Huth: Coaches diss Illini

Thu, 08/16/2012 - 7:02pm | The News-Gazette

College volleyball beat writer Jeff Huth weighs in on the Big Ten preseason poll:

The Big Ten coaches have spoken, and they clearly believe the Illini have much to overcome with the loss of two All-America outside hitters. In one sense, that's hard to argue. Colleen Ward and Michelle Bartsch turned in superlative performances for a 2011 UI team that finished one win short of an NCAA title. Beyond that, no position in the sport produces more points (or, by far, takes more swings) than outside hitter. That said, Illinois does return every other starter from a national runner-up team. There's major talent on the roster, though admittedly the talent at outside hitter is not yet college-tested or college-proven. Even with that caveat, however, fifth place is surprisingly low. Third was my expectation, but certainly no lower than fourth. Considering that Illinois was the third highest-ranked Big Ten team in the coaches' national poll, the gap in perception between AVCA Top 25 voters and Big Ten coaches is not small. We shall see who's right.

Sections (3):Illini Sports, Sports, Volleyball

Categories (3):Illini Sports, Volleyball, Sports

Comments

News-Gazette.com embraces discussion of both community and world issues. We welcome you to contribute your ideas, opinions and comments, but we ask that you avoid personal attacks, vulgarity and hate speech. We reserve the right to remove any comment at our discretion, and we will block repeat offenders' accounts. To post comments, you must first be a registered user, and your username will appear with any comment you post. Happy posting.

lmaran wrote on August 17, 2012 at 11:08 am

This reminds me of the time when Big Ten coaches voted Kirsten Gleiss Second Team All-Big Ten, and the national coaches soon after voted her First Team AAll-American. There is a little "sour grapes" syndrome, very reminiscent.

GO ILLINI! WIN THE BIGH TEN!

jgrout wrote on August 19, 2012 at 7:08 am

Big Ten coaches can be a cantankerous lot. When Mike Hebert brought in Dutch international Kirsten Gleis in 1992, she was first-team All-American... and second-team All-Big Ten! I'd never realized how much better the Big Ten was than the rest of the country...

Weather