Dustin

A lot of people have focused on the last possession as a poor way to end the first half. I don't think I've read one poster who's opinion was that they should have done what they ended up doing. I'm not saying that I disagree, but I have examined the scenario in my mind and do want to offer a few thoughts. -Why was Bubba nervous about giving the other team momentum? Did he not have confidence in the offense to keep moving down the field? Did he not have confidence that the offense could prevent a turnover? Or is it that he had confidence in those things, but just wanted to take a conservative approach? Is the risk of gaining 3 or 7 more points worth giving up 3 or 7 points? How upset would everyone would have been had our lead been less than 14 points given the situation? I think this would be the soundest reason to do what we did. -UCD seemed content to go to the locker room down by 14 and try to regroup. Perhaps all the more reason for UND to try to force them into submission. But in theory, UCD could have called time outs to force UND to make a play, and they didn't. Seemed like both sides were happy to call it a half. Perhaps this is what rubs people the wrong way - that we let an opponent leave the field on their terms. Hard to say what the best approach was.

"If this was the mid-2000s, I could see using that strategy, but our defense isn't good enough to stop most teams for an entire half when they start pushing downfield in tempo." "But when we can’t flip the field with our punting especially against a team that has proven they can move the ball, that can create momentum for the other team. I don’t think we were ever in a position to go conservative until the last possession at the end of the game." I think these two statements are the most telling of anything that's been written about this year's team. Until these statements are no longer true, a conservative, "Flip the field" offense prove in effective. The good thing is that our offense, when properly utilized, can keep up with most teams. Offense is the best defense we have right now.

Yes. Anything else would be a disappointment.

They talk like Holm could play his 4 games for games at the end of the regular season and still redshirt, but wouldn't that mean no playoff games? I think I asked the question before if playoff games count towards the 4 games, and someone answered "yes."

I've reserved commentary since the game, mainly to let the highly emotional packed posts have a chance to dissipate. Not trying to talk anybody off a ledge, because I do see concerns, but let's have a fuller scope of the season as a whole: Before the season started, if we were 2-2 after 4 games, I think most people would say that's about what could be expected. People are frustrated because the last game was winnable if the QB hadn't had his worst possible game. Given the circumstances, though, a great performance was probably not in the cards. The decision to play your starter after injury was a dicey situation for the QB and coaches no doubt. They gambled and lost, and hopefully lesson learned. The starting QB for the next game will tell a lot about our coaches. I still believe all remaining games on our schedule are winnable. That would be 7 in a row to end the regular season if it happened. Not out of the question. 2016 team rattled off 9 in a row to get to that same mark. With another loss, that puts the regular season record at 8-3, which I think most everyone would be pretty satisfied. It would be a playoff spot, and potentially a home game, perhaps even a seed. Hopefully the deficiencies are corrected. Like many have noted, the adjustments this season are better than previous ones. Our special teams could stand some (ok, quite a bit of) improvement. Not sure what the plan for the season is, but this may be something that can only be fixed with recruiting. Speaking of recruiting, many have mentioned our geographical recruiting challenges. Those aren't new, and we've overcome those many times in the past. I don't see why that won't be overcome again. All in all, I still have hope for the season. Hopefully the players and coaches prove my hope to be realized.

I’m now under the impression that this is a much more winnable game than before. Let’s get it done!!

I definitely don’t want to take away anything Mark Pryor did in 2016 and 2017. Those teams were fantastic. He quite possibly could have figured he’d never do better at UND and started looking for his next opportunity.

Unfortunately, Pryor left the cupboard with very little experience, and probably a little jaded. Setting last season was a joke. Glad she’s no longer on the team. My favorite player (Frasee) got her libero spot taken away, now she’s gone. I’m glad Bruggeman stayed on because without her, we’d really be in the hurtbag. Tiffen is going to have to put his own mark on the program, and hopefully it will be a good one. At least he has a car with North Dakota license plates (I checked last night!)

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/volleyball/4671060-UND-provides-new-coach-first-home-win-in-five-set-victory-over-Eastern-Washington?fbclid=IwAR0k8ULUVnHB6sqJsy9SYx5PUSW8qAhJzKeqS-ZuEU_H-_frFAxQzOwXleY This article mentions that Nieukirk is close to recovering from an injury.

The girls finally came out and played some spirited volleyball in the 5th set. Need to have more of that.

Although, I have met former players Annika (Smed) Schwenzfeier and McKenzie Hart and visited with them. That's as close as I've come.

I follow the program closely from a fan perspective, but have no inside connections to players or coaches. The most "inside" information I get comes from this site. So, I can't answer any of those questions.

How many times have we played Eastern Washington, and have we won any of those games?

To finish up the weekend, we got swept by Campbell, and then we swept South Carolina State. Now, we finally come home with a 7-5 record for 3 non-conference games before starting league play on Sept. 27. I'm excited to finally see this team play in person.

Just finished watching Midco’s replay of the game. It was nice to be able to watch for all the things people had been mentioning. My impressions: sam Houston definitely isn’t a great team. They may not even be a good team. But we outplayed them for nearly the whole game, and that feels good. our third quarter was superb. Would love to see more of that. Most other parts of the game, we were the better team. A couple more things break our way, and we win by double digits. That being said, the end of the game sure was nerve wracking. It would have been heartbreaking and devastating to end up losing. Glad the defense had one more big play in them. Very impressed with Schuster. Throws a nice ball. Able to stand in the pocket and get the throw made. Had great chemistry with Wanzek. Hoping that same chemistry develops with the other receivers. I am glad someone pointed out that special teams coverage was actually pretty good, even though the kicks weren’t deep. They deserve more credit this game than what we’ve seen in the past. We’re 2-1 going into the first bye, and that is where everyone was hoping we would be. Get healthy and get smarter, and we’ll be able to give anyone on schedule a good showing.

I was in favor of the double bye all along, and it appears to be the right decision.

Been looking for video highlights...anybody have a link?

What about me?!

Didn’t get to watch the game, but listened to some on the radio, and got periodic updates online. Looks like the halftime adjustments were the best in quite some time. 2 TD scored and 0 TD allowed in third quarter after the second quarter was spelling trouble.

Looks like everyone’s in the same boat - a close game won by the home team. Hope we’re right. 27-24 UND.

Citadel was also 3-1 victory for the VB girls. Next game is this evening vs. Campbell.

UND got a win yesterday over NC Central 3-1. The girls are currently playing The Citadel.

Over the course of the week, this game is one that now scares me. Even though it may not necessarily be the case, this game feels like a must win to legitimize this team. And with a Jekyll performance one week, and a Hyde performance one week, I don't know what to make of this game. It's a game that UND is capable of winning, which is probably why I am so scared of losing. Hope we pull through.

Exactly. A playoff meeting is always in the realm of possibilities.

Absolutely we should be.