Crunching the Numbers: Daskalakis vs. Moler Ice Bowl Semifinals
Daskalakis vs. Moler Ice Bowl Semifinals – Tiebreaker Only
WPH Press, Clark Park, 10/5/21
Starting in 2020, the WPH has crunched tens of thousands of shots, tracking the aces, kill shots, return of serve kills, first-strike kills, errors, 6+ shot rallies won, and hinders for dozens of classic matches in handball’s recent and distant past. The thousands of numbers we’ve crunched have provided handball fans and players with the blueprint to win matches.
On this edition of Crunching the Numbers, we’ll examine the bottom bracket semifinal tiebreaker between Danielle Daskalakis and Ashley Moler. After splitting games of 21-15 in the blazing Tucson heat, Daskalakis and Moler would duel in an 11-point tiebreaker to determine the finalist from the Ice Bowl’s bottom bracket.
Watch Daskalakis vs. Moler HERE (tiebreaker starts at 44:39)
Tiebreaker Stats
Aces
Daskalakis: 2
Moler: 3
First Strike Kills
Daskalakis: 3
Moler: 0
Danielle relied solely on her overhand serve in the tiebreaker, pushing Moler deep for two aces and three first-strike kills. Moler was unable to locate her overhand serve as effectively, clipping the side walls for easier Daskalakis returns.
Return of Serve Kills
Daskalakis: 0
Moler: 2
Right Hand Rally-Enders
Daskalakis: 3
Moler: 4
Left Hand Rally Enders
Daskalakis: 7
Moler: 0
Daskalakis out-killed Moler 10 to 4, with the final rally-ender coming on a lunging right-handed scoop kill to win the match
6+ Shot Rallies Won
Daskalakis: 3
Moler: 4
Errors
Daskalakis: 5
Moler: 6
Moler’s six errors were ill-timed, as several of Moler’s errors came late in the tiebreaker on relatively straightforward service returns
Fly Kills:
Daskalakis: 0
Moler: 1
Hinders: 2
Time: 14:25 (tiebreaker only)
Final: Daskalakis def Moler 21-15, 15-21, 11-6
Total Points Scored: 17 (tiebreaker only)
Daskalakis and Moler played to a standstill throughout the first 82 points of the match, with both scoring 41 (21-15, 15-21, 5-5). Daskalakis trailed 0-2 in the tiebreaker before scoring five consecutive points to take a 5-2 lead, only to be caught by Moler at five.
Daskalakis was able to separate herself in crunch time, scoring five of the final six points of the match. Moler will undoubtedly rue her play in the final stages, as she made four errors in the final eight rallies of the match to fall to an exhausted Daskalakis.
Watch Daskalakis vs. Moler HERE (tiebreaker starts at 44:39)
2021 Ice Bowl full recap HERE
David Fink
WPH Statistician