Last night in San Antonio,
the fans in the McDermott Convocation Center and those of us viewing online
sure got our money's worth. Well, given
it was free, I guess we got way more than our actual money's worth out of the
match between SFA and UIW. There were
several story lines and I'll try to scoot through them all at some point in
this post, but the libero swap between the 3rd and 4th sets is what I want to
focus on.
You will occasionally see
teams switch liberos in the middle of the match. Almost always it is due to poor performance
of the original starting libero. Often
in cases such as this, a team doesn't
have a particularly strong libero and if adjustments have to get make in-match
because of performance, two girls will switch out and put on new jerseys. I recall seeing this happen several times in
Southland Conference play over the past few years.
That wasn't what happened
Thursday night. What happened Thursday
night was a masterful counterpunch to the University of Incarnate Word's
strategy. In the process, it showcased
just how deep the back row is of Stephen F. Austin and in particular, just how
improved sophomore Lexus Cain is when compared to her already strong showing
from last year.
No, Thursday wasn't about
back row problems, it was about back row dominance. Earlier in the year at one of the tournaments
we played in, Debbie Humphreys told me right before the match that she had
talked to her offense about consistently hitting and serving away from the
other team's libero. This is clearly
what was going on last night from UIW's standpoint. I went back to look if I could dig up the
reception numbers, but the StatTracker had been reset for UIW's game vs.
Northwestern State tomorrow. I do
specifically remember at one point seeing that Cain had 30 service receptions
compared to OJ Olson's 9. Clearly,
Incarnate Word was attempting to avoid Olson and make others pass and dig
around her.
On the surface it seems
reasonable. Olson is going to be in the
Libero of the Year conversation at the end of the year. At least one reason I am writing this post is
in the hope that some voters will realize after her 12 digs in five sets last
night, she should be considered MORE for the award now than before. Because HER stats don't tell the story. The
respect that UIW has for her ability is what does.
The problem with UIW's
seemingly reasonable strategy to hit and serve away from Olson has one
flaw: Lexus Cain is really freakin' good.
Knowing this, after SFA
lost a marathon third set that saw the 'Jacks negate six straight UIW set
points, 28-year savvy veteran coach Debbie Humphreys had Cain move into the
Libero spot and Olson switch to support.
Think about it. Now what? At this point, UIW is forced to do one of two
things: 1) They can stick with their
strategy that by now has been both mentally and physically ingrained into their
hitters for three sets: hit opposite the
libero if possible. If they do, Olson
may be in better position to dig/pass. Or, 2) go away from the game plan and
start hitting at Cain in the libero jersey.
Only problem is, Lexus Cain is good enough to play libero right now for
some of the schools on our schedule.
Brilliant.
And, it worked.
After the switch, SFA got
the lead at the 4th point of the 4th set and despite UIW playing close, never
relinquished it and won to tie up the match 2-2. Then, in the decisive 5th set, the Ladyjacks
jumped way out to a 10-4 lead only to see a feisty Cardinal team scratch all
the way back before SFA finally closed out the match.
Give credit to Incarnate
Word. They played well, and much like
McNeese the week before, gave SFA all they could handle. Downright scary at times. Freshman Autumn Lockley is a great complement
to the underrated Angelique Vidaurri and the much improved Bryaunea Hall. But, when you've got TWO stellar back row
players like Olson and Cain, SFA really doesn't lose much by switching the two
of their roles. At that point, UIW was forced to either stick with the main
gain plan or come up with their own adjustments. In the end, going away from Olson led only to
SFA having FIVE girls in double-digit digs. Everyone had Olson's back and it
was beautiful to watch.
Now, I realize that UIW
could have easily won that match and if they had, I probably wouldn't be
writing this. But hey, when changes
work, they make coaching staffs and teams look like geniuses and I haven't been
able to get the whole libero switcheroo out of my mind all day today. It was just awesome to see that move pay off
and see the 'Jacks win a very emotional five set thriller.
We've already mentioned
the amazing third set that went to 31-29. There's a decent chance that will be
the longest set SFA plays this year.
Reflecting on that set, and then reading Humphreys game wrap quote that
"there are definitely some things we have to improve on" leads to
finishing this post with a two-up, two-down approach to get you to think on
some of what she might be referring to.
Two Down:
SFA has GOT to get off to
better starts. We are 11-8 on the year,
but just 8-11 in first sets. Too often,
an opponent has come out of the gate firing on us and put us back on our
heels. We never lead in Set 1 and found
ourselves down by as many as eight against UIW.
Again, credit the Cardinals for a well-played set, but the 'Jacks need
to be ready to roll from Serve 1.
Second, these leads! We have to hold them when we get them, right? I guarantee you Humphreys was impressed with
the fight displayed by the team in losing Set 3 (that's actually one of the Ups
below), but hey.. we were ahead 18-12 in that set! It shouldn't have gone to 31! After the score was 18-12, UIW scored 10 of
the next 11 points. That can't
happen. I've already mentioned we were
up 10-4 in Set 5 and that evaporated as well.
So, look for SFA to improve upon sealing the deal when they are up five,
six, seven points late in sets.
Two Up:
Say it with me: Abigail P. McIntyre. Actually, her middle initial isn't P. At least, I don't think so. And, well, I don't even know if her birth
name is Abigail either, but it sounds cool. My point? We are watching McIntyre flourish into a much
better all around player here in Year 2.
She was amazing last night. Are
you kidding me? Almost a
triple-double? 14 kills, 12 digs, 7
blocks and 3 aces. Yeah, that's good.
Second, I love the team
"fight". No backing down. I asked Humphreys after the five-set comeback
against Tulsa if that was a match that they could look back on if they got down
during SLC play to remind themselves that they could scratch back. Just call me Prophet Blogger. No, wait.
That sounds stupid. Abigail P.
McIntyre sounds better. But, I
digress. The point is that in the Tulsa
match, and others, the team has developed some edginess and resiliency.
I like it. I like it, I tell ya.
Oh, and one last thing..
don't mess with our back row.
#BackRow