Fire volleyball coach and hire

[vballfan]

USFCollin, I was going to post comments regarding the individual players on this year's team, but I didn't think that anyone would care to listen (seeing as how there seem to be so few volleyball fans on this forum or at USF in general). I agree with many of the points that you bring up, but not all.

With regards to Mueller, yes I know that the official reason she gave for leaving USF was so that she could be closer to her family at UIC. Even if this is true, I don't think she was qualified as a coach to help USF's volleyball program achieve bigger and better things. Thanks to Collier and the foundation that Hankins laid, Mueller did meet with success while she was here at USF, even earning two C-USA Coach of the Year awards, but I never really bought too much into this. If she really was as good a coach as her accolades suggest, she should certainly be having much more success than her record at UIC currently indicates. I would gladly take Lessinger over her any day.

With regards to Marcela, Marcela is good but not great (at least not yet). She is technically sound in all facets of the game and can pound the ball as hard as anyone, but she is not as athletically gifted as USF's former Brazilian sensations Michelle Collier and Paula Araujo (yes, Marcela’s vertical is definitely a bit lacking). I agree that as opposing teams grew more aware of her presence this season, they were able to adjust their defense and concentrate on her for the most part. Against many of the better blocking teams, she was effectively neutralized, and her unforced error rate is high in general. I do think that Lessinger will be able to facilitate her development over the next three years, but Marcela just doesn’t strike me as the type of outside hitter who will be able lead the team to an NCAA tournament berth in future years (ie. a Big East Player of the Year or All-America candidate). Maybe you are seeing more in her than I do. Adding Marcela to the team was certainly a step in the right direction, but USF needs an even more dynamic attacker on the left side to help carry the load in my opinion (Marcela would be great as the OH2). If my math is correct, there should still be one open scholarship for next year, and it is the outside hitting position where this team will have the least depth. At this stage, I think it will be hard for Lessinger to recruit a player of this caliber domestically, but with all the connections the volleyball program has with Brazil, I’m hoping for another player of the Collier or Araujo breed (Brazil is famous for producing some of the best all-around outside hitters in the world).

Yes, blocking is without a doubt a major problem for this team, and until this is remedied, USF will always lag behind the top teams in the Big East. Yes, the main reason why we are so weak in this area is that we are undersized at every front row position on the court. Johari Williams is playing at the highest level that I have ever seen her play during her 4-year career at USF. Unfortunately, at 5-9, she is critically undersized for a collegiate middle blocker, even though her athleticism does partially make up for this. She is attacking the ball better than I have ever seen her, but her blocking is still not strong enough. It’s too bad she hadn’t been converted to middle blocker earlier in her volleyball career- I think the position suits her well. Nakia Williams has definitely come a long way from last year- she looks much more physically fit and is playing with more confidence. Every now and then, she shows glimpses of her athleticism and strength, but overall she is still quite raw and unpolished as a volleyball player. Nevertheless, she has potential for future development. I felt that Lessinger’s desperate attempts to add size up front through freshmen Arbogast and Havlickova were largely unsuccessful. I’m sure she knows that recruiting players just for the sake of size is useless, as height is not always synonymous with athleticism or talent in volleyball. Hopefully, Lessinger and her staff will continue to work with these two players and prove me wrong in the future. I’ve heard very positive things about 6-2 recruit Sommer Ivory- I hope she can step in and contribute immediately in the middle next year. I’m also hoping that 5-10 recruit Erin Kracl, an explosive leaper and a pretty good blocker for her size, might find a place on the left or right side next year as well.

With regards to the future, I was pleased with Brittany Castelamare when she was forced to step in for an injured Noguiera during a string of mid-season matches. It was pretty clear that she was still adjusting to the fast-paced offense of the college game, but if she can improve her connection with the middles on the quick set and the slide attack as well as her backrow defense, I think her future at USF is bright. Because her 5-6 frame sadly makes her a huge blocking liability in the front row, I don’t think it would be a good choice for her to set in a traditional 5-1 offense in the future, but I would love to see her set as part of a 6-2 system with another capable setter (possibly the Puerto Rican setter coming in next year who is also a bit too short to play in the front row). I really hope Lessinger is seriously considering switching to a 6-2 system next year because not only would the team benefit from having an additional hitter in the front row (to open up the attack for Gurgel and others) but doing so would also help to ameliorate the blocking situation as well (I know Lessinger experimented with the 6-2 a little this year).  

Like you say, Fabris has been slightly inconsistent this year. I think it’s taken some time for her to adjust to her new position on the right side of the court. She possesses a complete, all-around game, and really stepped it up in a few matches this year when the outside hitters were struggling. I still don’t think she is close to reaching her full potential yet (I hope her injuries won’t preclude this from happening). I’d like Lessinger to find ways to get Fabris even more involved in the offense next year. If Fabris works on her consistency, I think she can become a really good player. I also hope she brings back the power jump serve that she used early last season. I’m also glad that Lessinger has finally committed to employing a full-time libero on the court. Augustavo has fit nicely into this role and has done a good job throughout the season. With further training, she should continue to develop in this position over the next two years.

P.S. I didn’t realize that it was you commenting on the Press Pass broadcast of the Villanova game. I appreciate this service, and I’d love for there to be more frequent Press Pass broadcasts of USF volleyball games in the future.

[bulls96go]

:-? :-? :-?

[smazza]

usf should be a consistent top team in this sport

and a perennial conference leader

[GoCards1]

They did have a much better year compared to last year.

Still I have to ask, with a trip to the Conference Tournament on the line, how do you get swept 3-0 to both Louisville and Syracuse at home?

Cant speak for the Cuse but UofL is a consistent top 10 v-ball program.  We are down a little this year but are still top 20.