Sunday, November 23: After Championship Game Interviews:
AUDIO: Caiti O'Connell Interview After NSU Wins 2014 SLC Tournament
NSU Seniors Post-Match:
AUDIO: Mackenzie Neely
AUDIO: Stacey DiFrancesco
AUDIO: Emily Johnson
AUDIO: Vanessa Coleman
VIDEO: Hugh Hernesman (Guests: Emma & Austin) Interview After NSU Wins 2014 SLC Tournament
Saturday, November 22 Links:
AUDIO: Mackenzie Neely Interview After NSU's 4-set Win in the 2nd Round of the SLC Tourney
AUDIO: NSU's Stacey DiFrancesco Talks About Returning to the SLC Tourney Final
AUDIO: David McFatrich Comments on UCA's Sweep of TAMUCC to Reach Tourney Final
VIDEO: Amy South of UCA Comments on the Sugar Bears Win Over TAMUCC
VIDEO: Hugh Hernesman & Glynna Johnson Discuss the Demons' Defense
Friday, November 21 Links:
AUDIO: Interview with Southeastern La. Head Coach Jim Smoot
AUDIO: Interview with 2nd Team All SLC Libero Morgan Todd of SLU
AUDIO: Post Match Comments By Evie Singleton after UCA beats SLU 3-1 in 1st Round
AUDIO: Brianna Brink and Ashley Phelps discuss TAMUCC's 5-set win vs. HBU
AUDIO: Debbie Humphreys Post Match Comments After SFA Sweeps Nicholls
VIDEO: David McFatrich of UCA Discusses the Sugar Bears 4-set Win over SLU
VIDEO: Tony Graystone On TAMUCC's Five-Set Win Over HBU
VIDEO: Demons' Co-Head Coach Hugh Hernesman on NSU's Sweep of SHSU
Showing posts with label Stacey DiFrancesco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stacey DiFrancesco. Show all posts
Friday, November 21, 2014
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Reaction to Official All-SLC Teams
Congratulations to all the athletes honored today by the Southland Conference. To be recognized by coaches and sports information directors is truly an honor that every one of those players will surely cherish. It is tangible recognition for the hours and hours of dedication to our sport. I love the fact that the lists are announced right before the tournament because it helps build intrigue and excitement. It gives fans the chance to brag on their athletes and it gives people names to zero in on concerning their opponents. It's really a highlight day of the year for me. I love pouring over the list, visiting all the websites for all the teams to read what their schools said about them. It's wonderful... a great celebration of the sport.
Of the 18 names that appears on the official conference lists, all but two of them were part of the teams that I comprised and released last Monday. So, as would be expected by people working diligently to process a ton of information, there was considerable overlap. Many of the players who were ranked 7th thru 12th on the official lists were ranked slightly lower on mine. I think virtually all of those choices are reasonable so to try and present arguments why a player like Wenger should be a little lower isn't profitable. I can buy it. The gap between the conference's mode of thinking and mine really aren't far apart in cases like that.
I do want to address (politely) a few differences between the lists and try and bring out a few talking points. Before I start, I want to be quite clear and necessarily humble about one thing: Coaches know best. I consider it an honor to have access to most of them. I look forward to continuing to earn some measure of respect and friendship, if those things can be made possible. I respect each and every one of them. They're people I need to continue to try and learn from. They have a wiser insight that I can't have by virtue of what they do and see.
Secondly, I categorically reject the notion that All-Southland Conference teams are meant to honor those teams that finished high in the standings by default and design. To do this is unquestionably biased and duplicative. As a scientist, I just can't do things that are by their very design biased and duplicative. If accidental bias creeps in, then I will ask for forgiveness and seek to forgive it in others. But to honor individual effort exclusively on reputation or standings is not an objective I can buy into. Standings and championships honor teams. All-SLC lists honor athletes who excelled in their current season. The lists have a date attached to them and they should be constructed independently from year to year, regardless of reputations and statistics put up in past years.
This is, of course, a transition to a discussion about the two of 18 players on the official lists that did not make mine. Both are from Northwestern State and I have a split belief about these two situations.
First, Ashley Elrod. This is a wonderful choice for Freshman of the Year. I was super impressed by her when I saw her play this year. NSU just keeps cranking out these amazing freshman. Remember, last year, I picked Caiti O'Connell as my Freshman of the Year and Courtney Moore from Lamar won it. I didn't get any criticism. Elrod is definitely someone I considered as my pick. In the end, I just felt like the young blockers were the two that tipped the scale for me. It was a tough call. There were several other freshman that caught my attention and I listed them in my "just missed" section. Elrod is a fine choice, but I don't think it was a slam dunk. I liked the blockers I listed along with the two Kayla's at Nicholls and the freshman setter at HBU just a tad more, but I won't waste any more ink on the issue. Elrod is a nice choice.
But then.. we had a pick on reputation. Stacey DiFrancesco is on the Honor Roll of Volleyball athletes published by the SLC in celebration of its 50th anniversary. I did not overlook her. I have sought her out to be one of the first interviews I ever did with a visiting player. She is by all accounts a true team leader. She is a credit to NSU and our conference. When healthy and playing at her ability level, she is unquestionably one of the players you want to watch. I picked her as my Freshman of the Year in 2011 and put her on my 2nd team last year. She finished 7th in the official balloting last year which is virtually identical to where I ranked her. No one can accuse me of having anything "against" DiFrancesco. Quite the opposite. She is one of my favorite players in the conference. I made notes about her when I saw her in a high school All-Star tournament for crying out loud.
I'll say it and move on: She made the first team this year on her reputation and reputation alone. If you'll step back, look at it objectively, you'll have to acknowledge it. Maybe begrudgingly, but you'll have to see it was a reputation vote that was misplaced. The list has the year "2013" at the top of it. 2011 and 2012 don't count. She got that credit, and it was very, very much deserved. She will likely deserve it in 2014.
It appears as though my feel about middle blockers in 2013 that I expressed in the "Tuesday Update" section of my list is supported by the official lists. It was a down year for MB's in the SLC. Only two MB's ranked in the Top 18 of the official lists. I'd ask people to keep that in mind when reviewing my own list of teams. Since I pick teams, I was locked in to picking 6 MB's among the top 21. In a year like this, that makes my lists over accent middle blockers. I think overall that picking actual teams is a better way to do this whole thing, but I have to acknowledge that for this year it caused me a problem. It inflated the rankings of players like Mercier and Grant.
Either I have a totally different outlook on Sam Houston's Haley Neisler than about everyone else, or we have another situation where a player wasn't nominated. I'll stay away from all that this year, because we don't need to have a "middle blocker sequence of posts for a week" like we did last year. Let's just call it the Pancratz Effect and move on. I'll probably learn more about the whole Neisler thing in a few days, so I should learn my lesson and shut up.
Finally, I do want to acknowledge one player that in retrospect I think I undervalued: Jessica Nagy of UCA. I think if I had it over to do again that I would move her up. Maybe exchanging her with Whittaker of Lamar would have been a better choice.
Like I started in 2012, I keep a spreadsheet of statistics and notes and I use a weighting formula to help me rank players. It's a very statistical approach. Of course, I do make adjustments based on conversations with coaches and my own observations. It's not without feel or emotion. But, I just didn't execute on my knowledge base with Nagy. I won't change the lists, because I need to keep the process honest. But, looking back on all my data analysis and notes and mental back-and-forth, I think I undervalued her. I wish now I'd make different final decision on her spot.
I'm particularly happy for Marissa Collins and Keelie Arneson. Both have waited.. and now both have their prestige.
Time to pack for Corpus Christi....
Of the 18 names that appears on the official conference lists, all but two of them were part of the teams that I comprised and released last Monday. So, as would be expected by people working diligently to process a ton of information, there was considerable overlap. Many of the players who were ranked 7th thru 12th on the official lists were ranked slightly lower on mine. I think virtually all of those choices are reasonable so to try and present arguments why a player like Wenger should be a little lower isn't profitable. I can buy it. The gap between the conference's mode of thinking and mine really aren't far apart in cases like that.
I do want to address (politely) a few differences between the lists and try and bring out a few talking points. Before I start, I want to be quite clear and necessarily humble about one thing: Coaches know best. I consider it an honor to have access to most of them. I look forward to continuing to earn some measure of respect and friendship, if those things can be made possible. I respect each and every one of them. They're people I need to continue to try and learn from. They have a wiser insight that I can't have by virtue of what they do and see.
Secondly, I categorically reject the notion that All-Southland Conference teams are meant to honor those teams that finished high in the standings by default and design. To do this is unquestionably biased and duplicative. As a scientist, I just can't do things that are by their very design biased and duplicative. If accidental bias creeps in, then I will ask for forgiveness and seek to forgive it in others. But to honor individual effort exclusively on reputation or standings is not an objective I can buy into. Standings and championships honor teams. All-SLC lists honor athletes who excelled in their current season. The lists have a date attached to them and they should be constructed independently from year to year, regardless of reputations and statistics put up in past years.
This is, of course, a transition to a discussion about the two of 18 players on the official lists that did not make mine. Both are from Northwestern State and I have a split belief about these two situations.
First, Ashley Elrod. This is a wonderful choice for Freshman of the Year. I was super impressed by her when I saw her play this year. NSU just keeps cranking out these amazing freshman. Remember, last year, I picked Caiti O'Connell as my Freshman of the Year and Courtney Moore from Lamar won it. I didn't get any criticism. Elrod is definitely someone I considered as my pick. In the end, I just felt like the young blockers were the two that tipped the scale for me. It was a tough call. There were several other freshman that caught my attention and I listed them in my "just missed" section. Elrod is a fine choice, but I don't think it was a slam dunk. I liked the blockers I listed along with the two Kayla's at Nicholls and the freshman setter at HBU just a tad more, but I won't waste any more ink on the issue. Elrod is a nice choice.
But then.. we had a pick on reputation. Stacey DiFrancesco is on the Honor Roll of Volleyball athletes published by the SLC in celebration of its 50th anniversary. I did not overlook her. I have sought her out to be one of the first interviews I ever did with a visiting player. She is by all accounts a true team leader. She is a credit to NSU and our conference. When healthy and playing at her ability level, she is unquestionably one of the players you want to watch. I picked her as my Freshman of the Year in 2011 and put her on my 2nd team last year. She finished 7th in the official balloting last year which is virtually identical to where I ranked her. No one can accuse me of having anything "against" DiFrancesco. Quite the opposite. She is one of my favorite players in the conference. I made notes about her when I saw her in a high school All-Star tournament for crying out loud.
I'll say it and move on: She made the first team this year on her reputation and reputation alone. If you'll step back, look at it objectively, you'll have to acknowledge it. Maybe begrudgingly, but you'll have to see it was a reputation vote that was misplaced. The list has the year "2013" at the top of it. 2011 and 2012 don't count. She got that credit, and it was very, very much deserved. She will likely deserve it in 2014.
It appears as though my feel about middle blockers in 2013 that I expressed in the "Tuesday Update" section of my list is supported by the official lists. It was a down year for MB's in the SLC. Only two MB's ranked in the Top 18 of the official lists. I'd ask people to keep that in mind when reviewing my own list of teams. Since I pick teams, I was locked in to picking 6 MB's among the top 21. In a year like this, that makes my lists over accent middle blockers. I think overall that picking actual teams is a better way to do this whole thing, but I have to acknowledge that for this year it caused me a problem. It inflated the rankings of players like Mercier and Grant.
Either I have a totally different outlook on Sam Houston's Haley Neisler than about everyone else, or we have another situation where a player wasn't nominated. I'll stay away from all that this year, because we don't need to have a "middle blocker sequence of posts for a week" like we did last year. Let's just call it the Pancratz Effect and move on. I'll probably learn more about the whole Neisler thing in a few days, so I should learn my lesson and shut up.
Finally, I do want to acknowledge one player that in retrospect I think I undervalued: Jessica Nagy of UCA. I think if I had it over to do again that I would move her up. Maybe exchanging her with Whittaker of Lamar would have been a better choice.
Like I started in 2012, I keep a spreadsheet of statistics and notes and I use a weighting formula to help me rank players. It's a very statistical approach. Of course, I do make adjustments based on conversations with coaches and my own observations. It's not without feel or emotion. But, I just didn't execute on my knowledge base with Nagy. I won't change the lists, because I need to keep the process honest. But, looking back on all my data analysis and notes and mental back-and-forth, I think I undervalued her. I wish now I'd make different final decision on her spot.
I'm particularly happy for Marissa Collins and Keelie Arneson. Both have waited.. and now both have their prestige.
Time to pack for Corpus Christi....
Monday, September 17, 2012
Northwestern State Interviews - Preview of Sam Houston
During the past weekend at the Chilly Fillmore SFA Volleyball Invitational, I got a chance to sit down with Northwestern State Co-Head Coach Hugh Hernesman and Demon Outside Hitter Stacey DiFrancesco. I first began occasionally exchanging brief emails with coach Hernesman before the conference tournament last year and then had a chance to formally meet and talk with him in Conway during the SLC Tournament. I am not purposely leaving chats with Stephanie Hernesman off my "to do" list, but anyone who has seen the husband and wife team in action at matches knows that their two children often travel with them and are wonderfully integrated into most of what the team does. That generally leaves only one of them "free" during down times and to this point, Hugh has been the one that has been available at times when I've had the mic. As the season goes on, I'll make it a point to get Stephanie's points of view and do a better job of all around coverage of this coaching duo.
During the last year, folks at Northwestern State have read these pages on fair occasion. But, I won't lie - more than likely their readership was to mock my dismissal of their 2011 squad early last year. I learned my lesson and now a year later, NSU is primed for a step forward in conference play. I would like to thank the NSU parents I talked to last weekend for their support and for not completely writing me off based on last years' early posts.
Jessica Hays at UCA is probably my pick for our conference's top outside hitter, but Stacey DiFrancesco is certainly in the conversation. She is frustratingly good. It just doesn't "look" like she is going to dominate you, but leaf through the box scores and you'll see that she is capable of 20 kills against anybody at any time. Like many of the best outside hitters in the SLC, she can get her kills from anywhere on the court. Against SFA I marvelled at the half dozen or so kills she got from back row hitting 20 feet off the net - just glancing balls off blockers arms from deep on the court. She's the kind of player that you just have to admire and I greatly appreciate both her time and Coach Hernesman's willingness to talk volleyball with me at many sporadic times during last weekend's tournament.
Apologies for the misspelling of Stacey's name in the title. Ugh.
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Tuesday night the Bearkats of Sam Houston will be in town. Don't let the losing record fool you. They've played (and lost) to Colorado, Texas State, Rice and Mississippi State. So, they've scheduled some schools from bigger conferences among their tournament slate. They ripped Oral Roberts last week, but then ran into a UCA squad that was more than likely seeking retribution for the loss at Corpus Christi. In previous posts, I've let it be known that SHSU is one of my picks for the conference final in November. Why? What should we expect out of Brenda Gray's club this time around?
For one thing: No fear. Sam Houston always plays scrappy. This is something that Debbie Humphreys continually says about Bearkat Volleyball.. bodies flying all over the place. This is a very veteran centered team. They've been around the block plenty of times and they should exhibit the maturity and poise that you'd expect from an experienced squad. The Depth Chart in the right sidebar will tell you that the Bearkats' starters are all upperclassmen with the exception of the replacement for last year's standout Carli Kolbe. Who would that be? Well, her name is Devaney Wells-Gibson and she's been playing pretty darn good. How does hitting .218 with 177 kills and 3.69 kills per set sound? Sounds pretty solid to me. Guess what? Those 177 kills lead the entire conference and the 3.69 k/s number is third best.
I am telling you right now.. Sam Houston is good. They lost a dynamic player, replaced her with a sophomore who is playing lights out and got a year more experience out of every one of their other starters. Kim Black is one of the best middle blockers in the Southland, and OH Kendall Cleveland is one of my favorite players not wearing an SFA uniform. Cleveland is one of my dark horse picks for first team All-SLC. So far, her hitting percentage is pedestrian, but she'll get her fair share of kills. Tayler Gray is a firecracker to say the least and Haley Neisler is a nice complementary player to have as a second middle blocker. Then there is Kaylee Hawkins who can beat you with offense or defense.. one of the true "utility" players that the conference has to offer.
I don't judge the team to be overly deep, so if something were to happen to one of the key starters, the ship might sink, but on paper, I like Sam Houston to finish in the Top 3 in the conference and they provide a big test for an SFA squad on a huge high.
Sam Houston has the advantage on the left side and we have the advantage on the back row. But the battle between Black/Neisler and Burns/Leslie should be war. Plus, the two setters are very different in terms of demeanor, so it will be interesting to see how each leads their squad as the match moves along.
If we fall asleep even for one set, this match could be trouble. Otherwise, I am expecting to be in the gym for a while on Tuesday night. We are going to have to get solid contributions from both Randall and Bates to win in my opinion as well as win the MB battle.
I'll be honest... can SFA win? Sure. If they play like they did in the tournament last weekend, then we will hang right there and be in a position to win. But, on paper? Slight edge to Sam Houston State.
During the last year, folks at Northwestern State have read these pages on fair occasion. But, I won't lie - more than likely their readership was to mock my dismissal of their 2011 squad early last year. I learned my lesson and now a year later, NSU is primed for a step forward in conference play. I would like to thank the NSU parents I talked to last weekend for their support and for not completely writing me off based on last years' early posts.
Jessica Hays at UCA is probably my pick for our conference's top outside hitter, but Stacey DiFrancesco is certainly in the conversation. She is frustratingly good. It just doesn't "look" like she is going to dominate you, but leaf through the box scores and you'll see that she is capable of 20 kills against anybody at any time. Like many of the best outside hitters in the SLC, she can get her kills from anywhere on the court. Against SFA I marvelled at the half dozen or so kills she got from back row hitting 20 feet off the net - just glancing balls off blockers arms from deep on the court. She's the kind of player that you just have to admire and I greatly appreciate both her time and Coach Hernesman's willingness to talk volleyball with me at many sporadic times during last weekend's tournament.
Apologies for the misspelling of Stacey's name in the title. Ugh.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday night the Bearkats of Sam Houston will be in town. Don't let the losing record fool you. They've played (and lost) to Colorado, Texas State, Rice and Mississippi State. So, they've scheduled some schools from bigger conferences among their tournament slate. They ripped Oral Roberts last week, but then ran into a UCA squad that was more than likely seeking retribution for the loss at Corpus Christi. In previous posts, I've let it be known that SHSU is one of my picks for the conference final in November. Why? What should we expect out of Brenda Gray's club this time around?
For one thing: No fear. Sam Houston always plays scrappy. This is something that Debbie Humphreys continually says about Bearkat Volleyball.. bodies flying all over the place. This is a very veteran centered team. They've been around the block plenty of times and they should exhibit the maturity and poise that you'd expect from an experienced squad. The Depth Chart in the right sidebar will tell you that the Bearkats' starters are all upperclassmen with the exception of the replacement for last year's standout Carli Kolbe. Who would that be? Well, her name is Devaney Wells-Gibson and she's been playing pretty darn good. How does hitting .218 with 177 kills and 3.69 kills per set sound? Sounds pretty solid to me. Guess what? Those 177 kills lead the entire conference and the 3.69 k/s number is third best.
I am telling you right now.. Sam Houston is good. They lost a dynamic player, replaced her with a sophomore who is playing lights out and got a year more experience out of every one of their other starters. Kim Black is one of the best middle blockers in the Southland, and OH Kendall Cleveland is one of my favorite players not wearing an SFA uniform. Cleveland is one of my dark horse picks for first team All-SLC. So far, her hitting percentage is pedestrian, but she'll get her fair share of kills. Tayler Gray is a firecracker to say the least and Haley Neisler is a nice complementary player to have as a second middle blocker. Then there is Kaylee Hawkins who can beat you with offense or defense.. one of the true "utility" players that the conference has to offer.
I don't judge the team to be overly deep, so if something were to happen to one of the key starters, the ship might sink, but on paper, I like Sam Houston to finish in the Top 3 in the conference and they provide a big test for an SFA squad on a huge high.
Sam Houston has the advantage on the left side and we have the advantage on the back row. But the battle between Black/Neisler and Burns/Leslie should be war. Plus, the two setters are very different in terms of demeanor, so it will be interesting to see how each leads their squad as the match moves along.
If we fall asleep even for one set, this match could be trouble. Otherwise, I am expecting to be in the gym for a while on Tuesday night. We are going to have to get solid contributions from both Randall and Bates to win in my opinion as well as win the MB battle.
I'll be honest... can SFA win? Sure. If they play like they did in the tournament last weekend, then we will hang right there and be in a position to win. But, on paper? Slight edge to Sam Houston State.
Labels:
Hugh Hernesman,
Northwestern State,
SHSU,
Stacey DiFrancesco
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