Saw this match last night and I was very impressed with both teams. They were very evenly matched and both play high level volleyball. SC is big, at least 4
girls that are 6' tall or more. They do nothing fancy, but they are very strong at the net. They reminded me of a smash mouth football team, just line it
up and hit you in the mouth. They overpowered Carmel last night. Carmel played with a lot of heart, but looked inexperienced at times. They run a fast
offense and anyone can be a weapon, but Brittany Lombardi took over the match at times. What i wasn't expecting was how well both of these teams played
defense. there were some very long rallies due to tremendous defensive play. My overall impression is that both of these teams can hang with the top teams in
TCAL and in D IV.
Santa Catalina vs Carmel
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 VolleyballGuy |
Santa Catalina vs Carmel |
Lead | |
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Posts: 17 (10/24/08 09:10:57) |
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SalasBall |
TCAL | ||
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Posts: 5 (10/24/08 09:54:59) |
Notre Dame destroyed Catalina 25-9, 25-16, 25-12. The MTAL aint the TCAL - don't fool yourself. Carmel and Catalina would struggle to play .500. And
compete for a DIV title - the MTAL is usually first/second round cannon fodder for the likes of Notre Dame, Menlo and others powers.
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44 and 7 |
Carmel and Santa Catalina | ||
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Posts: 10 (10/26/08 15:17:02) |
They are the powers in their league, but their league is so weak. I doubt if they could play with the top 4 teams in the TCAL. As far as DIV which is also very
weak, they are by no means at same level of the top DIV teams of Menlo, ND Salinas, Harbor and Harker. It would take a miracle for anyone but these 4 teams to
make the semi-finals of CCS
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VolleyballGuy |
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Posts: 18 (10/27/08 12:07:06) |
Have any of you seen them play recently? They are both going to win in the first round, and at least one of them will make it to the final 4.
If Division IV isn't the toughest from top to bottom then who is? DIV has the majority of the Private schools, that automatically makes them tougher in Sports. More Money = Better programs across the board. |
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SalasBall |
Please stop while you can! | ||
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Posts: 6 (10/27/08 18:27:30) |
DIV is the toughest top to bottom? I think not! The best WCAL teams are up in D2 and D3: Mitty, St. Francis, Presentation, SI, etc.
The MTAL teams (KC, Catalina, Carmel) get mauled in the preseason, and then beat up on the very bad MTAL teams, then think they have somehow "improved". Then they lose in the first round of the playoffs. It's the same story every year - just like that Groundhog Day movie with Bill Murray. |
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44 and 7 |
Catalina and Carmel | ||
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Posts: 11 (10/28/08 08:18:10) |
The last poster summed up what I was going to say before my computer malfunctioned. D2 by far the strongest, probably followed by D3 (though closer). D4 has 4
good high school volleyball teams and that is it.
D2 has 9 and D3 has 7. Its OK to not be at the same level as the top teams. As long as the girls are having fun, improving and playing a respectable level of volleyball, then that's all you can ask. Not every team can be a powerhouse. |
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VolleyballGuy |
I agree | ||
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Posts: 19 (10/30/08 08:12:20) |
I think 44 and 7 is absolutely right. If the girls are having fun and playing to their potential, that is all you can ask for. But it is nice to see such great competitive volleyball being played. I would also like to change my mind and say that D3 is definitely the strongest division from top to bottom. But that I think the level of competition is close for second between D2 and D4. |
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44 and 7 |
I agree | ||
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Posts: 13 (10/30/08 15:05:17) |
I think you meant D2 best top to bottom. Not much question about that.
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anzar |
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Posts: 10 (11/08/08 22:19:34) |
I take offense at some of the callous disrespect for the MTAL. For the record, Catalina is a boarding school whose students don't even see a volleyball
court until September. I'm not claiming that Catalina would beat Notre Dame later in the year, but I think the scores would be closer.
Carmel beat San Benito (albeit a weaker San Benito than usual). Catalina did not lose in the 1st round last year. They lost to Menlo in the 2nd round. I don't think VolleyballGuy was announcing that the MTAL is a powerhouse league, but a little respect for Catalina and Carmel couldn't hurt. One is a small public school and the other is a small private school that offers 7 different sports to girls in the fall. If Catalina could harness all of its athletes, look out. Throw in that Carmel plays all juniors and sophomores with a couple of freshmen and you've got the makings of a pretty strong future. And for my money, Divison II is definitely the strongest divison in CCS. The fact that 15 teams are in D2 CCS seems to support this. |
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