then re-inserted later in the match. Also, Texas had several untimely service errors. Also notable that former national #1 recruit, Lexi Sun, did not play at all for NU as she evidently has been displaced in the NU rotation by two frosh OHs, who both played very well on Saturday.
I don't think the Lexi Sun espn John Cooper commit video did her any favors. I don't know if she would have played at Texas or why she transferred? If she didn't think she would play there I can't imagine she thought Nebi would be any better for PT given they bring in stud after stud year after year.
I can't blame Gabriel's setting during that match at all. Texas was absolutely terrible in serve receive. The only option was to set outside probably 80% of the time.
Agree, they were to the point they had to hide their libero against some of the NU servers. UT probably has the best collection of OHs and MBs in the country but their setters, DSs and libero got badly exposed against NU and they had to go five sets to beat Washington in the region semis.
I'm pulling for Wisconsin the rest of the tourney. I've been a big Sydney Hilley fan the last 5 years.
I have Louisville winning it all in the pool/bracket but pulling for the Badger!
It is too bad that they don’t re-seed the final four. I think the best match is going to be in the semis with Wisconsin and Louisville.
As far as going forward, I think the program needs some roster changes and coaching changes.
Team seems to have struggled since Dawn Sullivan left. My opinion is Christy may need to restructure her coaching staff.
I think too going after more transfers and less under the radar players. I think they can be a beneficial strategy but too many under the radar players is not a good strategy in my opinion. I think Newsome and Popovich were great pick ups, I think Newsome is very underrated as a setter- she is pretty talented.
While I think the staff is awesome it kind of just seems like they are trying to pick up as many players as possible and hoping something falls into place rather than looking for solid fits. I think we need new additions at the middle and pins especially. My guess is El will probably transfer and try to get into a top 25 program (and I wouldn't be supposed if Julia is not the only So/Jr transfer from this team).
Wish the team the best though and hope they cn get back to where they once were.
Team seems to have struggled since Dawn Sullivan left. My opinion is Christy may need to restructure her coaching staff.
I think too going after more transfers and less under the radar players. I think they can be a beneficial strategy but too many under the radar players is not a good strategy in my opinion. I think Newsome and Popovich were great pick ups, I think Newsome is very underrated as a setter- she is pretty talented.
While I think the staff is awesome it kind of just seems like they are trying to pick up as many players as possible and hoping something falls into place rather than looking for solid fits. I think we need new additions at the middle and pins especially. My guess is El will probably transfer and try to get into a top 25 program (and I wouldn't be supposed if Julia is not the only So/Jr transfer from this team).
Wish the team the best though and hope they cn get back to where they once were.
You could tell this dip was coming when you look at the players numbers that were on the team. The numbers in high school were not impressive and having watched some of them play they were head scratchers at least the ones from Iowa high schools. Some of the club players were head scratchers as well having seen these girls in tournaments all over the country.
Yeah, the program is kind of stuck in the mud and I agree the decline does appear to tie to Dawn Sullivan's departure.
I think the 2022 recruiting class signed so far is better than recent classes but likely not good enough to where the program starts contending again for conference titles. We shall see about that. I do expect some additional attrition from the current roster and a couple of incoming transfers who will immediately contribute to the rotation.
It will be interesting to see if there are any staff changes. I don't think it can remain status quo if program improvement is the goal.
Have posted this before, but if the Entertainment District gets funded, I hope the initial plans are revised to where it includes a 2K-4K competition venue for ISU VB, Wrestling & Gymnastics and can be used year round to provide consistent year round traffic for adjacent restaurants/shops in the District. Other more successful Upper MW VB programs all now play in smaller venues that have become more attractive to top recruits. It is kind of distressing to see the two national finalists with State of IA HS products in key roles.
ISU's existing conference affiliation is probably part of the recruiting issue as well but it isn't the primary reason for the downward trend. Hopefully that gets addressed as well within the next couple of years.
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I think the difference is Christy. Not as much effort demanded from players as it was in our glory days. Too many balls hitting the floor on our side that would have been dug 8-10 years ago, when we intimidated teams with our gritty defense. Those days are gone.
Dawn is missed, but there are tons of great assistants out there who would love to coach at a school like ISU.
To me "under the radar" recruits are what made this program initially under CJL. Kaylee Manns, Ashley Mass, to name two - were not highly recruited at all. But extremely competitive. Wonder what their thoughts are now?
Regarding facilities - Louisville has built a national power playing in a 1200 seat bandbox. Baylor, another power, plays in their basketball arena. Both work apparently.
I did know a transfer who said the program was intense but that was during Dawn Sullivan's time. Maybe something massive changed in the coaching dynamic after she left.
My takes on the returning/key players:
Newsome- Very good very skilled setter and in my opinion,best we have had since Monique Harris (who I think was very underrated)
Hatch- think she has a lot of potential but seems to be streaky. I can't help but wonder if she would benefit from transferring and trying a different coaches coaching style to reach her full potential
Anderson- Good player, but not a standout to the point that she was apparently in high school. I think she struggled to make the college transition where she had to compete against bigger and stronger girls.
Greiman- I think Greiman and Rhodes both deserved more playing time than Engelbredt. That one was a head scratcher for me
Engbredt- her starting was a head scratcher. I personally think she is more of a small school D1 player than a big school like ISU. Hope she can prove me wrong next season
Petry- I think she has potential if the program can continue to work with her and develop her playing skills. She really needs to improve her serve though, it is way to easy...especially for ranked teams.
Stonestreet- I think stonestreet has potential and I think she probably should have gotten more playing time last season. Hopefully she gets more of a chance to prove herself on the court next year.
Eleanor- fully expecting a transfer. I really hope she gets into a top 25 school. Would be happy for her.
Mitchell/Thomas- wouldn't be surprised to see either of these two transfer as they didn't get a lot of playing time. I think both of them could benefit from having a faster and more aggressive playing style (quicker swing, approach)
My takes on the returning/key players:
Newsome- Very good very skilled setter and in my opinion,best we have had since Monique Harris (who I think was very underrated)
Hatch- think she has a lot of potential but seems to be streaky. I can't help but wonder if she would benefit from transferring and trying a different coaches coaching style to reach her full potential
Anderson- Good player, but not a standout to the point that she was apparently in high school. I think she struggled to make the college transition where she had to compete against bigger and stronger girls.
Greiman- I think Greiman and Rhodes both deserved more playing time than Engelbredt. That one was a head scratcher for me
Engbredt- her starting was a head scratcher. I personally think she is more of a small school D1 player than a big school like ISU. Hope she can prove me wrong next season
Petry- I think she has potential if the program can continue to work with her and develop her playing skills. She really needs to improve her serve though, it is way to easy...especially for ranked teams.
Stonestreet- I think stonestreet has potential and I think she probably should have gotten more playing time last season. Hopefully she gets more of a chance to prove herself on the court next year.
Eleanor- fully expecting a transfer. I really hope she gets into a top 25 school. Would be happy for her.
Mitchell/Thomas- wouldn't be surprised to see either of these two transfer as they didn't get a lot of playing time. I think both of them could benefit from having a faster and more aggressive playing style (quicker swing, approach)
