Hot Takes/Bold Predictions for upcoming season

T

TenRingsAndCounting

Member
Since everything's been slow on here waiting for club season to start, I thought I'd try and spice things up and see what takes y'all have for the upcoming school season and I'll start.

I think there's a decent chance Elder could be better than X by the end of the season. While I'll agree X has the more talented roster from top to bottom, I think Elder's core of Samuels, Harvey, and Lanter gives them some of the best ball control in the state. On top of this, Elder has traditionally been a strong blocking team and those two things could make it very difficult for an X team that's going to want to bounce all match long. Could make for a very exciting regional final, assuming the format stays the same.
 
 
I see the problems with both X and Elder as being able to gel as a team. Moe is always able to get the boys to gel (somehow someway) and that's what gives them the grit to pull out wins...especially during tournament time. Don't get me wrong both teams have a ton of talent, but you have to play as a team not as individuals.

That's what I think hurt Elder in the finals, got too cocky and came in thinking they didn't have to work as a team to beat Moe. This is what happens in club as well, no sense of team...just whack the ball and see if we can pound it through the floor. That's good for short term wins, but long-term nationals and state it won't help at all.

Just my opinion...I do see the champion coming out of the South, but Central Area is catching up some...
 
Hobie1Kanobie said:
I see the problems with both X and Elder as being able to gel as a team. Moe is always able to get the boys to gel (somehow someway) and that's what gives them the grit to pull out wins...especially during tournament time. Don't get me wrong both teams have a ton of talent, but you have to play as a team not as individuals.

That's what I think hurt Elder in the finals, got too cocky and came in thinking they didn't have to work as a team to beat Moe. This is what happens in club as well, no sense of team...just whack the ball and see if we can pound it through the floor. That's good for short term wins, but long-term nationals and state it won't help at all.

Just my opinion...I do see the champion coming out of the South, but Central Area is catching up some...
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Agreed. I think Liberty has a real shot next season when this junior class becomes seniors. They honestly had potential to knock off Elder last season, but for some reason Hale was pretty intent on running a 6-2. If you watch the Liberty Moeller match, it really turned around when they kept Severson in at setter.
 
MatchPoint said:
Agreed. I think Liberty has a real shot next season when this junior class becomes seniors. They honestly had potential to knock off Elder last season, but for some reason Hale was pretty intent on running a 6-2. If you watch the Liberty Moeller match, it really turned around when they kept Severson in at setter.
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I totally agree with you on that...a 6-2 is always going to have a strong and weak setter combo which isn't the best option (in my opinion) as the weak setter can't play at the level nor maybe mentally can't play as they feel secondary to setter 1. Severson had the right direction in the match, Moe would have had to dig deeper than normal to beat a 6-1 with him and not the 6-2 presented.

It should be interesting this year for Attack as they lo9ok like they want to run 6-2's at all high school ages and I just don't think that's a solid combo as I stated some setters just get in their heads that they are number 2...
 
Hobie1Kanobie said:
I totally agree with you on that...a 6-2 is always going to have a strong and weak setter combo which isn't the best option (in my opinion) as the weak setter can't play at the level nor maybe mentally can't play as they feel secondary to setter 1. Severson had the right direction in the match, Moe would have had to dig deeper than normal to beat a 6-1 with him and not the 6-2 presented.

It should be interesting this year for Attack as they lo9ok like they want to run 6-2's at all high school ages and I just don't think that's a solid combo as I stated some setters just get in their heads that they are number 2...
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I think its quite early to assume all the teams are running 6-2s. Just because they have 2 setters rostered doesn't mean that.
 
TenRingsAndCounting said:
Since everything's been slow on here waiting for club season to start, I thought I'd try and spice things up and see what takes y'all have for the upcoming school season and I'll start.

I think there's a decent chance Elder could be better than X by the end of the season. While I'll agree X has the more talented roster from top to bottom, I think Elder's core of Samuels, Harvey, and Lanter gives them some of the best ball control in the state. On top of this, Elder has traditionally been a strong blocking team and those two things could make it very difficult for an X team that's going to want to bounce all match long. Could make for a very exciting regional final, assuming the format stays the same.
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Who will Elder's middles be? I think that makes the blocking possibly suspect. While Elder will have good ball control, especially if Samuels plays, but they'll be undersized compared to their competitors in X and Moe.

I'm also sad LaSalle got bumped up to D1 - thought they had a chance to be very good and make a run in D2. But, it will add another solid team to the state tournament in D1 to add to their GCL brethren, Walnut and I think Loveland will be pretty solid this year.
 
Hobie1Kanobie said:
No other reason to take 2 setters per team (speaking from previous Attack history) seems to be their direction.
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A few years ago 18 black had Carmosino who was a serving sub in many matches and Beckelhimer ran a 5-1. They did also run a 6-2 at times, but not always.

It does help more kids get playing time - but there are obvious cons to the 6-2 as well especially if your setters are different styles.
 
Falcon11 said:
A few years ago 18 black had Carmosino who was a serving sub in many matches and Beckelhimer ran a 5-1. They did also run a 6-2 at times, but not always.

It does help more kids get playing time - but there are obvious cons to the 6-2 as well especially if your setters are different stI agree it's not
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I agree it's not too normal to run a 6-2 as most of the setters are different styles...Marcum and Yox are the closest in styles in my opinion to run a 6-2 efficiently...
 
MatchPoint said:
Ben Haggerty will be D1 POY. Hoying D2.
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Wheatley in D1, Hausfeld in D2.

Hot take being that Wheatley plays for Walnut and they might not make it out of the region; hell, they might not even win their conference this year with Loveland returning a lot, but it can't be stated enough how much him and Tombragel will mean to their team; somehow, even more so than last year. I just don't know if we'll see a kid whose team (likely) doesn't make it to the tournament, win the award so that's why it's a hot take. Everyone knows he's a stud, but I have a hard time seeing Walnut make it further than they have in the past few years.

Hot take for Hausfeld is that he's a junior this season, but, IMO, he should've been higher than honorable mention all-state last year. He was clearly the best player on LaSalle, but I think was hurt in voting because he was a sophomore. He's extremely, extremely talented and should get more recognition this year as long as he continues to play at a high level. I imagine their new coach will be looking for ways to get him the ball more and the stats should respond nicely.

Edit: I just read and remembered that LaSalle is now D1, but I already wrote that out so I'm leaving it as is lol
 
Falcon11 said:
Who will Elder's middles be? I think that makes the blocking possibly suspect. While Elder will have good ball control, especially if Samuels plays, but they'll be undersized compared to their competitors in X and Moe.

I'm also sad LaSalle got bumped up to D1 - thought they had a chance to be very good and make a run in D2. But, it will add another solid team to the state tournament in D1 to add to their GCL brethren, Walnut and I think Loveland will be pretty solid this year.
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The only MH i can see as a guarantee is Neimann. He is on Attack 17 Black this year. Based on the elder rosters on ehsports, the other possible middles are:

Jr - Jones
So - James, Tucker, Sponaugle, Lutz

I foresee it being a young group for Elder this year.
 
MatchPoint said:
Ben Haggerty will be D1 POY. Hoying D2.
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Interesting. I can easily see Patterson getting him solo blocks all year so the stats could easily be there. Should be interesting to see if he can improve passing enough to play 6 rotations this year.
 
TenRingsAndCounting said:
Since everything's been slow on here waiting for club season to start, I thought I'd try and spice things up and see what takes y'all have for the upcoming school season and I'll start.

I think there's a decent chance Elder could be better than X by the end of the season. While I'll agree X has the more talented roster from top to bottom, I think Elder's core of Samuels, Harvey, and Lanter gives them some of the best ball control in the state. On top of this, Elder has traditionally been a strong blocking team and those two things could make it very difficult for an X team that's going to want to bounce all match long. Could make for a very exciting regional final, assuming the format stays the same.
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Elder's kryptonite this year will be setting. Going from arguably one of the best setters to go through the school to two setters that have nearly zero varsity experience will be a tough transition.
 
TheDude said:
Elder's kryptonite this year will be setting. Going from arguably one of the best setters to go through the school to two setters that have nearly zero varsity experience will be a tough transition.
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Not to mention that running a 6-2 will usually lead to some inconsistency throughout the season. It'll be interesting who the setters are mostly paired with, hitter-wise.
 
I actually think they will be fine at setter. Voss, in limited action, played decent last year. I actually thought he set the middles very well. Mitch Kelly will be a surprise to many who have not seen him. Very long body who can also hit, just needs to get stronger. Have not seen Voss on any club roster which will definitely hurt his growth.
 
MyNameIsDoug? said:
Wheatley in D1, Hausfeld in D2.

Hot take being that Wheatley plays for Walnut and they might not make it out of the region; hell, they might not even win their conference this year with Loveland returning a lot, but it can't be stated enough how much him and Tombragel will mean to their team; somehow, even more so than last year. I just don't know if we'll see a kid whose team (likely) doesn't make it to the tournament, win the award so that's why it's a hot take. Everyone knows he's a stud, but I have a hard time seeing Walnut make it further than they have in the past few years.

Hot take for Hausfeld is that he's a junior this season, but, IMO, he should've been higher than honorable mention all-state last year. He was clearly the best player on LaSalle, but I think was hurt in voting because he was a sophomore. He's extremely, extremely talented and should get more recognition this year as long as he continues to play at a high level. I imagine their new coach will be looking for ways to get him the ball more and the stats should respond nicely.

Edit: I just read and remembered that LaSalle is now D1, but I already wrote that out so I'm leaving it as is lol
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Wheatley certainly has the talent for it but what I think may hold him back is Walnut's schedule. They don't often play teams outside of the south so that other coaches don't actually see him play which could set him back in the voting at the end of the year compared to Patterson or Meyer who're going to be playing teams from all across the state.
 
TheDude said:
Interesting. I can easily see Patterson getting him solo blocks all year so the stats could easily be there. Should be interesting to see if he can improve passing enough to play 6 rotations this year.
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The passing point is a good one. He was taken out a handful of times during their state run in the back row. Even if his passing/defense is just okay, being able to hit out of the back row would help build is case a little more.
 
TenRingsAndCounting said:
Wheatley certainly has the talent for it but what I think may hold him back is Walnut's schedule. They don't often play teams outside of the south so that other coaches don't actually see him play which could set him back in the voting at the end of the year compared to Patterson or Meyer who're going to be playing teams from all across the state.
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I see what you're saying and I think it has some affect - but I think whoever is the POY from the South region always has a good chance (if voting is still done the same way moving forward, which I'd assume it would because the coaches association hasn't changed - only OHSBVA to OHSAA has).

If Wheatley were to win South POY he'd have good odds of the State POY just because coaches around the state respect the South region and would understand if the South region coaches selected him over Patterson, Meyer, etc. then he must be deserving. Hopefully that made sense!

Owen Woolbert from Jackson may be the best volleyball athlete in the state but will be held back by his teammates around him to some degree.
 
Are there any teams anyone thinks might surprise people this year? Whether it's making a run or a team/program taking a step forward/backward?
 
MyNameIsDoug? said:
The passing point is a good one. He was taken out a handful of times during their state run in the back row. Even if his passing/defense is just okay, being able to hit out of the back row would help build is case a little more.
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Remember, he played with a shoulder injury last season. Sorry if that was noted earlier.
 
boothmark77 said:
La Salle—with a new coach and moving to D-1 (if that’s correct) I’m curious how they will fare.
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I think they could maybe beat Elder this year, but I don't know. Hausfeld will be a stud, but not sure who else they can go to if the defense keys on him. They had a good OH combo with him and Albrinck last year, but they lost Albrinck and their starting setter. Also not sure what they have in the middle. Other than Hausfeld at OH, likely Feeley at S and Wilcox at MH/Opp, there's probably a lot of question marks.
 
MyNameIsDoug? said:
Are there any teams anyone thinks might surprise people this year? Whether it's making a run or a team/program taking a step forward/backward?
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I think Olentangy (not Liberty or Berlin the regular one) will be legit this year. Their best players were all sophomores last year and they’re making the move up to D1. Also getting a new head coach who has coached very good teams at Vangaurd.
 
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