The Hobo Days Massacre (@ SDSU)

[kiyoat]

I kid.

Of course, this improved Jacks squad is certainly capable of giving the Yotes a good match.  I would be disappointed if we drop a set there, however.  The Yotes are seemingly playing their best now, or at least, much better than the last time these squads met.  The Jacks won a set in the SCSC for the first time ever this season.  Progress for them would be to prove they can do it again, or even to force a fifth set.  Progress for the Yotes would be a sweep.

To me, this match is all about how USD plays.  If we play to our potential, with clean serving and passing, this should be a quick three sets.  If we struggle in those areas, a good Summit team can take advantage.

Too bad this is a "premium" stream.  I'll be interested in how well the Jacks fans show up for a rivalry game in Frost during Hobo Days.  As much as I enjoy domination of them in any sport, a healthy rivalry sparks fan interest.  The ideal situation might be where we usually win, but they perpetually think they have a chance.

Fun Fact: South Dakota leads the Division I era series 20-2 and has won 12 straight meetings, 10 of them by three-set sweeps.

[kiyoat]

from the article:

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE


South Dakota State is sixth in the Summit League and has dropped two straight, losing matches at Denver and at Omaha.



Crystal Burk ranks second in the Summit League at 3.74 kills per set for a Jacks offense that has a .233 team hitting percentage, third-best in the Summit League.



Chloe Stitt ranks eighth in the Summit at 2.88 while Sydney Andrews is hitting .332 on the season, good for sixth in the Summit.



Carly Wedel averages 9.74 assists per set and recently has been splitting time with Jasmine Weidemann, who is at 9.08 assists per set in her 13 sets played.



Tatum Pickar, the team's libero, averages 3.94 digs per set while Burk is at 2.38 and Faith Seawert 2.33.

A couple of notes from me:

1. interesting they went to a two-setter lineup recently.

2. I just noticed their main setter, Wedel, is 6'-1".  Tall setters aren't super common, but they can add a little extra in terms of blocks/tips/dumps playing the net.  Sometimes that comes at a slight disadvantage in speed, which is why you don't see it all the time.

[kiyoat]

Major Stats comparison (league play only, league rankings only):

stat	USD	SDSU
Hitting %	1	6
Opp Hitting %	4	8
Assists	5	7
Opp Assists	3	5
Kills	5	7
Opp Kills	3	5
Blocks	2	5
Opp Blocks	1	7
Service Aces	2	6
Opp Serv. Aces	3	4
Digs	8	9
Opp digs	2	4

*edit: I had to update these stats - was using 2020 numbers...

my notes:
1. both teams are poor in digs/set.  I think we have improved there somewhat, recently.
2. our net play is superior (blocks, kills) so that should be apparent if we are playing in-system.
3. Both serving and serve-receive numbers have improved for the Yotes, and are now pretty good.
4. the Jacks' numbers have improved from last year across the board.... except in digs.

[yoteforever]

Oct 22, 2021 9:30:49 GMT -6 kiyoat said:

Major Stats comparison (league play only, league rankings only):

stat	USD	SDSU
Hitting %	2	5
Opp Hitting %	1	8
Assists	4	6
Opp Assists	4	9
Kills	3	6
Opp Kills	3	9
Blocks	1	8
Opp Blocks	1	4
Service Aces	6	5
Opp Serv. Aces	6	4
Digs	2	1
Opp digs	3	8

So it is interesting that they are #1 in digs per set, but they are allowing opponents to get a high hitting %.  That probably speaks to bad blocking, I think.  They are allowing more of their opponent's kills to penetrate into the back-row.  But it probably also indicates good back-row play.  Tatum Pickar, Libero, and Crystal Burk (6-rotation OH) are getting the bulk of the digs.

Our middles should really dominate the net today.

The digs stat is two fold. First as you identified poor blocking. They’re 8th. Makes sense. Secondly other teams are getting far more attacks on them then they are on opponents. In English…they struggle putting the ball down. They’re naturally gonna get more digs even if they aren’t great at it. If an opponent has 150 swings and SDSU has 115, opponents get 35 more swings. If opponents hit .333 against them, then in theory that’s 24 more digs they get. ( also attack errors and other things but you get the point )

[kiyoat]

Oct 22, 2021 9:52:50 GMT -6 yoteforever said:

Oct 22, 2021 9:30:49 GMT -6 kiyoat said:

Major Stats comparison (league play only, league rankings only):

The digs stat is two fold. First as you identified poor blocking. They’re 8th. Makes sense. Secondly other teams are getting far more attacks on them then they are on opponents. In English…they struggle putting the ball down. They’re naturally gonna get more digs even if they aren’t great at it. If an opponent has 150 swings and SDSU has 115, opponents get 35 more swings. If opponents hit .333 against them, then in theory that’s 24 more digs they get. ( also attack errors and other things but you get the point )

I just updated the numbers.  I was accidentally using 2020 stats (not sure how I ended up on that page).  So this year their dig numbers are very bad, and blocking numbers have improved somewhat (although ours are still better.)

Overall they have improved, but they still are allowing opponents to have a very high hitting%.  Our best hitting performance so far in conference play was vs the Jacks.  Hopefully we can break that record today!

[kiyoat]

Weekly updates from our coaches:

Coach Williamson



Coach Georgalas


To his credit, he isn't calling us "Opponent #19" this time...

[kiyoat]

[kiyoat]

Whelp, not exactly a massacre….

[kiyoat]

[kiyoat]

[kiyoat]

Wow, wild match! I wonder what happened in the second set? Looks like a series of attack and receiving errors.

[yoteforever]

We were very fortunate

[gopheryote]

Didn't get to see any of the match - can't wait to hear from the group on what went down.

[Coyote Fan]

By the looks of this thread it seemed like the Coyotes escaped with their lives. Not in my opinion.

25-14
14-25
25-15
25-22

That is about what could be expected and is a good win for the Coyotes. I agree the second set didn't seem too good but it is how you respond to adversity because ultimately adversity is going to happen. The Coyotes overcame. :-)

[yoteforever]

I’m glad they won. But if you watched it you’d shake your head. The Jacks outside hitters tore us apart