USD @ SDSU | Tue Nov 14 7PM Season Finale!

[kiyoat]

Our final match is just as impactful as every match has been this season in a very tight conference race!

We control our destiny to claim a 2nd consecutive regular-season conference title!

We don't control our destiny with regard to seeding, and likely will be seeded 4th regardless of the outcome (playing NDSU on Sunday in the SLT 4 vs 5 match).


The Yotes are favored by Massey 3-1 (87%), but that is likely irrelevant.  This match has typically been a close one over the last few years, and I'll not be surprised at any outcome.  I would have to assume they will bring a decent crowd to what has been a tough venue.  Frost is in the middle of a remodel, with the previously announced VB capacity being between 1300 and 1500, and the goal of a BB capacity of around 4,000 as the progress continues.  I don't know where they are at with that progress, but here are their attendance figures in home matches:

842 Denver ........Th 9/28 L
704 NDSU ..........Th 10/5 L
582 Omaha ........Sa 10/7 L
499 St Thomas ...Th 10/19 W
450 Kansas City ..Sa 10/21 W
744 Oral Roberts .Sa 11/4 W
509 North Dakota Th 11/9 W

I'll assume they get a big boost for the rivalry match and bring 900 to 1,200?  They have a chance to spoil our regular season championship, so that's motivating, I would think.  The way Frost was set up, the higher seating sucked, and there were some poor sight lines, so fans clustered near the court.  Even if that's less of an issue with the remodel, I predict that their fans are just accustomed to crowding near the court out of habit, so the venue will continue to be a tough environment in that respect (wish we had the same idea, and would crowd in close).

At any rate, the Yotes have been playing with focus and purpose lately, sweeping 5 of our last 6 opponents. 

I'll bet we sweep the Jacks tonight in a hostile environment.

[kiyoat]

Coyote VB show:

[kiyoat]

Watch out for that Coyote blocking game tonight.  It's been one thing that has been consistent through the season, as the other parts have grown up around them.  And not just Harms and Pauman, but Loschen, Laird, Van Hook and Sealock.  We have had good schemes, I guess?

But also Harms and Pauman.  A lot of Harms and Pauman.

[kiyoat]

Another thing to watch is our Serve and Serve-Receive game!  While I have been asleep at the wheel on reporting team stats (mainly because we were fairly average through the season), The Yotes have quietly become the best serving team in the conference, getting 1.98 aces per set in conference play!

Individually in conference matches:
#1 Kylen Sealock ---0.54 aces/set
#9T Alaina Wolff ----0.34 aces/set
#17T Kamryn Farris 0.29 aces/set

We are also #1 in receiving serve, only allowing 1.12 aces per set.

Receive Errors per reception attempt is not a standard team stat, but the numbers are out there, so we can calculate it on our own....

team	R Attempts	R Errors	RE%
St. Thomas	1977	129	93.5%
South Dakota	1808	124	93.1%
Omaha	1961	141	92.8%
Denver	1700	126	92.6%
Kansas City	2056	158	92.3%
SDSU	2039	161	92.1%
NDSU	1902	159	91.6%
North Dakota	2099	187	91.1%
Oral Roberts	1997	191	90.4%

[kiyoat]

Individually a large percentage of our service receptions go to four players: Kylen Sealock, Kamryn Farris, Alaina Wolff and Mattie Johnson.

Sealock gets served to about twice as much at the others, since she has the highest error rate, successfully receiving 93.6% of serves.  That number is still in the average-to-above-average range, though.

One very interesting stat is Kamryn Farris's improvement through the season.  In the non-con she had a 95.7% reception rate, but has improved that to 97.4% in conference play.  So she is our best weapon on serve-receive.

In the future, I see more playing time for Caity Clancy at DS, too.  Although she has only been on the court to receive 59 serves on the season, she only has 1 error, giving her a reception rate of 98.3%

For this stat, I think that 91-93% is the average range, so Farris and Clancy's numbers are exceptional.

[kiyoat]

Interestingly, SDSU's three most served-to players are all Outside Hitters, not Devensive Specialists. And their two setters (they run a 2-setter system) never receive serve. So they are staying in the front row. I'll assume that all three of their OH are basically staying in the game as 6-rotation players. Interesting strategy. Here are the receive rates for those three players in conference play only:

player	Rec Errors	Rec Atts	RE%
#10 Sylvie Zgonc	23	441	94.8% (above average)
#16 Katie Van Egdom	20	327	93.9% (high average)
#7 Stella Winterfeld	22	287	92.3% (average)

Two Defensive specialists, #2 Faith Saewert (90.6%) and #17 Joslyn Richardson (89.2%) are the next-most-frequent targets at 32 and 37 each.  Both have below-average reception%.  Will be interesting to see if we target them when the opportunity presents itself?

serve and serve-receive is a huge part of the game, as Coach Williamson has been saying throughout the season.

[kiyoat]

Well, this isn’t the kind of sweep I wanted…. Jacks up 2-0 in sets, and up 17-14 in the 3rd….

[kiyoat]

Yotes now up 21-20….. I feel a tightening in my chest…..

[kiyoat]

Deiterich is coming up clutch!

23-22 Yotes

[kiyoat]

23-23

[kiyoat]

Yotes win the 3rd!

23-25
23-25
25-23

[kiyoat]

Another close one in the 4th, Jacks up 19-18

[kiyoat]

23-23

[kiyoat]

Yotes win 25-23!!!!!!

Another 5-setter

Let’s Go !

One more

[kiyoat]

Gotta start quick in 5th sets, because it is so short.

Yotes up 3-0!