Cardinal & Gold Challenge Tournament (season opener!)

[kiyoat]

The season is here! Hope everyone hasn’t dumped their ESPN+ subscriptions…..

Article:
goyotes.com/news/2023/8/24/womens-volleyball-coyotes-open-2023-at-iowa-state.aspx

First serve at 6:30 PM vs Iowa St

[kiyoat]

Here's the first Coyote VB Show with Coach Williamson - this year it includes an interview with Sophomore Libero Kamryn Farris



On the short pre-season:
"We essentially had 9 practice days before our exhibition game... and we played well against Kansas..."

On deciding on a roster lineup:
"...going into this year, we know we're going to have to use our depth.  It kind of takes me back to some of those past years, where we relied on multiple hitters, and multiple defensive players, ... where we didn't have the same players in every match... it's won us championships..."

On what stands out about this team:
"#1 I think we can play very very good defense.  That's starting at the net, and extending into the backcourt.... (last year) I think we were good defensively, but I think this team is another level."

"#2 We just need to figure out the connection (between setters and hitters).  We've got 3 setters right now that are all doing a very good job.  Each of them sets a little bit differently, but they're all running the offense the way we want them to.  So, fine-tuning those connections between our attackers, as we try to figure out what our line-up will be... has been a challenge."

On Harms and Deiderich (players to watch list):
"I think both of them (will have) a higher volume this year.  Both of them are getting the ball more often, and finding better opportunities to get them involved, but the leadership is an area where they have had to take a bigger role.  And i think they've done well with it.... But there are a lot of "players to watch" on our team this year, and I think there are going to be some surprises for our fans..."

[notkiotees]

I love surprises!

[kiyoat]

[kiyoat]

From the article:

Iowa State

The Cyclones return 12 players and welcome three newcomers to their 2023 squad after advancing to the second-round of the NCAA tournament last season for the 11th time in program history. The No. 6-seeded Cyclones defeated FGCU in the opening round of the NCAA tournament before falling to No. 3-seeded and 12th-ranked Florida in the second round. With a 20-12 overall record last season, Iowa State secured its first 20-win season since 2018.

Head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch enters her 19th-season at the helm for the Cyclones and is the reigning AVCA Regional Coach of the Year. Sophomore outside hitter Maya Duckworth was the only Iowa State freshman to be named an AVCA All-Region First Team selection. Duckworth also earned All-Big 12 Second-Team honors, making her the third ISU freshman to do so. Last season, the Cyclones handed No. 1 Texas its first and only loss of the season and the Longhorns would go on to win the national championship.


5'-8" Soph OH Maya Duckwworth #5

Also:

2023 Big 12 Volleyball Preseason Poll

School (First Place Votes) Points

1. Texas (12) ---144
2. BYU (1) ------125
3. Baylor --------123
4. TCU ----------106
5. Kansas -----105
6. Houston -------91
7. Iowa State --81
8. K-State --------63
9. UCF ------------51
10. Oklahoma ----45
11. Texas Tech ---37
12. Cincinnati ----23
13. West Virginia 20

[kiyoat]

Cyclones sweep 25-16 25-20 26-17

[kiyoat]

Van Hook at setter was a surprise though!

[yoteforever]

Coyotes take down DePaul 3-0

1st set the Coyotes come from a good deal down to take it 25-23. Then it’s all us after

Leanne gets them refocused after last night. Imagine that…lol

[kiyoat]

Aug 26, 2023 15:28:17 GMT -6 yoteforever said:

Coyotes take down DePaul 3-0

1st set the Coyotes come from a good deal down to take it 25-23. Then it’s all us after

Leanne gets them refocused after last night. Imagine that…lol

She was talking about still not knowing what lineup was going to be going forward…..

Looks like they might have found something

[kiyoat]

Here was the starting lineup for the DePaul match:

[kiyoat]

Looking at the box score, those 7 starters lead in all the major stats. Other than Farris, Jondle and Petterson getting in some digs at Defensive specialist. Will be interesting to see if this lineup is stable, or if she continues to try some different things...

Loschen had 8 kills and hit .412, and had 4 blocks! Amazing first start at Right Side Hitter.

[kiyoat]

Yotes look like they are having a good start to the non-conference.  Here are some conference-level stat rankings.  Keep in mind that some conference opponents not named Omaha have played very weak schedules so far, so these numbers are pretty impressive IMHO:

Kylen Sealock

#1 Points/set (4.33)
#2 Kills/set (3.67)
#10 Blocks/set (1.00)

Madison Harms

#2 Blocks/set (1.50)

Avery Van Hook

#2 Assists/ set (10.17)

Alaina Wolff

#2 Digs/set (4.33)


As a team, we are:
#2 in Blocks (2.67/set)
#2 in Digs (17.00/set)
#2 in opponent service aces (1.17)

So on-pace to be the best defensive team in the league, once the schedules balance out.  Being good in all three of these stats is great.  Often you will see an inverse relationship between blocks and digs.  Opponent service aces is an indicator of how well we serve-receive (passing).  There are actually passing stats in the box score, but you don't always see rankings of it in conference or NCAA sources.

[kiyoat]

Hey, guess what?  winning is fun.