Thank You

by David Portney, AVCA Media Relations & Awards Support Specialist

As another year of collegiate and high school volleyball winds down, people who work in athletics tend to not reflect on the year but instead look ahead to next season.  How many stories do you hear of coaches within days of winning a national championship get right back in the office and begin next season's prep?

Well, that's not why I'm here.  I do have one message for every single one of our members, administrators, players, parents, fans, SID's/media, and countless others for the year 2013:  thank you.

Thank you to our 6,000+ members who have helped our sport we love so much by joining this tight-knit community of volleyball coaches.  Additionally, the administrators who have done everything in their power to continue to add more volleyball programs.

Thank you to all of the players who pour their heart and soul into volleyball.  It probably goes without saying, but when you boil everything down all you have left is a team of six on each side of the net (or two for sand).

Thank you to the parents of those players.  Without the dedication, love and support of your children none of this would even be possible.

Thank you to all of our social media fans.  Simply by liking or following our accounts, we are able to grow the sport of volleyball and help spread the word about this awesome sport.

FOLLOW US:

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Pinterest

Thank you to everyone who attended a match, watched it on TV, streamed it on your computer or contributed to a forum.  Though we may not always agree on VolleyTalk, continuous healthy debate about the sport is what will keep it moving forward.  Every time you tune in or click a volleyball link, you are doing your part.

Thank you to the media and Sports Information Directors who give everything they have to promote volleyball.  They are the ones in the gym looooooooong after everyone has left typing up the game stories or working on some sort of media kit.  Those volleyball websites don't update themselves!  

Now on a more personal note from someone who handles different committees for polls and awards, a big time THANK YOU to everyone who was on an AVCA committee this year.  Many may not realize, but the coaches who vote and debate our awards, vote in our polls or on our Board of Directors do not get special AVCA benefits for doing so other than our gratitude.

They do it for a genuine love of the sport.  They go above and beyond the call of duty of coaching their volleyball teams to put in the extra work for everyone's benefit.  If you browse our committees you'll find many of the top coaches in the sport.  Coincidence?  I think not.  The top coaches seek us out.  They are some of the best because they have a strong desire to grow the game and make it the best it can be.

So if you're a coach that wants to get more involved in one of our many committees, shoot me an email at david.portney@avca.org!  If it's not something of great interest at the moment, there is still plenty you can do to give back outside of the AVCA!

Once again, the sport has grown so much due to everyone's continued support that a simple thank you almost doesn't do it justice.  But that's the forum I have right now so I'm going to take it!

Okay, now get back to work!  We have another year of growing to do!

Pairs Championship - Quarterfinals Update

The Quarterfinals have wrapped up and we're moving on to the Semis! Check out the most recent bracket below. Semis will start at 12:15 cst!

Pairs Championship - Round 1

The first round of Pools Play is complete..check out the updated bracket!

LBSU Wins Team Championship, All-Americans Announced

by Jackson Silvanik, AVCA Editor of Publications 

Pepperdine and LBSU squared off three times throughout the 2013 season, with Pepperdine winning each time by scores of 3-2, 4-1 and 3-2. Pepperdine, undefeated as a program since starting competition in 2012, looked to defend last year's National Championship. LBSU would take the day, however, winning the title in a deciding third set in the last flight of the match, putting Pepperdine away by a duals score of 3-2.

LBSU began the match with a 1-0 overall advantage due to an injury sustained by Jasmine Orozco of Pepperdine's top pair. The format of the match dictated that the rest of the flights would compete in staggered starts, with Flight 2 kicking things off on Court 1. LBSU's Aigner-Swesey and Cabrajac jumped out to an early lead in Set 1 in Flight 2, claiming the victory before Pepperdine's duo of Racich and Dykstra battled back to force a third set, which they won decisively by a score of 15-9.

The final match, about to begin.

Meanwhile, in Flight 2, Pepperdine's Larsen and Woolever defeated Fontanilla and Mackie of LBSU by a score of 21-17, 21-18 to take a 2-1 overall lead.

With Pepperdine leading the dual 2-1, the Championship would be determined at Flights 4 and 5. In the three previous meetings between LBSU and Pepperdine this season, LBSU's 4/5 pairs went 5-1 against Pepperdine's 4/5's.

A straight set sweep on Court 1 by the undefeated LBSU pair of Jackson and Johnson evened the duals at a score of 2-2, meaning that once more the outcome would be determined in the final flight. LBSU claimed the first set by a score of 21-19. Not to be outdone, Pepperdine's Adelhelm and Racich stormed their way to a dominating 21-9 win in set 2.

As the championship hung in the balance, LBSU pulled through with a decisive 15-10 victory, putting a stamp on the Team Championship and claiming the school's first AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Title.

LBSU wins the title!

To get to the Team Championship, Pepperdine defeated Florida State in a hard-fought match earlier in the day. After being forced to forfeit at the top flight due to injury, FSU began play with a 1-0 overall advantage. Pepperdine persevered, however, and claimed victories on three of the four remaining flights to advance to the Championship.

In the other bracket, LBSU had to stave off an inspired squad from the University of Southern California. The Women of Troy fought hard, but ultimately fell just short of the title match by a score of 3-2. LBSU claimed wins at flights 2, 3 and 4 to advance.

In addition to the Team Championship action, the AVCA is honored to announce the 2013 AVCA Sand Volleyball All-American team. This team is comprised of players that, throughout the season, have demonstrated extraordinary talent and recorded impressive results. The All-American team, as well as the AVCA Sand Volleyball National Coach of the Year, is voted on by coaches in attendance at the AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championships. This is the first year that a Coach of the Year has been named.

2013 AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball All-Americans

Kate Stepanova, FIU

Jace Pardon, FSU

Sarah Wickstrom, FSU

Lane Carico, GSU

Caitlin Ledoux, LBSU

Tara Roenicke, LBSU

Kim Hill, Pepperdine

Lilla Frederick, Pepperdine

Lara Dykstra, Pepperdine

Caitlin Racich, Pepperdine

Kelly Reeves, UCLA

Zuzana Markova, ULM

Kirby Burnham, USC

Stevi Robinson, USC

2013 AVCA Sand Volleyball Coach of the Year

Nina Matthies, Pepperdine

Saturday - Midday Update

by Jackson Silvanik, AVCA Editor of Publications 

We're halfway through a jam-packed Saturday schedule here at the AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championships, but if you ask me, we've already seen an entire weekend's worth of drama. Pairs Pools Play kicked off the day, picking up where Friday's play left off. Top pairs from Jacksonville and Georgia State took to the courts eager to prove their mettle, and quite a few of the other pairs were feeling the heat to earn some much-needed victories before the field is seeded for tomorrow's Pairs Championship tournament. 

Carico and Madewell of Georgia State were hungry for a win, and they got one with a quick sweep of Pacific's Clancy and Schulz. Meanwhile, Jacksonville's Strausbaugh and Nyquist secured a victory in three sets over UCLA's Nightingale and Strehlow. The UCLA 2's have yet to win a match in Gulf Shores, but the UCLA 1's are looking strong heading into Sunday's play. 

In the next group of Pools play, FIU's Sukhareva and Stepanova continued their impressive play, knocking off LMU's Arriola and Keil 21-9, 21-16.

For up-to-date pools brackets, check out the sand portion of the AVCA website. 

In Team Championship play, the semifinals got underway in earnest as defending champion Pepperdine took on Florida State in an elimination match. News broke this morning that Pepperdine's top pair would be forced to forfeit due to an injury sustained in yesterday's play, meaning that FSU would begin the match with a 1-0 advantage.

Pepperdine warming up on a gorgeous afternoon.

Tension ran high as the first sets in Flights 2-5 played out, with Pepperdine claiming narrow victories in 3 of the 4 flights. 

FSU quickly won in the 5th flight with a two-set sweep, giving FSU a 2-0 overall advantage. Pepperdine responded with a victory of their own in a two-set sweep at Flight 1. Scores were too close to call as Flights 3 and 4 were played out, but Pepperdine scraped together a hard-earned win in each to take the match with a 3-2 score. The as-of-yet undefeated Waves will defend their title this afternoon. 

Things got off to a strong start in the second semi between USC and LBSU, with USC taking first set victories on Courts 1, 3 and 4, and LBSU winning first sets on Courts 2 and 5. 

The crowd starting to flock to the deciding third set on Court 4.

The drama would continue, as USC and LBSU would split 2-2, and the deciding Court 4 heading to three sets with the match hanging in the balance. This set would be as tight as it gets, with neither team leading by more than two points at any time. LBSU would pull out the close win 15-13 and advance to the Championship, where Pepperdine (a familiar foe) awaits.

Stay tuned for the Championship action and more Pairs results. 

Saturday - What's in Store

by Jackson Silvanik, AVCA Editor of Publications 

Friday's action was fast and furious - we saw some fantastic volleyball in the Team Championship and some surprising results in the Pairs Pool Play. If you missed anything, scroll on down to check out our recaps of yesterday's results and head on over to http://avca.org/sand/championships/2013/ for up-to-date brackets and pool results. We'll be updating throughout the day, so check early and often. 

With that said - yesterday's level of play was highly competitive and provided plenty of drama here in Gulf Shores...and the matchups today have an even better chance of providing some thrills. What will we see today? First - we'll kick things off with a little pool play. Top seeds Jacksonville and Georgia State will be looking to rebound off of disappointing performances in their AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball Championship debuts. The pairs from Florida International came ready to play, and could be on their way to the Championship on Sunday. 

FIU's Sukhareva will be a major factor in the 2013 Pairs Championship

Then we'll move on to the Team Championship. Pepperdine, still undefeated despite the loss of one of their top players in Flight 1, will take on Florida State, who will look to build off the momentum gained from their sweep of North Florida in an elimination match yesterday. 

After that, we'll see Long Beach State take to the sand against USC. The Women of Troy lost a hard-fought match against Pepperdine after defeating North Florida in the opening round, and they've proven they can hang with the toughest competition.

By the end of the day, we'll have a Team Champion and be primed for Sunday's Pairs action. 

Stay tuned!

Pairs Pool Play Day 1 Wrap-up

by Jackson Silvanik, AVCA Editor of Publications 

After two Team Championship matches started things off at the 2013 AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championships, the Pairs Championship competition began in earnest. Ten teams were identified by a selection committee as the “Best of the Rest”, joining the top pairs from the six Team Championship schools to make up the field for the tournament. The ten teams were divided into two pools and play in a round-robin format before being seeded into a bracket later this weekend.

The pairs that comprise the competing field hail from all around the country. Each pair played two matches on Friday and will play two more on Saturday. The top-seeded team in Pool B, Jacksonville's tandem of Strausbaugh and Nyquist, suffered two early defeats at the hands of Dodd and Shaw from Saint Mary's and Arriola and Keil from Loyola Marymount. After a successful regular season, they'll look to bounce back in their matches on Saturday.

The top seed in Pool A, Georgia State's Carico and Madewell, lost their matches on Friday, losing to UAB's pair of Hirini and Thomas and Florida International's Mendoza and Samoday. Elsewhere, Florida International's Sukhareva and Stepanova claimed two victories, defeating Nightingale and Strehlow of UCLA and Dodd and Shaw of Saint Mary's, against whom they battled for a 2-1 win after dropping the first set.

GSU's Carico and Madewell will be looking to bounce back on Saturday.

The second seed in Pool A, UCLA's Reeves and Norton, won both of their matches in commanding fashion, dispatching Clancy and Schulz of Pacific 21-11, 21-9 and later defeating Thomas and Hirini of UAB 21-12, 21-11. They look to be strong contenders heading into play on Saturday.

Competition was fierce on the sand today,and it remains to be seen if the top pairs can turn their fortunes around. There's plenty of time for anything to happen. 

Pairs Results from Day 1