Inside Volley Board

Quoted from "6persei"

some considerations:
1) And Takeshita ? simply unbelievable ... her block against Mari deserves (at least) to be commemorated with a special stamp by JPN Post Service..

she used to block Gamova, which was more than just unbelievable...

Quoted from "TheUSAFAN"

SER: Still upset with the Serbian's strategy for the entire season. They placed emphasis on the Grand Prix, which meant nothing, over the World Cup and instead of experimenting with younger players earlier in the season they did it now.

I know we've talked about it before, but it's OK, it's an interesting topic.
Serbia was in a really bad place in the beginning of the season. Something happened to this team some time around Beijing, their momentum was completely lost, the team chemistry wasn't right and it all resulted in three very forgettable tournaments (OG, ECh '09, WCh '10). By this year, no one knew where they stood anymore and they were clearly in danger of being surpassed by other European teams. To make it worse, this year would be crucial for Olympic qualification, and on top of all, Serbia was supposed to host the ECh. A bad performance there would be a disaster for everyone and the team would have lost everything they had been building for almost a decade now. So, Terzic had to focus on building up the confidence again and WGP was used as an opportunity for Serbia to prove to themselves and everyone else that they belong on the big stage, and to gain some momentum going into ECh. It worked out perfectly well, but it turned out that the busy schedule during the summer took its toll and some players weren't in condition to take part in World Cup.
Now, in hindsight, maybe the strategy would have been different if they knew how things would eventually turn out. But at the time, it made sense.

Basically, Terzic's goal was to secure a place at the World qualification tournament. I hope it doesn't mean that Serbia will tank the Euro qualies. They are among the contenders for the win there and should fight for it.

Quoted from "Joana"

Quoted from "TheUSAFAN"

SER: Still upset with the Serbian's strategy for the entire season. They placed emphasis on the Grand Prix, which meant nothing, over the World Cup and instead of experimenting with younger players earlier in the season they did it now.

I know we've talked about it before, but it's OK, it's an interesting topic.
Serbia was in a really bad place in the beginning of the season. Something happened to this team some time around Beijing, their momentum was completely lost, the team chemistry wasn't right and it all resulted in three very forgettable tournaments (OG, ECh '09, WCh '10). By this year, no one knew where they stood anymore and they were clearly in danger of being surpassed by other European teams. To make it worse, this year would be crucial for Olympic qualification, and on top of all, Serbia was supposed to host the ECh. A bad performance there would be a disaster for everyone and the team would have lost everything they had been building for almost a decade now. So, Terzic had to focus on building up the confidence again and WGP was used as an opportunity for Serbia to prove to themselves and everyone else that they belong on the big stage, and to gain some momentum going into ECh. It worked out perfectly well, but it turned out that the busy schedule during the summer took its toll and some players weren't in condition to take part in World Cup.
Now, in hindsight, maybe the strategy would have been different if they knew how things would eventually turn out. But at the time, it made sense.

Basically, Terzic's goal was to secure a place at the World qualification tournament. I hope it doesn't mean that Serbia will tank the Euro qualies. They are among the contenders for the win there and should fight for it.

You're completely right. I am just still bitter with Nikolic and Maja I just really want to see Serbia at the OG.

Quoted from "Joana"

Quoted from "TheUSAFAN"

SER: Still upset with the Serbian's strategy for the entire season. They placed emphasis on the Grand Prix, which meant nothing, over the World Cup and instead of experimenting with younger players earlier in the season they did it now.

I know we've talked about it before, but it's OK, it's an interesting topic.
Serbia was in a really bad place in the beginning of the season. Something happened to this team some time around Beijing, their momentum was completely lost, the team chemistry wasn't right and it all resulted in three very forgettable tournaments (OG, ECh '09, WCh '10). By this year, no one knew where they stood anymore and they were clearly in danger of being surpassed by other European teams. To make it worse, this year would be crucial for Olympic qualification, and on top of all, Serbia was supposed to host the ECh. A bad performance there would be a disaster for everyone and the team would have lost everything they had been building for almost a decade now. So, Terzic had to focus on building up the confidence again and WGP was used as an opportunity for Serbia to prove to themselves and everyone else that they belong on the big stage, and to gain some momentum going into ECh. It worked out perfectly well, but it turned out that the busy schedule during the summer took its toll and some players weren't in condition to take part in World Cup.
Now, in hindsight, maybe the strategy would have been different if they knew how things would eventually turn out. But at the time, it made sense.

Basically, Terzic's goal was to secure a place at the World qualification tournament. I hope it doesn't mean that Serbia will tank the Euro qualies. They are among the contenders for the win there and should fight for it.

In general I agree with you. Brazil and USA also played WGP with the main team, so that's not really a mistake. The only thing I didn't understand was why Serbia also played European League with so many of the main players and so short before WGP. Euro League is really the best place to use the younger players and give them experience, nobody really cares about the results there.

I think noone can't blame Nikolic for her absence in World Cup. She had very very intense season here in Turkey. She played many matches with Vakıfbank without a break. Turkish league, Turkish Cup, Champions league...Then she had a serious injury and had to be operated. She had worked so hard to come back for European Championship and she came back. She took gold medal with a big effort.After ECH she played in World Club Championship without resting as well as some Turkish league matches. It was clearly seen in the last matches that she is soooooo tired. She played some bad matches with Vakıfbank in Turkish League because of tiredness. I think she DİD need that break. I hope she will be back to her top form.

Quoted from "kadir_8"

I think noone can't blame Nikolic for her absence in World Cup. She had very very intense season here in Turkey. She played many matches with Vakıfbank without a break. Turkish league, Turkish Cup, Champions league...Then she had a serious injury and had to be operated. She had worked so hard to come back for European Championship and she came back. She took gold medal with a big effort.After ECH she played in World Club Championship without resting as well as some Turkish league matches. It was clearly seen in the last matches that she is soooooo tired. She played some bad matches with Vakıfbank in Turkish League because of tiredness. I think she DİD need that break. I hope she will be back to her top form.

totally agree !

By the way congratulations Italy! I didn't have a chance to watch the matches because of my school. I just looked over the stats and I saw that Carol Costagrande had a fantastic tournament. She deserved MVP award. I wanted to see Germany at the podium too. Congratulations to other medalists and the users here from these countries

I think its very trendy to make commenst like:
Ita: bla bla bla
Usa:....bla bla bla
Chi: bla bla bla

(But i wont do it in that way)


in short way..congtrats to Italy and the teams which got the ticket to go to OG in London. what i have gathered from the WC is that every team can beat every other team.

http://www.fivb.org/EN/volleyball/compet…015&Language=en => It's strange, but it seems that FIVB forgot china's ranking. They should be at least 6th...
Btw, congratulation China ! I'm so glad that they become again on the top. Zhang Lei improved a lot, I remember in last WCH, she was just horrible ... So now the next question is : which team will reach European spot for Olympics ??

Quoted from "Jack33"

http://www.fivb.org/EN/volleyball/compet…015&Language=en => It's strange, but it seems that FIVB forgot china's ranking. They should be at least 6th...

They didn't mention them in the text, but the new rankings are out, China is 5th.

http://www.fivb.org/en/volleyball/VB_Ranking_W_2011-11.asp

I will post my final advanced statistics for this World Cup this weekend.

Italy only had the loss to the US, which had bested them in the World GP as well.

US didn't need to beat Japan, so the energy to win the tournament may not have been there. But Japan does seem to have the US number for matches in Japan. I guess they still don't like that Yoko Zutterland played for the US.

China, did enough to get the last pass. How big is that victory over Japan in the first round of matches now. Also got lucky with 3 losses in 5 sets.

Japan, probably did enough to get to London, but the loss to Serbia will sting. If they win that match, probably they are #3. Probably will win the Asian/World Qualifying tournament next year to go to London.

Brazil, all over the map in this tournament. Bad losses and bad wins (too many 5 set matches).

Germany, played about as good as they have against better teams. The DR loss killed their momentum.

Serbia, on fumes from all the matches and without some of the stars. About right

DR, played well on defense, but offense kept hurting them with too many errors.

South Korea, dropped off the cliff after a great World GP run.

Argentina, they played well in their first match, then stopped.

Algeria, won 1 set not against Kenya, so that is an improvement.

Kenya won sets against non-African teams as well, so that is an improvement also.

Why Xue Ming doesn't plays in NT? I really like she

Quoted from "vava12"

Why Xue Ming doesn't plays in NT? I really like she

you might have missed the topic on China NT roster

China NT 2011 (full roster)

Xue Ming was suffering from heart disease and took a rest for a whole season, but she will be back soon to 2011-12 CNVL in Beijing Auto Club.

To be honest, I have impression that the level of women volleyball decreased. Too many individuals were not in their best shape and new generation cannot play volleyball on that level yet. Italy without Costagrande in that shape would be not even in top 3. But when LoBianco, Piccinini and Gioli retire, this team will have no power, there are Bosetti sisters, there is Diouf, but it is not the same. USA has really huge potential and could play in such competetition with two quite equal teams. But it is also not enough. I have impression that they are too self-confident and their mental side of preparation is big problem. Logan Tom seems to stop shining with the same light as few years ago and there is no OH which could replace her, Jordan Larson is good, but not the top. China is a really another hope. They have new powers on nearly each position, but it will never be like Yang Hao and Kun Feng team I think, however they are able to be in top 3-4 in the world. Japan has also some new promising players, but Takeshita and Yuko Sano will not play forever and without them it will be half of this team. Brazil is the team of two girls - Sheila and Jaqueline and if one of them is out of shape or injured, this team disappears. Germany was playing the best they can. It was the team which gave 150 percent of their abilities, but this team has only two stars - Gruen and Fuerst, MB is not crucial position and Gruen is not able to play whole such long tournament yet. Kozuch is a good player, but not the top and never will be I think. This team was to narrow to win anything more in this tournament. And the last team worth mentioning is Serbia - the best team in Europe now without any discussion, WC was not the tournament which could show their power, however with all stars this team should beat both Italy and Russia.

And what Gioli did with her lips? Even Polish commentator asked this question

Il Canto degli Italiani

Here are my final advanced stats

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?…&hl=en_US#gid=4


Most Net Points per Set Average
1. Destinee Hooker, USA, 4.28
2. Carolina Costagrande, Italy, 4.06
3. Yukiko Ebata, Japan, 4.00

Most Positive Points
1. Bethania De La Cruz de Pena, DR, 230
2. Costagrande, 186
3. Hooker, 184
4. Saori Kimura, Japan, 179

Most Negative Points
1. De La Cruz de Pena, 101
2. Everlyne Makuto, Kenya, 92
3. Mercy Moim, Kenya, 88

Most Sets Wins by a Player
1. Yeon-Koung Kim, South Korea, 13.15 (South Korea won 13 sets)
2. Costagrande, 11.36
3. Ebata, 10.21

Yeon-Koung Kim alone would have won all of South Korea sets. She needs more help.

Top 3 Players Contributing Set Wins (Team Sets Won)
Algeria 15.09 (4) =377.3%
South Korea 23.15 (13)=178.1%
Kenya 3.80 (3)=126.7%
Argentina 10.36 (9)=115.1%
Japan 25.43 (27)=94.2%
DR 15.47 (17)=91%
Italy 24.64 (31)=79.4%
Serbia 16.59 (22)=75.4%
USA 19.58 (27)=72.5%
China 20.84 (30)=69.4%
Brazil 16.55 (25)=66.2%
Germany 15.53 (25)=62.1%

The teams at the bottom of the tournament, needed their top three players more than the better teams did.

Which Player was the most efficient which their plays on the ball per 100 possessions? A player to be considered much have more than 10% of team possessions
1. Foluke Akinradewo, USA, 32.34%
2. Milena Rasic, Serbia, 29.69%
3. Heather Bown, USA, 27.68%

USA had 3 players in the top 10. Serbia, Japan and China with 2 each.

Which Offense was the most efficient?

Japan at 25.06 points per 100 possessions

Which Defense was the most efficient?

Brazil at 12.36 points per 100 possessions

Which Team had the biggest positive efficiency difference?

Italy at 10.72 points per 100 possessions

Which Team had the biggest negative efficiency difference?

Algeria at -17.54 points per 100 possesions

Quoted from "brahmin"

Here are my final advanced stats

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?…&hl=en_US#gid=4


Most Net Points per Set Average
1. Destinee Hooker, USA, 4.28
2. Carolina Costagrande, Italy, 4.06
3. Yukiko Ebata, Japan, 4.00

Most Positive Points
1. Bethania De La Cruz de Pena, DR, 230
2. Costagrande, 186
3. Hooker, 184
4. Saori Kimura, Japan, 179

Most Negative Points
1. De La Cruz de Pena, 101
2. Everlyne Makuto, Kenya, 92
3. Mercy Moim, Kenya, 88

Most Sets Wins by a Player
1. Yeon-Koung Kim, South Korea, 13.15 (South Korea won 13 sets)
2. Costagrande, 11.36
3. Ebata, 10.21

Yeon-Koung Kim alone would have won all of South Korea sets. She needs more help.

Top 3 Players Contributing Set Wins (Team Sets Won)
Algeria 15.09 (4) =377.3%
South Korea 23.15 (13)=178.1%
Kenya 3.80 (3)=126.7%
Argentina 10.36 (9)=115.1%
Japan 25.43 (27)=94.2%
DR 15.47 (17)=91%
Italy 24.64 (31)=79.4%
Serbia 16.59 (22)=75.4%
USA 19.58 (27)=72.5%
China 20.84 (30)=69.4%
Brazil 16.55 (25)=66.2%
Germany 15.53 (25)=62.1%

The teams at the bottom of the tournament, needed their top three players more than the better teams did.

Which Player was the most efficient which their plays on the ball per 100 possessions? A player to be considered much have more than 10% of team possessions
1. Foluke Akinradewo, USA, 32.34%
2. Milena Rasic, Serbia, 29.69%
3. Heather Bown, USA, 27.68%

USA had 3 players in the top 10. Serbia, Japan and China with 2 each.

Which Offense was the most efficient?

Japan at 25.06 points per 100 possessions

Which Defense was the most efficient?

Brazil at 12.36 points per 100 possessions

Which Team had the biggest positive efficiency difference?

Italy at 10.72 points per 100 possessions

Which Team had the biggest negative efficiency difference?

Algeria at -17.54 points per 100 possesions

Great job

A bit in late, , YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!!!!!!!

I saw the match Italy vs China and I have to say that I really like that new Chinese team. Zhang Lei is a treat to watch: she is the new Zhou Suhong and is the kind of opposite that China needs (a kind of a middle with good receiving and digging skills, playing opposite the setter, a kind of universal). No need to switch to the pure opposite that we see in other teams. Very good combo play by the setter and I have to say that Xu is a really good MB! I hope Xue will be back soon. Good team enthusiasm and spirit too!

If China develops its traditional game and doesn't switch to modernism I think it can really say something at the Olympics.

Unfortunately they are weak in defence, they are not that quick in that sector.