volleyball in a close one in the dean dome

Re: volleyball in a close one in the dean dome

Probably shouldn't even respond to this, but I couldn't disagree more. Neff has done a fantastic job so far. I understand why people don't like this new fee, and I didn't either at first, but it may be the only way the non-revenue sports can survive. Do I think it's right that the costs of that should get thrust onto tuition? No. But unfortunately, this is one of the unintended consequences of NIL and all these recent scholarships/revenue sharing changes. Most schools had already implemented such a fee, and Clemson held out for as long as they could. So I really don't think it's fair to blame Neff for that. Besides, my understanding was that the decision was made by the president and the board of trustees. I do wish there was a better way, however.

DougKingsmoreCrusade

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Re: volleyball in a close one in the dean dome

Nov 3, 2024, 11:37 PM [ in reply to Re: volleyball in a close one in the dean dome ]

Yeah, now down to 8 after this afternoon, sitting at 0-12 in the league. I didn't want to agree with you about Coach Kirr a few weeks ago, but it's pretty hard to argue at this point. I believe I said about a month ago that I thought this season might take a step back from last year, mainly because I think the schedule is more difficult, especially with SMU and Stanford in the mix now. I was thinking 8-12 or 7-13 would be likely, with 9-11 being a reach. I thought 6-14 would be the floor, perhaps 5-15 if things really went badly. But I never would've predicted this. Yes, the competition has been tough, but there's just no getting around it. I can't explain away 0-12 or put any kind of positive spin on it. Looking at the remaining 8 games on the schedule, I think 4 of them are winnable, and that's being generous. Barring a miracle, Stanford, FSU, and Miami (all on the road) will be decisive losses. I don't see a realistic shot at beating North Carolina either, even at home. Cal is one of the worst teams in the league, so Clemson should have decent chance at beating them, but they'll have do it on the road.

The Tigers also play Boston College twice, at home and on the road. BC is hard to figure out. They were projected to be one of the worst teams in the ACC this year, and that had proved to be largely true until this weekend. But now they just beat Wake Forest and NC State, both in straight sets and both on the road. So who knows what to make of them. But for right now, I'll say Clemson should at least have a realistic chance against them in both games. Syracuse is the singular worst team in the league apart from Clemson, and the Tigers get that game at home. On paper, that should be the single easiest ACC matchup for any team to win, so if Clemson loses that one they'll have truly hit rock bottom. Considering all that, I think 4-16 is the absolute best-case scenario, with 3-17 or 2-18 more likely. 1-19 would be particularly bad, and the dreaded 0-20 is by no means off the table.

It's a shame because I like Coach Kirr, and I know you said you do too, but the type of season this is shaping up to be is a brutal setback. After the major culture problems that occurred under the previous 2 head coaches, I've thought the team culture has looked great the past 2 years. It looks to me like the players are close with one another, respect the staff, give good effort, and try to lift each other up. I was encouraged by the big step forward in results last year, and I really thought the team would be well-positioned to return and perhaps even improve, even if the record would have looked slightly worse this year. The only 2 key losses were Adria Powell and McKenna Slavik, and I liked the addition of Indigo Young to replace Powell. It also seemed as though the young setters Katherine Sandt and Audrey Armbruster were doing a pretty good job filling the big shoes left by Slavik. Almost everyone else returned, and I thought that with the additions of Hadziredzepovic, Luoma, Hansen, and Joki, this team would actually be deeper and better than last year's, and well-positioned to continue building on last season's positive momentum.

But for whatever reason, it just hasn't happened at all. I wasn't too worried after the early conference losses to the elite teams, but when they dropped that game at home to Virginia Tech in 4 sets I knew they were in trouble. I'm not saying Neff should fire her, but I can certainly understand why people are calling for it, and it would be hard to argue if he did. It'll be interesting to see what he decides to do, and I haven't heard any clues either way. Will the way they finish this season make a difference? Is she given more time because the facility upgrades just took place, or does Neff see that as a reason to start with a fresh slate? He has proven to be shrewd in his judgement, but obviously also unafraid to pull the trigger, so I'm going to be fascinated to see how he handles this either way. Clemgalalways®

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Slavik bigger loss than anticipated

volleyball in a close one in the dean dome

Re: volleyball in a close one in the dean dome

Re: volleyball in a close one in the dean dome

Re: volleyball in a close one in the dean dome

Re: volleyball in a close one in the dean dome

Re: volleyball in a close one in the dean dome

Re: volleyball in a close one in the dean dome

Slavik bigger loss than anticipated

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