Gopher Volleyball 2023 Season

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GibsonSG said:
On another note, I see some gossip on Volleytalk has Crowl, Hanson, and Wucherer all transferring based on the almighty Twitter. Crowl would make sense as she seems stuck behind Grote and the team also has Schnichels. But Wucherer and Hanson BOTH leaving wouldn't make a lot of sense. One of them is a starter at OH next year. There doesn't seem to be much talk about Olivia Swenson coming in as an immediate starter either.
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Agree on Crowl. Grote was most consistent offensive player and possibly still even the best offensive player even when Landfair actually was swinging hard and Wucherer wasn’t blasting right into the block.

Hansen to me is just as obvious: she saved the IU match by replacing struggling Wucherer. Without that win, might not make the tourney? Her reward: give the starting spot right back to Wucherer. It shows Cook will never take her serious as a starter and she wants to start at OH as she should.

Wucherer, my wild guess is that she just feels she needs a different setter to be successful. She has two years left? Maybe Stella wins the starting spot but it’s a risk to see if she’s going to have freshman woes and/or may simply never be as good as Sam.
 

I was hoping Schaff would transfer. Maybe no such luck.
 

4EverAGopher said:
If there is anybody out there that can speak about KCook's coaching style while at Washington, I want to hear about it.

I completely understood Hugh's and before him Hebert's but I am so lost with KCook. Yes, he inherited this team and hence the confusion. However, the talent was there all around and just never came together as a team like it should have. There were bright moments but not consistent enough.

I see this Sarah Morton Libero in the portal that several are talking about is following some Gopher players. She played her entire Freshman year at Auburn. Also, she was on a roster with 3-4 other Liberos and is no longer listed on the Auburn Volleyball Roster. If anybody has information on this player, please feel free to talk about it.
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Inherited a good program at Washington and at best kept it on par with the previous coach
 

MplsGopher said:
Auburn is a joke just like SEC volleyball is.

Shouldn’t have been on the tourny. Took a spot away from another more deserving team.

That’s what I have to say about that.
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Have not seen Auburn play and while I dislike the SEC as much as the next guy, I would not call Florida and Kentucky volleyball a joke. Florida this year should not have been a top 16team
 

4EverAGopher said:
If there is anybody out there that can speak about KCook's coaching style while at Washington, I want to hear about it.

I completely understood Hugh's and before him Hebert's but I am so lost with KCook. Yes, he inherited this team and hence the confusion. However, the talent was there all around and just never came together as a team like it should have. There were bright moments but not consistent enough.

I see this Sarah Morton Libero in the portal that several are talking about is following some Gopher players. She played her entire Freshman year at Auburn. Also, she was on a roster with 3-4 other Liberos and is no longer listed on the Auburn Volleyball Roster. If anybody has information on this player, please feel free to talk about it.
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Do you not have YouTube? Plenty of old Washington matches on there.


Does everyone conveniently forget that Hugh didn't make the tourney early in his tenure? Transition is hard. Give him time, he's a good coach and a connected coach.
 


dlw4gophers said:
I would not call Florida and Kentucky volleyball a joke. Florida this year should not have been a top 16team
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Agreed. Those two in particular.

Tenn and Ark were worthy as well. But that should have been it. Eight is a joke.
 

NateDawgUM said:
Does everyone conveniently forget that Hugh didn't make the tourney early in his tenure? Transition is hard. Give him time, he's a good coach and a connected coach.
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Doesn’t hold water when it’s the exact same players as the year before when they hosted and then went to sweet sixteen. Murr just as good as CC. I bet Z was just as good as Kilkelly, when they finally put her in.

Absolutely boneheaded, mule stubborn stupid, decision to force Wuch and Landfair into full duty defense and serve receive. That’s 100% on him and has nothing to do with transitioning or roster.
 

MplsGopher said:
Doesn’t hold water when it’s the exact same players as the year before when they hosted and then went to sweet sixteen. Murr just as good as CC. I bet Z was just as good as Kilkelly, when they finally put her in.

Absolutely boneheaded, mule stubborn stupid, decision to force Wuch and Landfair into full duty defense and serve receive. That’s 100% on him and has nothing to do with transitioning or roster.
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I'd definitely defer to your expertise when it comes to boneheadedness.
 

Joke all you want. Every single fan knew that it was silly having them back there and to continue to force it was bizarre.
 



Not this single (married) fan. There were absolutely no other options, IF Zeynep really wasn't ready (and I'll assume the staff knows whether she was better than I). Or did we want Crowl and Hanson passing? Or was it McGhie and Gray? Maybe Ng and Minatee?

What I do know is this was a trainwreck of a season, culminating in a trainwreck of a match v. Creighton. I do not know where the optimism I see in the media (and from Murr, for that matter) comes from. How on earth will this team be better next year without Murr and Awoleye?

I fear the days of elite volleyball at the U are over. (NIL disadvantage; addition of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington; and media fixation on Nebraska, Wisconsin, Texas and Stanford are other reasons why.)

6-winnie-the-pooh-eeyore-amalia-oktaviani.jpg
 

Let me add that after losing Hugh, Chaboy, Wenaas and Booth, I thought this season would be worse than it was. The U's quick hire of a very respected coach and the transfers of Grote, Murr and Awoleye (+ the recruitment of Zeynep) were much more than I could have hoped for.

But 2023 was still a trainwreck, if a less spectacular trainwreck than feared.

There. Half glass half full and cracked, but I tried.
 

Pure lie that Gray wouldn’t have been a 10x upgrade over Landfair or Wucherer in the backrow.

At minimum, in the earlier part of the season. But probably the whole season.

How many backrow kills did we get from those two, for the trouble they caused back there?? Matches lost, from that many errors. Just gross
 

Certainly, I feel things just didn't add up and there is more to this that what was going on during matches. I totally agree with (R) uffda it was absolutely a trainwreck of a season.

I recall Hugh mentioning something about more parent involvement, which could have helped sway his decision to retire. I really don't know but it certainly could have happened. I am just throwing that thought out there. One thing for sure there was just very little cohesion with this team all season.....that is a fact!

IMO it appeared to be a season of a lot of politics with talk about how both Landfair and Wucherer were more or less demanding that they play 6R this season.....which I absolutely have no idea how much truth there is to that either. However, what was going on with this team these two IMO by being roommates lived it 24/7. They were a total mess all season.
 



MplsGopher said:
Pure lie that Gray wouldn’t have been a 10x upgrade over Landfair or Wucherer in the backrow.

At minimum, in the earlier part of the season. But probably the whole season.

How many backrow kills did we get from those two, for the trouble they caused back there?? Matches lost, from that many errors. Just gross
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Well, there's no point in arguing with someone who clearly sees the world differently than I do. And "lie"?? Do better.

Wucherer and Landfair were better than the options. Don't agree with me? Fine. But respect the coaching staff a *little*?
 

4EverAGopher said:
Certainly, I feel things just didn't add up and there is more to this that what was going on during matches. I totally agree with (R) uffda it was absolutely a trainwreck of a season.

I recall Hugh mentioning something about more parent involvement, which could have helped sway his decision to retire. I really don't know but it certainly could have happened. I am just throwing that thought out there. One thing for sure there was just very little cohesion with this team all season.....that is a fact!

IMO it appeared to be a season of a lot of politics with talk about how both Landfair and Wucherer were more or less demanding that they play 6R this season.....which I absolutely have no idea how much truth there is to that either. However, what was going on with this team these two IMO by being roommates lived it 24/7. They were a total mess all season.
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I have no insight about any of that. There may be others here, much closer to the program, who might. But I don't.
 

4EverAGopher said:
I recall Hugh mentioning something about more parent involvement, which could have helped sway his decision to retire. I really don't know but it certainly could have happened. I am just throwing that thought out there. One thing for sure there was just very little cohesion with this team all season.....that is a fact!

IMO it appeared to be a season of a lot of politics with talk about how both Landfair and Wucherer were more or less demanding that they play 6R this season.....which I absolutely have no idea how much truth there is to that either. However, what was going on with this team these two IMO by being roommates lived it 24/7. They were a total mess all season.
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Any of this type of crap makes sense to me.

I would've told them "Oh I see .... well, if you don't like being a front row specialist, which is all you're actually good at .... the transfer portal is over there!"
 

Another rumor that Hanson is looking at UGA . I am just posting what I read elsewhere and have absolutely no insight on this topic. Our roster will be at 7 pins next season. Would not blame her at all, if she does decide to transfer.

I do know I would have liked to seen her at least put in for a full rotation or two in that last Creighton match. Felt she well deserved the shot to possibly give us a spark to try and turn things around.

However, KBB did her homework and had the players to mix things up, if needed, for that match. Unfortunately, KCook's options were very very very limited then and pretty much all season.
 

Ugly season. I think next year will be less ugly. And then the year after that will be lesser and lesser ugly, if those words are even used correctly. I dunno...I'm no English major.
 

WWhe
4EverAGopher said:
Another rumor that Hanson is looking at UGA . I am just posting what I read elsewhere and have absolutely no insight on this topic. Our roster will be at 7 pins next season. Would not blame her at all, if she does decide to transfer.

I do know I would have liked to seen her at least put in for a full rotation or two in that last Creighton match. Felt she well deserved the shot to possibly give us a spark to try and turn things around.

However, KBB did her homework and had the players to mix things up, if needed, for that match. Unfortunately, KCook's options were very very very limited then and pretty much all season.
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Where did you hear that about Hanson?
 

GopherVB23 said:
Where did you hear that about Hanson?
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People were talking about it on Volleytalk a couple weeks ago because she's following them on Instagram, that's literally it.

I believe if anyone was going to join the portal, they would have done so already.
 

NateDawgUM said:
People were talking about it on Volleytalk a couple weeks ago because she's following them on Instagram, that's literally it.

I believe if anyone was going to join the portal, they would have done so already.
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Cook said that if they can get through the holiday season without anyone going to the portal then that's a win.

There also is a transfer recruit coming for a visit this weekend.
 


NateDawgUM said:
The portal closes Jan 1 so that's true, coach speak.
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I would think you would know what your options are by now?

But there’s always the possibility that you are “on hold” still because they’re waiting to see what someone on a Final Four team will do?
 

MplsGopher said:
I would think you would know what your options are by now?

But there’s always the possibility that you are “on hold” still because they’re waiting to see what someone on a Final Four team will do?
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Yeah, most players enter the portal the week after their season ends. It's a numbers game, the later you enter the fewer the options.

Of course there's always the possibility that somebody has an epiphany when they're with family over Christmas or something, but I think the gang will mostly be back.
 



NateDawgUM said:
Yeah, most players enter the portal the week after their season ends. It's a numbers game, the later you enter the fewer the options.

Of course there's always the possibility that somebody has an epiphany when they're with family over Christmas or something, but I think the gang will mostly be back.
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I was hoping Schaff and Landfair would transfer.

But, thinking about it now, of course they won’t: they would only leave for some other elite program, but no programs like that want them, after the film they out out in 2023.
 


Still not a fan at all of intra-conf transfers within the Big Ten and would love for the conference to institute its own rule requiring a one year sit out if you do it.
 

I have no problem with grad transfers but undergrad transfers are always risky. Are they jumping for greener pastures? Because there was too much adversity at the old school? Character becomes a big issue.
 

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