I see we are 5-1 going in to the toughest game next...but, how good are these teams we have beaten? I see they are national teams, etc., but aren't their players much younger?

Can someone who knows volleyball and level of competition give us your thoughts?

Hope we are improving, as volleyball had been mediocre at best for the last several years, while all other women's sports at A&M are doing well to very well!

i've been trying to figure out how good the other teams are. i can't speak to that, but the team had some success against NCAA postseason participants in the spring and closed out matches on the tour. i think that's been one of the bigger problems the last couple of years. they haven't been able to close games. they're starting to do that better. i'm pretty excited to get a look at the team this fall. but i'm an optimist. i talked to l corbelli in march and she was really excited about this team. seemed to think there's something there.

I think we have the potential to have a very good team this year, but we won't be anywhere close to the national championship. We should absolutely make it back to the NCAA's this year, and we have the talent to get us through a few rounds, but don't expect a deep run. This team doesn't really have any super talent like some of the national powerhouses, but what we have are a group of girls who have had a few years to come together and get experience and should play really well as a team this year. We finally have a good setter with a year of experience with the team, and although she is limited by her height, the coaches have been raving about her performance and she was pretty impressive last year in her first year with the program.

I think we have for the most part always had pretty good blocking and hitting, but now our setting should be up to par. The last piece of the puzzle is reliable passing. We know Batis can pass and she will take a big chunk of the responsibility, but it looks like we will be relying on Chelsea Ringel, a freshman outside hitter, to be our primary libero and that is my biggest question mark for this season. If we can get reliable passing from a few other people besides Batis it could be a pretty good season.

The Big 12 is a very talented volleyball league, but the big powers in Texas and Nebraska should be a little bit down this year. Nebraska lost their All-American setter who transferred out of the program as well as Sarah Pavan, their All-Universe right side to graduation, and a handful of other all-americans graduated. Of course, they are a powerhouse and will reload, but relying on only one setter in her first year of playing with the program should make them a bit less of a machine then we are all used to. (For those unfamiliar with volleyball, setters tend to be a bit like point guards in basketball and can be a very hard position to replace)

Texas also lost their 3 or 4 time all american setter Michelle Moriarty. They have a capable replacement in Ashley Engle and an incoming freshman setter who was very highly rated in recruiting, but its never easy to replace that caliber of setter. Their other positions remain pretty well stacked, and possibly even better with returners Destinee Hooker and Julianne Faucette, who is coming off of training with the US National team program all spring and summer. Middle Lauren Paolini returns, but they will be looking for another middle to step up as well as wondering who can step in to replace the graduated libero Alyson Jennings.

Overall I think the biggest question about our team is whether we can get some reliable passing from a few other players, because when we pass well we become a very efficient offense. The other question is how well we can stand up in long matches and close out other teams, and I think a year of maturity as well as the team's experience overseas should really help them in the toughness aspect of the game.

Plan on seeing us make the NCAA tournament this year barring any major setbacks, but don't expect a national championship this year from the volleyball program.

How similar are we going to be to last years team? I know Batis has gone to the Right side, and I know we'll have a new libero. And, I want the Corbelli's to succeed at A&M, but i think she is too offensive minded...

I don't think you'll be seeing Mary Batis on the right side once the season actually starts, that was just Corbelli playing around with the lineup. She is the proven leader of the team and the best all around player and it would be a big mistake in my opinion to move her to the right side. Plus, the Corbelli's are very fond of the "Three Middle" Offense, where the right side is similar to a middle blocker in terms of speed of attacks (as opposed to a "Three Outside" offense where the right side is basically a converted outside hitter).

My expectation is to see Batis and Ammerman starting on the outside, Darla Donaldson and Jillian Phillips in the middle, Kelsey Bryant on the right side and Schevnikoven (sp?) as the setter. Thats assuming everyone is healthy and available. The only other possibility I can see happening is using Jenny Banse and running three outsides and possibly moving Kelsey Bryant to the middle if there are any problems with middles.

Don't plan on seeing any new players that you didn't see last year except for Donaldson and the projected new libero in Chelsea Ringel. What will make us better than last year is another year of experience, particularly in the connections between Schevi and the middles, and hopefully she will be able to run some quicker sets to the outside. In her first year with the team last year, you could tell she was much more comfortable even on good passes setting the outside hitters, and hopefully this year we will get a better balance between quick hitters (middle and right) and outsides.
Hopefully we will also see some better passing, but with a freshman libero it will be tough to expect alot of consistency.

I'm looking forward to the season starting and I'm sure you can tell I love talking about volleyball.

What about Kelsey Black? I think she was from Arlington Martin, but I saw her play against some of the Men's club team and she's a very solid hitter. When do you think she's going to be playing?

Edit: I've been looking online and I don't see her name anywhere. Am I just going crazy?

[This message has been edited by JoeOlson (edited 7/2/2008 2:12p).]

Thats because its last years roster. It even still has Jen Moore on there, and thats not even her last name anymore anyway.

Yes Kelsey Black will be on the team in the fall and I agree her hitting is very powerful, however I don't think she will see very much playing time behind Batis and Ammerman, who will both be juniors in the fall. Batis is too good of an all around player to take off the court both in the front row and back row. She is not the most powerful hitter, but is always a very smart player with a knack for getting points when they are most needed. Ammerman is an amazing hitter and struggles at times in the back row. With the other new outside hitter, Chelsea Ringel, most likely playing libero, I think Black probably has a good chance at seeing some sub time for Ammerman in the back row and maybe for either outside in the front when one is struggling (Although she most likely will also be behind Jenny Banse, another junior outside hitter on the depth chart). Another option might be to use Black as a DS for Kelsey Bryant on the right side, which would allow for good passing but also let the setter use Kelsey Black as an offensive option from the back row (I haven't seen how good she is of a back row attacker, but I know she has plenty of power from the front.).

I think Black has the potential to become a great outside hitter for us, but unfortunately she has three other talented outsides in front of her for two more years. Hopefully this will give her a chance to develop her game and learn from the more experienced players so she can be all-american caliber by the time she is expected to take over a starting role.