American Volleyball Coaches Association Blog

Getting it Right! - Part II

2012-02-03T07:38:00.000-08:00

This is part II of volleyball coaching legend Mike Hebert's blog series on his pet peeves. Check back every Friday for his next entry!

by Mike Hebert

OK. On to my next pet peeve. It has to do with a termthat I hear in virtually every practice gym I have ever visited. The term is“ten foot line.” Most coaches, when running a drill, will refer to the attackline as the ten foot line. “Make sure that you plant for a back row attack withboth feet behind the 10’ line!,” they will say.

Well, I have done the necessaryresearch and I have determined that in the year 1976 our USA rule book was changed to reflect the international use ofthe metric system to describe the official measurements of our playing surface(Unless you count the 1947 agreement between the NGB’s of Europe and the US toadopt the metric system). The attack line is located three meters from themidline of the court. THREE METERS, not 10 feet. We have known about this for36 YEARS! One would think that this would be enough time to internalize such afundamental concept.

The same mistake applied to othersports would be intolerable. You don’t hear baseball people talk about the 91’1.5”distance from home to first base. Everybody knows that it’s 90’! A first downin football requires a team to move the ball a distance of TEN yards, not 10.1yards. Sprinters compete in the 100m dash, not the 328’1” dash.

Come on people. Get on board.Let’s join the rest of the world by calling it the 3m line.

Next pet peeve: I can recall with vivid detail the first time Iheard a club coach use the phrase, “She can touch 10’5” (or something in thatvicinity)!” I had been watching thisplayer practice for two hours. She had apoor arm swing, couldn’t pass or defend, could barely serve the ball over thenet, and had a poor volleyball IQ. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Butas I said good-bye to the coach I was met with his reference to her exceptionaljumping ability.

Iwas confused. Had our game changed? Would we now be awarded points based on our players’ ability to jump? My mindraced through the possibilities. “Coach,”the referee would say to me at the beginning of the match,“Your jumper is up first.” Then after slapping highfives with everyone in sight,Jenny the Jumper would walk to the center of the court to begin her jumping routine. Touching 10’5” would resultin three points for the team and would giveus an early lead in the match. Come on, Jenny. Then, later on, I would implore her with, “We need you togo 10’6” on this next jump! We’re down12-11 in the fifth set and we need the points!”

The dramawould be captivating.

Mary Eggers - Bigten.org

But I heldmy tongue and thanked the coach for her hospitality. On the drive home I thought about one of myformer players at Illinois, Mary Eggers. Mary stood5’10.5” and could touch all of 9’8”. But she could play volleyball with the best and was named All-America FirstTeam middle blocker for three consecutiveyears. Mary wouldn’t have fared well in the jump reach contest. But she sureknew how to win volleyball matches.

When I hearthe familiar refrain, “She can touch (fill in your own height),” I have to go into silent gigglemode. Can she do anything when she gets up there?Can she do any of the important things (serve, pass, dig, set) that happen while she is on the ground? Frankly,the jump-reach measurement of aplayer is one of the last things about her that I would need to know to evaluate her worth as a volleyballplayer. Yet it remains as an item of significantcurrency when discussing a player’s volleyball potential.

Really?

Check back next week for part III of Mike Hebert's "Getting it Right" blog series!

Getting it Right! - Part I

2012-01-27T08:26:00.000-08:00

This is part I of volleyball coaching legend Mike Hebert's blog series on his pet peeves. Check back every Friday for his next entry!

by Mike Hebert

From my first experience as a Santa Barbara-based beach volleyballplayer in 1962 through my most recent coaching stint at the 2011 Pan AmericanGames—some 51 years in the game—I have seen and heard it all. I was there whenthe rules of volleyball in the US permitted back row players to participate inthe block. Screening for the server was also popular. All five players wouldstand shoulder to shoulder as the server launched the ball from behind a tightwall. And then there was the synchronizedhand clap by teammates at the exact moment anyone executed an overhand pass orset. The sound of the hand clap prevented the referee from hearing the noisecreated by an unclean contact of the ball, thereby side-stepping a possibleball handling violation.

I can also remember when the block counted as the firstcontact, severely limiting the effectiveness of the counterattack game. Whileat UCSB’s Robertson Gym in the mid-60’s I learned how to hit a “Jap” set, whichis what everyone called the quick “1” set pioneered by the Japanese men’s teamat the 1964 Olympics. There was even atime when spikers were not allowed to follow through over the net with theirhitting hand. And you really missed out if you were not around when it becamelegal to block and attack the serve!

By the 1970’s and 80’s the game as we know it today began totake shape. The block no longer counted as the first contact. Antennas wereadded to the net. Sound was ruled out as a reason for evaluating the quality ofa contact. No more blocking or attackingthe serve. No intentional screening. Only front row players could block. Aplayer could initiate serve from anywhere on the baseline. No double contactcalled on a player who is defending against a hard driven ball. Contact with thenet was now legal under certain circumstances. The libero position wasestablished. And, most significantly, the game was changed from side out torally scoring.

It is my opinion that, as a result of these changes, ourgame is in much better shape than it has ever been.

However, should there be a remote chance that any of youmight be interested, I have identified a few things about our volleyballuniverse that “bug” me. So, if you will allow me to reach into my pocket tounfold my tattered list of volleyball pet peeves, I will share some of themwith you. The list is a work in progress. Sometimes I draw a line through anitem when I decide it no longer warrants pet peeve status. And sometimes I addan item to the list when I notice something that causes the pet peeve warninglight to start flashing. If only these items could be resolved, Iself-righteously say to myself, our volleyball world would be a better place.

1. Why do volleyball people attribute meaning to per set statistics? I read discussionson volleyball chat rooms where contributors argue that Team A is a betterblocking team than Team B because they averagemore blocks per set. Even worse, perset statistics are used to evaluate All-Region and All-American candidates!

Here is the problem. The top teamin a conference (Team A) can play against the last place team (Team B) and winin a 3-0 blow-out. As a result, both teams participate in a relatively lownumber of total rotations, thereby limiting the total number of blockingopportunities available to each team. Both teams’ blocks per set will be lowwhen compared to the totals accumulated in a match between two evenly matched teams where the score can be 3-2,and the total number of blocking opportunities much higher than the earlierexample.

Consider that the first place teamwill likely play in a higher number of 3-0, low rotation matches and mightaverage, say, 1.7 blocks per set. Anotherteam, which competes in more 3-2 and 3-1, high rotation matches can average,say, 2.2 blocks per set…not because they are a better blocking team, butbecause they play longer matches that provide significantly more opportunitiesto post a blocking stat.

All per set statistics suffer from the same flaw. Only per attempt statistics have value. And theonly per attempt statistic availableto us is Kill Efficiency. Our sport needs to overhaul its approach tostatistical evaluation to rid itself of per set stats. How many times do I haveto listen to someone tell me that blocker A is better than blocker B becauseshe has a higher blocks per set average. Blocker A plays on a powerhouse teamthat wins most of its matches 3-0. Blocker B, on the other hand, plays on anaverage team that battles its way to 4 or 5 sets virtually every time theyplay. It is conceivable that Blocker B can post a higher blocks per set averagemerely because she plays on a team that provides her with more opportunities toblock.

Further complicating this issue are the following:

a. Some teams prefer to use their block to channelthe ball to their diggers. They are likely to block fewer balls simply becauseof their system.

b. Others want to block every ball they can withless concern for channeling. to diggers. They are likely to have higher blocksper set numbers; again, because of their system.

c. Some teams emphasize control blocking, making itpossible to pass the ball accurately totheir setter for a counterattack opportunity. This can be a very effectivesystem choice, but there is no stat recorded for a control block.

d. Some teams are very physical and can put up anintimidating block, forcing the opponent’s attacker into a tip or roll shot whichis easily scooped up by the blocking team. But again, no blocking stat isposted.

All of the above have a significant impact on the accumulationof blocks per set. But they lead to a wide variance in team blocking totals.They are an unreliable indicator of which teams are the better blocking teams.There is no scientific correlation between the blocks per set statistic and the actual blocking ability of a team.

So, “Sheesh”. Let’s stop pretending that thereis.

Check back next week for part II of Mike Hebert's "Getting it Right" blog series

Men's Weekend Preview (Jan. 13, 2012)

2012-01-13T06:39:00.000-08:00

by David Portney

Now that we're a week into the Men's DI-II season and have started to develop some momentum, let's look at a few of the key matches to watch this weekend.

#2 BYU at #1 UC Irvine - Friday, Jan.13th, 7PM PT

No doubt this is the premier match this weekend, as this is already the second time in a week these two teams have played as the No. 1 and No. 2 teams. But one week ago they were flipped, as the second-ranked Anteaters knocked off the first seeded Cougars in four sets (21-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-23).

UCI is led by 2011 AVCA Second-Team All-American Carson Clark, who nailed 14 kills in their win a week ago. But don't sleep on teammate Jeremy Dejno, who burned BYU for a team-leading 18 kills and two aces. The game plan heading into these early season matches will be to slow down Clark, so if his teammates like Dejno can step up to create serious match-up problems then UC Irvine will be looking at a serious run to the championship.

But was that match a sign of things to come or just an aberration for BYU? It's tough to tell this early in the year, but senior middle blocker Quentin Smith said he didn't think that match was a true indicator of their team, “We definitely did not play our best match,” Smith said. “But what’s exciting is we ended up being in the game. Even not playing our best we were right there, so I think most of us are pretty pumped and pretty optimistic because we know we can play a lot better.”

And they'll have to do just that if they want to take down the now-No. 1 team in the country tonight in California.

#3 UCLA at #13 Hawai'i- Jan. 14th, 9PM PT TV: FOX College Sports

The Stan Sheriff Center will certainly be rocking Saturday night as these two teams hook up for the final match of the 18th annual Outrigger Hotels Invitational. A year ago, UCLA won this Invitational with a clean sweep over Hawai'i. Historically, the Bruins have had their way with the Warriors posting a career 56-20 record.

But that's all in the past now. Hawai'i split their two matches with DII UC San Diego and has a victory over DIII Springfield College, so they still have remained relatively untested this year. UCLA has dropped one this season to #1 UC Irvine, but also swept the defending champion Ohio State Buckeyes a week ago.

#7 Penn State at #8 Ohio State - Saturday, Jan. 14th, 7PM ET

Speaking of those Buckeyes, they come home for the first time this season after completing a west coast swing that saw them finish 1-2. The Nittany Lions on the other hand, will just be starting their season with something to prove after making the NCAA Final Four a year ago. Head coach Mark Pavlik, in his 18th season leading the men's volleyball program, welcomes back 13 letterwinners, including six returners with starting experience for the 2012 season. Included in the group are 2011 AVCA First Team All-American Joe Sunder and AVCA Second Team All-American Edgardo Goas.

OSU took two of three matches against PSU a year ago, including a victory in the semifinals that led them to the 2011 NCAA Championship match against UC Santa Barbara.

A Look Ahead – NCAA Division I National Semifinals and Championship

2011-12-12T21:09:00.000-08:00

by Jen Armson-Dyer

Wow. What else can you say? This NCAA Tournament has beenone of the most unexpected in quite some time. A look at the final match-ups ofthe 2011 season, to be played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas:

Thursday, Dec. 15

NCAA NationalSemifinal #1, 7:00 p.m. ET: #9 Seed UCLA (28-6) versus #12 Seed Florida State(28-6). Live, ESPN2.

The Bruins defeated #8 Seed and four-time defending champPenn State (3-0) before taking out top-seeded Texas in four sets in theLexington Regional to reach the NCAA Semifinals for the first time since the2006 season. UCLA claimed the 1984, 1990 and 1991 NCAA National Championships,also reaching the title match in 1981, 1983, 1992 and 1994. This will be theBruins’ first appearance under head coach Mike Sealy, who also helped guideHawaii to the National Semifinals in 2009 as an associate head coach.

Rachael Kidder (#11), who was named the Lexington RegionalMost Outstanding Player after racking up a match-high 26 kills against theLonghorns, leads UCLA with 4.63 kills per set as Tabi Love (#3) and KellyReeves (#2) add in 2.74 and 2.10 kills per set, respectively. Lauren Van Orden(#5) directs the offense with 10.96 assists per set as Lainey Gera (#6) picksup 4.91 digs per set to lead the defense. Mariana Aquino (#12) tops theblocking chart with 105 total blocks, good for 1.11 blocks per set. As a team,UCLA is hitting .250 with 14.40 kills per set. 1.02 service aces per set, 15.71digs per set and 2.49 blocks per set. By comparison, the Bruins are holdingtheir opponents to hitting .157 with 11.69 kills per set, 0.74 service aces perset, 13.48 digs per set and 2.12 blocks per set.

The Seminoles defeated #5 Seed Purdue in four beforeoutlasting #4 Seed Iowa State in five in the Minneapolis Regional to reachtheir first-ever NCAA National Semifinal. Florida State, under the direction ofChris Poole, is also the first team from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) toever reach the NCAA National Semifinals.

Minneapolis Regional Most Outstanding Player JekaterinaStepanova (#3), who posted 20 kills on .378 hitting with nine digs against IowaState, leads Florida State with 3.28 kills per set as Visnja Djurdjevic (#9)and Elise Walch (#23) chip in 2.86 and 2.09 kills per set. Duygu Duzceler (#20)and Sarah Wickstrom (#10) take turns directing the offense with 6.13 and 4.99assists per set, respectively, as Katie Mosher (#2) tops the defense with 4.67digs per set. Ashley Neff (#14) leads the team with 1.55 blocks per set asSareea Freeman (#22) adds in 1.26 blocks per set. As a team, Florida State ishitting .261 with 14.03 kills per set, 0.94 service aces per set, 16.08 digsper set and 2.98 blocks per set. By comparison, the Seminoles are holding theiropponents to hitting .186 with 13.35 kills per set, 0.91 service aces per set,16.21 digs per set and 1.81 blocks per set.

UCLA leads the series with Florida State, 5-0, including 4-0on a neutral court. The last meeting was a 3-0 Bruin win on Sept. 14, 1996.

National Semifinal#2, 9:00 p.m. ET: #3 Seed Illinois (31-4) versus #7 Seed Southern California(29-4). Live, ESPN2.

The Fighting Illini defeated Ohio State in four beforetaking out Florida on its home court in four to advance to their third-everNCAA National Semifinals and the first in 23 years. Illinois reached back toback NCAA Semifinals in 1987 and 1988 under then-head coach Mike Hebert. In2011 under current head coach Kevin Hambly, the Fighting Illini picked up theirfirst 30-win season since 1992 and earned the highest NCAA seed in programhistory (3).

Gainesville Regional Most Outstanding Player Colleen Ward(#4) collected 23 kills on .500 hitting against the Gators, and ranks second onthe team with 3.70 kills per set. Michelle Bartsch (#6) tops the offense with3.83 kills per set and Erin Johnson (#12) adds in 2.13 kills per set. AnnieLuhrsen (#11) directs the offense with 11.12 assists per set as JenniferBeltran (#3) leads the defense with 4.10 digs per set. Anna Dorn (#5) heads theblocking list with 1.27 blocks per set as Johnson chips in 1.09 blocks per set.As a team, Illinois is hitting .262 with 13.75 kills per set, 1.17 service acesper set, 15.20 digs per set and 2.59 blocks per set. By comparison, theFighting Illini are holding their opponents to .179 hitting with 12.84 killsper set, 0.99 service aces per set, 15.23 digs per set and 1.84 blocks per set.

The Women of Troy took out host and #10 Seed Hawaii in fivebefore outlasting #15 Seed Pepperdine, also in five, to win the HonoluluRegional advance to their seventh NCAA National Semifinal appearance in thelast 12 years. USC is making back-to-back NCAA Semifinal appearances for thefirst time since three consecutive berths from 2002-04, which included back toback NCAA titles in 2002 and 2003. This will be head coach Mick Haley’s 10^thNCAA National Semifinal appearance, and his sixth at USC.

Honolulu Regional Most Outstanding Player Alex Jupiter (#7)led the Women of Troy with 17 kills, a career-high 29 digs, apersonal-best-tying five aces and four blocks against the Waves, and leads theteam for the season with 4.38 kills per set. Katie Fuller (#22) and LaurenWilliams (#8) chip in 2.86 and 2.64 kills per game, respectively, as KendallBateman (#12) directs the offense with 11.98 assists per set. Natalie Hagglund(#3) picks up 5.09 digs per set to lead the defense while Williams tops theblocking charts with 87 blocks for the year, good for 0.81 blocks per set. As ateam, Southern California is hitting .289 with 14.83 kills per set, 1.23service aces per set, 15.74 digs per set and 2.09 blocks per set. Bycomparison, the Women of Troy are holding their opponents to hitting .178 with12.11 kills per set, 0.68 service aces per set, 14.68 digs per set and 2.07 blocksper set.

The series between Illinois and USC is tied at 2-2 and theteams are meeting for the second time in the NCAA Tournament. The Women of Troydowned the Fighting Illini in straight sets in the 1985 regional semifinal in Kalamazoo, Mich. The last meeting wasa five-set Illinois victory in 2004.

National Championship,Saturday, Dec. 17 at 8:30 p.m. ET. Live, ESPN2.

The winners of each of the two NCAA National Semifinalmatches will vie for the title on Saturday night. A glimpse at the history behindthe potential match-ups:

UCLA vs. Illinois: The Bruins lead the all-timeseries with the Fighting Illini 9-0. The last time the teams met was a 3-0 UCLAwin in 1994 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

UCLA vs. USC: A storied rivalry in any sport betweenthe schools, the cross-town rivals are relatively close in the series, withUCLA leading 52-46 all-time. The teams split this year during Pac-12 play, withthe Women of Troy claiming the first contest 3-0 on Sept. 9 and the Bruinstaking the rematch in four on Nov. 25.

Florida State vs. Illinois: The Seminoles lead theseries 3-1, with the last meeting a 3-0 Florida State victory over then-No. 8Illinois in 2009 at the New Mexico State Invitational.

Florida State vs. USC: The Women of Troy won the lonemeeting between the two schools in straight sets in 2006.

What are your thoughts? Who is your pick to win it allSaturday night?

Convention Anticipation

2011-12-09T10:44:00.001-08:00

by Jonathan Ketterer

After several weeks of no posts, the Friday blog is back and will be discussing a little bit about San Antonio for the upcoming convention. For starters, I have been to the beautiful city three times prior to this week's upcoming trip, and I can say with certainty that it will be a great place for the AVCA to be holding their convention. From the Riverwalk to the Alamo, San Antonio's scenic beauty will be sure to match the beauty of the convention and the matches that will taking place at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and the Alamodome. Beauty aside though, I'd like to point out a few things about the both the city and the convention that I am personally excited for.

The Republic of Texas Restaurant

On my prior trips to this Texas city, I have done the obvious tourist tasks of riding a boat down the Riverwalk and seeing the Alamo. I can say that both of these activities are rather unique, and if you find yourself awed by history, I am sure the Alamo won't disappoint. The Riverwalk though, is something I have always found to be an awesome part of the city. Every time that I have gone to San Antonio, I have eaten a dinner on the Riverwalk, and for this trip, I am happy to announce that this streak will not end. One restaurant that is highly reviewed and rather unique to the rest is the Republic of Texas Restaurant. Dining on the river itself is surely an experience to say the least, and while sticking true to the motto that everything is bigger in Texas, they offer a 46 oz. margarita. Another unique restaurant on the Riverwalk is Dick's. Although I have never been there myself, I hear that they simply act jokingly rude and that it is in turn supposed to be a fun atmosphere for those who have a good sense of humor. I also hear that their half pound burgers are delicious and that the restaurant gets a little more active around nighttime.

As for the Riverwalk itself, boat rides are offered for those who are interested, but if you're more like me, you can appreciate doing an actual walk by the river. As an avid traveler I can say that set ups like this are awesome if you can find a restaurant to match your mood. While it may seem outlandish, I could almost bring myself to compare the Riverwalk to the canals of Amsterdam or a place like Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

As for the convention and the events, I can say that there are a few things I'd also recommend to spend some time experiencing. Over the course of the past few months, I got a chance to listen to audio recordings of a classic convention session called Tales from the Locker Room by UCLA Men's Volleyball Coach Al Scates. This year, another addition to the collection will be made, and I strongly advise that attendees of the convention take some time to sit back and hear a few classic, and possibly humorous stories from a long-time advocate of the sport. Another part of this year's convention that has me excited is the Under Armour High School All-America Match and Skills Competition. While I have spent the past week working with the media guide, I can safely say that this match won't disappoint. As a proud native of Kentucky, I was somewhat sad to see that no Louisvillians made this year's rosters, but nevertheless, the teams are stacked with commits to all of the top tier programs of Division I. If you aren't able to attend the match in person, ESPNU will air the match on December 26th at 7PM ET.. From our questionnaire, I might have to say that Team East's Sarah Burrington is one of my favorite players on both squads. Not only is Sarah her high school's kill and block record holder, but she also stated in our questionnaire that she wanted to marry Harry Potter, a clear sign of her genius. As a Potter fan myself, I can appreciate her love for the series. In addition, she also told us that she considered my very own college, the University of Kentucky, among other schools, but ended up signing with Florida State University.

So if you're going to the convention in Texas next week, I suggest you take your time in deciding where to eat when you leave the convention building, because I think that if you hit the right restaurants, the food could surely be something to write home about. Also don't forget to sit down and highlight some of the convention sessions that you may find interesting before you get to Texas (Schedule can be found here), and of course, don't forget about the Under Armour All-Americans, who will be taking the floor at the Alamodome on Friday at 8:00. For those not attending the convention, I hope you can make plans for our future events, notably the Spring Conference in L.A. and the 2012 Convention in Louisville. Since this will be my last time blogging, I would like to thank the entire AVCA organization for allowing me this opportunity to write on a weekly basis for both the members and the readers of this blog. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns, e-mail me at jonathan.ketterer@avca.org. Thanks for reading!

A Look Ahead – NCAA Division I Regional Championship

2011-12-06T05:05:00.001-08:00

by Jen Armson-Dyer

After a wild regular-season, the NCAA First and SecondRounds followed suit, with several upsets among the first set of matches. Let’stake a look at the field for this weekend:

Lexington, Ky.,Regional

Hosted by theUniversity of Kentucky at Memorial Coliseum

Tournament Central: http://www.ukathletics.com/ncaavolleyball/

Friday, Dec. 9 at 5:00 p.m. ET – #8 Seed Penn State(25-7) vs. #9 Seed UCLA (26-6). The Nittany Lions defeated Liberty (3-0) andDelaware (3-1) to advance, and are led by Deja McClendon (#18) and Ariel Scott(#1) with 3.55 and 3.54 kills per set, respectively, Ali Longo (#23) with 3.39digs per set and Katie Slay (#16) with 1.43 blocks per set. Penn State owns a74-25 record in the NCAA Tournament, with this being its ninth straight trip tothe Regional Semifinals. The Bruins defeated Maryland-Eastern Shore (3-0) andSan Diego (3-1) to advance, and are led by Rachael Kidder (#11) with 4.56 killsper set, Lainey Gera (#6) with 4.88 digs per set and Mariana Aquino (#12) with1.11 blocks per set. UCLA has a 76-27 all-time record in NCAA action and leadsthe series with Penn State 6-4, with the last meeting in 2008.

Friday, Dec. 9 at 7:00 p.m. ET - #1 Seed Texas (24-4)vs. Kentucky (28-5). The Longhorns downed Texas State (3-0) and Michigan State(3-0) to advance, and are led by Haley Eckerman (#10) with 3.58 kills per set,Sydney Yogi (#15) with 3.41 digs per set and Rachael Adams (#5) with 1.20blocks per set. Texas is 64-26 all-time in its 28^th NCAA Tournamentappearance. The Wildcats defeated Dayton (3-2) and No. 16 Seed Texas A&M(3-0) to advance, and are led by Ashley Frazier (#4) with 3.20 kills per set,Stephanie Klefot (#11) with 4.81 digs per set and Becky Pavan (#22) with 1.10blocks per set. Kentucky advanced to the Regional Semifinals for the secondtime in three years. Texas leads the all-time series 12-3, with the lastmeeting in 1995.

The winners of each of the Regional Semifinal matches willsquare off on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 4:30 p.m. ET live on ESPNU. All threematches will be live on espn3.com.

Minneapolis, Minn.,Regional

Hosted by theUniversity of Minnesota at the Sports Pavilion

Tournament Central: http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/NCAA-Tourney-2011.html

Friday, Dec. 9 at 6:00 p.m. ET – #5 Seed Purdue(29-4) vs. #12 Seed Florida State (26-6). The Boilermakers defeated MoreheadState (3-0) and Louisville (3-1) to advance, and are led by Ariel Turner (#8)with 4.87 kills per set, Blair Bashen (#14) with 3.99 digs per set and KierraJones (#12) with 1.24 blocks per set. Purdue will be looking for its secondstraight and third overall NCAA Regional Final appearance. The Seminoles downedAlbany (NY)(3-0) and Cincinnati (3-2) to advance, and are led by JekaterinaStepanova (#3) with 3.27 kills per set, Katie Mosher (#2) with 4.58 digs perset and Ashley Neff (#14) with 1.61 blocks per set. This will be thesecond-ever NCAA Regional Semifinal appearance for Florida State. The series istied 3-3, with the last meeting coming in 1997.

Friday, Dec. 9 at 8:00 p.m. ET – #4 Seed Iowa State(24-5) vs. #13 Seed Minnesota (20-11). The Cyclones defeated UW-Milwaukee (3-0)and Miami (FL)(3-0), and are led by Carly Jenson (#1) with 3.88 kills per set,Kristen Hahn (#6) with 5.49 digs per set and Tenisha Matlock (#17) with 1.00blocks per set. Iowa State is making its fourth Regional Semifinal appearancein six years. The Golden Gophers downed North Dakota State (3-0) and Washington(3-2) to advance, and are led by Ashley Wittman (#13) with 4.51 kills per set,Jessica Granquist (#2) with 4.63 digs per set and Ariana Filho (#11) with 0.90blocks per set. Minnesota is 34-16 all-time in NCAA Tournament and is 16-1 inNCAA matches at the Sports Pavilion. The Gophers lead the all-time series 23-6,with the last meeting in 2009.

The winners of each of the Regional Semifinal matches willsquare off on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 9:30 p.m. ET live on ESPNU. All threematches will be live on espn3.com.

Gainesville, Fla.,Regional

Hosted by theUniversity of Florida at the O’Connell Center

Tournament Central: http://www.gatorzone.com/volleyball/tour/ncaa/2011/

Friday, Dec. 9 at 5:00 p.m. ET – #3 Seed Illinois(29-4) vs. Ohio State (21-14). The Fighting Illini defeated Central Michigan(3-0) and Marquette (3-0) to advance, and are led by Michelle Bartsch (#6) with3.83 kills per set, Jennifer Beltran (#3) with 4.05 digs per set and Anna Dorn(#5) with 1.29 blocks per set. This is Illinois’ fourth consecutive appearancein the NCAA Regional Semifinals. The Buckeyes downed Middle Tennessee State(3-1) and No. 14 Seed Tennessee (3-2) to advance, and are led by Mari Hole(#14) with 4.05 kills per set, Sarah Mignin (#7) with 4.19 digs per set andKelli Barhorst (#2) with 0.95 blocks per set (123 total blocks). It will beOhio State’s 13^th overall and second straight appearance in the NCAARegional Semifinals. Illinois leads the series 37-34, including two victoriesearlier this season during the Big Ten season.

Friday, Dec. 9 at 7:00 p.m. ET – Florida (26-5) vs.Michigan (22-12). The Gators defeated Missouri (3-1) and No. 6 Seed NorthernIowa (3-1) to advance, and are led by Kristy Jaeckel (#6) with 3.41 kills perset, Taylor Unroe (#55) with 3.70 digs per set and Betsy Smith (#14) with 1.00 blocksper set. This will be Florida’s 20^th regional semifinal berth in thelast 21 years. The Wolverines defeated Baylor (3-1) and No. 11 Seed Stanford(3-1) to advance, and are led by Alex Hunt (#8) with 3.30 kills per set, SloaneDonhoff (#3) with 4.57 digs per set and Jennifer Cross (#2) with 1.00 blocksper set. This will be Michigan’s fourth NCAA Regional Semifinal appearance inthe last five seasons. Florida leads the series 3-0, with the last meeting in1996.

The winners of each of the Regional Semifinal matches willsquare off on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7:00 p.m. ET live on ESPNU. All threematches will be live on espn3.com.

Honolulu, Hawaii,Regional

Hosted by theUniversity of Hawaii at the Stan Sheriff Center

Tournament Central: http://hawaiiathletics.com/sports/2011/12/5/WVB_1205111148.aspx?id=324

Friday, Dec. 9 at 10:00 p.m. ET – #15 Seed Pepperdine(24-6) vs. Kansas State (22-10). The Waves defeated Missouri State (3-0) andNorth Carolina (3-0) to advance, and are led by Kim Hill (#13) with 3.89 killsper set, Stevi Robinson (#10) with 3.52 digs per set and Samantha Cash (#16)with 1.21 blocks per set. This will be Pepperdine’s first Regional Semifinalappearance since the 2005 season. The Wildcats bested Wichita State (3-0) andNo. 2 Seed Nebraska (3-2) to advance, and are led by Kaitlynn Pelger (#17) with4.15 kills per set and 1.01 blocks per set (119 total blocks) and KuuleiKabalis (#15) with 3.75 digs per set. This is Kansas State’s third appearancein the NCAA Regional Semifinals. The series between the two schools is tied1-1, with the last meeting coming in 2000.

Friday, Dec. 9 at 11:59 p.m. ET – #7 Seed Southern California(27-4) vs. #10 Seed Hawaii (31-3). The Women of Troy defeated Yale (3-0) andTulsa (3-0) to advance, and are led by Alex Jupiter (#7) with 4.32 kills perset, Natalie Hagglund (#3) with 5.03 digs per set and Lauren Williams (#8) with0.79 blocks per set. This is USC’s 21^st consecutive NCAA Tournamentappearance and it has an overall NCAA record of 65-24. The Wahine defeatedNorthern Colorado (3-0) and Colorado State (3-1) to advance, and are led byKanani Danielson (#5) with 4.13 kills per set and 3.05 digs per set whileBrittany Hewitt (#4) posts 1.32 blocks per set. Hawaii is on a 26-match winningstreak and this is its 30^th overall NCAA appearance. Hawai'i is 5-3against USC all-time in post-season play and has won the last four post-seasonmeetings in the series. This is the fourth time in the last six years that USCand Hawai'i have faced each other in the NCAA Tournament.

The winners of each of the Regional Semifinal matches willsquare off on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 11:59 p.m. ET live on ESPNU. All threematches will be live on espn3.com.

Looking ahead to San Antonio and the NCAA NationalSemifinals, the winner of the Lexington Region (Texas/Kentucky/UCLA/Penn State)will face the winner of the Minneapolis Region (Purdue/FloridaState/Minnesota/Iowa State) on Thursday, Dec. 15 at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Thewinner of the Gainesville Region (Illinois/Ohio State/Michigan/Florida) willmeet the winner of the Honolulu Region (SouthernCalifornia/Hawaii/Pepperdine/Kansas State) on Thursday, Dec. 15 at 9:00 p.m.ET, also on ESPN2. The NCAA National Championship match will be on Saturday,Dec. 17 at 8:30 p.m. ET, live on ESPN2.

What are your thoughts? What is YOUR upset of the weekend?

NCAA Tournament Right Side Bracket Breakdown

2011-11-30T05:13:00.001-08:00

by Jen Armson-Dyer

Yesterday we looked at the left side of the NCAA Division Ibracket and today we break down the right side:

Gainesville, Fla.,Regional

Champaign, Ill.,Subregional – Huff Hall (University of Illinois)

Illinois website: http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/w-volley/ill-w-volley-body.html

Friday, Dec. 2 at 5:30 p.m. ET – Marquette (23-10)versus Western Kentucky (31-3). The Golden Eagles, appearing in their firstNCAA tournament in program history, are led by Ciara Jones (#1) with 3.57 killsper set, Julie Jeziorowski (#6) with 5.03 digs per set and Danielle Carlson(#8) with 0.81 blocks per set (96 total blocks). The Lady Toppers, winners ofthe Sun Belt conference tournament, are led by Jordyn Skinner (#12) with 3.83kills per set, Ashley Potts (#2) with 4.27 digs per set and Tiffany Elmore (#7)with 0.96 blocks per set. This will be the first meeting between the two schoolssince 2004 when WKU earned a 3-0 victory.

Friday, Dec. 2 at 8:00 p.m. ET - #3 Seed Illinois(27-4) versus Central Michigan (19-13). The Fighting Illini, who tied forsecond in the Big Ten, are led by Michelle Bartsch (#6) with 3.86 kills perset, Jennifer Beltran (#3) with 4.05 digs per set and Anna Dorn (#5) with 1.28blocks per set. The Chippewas, also making their first NCAA appearance aftercapturing the Mid-American Conference tournament title, are led by KaitlynMcIntyre (#15) with 3.25 kills per set, Jenna Coates (#2) with 4.28 digs perset and Danielle Gotham (#20) with 0.95 blocks per set. This will be theseventh meeting between the two schools as Central Michigan leads the series4-2.

The winners of each of the first round matches will meet onSaturday, Dec. 3 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Knoxville, Tenn.,Subregional – Thompson-Boling Arena (University of Tennessee)

Tennessee website:http://www.utladyvols.com/sports/w-volley/tennw-w-volley-body.html

Thursday, Dec. 1 at 4:30 p.m. ET – Ohio State (19-14)versus Middle Tennessee State (21-11). The Buckeyes, one of eight Big Ten teamsin the field, are led by Mari Hole (#14) with 4.02 kills per set, Sarah Mignin(#7) with 4.30 digs per set and Kelli Barhorst (#2) with 0.97 blocks per set.The Blue Raiders, one of two Sun Belt Conference teams selected to thetournament, are led by Ashley Adams (#3) with 3.82 kills per set, BrynneHenderson (#8) with 2.96 digs per set and Oyinlola Oladinni (#6) with 1.14blocks per set. The two teams last met in the NCAA Tournament in 2006.

Thursday, Dec. 1 at 7:00 p.m. ET - #14 Seed Tennessee(27-3) versus Duke (21-8). The Lady Vols, the Southeastern Conference champion,are led by Kelsey Robinson (#9) with 4.57 kills per set, Ellen Mullins (#10)with 3.83 digs per set and DeeDee Harrison (#8) with 1.12 blocks per set. TheBlue Devils, x, are led by Sophia Dunworth (#13) with 3.06 kills per set, AliMcCurdy (#5) with 5.70 digs per set and Christiana Gray (#11) with 1.07 blocksper set. This will be the first NCAA matchup between the two schools since2009.

The winners of each of the first round matches will meet onFriday, Dec. 2 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Palo Alto, Calif.,Subregional – Maples Pavilion (Stanford)

Stanford website: http://badgervolleyball.org/board-of-directors.php

Friday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET – Baylor (18-14)versus Michigan (20-12). The Bears, appearing in their fourth NCAA Tournament,are led by Briana Tolbert (#21) with 2.80 kills per set, Allison King (#8) with5.11 digs per set and Torri Campbell (#7) with 0.91 blocks per set. The Wolverines,in its sixth straight NCAA Tournament, are led by Alex Hunt (#8) with 3.23kills per set, Sloane Donhoff (#3) with 4.53 digs per set and Jennifer Cross(#2) with 0.97 blocks per set. This will be the first-ever meeting between thetwo schools.

Friday, Dec. 2 at 10:00 p.m. ET - #11 Seed Stanford(21-7) versus Sacred Heart (27-7). The Cardinal, one of two teams to make everyNCAA Tournament, are led by Rachel Williams (#6) with 4.32 kills per set,Hannah Benjamin (#4) with 3.36 digs per set and Carly Wopat (#2) with 1.59blocks per set. The Pioneers, the Northeast Conference champions, are led by KimmeeRoleder (#9) with 3.94 kills per set, Jessica Colberg (#13) with 4.14 digs perset and Johanna Ovsenek (#15) with 0.67 blocks per set.

The winners of each of the first round matches will meet onSaturday, Dec. 3 at 10:00 p.m. ET.

Cedar Falls, Iowa,Subregional – McLeod Center (Northern Iowa)

Northern Iowa website:http://www.unipanthers.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=26200&SPID=90713&SPSID=626918

Friday, Dec. 2 at 6:00 p.m. ET – Florida (24-5)versus Missouri (21-12). The Gators, traveling for the first and second roundsfor only the second time ever in program history and appearing in their 21^ststraight tournament, are led by Kristy Jaeckel (#6) with 3.37 kills per set,Taylor Unroe (#55) with 3.61 digs per set and Betsy Smith (#14) with 0.97blocks per set. The Tigers, who defeated Northern Iowa in the first round lastseason, are led by Lisa Henning (#5) with 4.12 kills per set, PriscillaArmendariz (#10) with 3.91 digs per set and Whitney Little (#8) with 1.08blocks per set.

Friday, Dec. 2 at 8:00 p.m. ET - #6 Seed NorthernIowa (32-1) versus Niagara (25-8). The Panthers, winners of the Missouri ValleyConference who are on a 23-match winning streak, are led by Michelle Burow(#16) with 2.64 kills per set, Candice Burke (#19) with 4.76 digs per set andKrista DeGeest (#18) with 1.33 blocks per set. The Purple Eagles, who won theirthird straight MAAC title to earn an automatic bid to the tournament, are ledby Hannah Hedrick (#10) with 3.67 kills per set, Sam Morgan (#5) with 5.96 digsper set and Amanda Wilken (#7) with 0.71 blocks per set. This will be secondmeeting between the two schools, with the first a three set UNI win in 2003.

The winners of each of the first round matches will meet onSaturday, Dec. 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Honolulu, Hawaii,Regional

Los Angeles, Calif., Subregional– Galen Center (Southern California)

Tournament Central:http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/112911aad.html

Friday, Dec. 2 at 8:00 p.m. ET – Tulsa (27-6) versusOklahoma (21-11). The Golden Hurricane, the Conference USA champions, are ledby Tyler Henderson (#7) with 4.81 kills per set, Jessica Adams (#1) with 4.86digs per set and Carly Boatwright (#8) with 0.70 blocks per set. The Sooners,making their eighth overall appearance, are led by Suzy Boulavsky (#2) with3.28 kills per set, Maria Fernanda (#4) with 4.96 digs per set and SallieMcLaurin (#14) with 1.35 blocks per set. The two teams met last year in theNCAA second round, with Oklahoma winning in five.

Friday, Dec. 2 at 10:00 p.m. ET - #7 Seed SouthernCalifornia (25-4) versus Yale (18-6). The Women of Troy, the Pac 12 champion,are led by Alex Jupiter (#7) with 4.45 kills per set, Natalie Hagglund (#3)with 5.03 digs per set and Lauren Williams (#8) with 0.80 blocks per set. TheBulldogs, winners of the Ivy League making their third tournament appearance,are led by Mollie Rogers (#9) with 3.26 kills per set, Maddie Rudnick (#5) with4.63 digs per set and McHaney Carter (#3) with 0.68 blocks per set. This willbe the first meeting between the two schools.

The winners of each of the first round matches will meet onSaturday, Dec. 3 at 10:00 p.m. ET.

Honolulu, Hawaii,Subregional – Stan Sheriff Center (University of Hawaii)

Hawaii website: http://hawaiiathletics.com/index.aspx?path=wvball

Thursday, Dec. 1 at 10:00 p.m. ET – Oregon (21-9)versus Colorado State (23-5). The Ducks, reaching the postseason for the fifthtime in the last six seasons, are led by Alaina Bergsma (#2, and who was alsocrowned Miss Oregon USA on Sunday) with 4.44 kills per set, Haley Jacob (#9)with 4.29 digs per set and Ariana Williams (#7) with 0.61 blocks per set (67total blocks). The Rams, the Mountain West Conference champions, are led byKatelyn Steffan (#4) with 3.66 kills per set, Izzy Gaulia (#1) with 4.59 digsper set and Megan Plourde (#5) with 1.68 blocks per set. This will be thesecond meeting between the two schools, with the last a 2-1 Oregon win in 1984.

Thursday, Dec. 1 at 11:59 p.m. ET - #10 Seed Hawaii(29-1) versus Northern Colorado (22-8). The Rainbow Wahine, the WAC Championwho have won their last 24 matches, are led by Kanani Danielson (#5) with 4.04kills per set and 2.95 digs per set and Brittany Hewitt (#4) with 1.35 blocksper set. The Bears, the Big Sky Conference regular-season and tournamentchampions, are led by Kelley Arnold (#17) with 3.87 kills per set, AmandaArterburn (#2) with 5.21 digs per set and Andrea Spaustat (#9) with 0.90 blocksper set. This will be the first meeting between the two schools.

The winners of each of the first round matches will meet onFriday, Dec. 2 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Malibu, Calif.,Subregional – Firestone Fieldhouse (Pepperdine)

Pepperdine website:http://www.pepperdinesports.com/sports/w-volley/pepp-w-volley-body.html

Thursday, Dec. 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET – North Carolina(23-8) versus California (26-6). The Tar Heels, making their third NCAAappearance in the last four years and 13^th overall, are led by EmilyMcGee (#11) with 3.96 kills per set, Kaylie Gibson (#4) with 4.66 digs per setand Chaniel Nelson (#10) with 1.01 blocks per set. The Golden Bears, whofinished third in the Pac-12, are led by Tarah Murrey (#4) with 4.27 kills perset, Robin Rostratter (#2) with 5.17 digs per set and Kat Brown (#11) with 1.21blocks per set. This will be the second meeting between the two schools, withthe first a 3-1 Cal win in 1983.

Thursday, Dec. 1 at 10:30 p.m. ET - #15 SeedPepperdine (22-6) versus Missouri State (22-8). The Waves, the West CoastConference champions, are led by Kim Hill (#13) with 3.90 kills per set, SteviRobinson (#10) with 3.55 digs per set and Samantha Cash (#16) with 1.25 blocksper set. The Bears, an at-large selection out of the Missouri Valley Conferencefor their seventh bid in the last nine seasons, are led by Karen Rivatto (#13)with 3.05 kills per set, Ashley Mason (#14) with 4.69 digs per set and CalliNorman (#21) with 1.06 blocks per set. Pepperdine leads the series 3-0, withthe last meeting in 1995.

The winners of each of the first round matches will meet onFriday, Dec. 2 at 10:00 p.m. ET.

Lincoln, Neb.,Subregional – NU Coliseum (University of Nebraska)

Nebraska website: http://www.huskers.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=100&SPID=23&SPSID=11

Thursday, Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m. ET – Kansas State(20-10) versus Wichita State (20-10). The Wildcats, one of seven Big 12 teamsin the tournament, are led by Kaitlynn Pelger (#17) with 4.12 kills per set and1.02 blocks per set and Kuulei Kabalis (#15) with 3.74 digs per set. TheShockers, who fell to Northern Iowa in the MVC conference tournament and aremaking their fifth-straight appearance, are led by Emily Adney (#6) with 3.49kills per set, Sarah Waldorf (#4) with 5.05 digs per set and Ashley Andrade(#28) with 1.07 blocks per set. The two teams last met in 2007, which was a 3-1Kansas State win.

Thursday, Dec. 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET - #2 Seed Nebraska(24-4) versus Jackson State (26-9). The Huskers, the Big Ten champions, are ledby Gina Mancuso (#7) with 3.54 kills per set, Lara Dykstra (#1) with 3.62 digsper set and Brooke Delano (#8) with 0.94 blocks per set (98 total blocks). TheTigers, the winners of the Southwestern Athletic Conference for its first-everNCAA berth, are led by Christine Edwards (#20) with 4.21 kills per set, DaedraCarline (#3) with 3.33 digs per set and Paige Williams (#5) with 1.26 blocksper set. This is the first meeting between the two schools.

A quick moment of recognition to all of the support staffswho rarely receive kudos for the great jobs they do and the long, odd hoursthey put in, especially during tournament time – the SIDs/media relations andmarketing directors, event staff/facility managers, athletic trainers, academic advisers, strength coaches and administrators.

Good luck to all of the programs – let’s see where this weektakes us!

The NCAA interactive bracket: http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/volleyball-women/d1/2011

NCAA Left Side Bracket Breakdown

2011-11-29T05:05:00.001-08:00

by Jen Armson-Dyer

A Look Ahead – NCAA Division I First/Second Rounds

What goes perfectly with an unpredictable year in women’scollege volleyball? Well, an unpredictable NCAA bracket of course! Read on foran overview of the left side of the bracket for the First and Second Rounds(tune in Wednesday for the right side of the bracket!)

Lexington, Ky.,Regional

Austin, Texas,Subregional – Gregory Gym (University of Texas)

Tournament Central: http://www.texassports.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/112811aad.html

Friday, Dec. 2 at 5:30 p.m. ET – Michigan State(21-11) versus Arizona (19-12). The Spartans finished sixth in the Big Ten andare led by Jenilee Rathje (#5) with 4.27 kills per set, Kori Moster (#1) with3.96 digs per set and Alexis Mathews (#18) with 1.29 blocks per set. TheWildcats finished seventh in the Pac-12 and are led by Madison Kingdon (#9)with 3.46 kills per set, Candace Nicholson (#33) with 3.96 kills per set andCursty Jackson (#13) with 0.92 blocks per set. This will be the first meetingbetween the two schools since 1990.

Friday, Dec. 2 at 8:00 p.m. ET - #1 Seed Texas (22-4)versus Texas State (27-7). The Longhorns finished first in the Big 12 and areled by Haley Eckerman (#10) with 3.51 kills per set, Sydney Yogi (#15) with3.45 digs per set and Rachael Adams (#5) with 1.14 blocks per set. The Bobcatsearned an automatic bid after winning the Southland Conference tournament (andregular season) and are led by Melissa Toth (#13) with 3.01 kills per set,Laura Whalen (#8) with 3.15 digs per set and Ashlee Hilbun (#10) with 1.16blocks per set. This will be the 66^th meeting between the twoschools, including the fifth time in NCAA action.

The winners of each of the first round matches will meet onSaturday, Dec. 3 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

College Station, Texas,Subregional – Reed Arena (Texas A&M)

Tournament Central: http://www.aggieathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=632712&SPID=93242&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205339625&DB_OEM_ID=27300

Thursday, Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m. ET – Kentucky (26-5)versus Dayton (25-6). The Wildcats finished tied for second in the SEC withFlorida and are led by Ashley Frazier (#4) with 3.12 kills per set, StephanieKlefot (#11) with 4.75 digs per set and Becky Pavan (#22) with 1.06 blocks perset. The Flyers won the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament and are ledby Rachel Krabacher (#2) with 4.53 kills per set, Paige Vargas (#3) with 4.74digs per set and Megan Campbell (#12) with 1.43 blocks per set. Dayton leadsthe all-time series 2-1 with the last meeting a 3-0 Flyer win in 2002.

Thursday, Dec. 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET - #16 Seed TexasA&M (22-7) versus Lipscomb (20-10). The Aggies finished third in the Big 12and are led by Kelsey Black (#2) with 3.27 kills per set, Megan Pendergast (#3)with 4.03 digs per set and Lindsey Miller (#14) with 1.14 blocks per set. TheBison captured their third straight Atlantic Sun title and are led by KayceeGreen (#10) with 3.52 kills per set, Stephanie Rex (#7) with 3.80 digs per setand Katie Rose (#4) with 0.80 blocks per set. This will be the first meetingbetween the two schools.

The winners of each of the first round matches will meet onFriday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Los Angeles, Calif.,Subregional – Wooden Center (UCLA)

UCLA website: http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/w-volley/ucla-w-volley-body.html

Friday, Dec. 2 at 8:30 p.m. ET – Long Beach State(23-6) versus San Diego (27-4). The 49ers claimed the Big West title, will bemaking their 25^th-consecutive NCAA appearance and are led by HaleighHampton (#8) with 2.94 kills per set (323 total kills) and 1.57 blocks per setand Lauren Minkel (#15) with 3.90 digs per set. The Toreros finished second inthe West Cost Conference and are led by Chloe Ferrari (#2) with 2.93 kills perset (325 total kills), Kandiss Anderson (#10) with 4.28 digs per set and KatieHoekman (#9) with 0.91 blocks per set. This will be the second consecutiveseason these two teams have met in the first round of the NCAA tournament, withLong Beach State winning last year’s meeting in three.

Friday, Dec. 2 at 11:00 p.m. ET - #9 Seed UCLA (24-6)versus Maryland-Eastern Shore (24-6). The Bruins finished second in the Pac-12and are led by Rachael Kidder (#11) with 4.59 kills per set, Lainey Gera (#6)with 4.87 kills per set and Mariana Aquino (#12) with 1.02 blocks per set (83total blocks). The Hawks claimed the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for theirfirst-ever NCAA bid and are led by Saitaua Iosia (#19) with 4.14 kills per set,Rebecca Prado (#8) with 3.11 digs per set and Ndidi Ibe (#13) with 0.98 blocksper set.

The winners of each of the first round matches will meet onSaturday, Dec. 3 at 10:00 p.m. ET.

University Park, Pa.,Subregional – Rec Hall (Penn State)

Penn State website:http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/w-volley/psu-w-volley-body.html

Friday, Dec. 2 at 5:00 p.m. ET – Delaware (20-12) versusAmerican (23-10). The Blue Hens, winners of the Colonial Athletic Association,are led by Katie Hank (#2) with 3.25 kills per set, Cara Rosehill (#1) with4.19 digs per set and Karina Evans (#14) with 1.03 blocks per set. The Eagles,the Patriot League Champions, are led by Sara Rishell (#1) with 3.15 kills perset and 1.03 blocks per set and Juliana Crum (#5) with 2.59 digs per set. Thiswill be the 15^th meeting between the two schools and the first since2000.

Friday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET - #8 Seed Penn State(23-7) versus Liberty (20-12). The Nittany Lions, the four-time defending NCAAChampion, finished tied for second in the Big Ten and are led by Deja McClendon(#18) with 3.59 kills per set, Ali Longo (#23) with 3.31 digs per set and KatieSlay (#16) with 1.44 blocks per set. The Flames won the Big South title and areled by Lillie Happel (#12) with 3.39 kills per set, Kelly Haseman (#10) with4.42 digs per set and Loren Thomas (#21) with 1.32 blocks per set.

The winners of each of the first round matches will meet onSaturday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Minneapolis, Minn.,Regional

West Lafayette, Ind.,Subregional – Holloway Gym (Purdue)

Tournament Central: http://www.purduesports.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/pur-w-volley-ncaa-11.html

Friday, Dec. 2 at 5:00 p.m. ET – Ball State (25-7)versus Louisville (23-8). Ball State, one of four teams out of the Mid-Americanconference, is led by Kara Bates (#1) with 3.25 kills per set, Catie Fredrich(#16) with 4.61 digs per set and Kelsey Brandl (#15) with 0.75 blocks per set.Louisville, the Big East regular-season champion, is led by Lola Arslanbekova(#9) with 4.93 kills per set, Caitlin Welch (#1) with 4.39 digs per set andTanya Lukyanenko (#11) with 1.08 blocks per set. The two teams last met in NCAAaction in 2002, with Louisville coming out on top in three.

Friday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET - #5 Seed Purdue(27-4) versus Morehead State (26-7). The Boilermakers, who tied for second inthe Big Ten with Penn State and Illinois, are led by Ariel Turner (#8) with4.92 kills per set, Blair Bashen (#14) with 4.04 digs per set and Kierra Jones(#12) with 1.24 blocks per set. The Eagles, the Ohio Valley regular-season andtournament champions who earned their first-ever NCAA bid, are led by EllieRoberson (#8) with 3.89 kills per set, Leslie Schellhaas (#10) with 5.41 digsper set and Laura McDermott (#2) with 0.97 blocks per set.

The winners of each of the first round matches will meet onSaturday, Dec. 3 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Tallahassee, Fla.,Subregional – Tully Gym (Florida State)

Florida State website:http://www.seminoles.com/sports/w-volley/fsu-w-volley-body.html

Friday, Dec. 2 at 4:30 p.m. ET – Cincinnati (26-9)versus Samford (29-4). The Bearcats, who earned an automatic bid with its firstBig East tournament title, are led by Jordanne Scott (#8) with 3.48 kills perset, Emily MacIntyre (#15) with 4.02 digs per set and Becca Refenes (#11) with1.13 blocks per set. The Bulldogs, winners of the Southern Conference, are ledby Elizabeth Neisler (#7) with 3.95 kills per set, Alexis Bauer (#13) with 4.42digs per set and Lauren Hutchinson (#11) with 0.98 blocks per set. This will bethe first meeting between the two schools.

Friday, Dec. 2 at 7:00 p.m. ET - #12 Seed FloridaState versus Albany (N.Y.). The Seminoles, the Atlantic Coast Conferencechampions, are led by Jekaterina Stepanova (#3) with 3.26 kills per set, KatieMosher (#2) with 4.57 digs per set and Ashley Neff (#14) with 1.61 blocks perset. The Great Danes, the America East Conference winners, are led by CaseyWright (#10) with 3.37 kills per set and 0.81 blocks per set and LaurieGonzalez (#9) with 5.33 digs per set. This will be the second meeting of theyear between the two teams, as FSU claimed a 3-0 win on Aug. 27.

The winners of each of the first round matches will meet onSaturday, Dec. 3 at 6:00 p.m. ET.

Minneapolis, Minn.,Subregional – Sports Pavilion (Minnesota)

Tournament Central:http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/NCAA-Tourney-2011.html

Friday, Dec. 2 at 5:30 p.m. ET – Western Michigan(24-8) versus Washington (23-7). The Broncos, an at-large selection out of theMAC, are led by Jessica Brown (#14) with 2.98 kills per set, Lena Oliver (#1)with 5.70 digs per set and Ashley Turnage (#10) with 0.84 blocks per set. TheHuskies, who tied for fourth in the Pac-12, are led by Krista Vansant (#16)with 3.55 kills per set, Jenna Orlandini (#4) with 4.51 digs per set and LaurenBarfield (#8) with 1.29 blocks per set.

Friday, Dec. 2 at 8:30 p.m. ET - #13 Seed Minnesota(18-11) versus North Dakota State (25-8). The Golden Gophers, who finishedfifth in the Big Ten, are led by Ashley Wittman (#13) with 4.52 kills per set, JessicaGranquist (#2) with 4.58 digs per set and Ariana Filho (#11) with 0.90 blocksper set. The Bison, winners of the Summit League, are led by Brynn Joki (#10)with 3.21 kills per set, Andrea Henning (#11) with 4.38 digs per set and JannaDeyle (#4) with 0.84 blocks per set. This will be the third meeting between thetwo schools in the NCAA tournament, including last season when Minnesotaclaimed the match in three.

The winners of each of the first round matches will meet onSaturday, Dec. 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Ames, Iowa,Subregional – Hilton Coliseum (Iowa State)

Tournament Central: http://www.cyclones.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=46657&SPID=4251&DB_OEM_ID=10700&ATCLID=205337494

Friday, Dec. 2 at 6:00 p.m. ET – Northern Illinois (28-6)versus Miami (FL)(25-4). The Huskies, earning an at-large bid out of the MACfor their first appearance since 2001, are led by Lauren Wicinski (#12) with5.32 kills per set, Amber Walker (#2) with 3.89 digs per set and Mary Kurisch(#10) with 0.88 blocks per set. The Hurricanes, who finished second in the ACC,are led by Lane Carico (#2) with 3.70 kills per set, Ryan Shaffer (#10) with4.33 digs per set and Emani Sims (#16) with 0.95 blocks per set.

Friday, Dec. 2 at 8:30 p.m. ET - #4 Seed Iowa State(22-5) versus UW-Milwaukee (25-4). The Cyclones, who finished second in the Big12, are led by Carly Jenson (#1) with 3.92 kills per set, Kristen Hahn (#6)with 5.54 digs per set and Tenisha Matlock (#17) with 1.03 blocks per set. ThePanthers, winners of the Horizon League regular-season and tournament titles,are led by Kerri Schuh (#7) with 3.36 kills per set and 1.03 blocks per set andMorgan Potter (#1) with 4.80 digs per set. The two teams have met several timesover the last couple of years, including Iowa State wins in Ames in 2009 and2010.

The winners of each of the first and second round matcheswill meet on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a preview and links forthe right side of the bracket!

A look Ahead - Nov. 21-27

2011-11-21T19:47:00.001-08:00

by Jen Armson-Dyer

The last week of the regular season is upon us and manyconferences and NCAA hopes will be determined in this seven-day stretch. A lookat a few:

UCLA Hosts Pac 12Champ USC

While Southern California has already wrapped up the Pac 12title, this match is for bragging rights and also NCAA Tournament seedingrights as the No. 1 Trojans travel to cross-town rival No. 4 UCLA on Friday at5:00 p.m. PT at the John Wooden Center. A link to watch or listen to the matchcan be found at www.uclabruins.com.

USC clinched the first-ever Pac 12 title with wins overArizona State and Arizona last weekend while UCLA split with the same pair,falling to Arizona in straight sets. The previous meeting between the Trojansand Bruins was a three-set UCLA win on Sept. 9 at the Galen Center on USC’scampus in the league opener.

Southern California (24-4, 19-2 Pac 12, 11-2 on the road) isled by Alex Jupiter (#7) with 4.44 kills per set, Natalie Hagglund (#3) with5.10 digs per set and Lauren Williams (#8) with 0.79 blocks per set (71 totalblocks).

UCLA (24-5, 17-4 Pac 12, 10-1 at home) is led by RachaelKidder (#11) with 4.60 kills per set, Lainey Gera (#6) with 4.92 kills per setand Mariana Aquino (#12) with 1.02 blocks per set (83 total blocks).

Cal Travels ToStanford

Another important match for the NCAA puzzle is No. 6Stanford hosting No 10 California onFriday at 7:00 p.m. PT in a match that will be televised on FSN. Last weekendStanford split with Oregon (2-3) and Oregon State (3-1) while Californiadropped both matches to the same schools in five sets each. The last meetingbetween the Golden Bears and Cardinal this season was a four-set Cal win onSept. 13 in their Pac 12 opener.

Stanford (21-6, 15-6 Pac 12, 12-2 at home) is led by RachelWilliams (#6) with 4.31 kills per set, Hannah Benjamin (#4) with 3.39 digs perset and Carly Wopat (#2) with 1.61 blocks per set (163 total blocks).

California (25-6, 15-6 Pac 12, 9-2 on the road) is led by TarahMurrey (#4) with 4.21 kills per set, Robin Rostratter (#2) with 5.13 digs perset and Kat Brown (#11) with 1.21 blocks per set (116 total blocks).

Texas Travels toA&M, Hosts Oklahoma

The No. 5 Longhorns lead No. 14 Iowa State in the Big 12standings by one match but have two remaining, traveling to Texas A&M onWednesday at 5:00 p.m. CT and hosting Oklahoma on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. CT. Alink to watch Wednesday’s match can be found at www.aggieathletics.com whileSaturday’s match can be seen on the Longhorn Network or heard at www.texassports.com.

Texas currently leads the Big 12 standings with a 13-1league record with two matches remaining while Iowa State is second with a 13-2record and one match left. Texas A&M sits third with a 10-4 league mark andtwo matches remaining.

The last meeting between Texas and Texas A&M was a 3-0Longhorn win on Oct. 5 in Austin, while the last meeting between Texas andOklahoma was the Longhorns’ lone league loss of the season, a five-setheartbreaker on Sept. 28 in Norman, Okla.

Texas (20-4, 13-1 Big 12, 12-0 at home, 7-3 on the road) isled by Haley Eckerman (#10) with 3.45 kills per set, Sydney Yogi (#15) with3.57 digs per set and Rachael Adams (#5) with 1.12 blocks per set (99 totalblocks).

Texas A&M (21-6, 10-4 Big 12, 10-1 at home) is led byKelsey Black (#2) with 3.29 kills per set, Megan Pendergast (#3) with 4.02 digsper set and Lindsey Miller (#14) with 1.13 blocks per set (112 total blocks).

Oklahoma (20-10, 7-7 Big 12, 4-6 on the road) is led by SuzyBoulavsky (#2) with 3.32 kills per set, Maria Fernanda (#4) with 5.00 digs perset and Sallie McLaurin (#14) with 1.34 blocks per set (146 total blocks).

Penn State Takes OnOhio State

The Nittany Lions head to Columbus to battle Ohio State onWednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET in a match that is important for NCAA seedingpurposes for No. 9 Penn State (the top 16 seeds host the first/second rounds)and for RPI purposes for Ohio State (who currently sits at 49 and is receivingvotes in the AVCA Coaches Poll) to lobby for an at-large NCAA bid. A link towatch the match can be found at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.

The last meeting between the two schools was a three-setNittany Lion win on Oct. 19 in University Park, Pa. Penn State enters the weektied for second in the Big Ten with No. 8 Purdue and No. 7 Illinois with 14-4league records as No. 2 Nebraska has clinched at least a share of its first BigTen title with a 16-2 conference mark. Ohio State is tied with Wisconsin forseventh with 8-10 records.

Penn State (21-7, 14-4 Big Ten, 6-4 on the road) is led byDeja McClendon (#18) with 3.65 kills per set, Ali Longo (#23) with 3.23 digsper set and Katie Slay (#16) with 1.48 blocks per set (155 total blocks). TheNittany Lions also travel to Michigan State on Saturday night.

Ohio State (18-13, 8-10 Big Ten, 8-4 at home) is led by MariHole (#14) with 3.99 kills per set, Sarah Mignin (#7) with 4.28 digs per setand Kelli Barhorst (#2) with 0.99 blocks per set (112 total blocks). TheBuckeyes also travel to No. 22 Michigan on Friday night.

Tennessee BattlesKentucky Wednesday

An outright SEC title is on the line for No. 15 Tennesseewhen it hosts No. 16 Kentucky on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET in Knoxville, Tenn.A link to watch the match can be found at www.utladyvols.com.

The Lady Vols clinched at least a share of the league titleon Sunday afternoon with a three-set sweep of LSU, improving to 18-1 in theconference. The Wildcats sit second with a 17-2 record and with a win, wouldshare the title with Tennessee. The lone blemish on Tennessee’s conference markcame at the hands of … you guessed it … Kentucky, on Oct. 12 in a five-setthriller that had three of the four full sets go to 26-24 and finally ended15-13 in the fifth.

Tennessee (26-3, 18-1 SEC, 12-0 at home) is led by KelseyRobinson (#9) with 4.50 kills per set, Ellen Mullins (#10) with 3.75 digs perset and DeeDee Harrison (#8) and 1.13 blocks per set (120 total blocks).

Kentucky (26-4, 17-2 SEC, 7-3 on the road) is led by AshleyFrazier (#4) with 3.15 kills per set, Stephanie Klefot (#11) with 4.74 digs perset and Becky Pavan (#22) with 1.04 blocks per set (97 total blocks).

Here’s a link to the NCAA scoreboard: http://www.ncaa.com/content/womens-di-volleyball-scoreboard.What other matches are you looking forward to this week?

Weekend Highlights in D-I, D-II, and D-III

2011-11-18T10:10:00.001-08:00

by Jonathan Ketterer

Ladies and gentlemen, the weekend is finally here, and what better way to celebrate than with some quality entertainment in nearly all divisions of collegiate volleyball. Today we will get to see the Division III Elite Eight matchups, some second round action for the Division II Tournament, and as for Division I, we will be seeing the beginning of some conference tournaments as well as a big Pac-12 matchup between Stanford and Oregon tonight in Palo Alto.

Eastern's five seniors (left to right): Horning, Poole,
Schlager, Reinhold, Kummerer

First let me say that this whole season, I have been spending my Mondays working with Division III results and doing some occasional work with archived records and awards. With that said, I have had a rather emotional attachment to the Division III game, and naturally with the tournament, I have been a little more attentive than normal. Two teams that I have been watching win all season, SUNY Cortland and Eastern University, have managed to make it to the Elite Eight. Sadly, I am writing this blog as the Red Dragons of SUNY Cortland are playing against the Christopher Newport Captains, and I have no way of watching it (Editors note: CNU went on to defeat SUNY Cortland, 3-1. Yes, matches can be viewed live online, but his computer is a little slow to stream live matches - sorry Jonathan!) . Behind Region Coach of the Year Pam Hoerup, the Red Dragons have posted a Division III-best 42-1 record going into today's quarterfinal matchup, which is the first in school history for Cortland. Another great matchup today will be when St. Thomas (Minn.) takes on Eastern tonight at 6:30 EST. As I said, Eastern has been an interesting team to follow, especially considering that they have what some may consider two of the best players in Division III in Courtney Reinhold and Maria Horning. The two seniors both grabbed D-III All-American honors for the fourth time in their four years of competition, making them the first duo to ever do so. It also doesn't hurt that coach Mark Birtwistle won the Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year for a second straight year after the team claimed their fourth straight Freedom Conference Title.

In the Division II game, we have second round action involving some big matchups, one in particular that catches my eye is the match between four-time defending champion #3 Concordia-St. Paul and #7 University of Minnesota Duluth. Coach Brady Starkey has been a beast at the helm for the Golden Bears, and if you're wanting to hear something you don't already know, it might be that he just eclipsed the 300-win mark...in only his ninth season. Minnesota Duluth however looks to make things competitive after a decisive sweep of #10 Wayne State in the opening round yesterday.

In Division I news, the Sun Belt Tournament is underway as one of my favorite teams in the game and the #1 seed in the SBC tourney, Western Kentucky, looks to finish the season strong. The Atlantic-10 tournament is also getting underway, and the #1 seed Dayton Flyers are looking to defend their claim as two-time defending A-10 tourney champions, but look for #2 seed Xavier to play hard in what I might say is one of the most underrated rivalries in sports.The Pac-12 is hot right now with 4 of the top 5 teams in USC, UCLA, California, and Stanford, and if you're looking for a top-15 match this weekend, I'd like to think that Oregon at Stanford will be a great one. Oregon also plays at Cal on Saturday, and as a Ducks fan myself, I am rooting for them to repeat what they did last month when they beat both Cal and Stanford at home. Additionally the Ducks beat then-No.1 UCLA last Friday in an awesome comeback win in Eugene, before losing in a well-played effort against USC on Saturday.

In closing, I'd like to give a big shoutout to 2nd Team All-SBC and Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year Ashley Potts and her teammate 1st Team All-SBC setter Melanie Stutsman. Congrats ladies! And don't forget, if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns, e-mail me at jonathan.ketterer@avca.org. Thanks for reading!

A Look Ahead – Nov. 14-20

2011-11-15T05:14:00.001-08:00

by Jen Armson-Dyer

Purdue Travels ToPenn State

One match separates No. 8 Purdue and No. 12 Penn State afterthe Boilermakers took out then-No. 2 Nebraska in straight sets last weekend andthe Nittany Lions split with No. 7 Illinois and Northwestern. Penn State hostsPurdue on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. ET at Rec Hall. A link to watch the matchcan be found at www.GoPSUsports.com. No.4 Nebraska leads the conference with a 14-2 record while Illinois and Purdueare tied for second with 13-3 records and Penn State is fourth with 12-4.

The previous meeting between Penn State and Purdue was afour-set Nittany Lion win on Oct. 14 in West Lafayette, Ind.

Purdue (24-3, 13-3 Big Ten, 5-2 on the road) is led by ArielTurner (#8) with 4.82 kills per set, Blair Bashen (#14) with 4.04 digs per setand Kierra Jones (#12) with 1.31 blocks per set.

Penn State (19-7, 12-4 Big Ten, 11-2 at home) is led by DejaMcClendon (#18) and Ariel Scott (#1) with 3.59 and 3.49 kills per set,respectively, Ali Longo (#23) with 3.08 digs per set and Katie Slay (#16) with1.43 blocks per set.

San Diego HostsPepperdine

The No. 18 Waves dropped their first league match lastweekend to Saint Mary’s in a sweep andwill take on second-place and No. 20 San Diego Saturday afternoon at 1pm PT asone of their two remaining WCC matches. A link to watch the match can be foundat www.usdtoreros.com. The last meetingbetween the two schools was a three-set Pepperdine win on Oct. 24 in Malibu.

Pepperdine (19-6, 13-1 WCC, 7-4 on the road) is led by KimHill (#13) with 3.82 kills per set, Stevi Robinson (#10) with 3.52 digs per setand Samantha Cash (#16) with 1.20 blocks per set.

San Diego (26-3, 11-3 WCC, 13-1 at home) is led by AmberTatsch (#7) with 3.11 kills per set, Kandiss Anderson (#10) with 4.30 digs perset and Katie Hoekman (#9) with 0.93 blocks per set.

UC Santa BarbaraTakes On Cal State Northridge

In a match that is heavy more in RPI significance thanconference significance, UC Santa Barbara (RPI 53) travels to Cal StateNorthridge (RPI 118) on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. PT. The last meeting betweenthe two schools was a 3-0 UCSB win just two weeks ago.

UC Santa Barbara (16-11, 9-5 Big West, 4-6 on the road) isled by Stacey Schmidt (#11) and Leah Sully (#4) with 2.98 and 2.96 kills perset, respectively, Chelsey Lowe (#2) with 5.43 digs per set and Schmidt with0.94 blocks per set.

Cal State Northridge (14-12, 8-6 Big West, 5-3 at home) isled by Mahina Haina (#10) with 3.37 kills per set, Cindy Ortiz (#6) with 4.49digs per set and Casey Hinger (#1) with 1.15 blocks per set.

Big East Tournament

Louisville (21-7, 13-1) earned the top seed in the Big EastTournament after capturing its first conference regular-season title sincejoining the conference in 2005. The Cardinals have won four of the last fiveBig East Championships, including last season. Cincinnati (22-8, 12-2) pickedup the second seed while third-seed Marquette (22-8, 12-2) will play host tothe tournament on Nov. 18-20 at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee. Links towatch the Quarterfinals and Semifinals can be found on the Big East website at http://www.bigeast.org/Sports/WomensVolleyball/2011VolleyballChampionshipCentral.aspxand the Championship match will televised on ESPNU Sunday at 3:00 p.m. CT.

Rounding out the eight-team field is No. 4 seed Syracuse (19-11,8-6), No. 5 Notre Dame (15-11, 8-6), No. 6 Seton Hall (17-12, 8-6), No. 7Villanova (17-12, 8-6) and No. 8 Pittsburgh(18-12, 7-7).

CAA Tournament

The regular-season in the Colonial Athletic Conference wasone of the most competitive in recent history, with three teams recording 10wins and Delaware and Northeastern both finishing with 11-3 records. The BlueHens, winners of three of the past four CAA titles, earned the tie-breakercourtesy of sweeping the season series between the two schools. The CAATournament will be held Nov. 18-20 on Delaware’s Barbara Viera Court at theCarpenter Sports Building in Newark, Del. The winner of the tournament earnsthe league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Links to live stats and a freeweb stream can be found at www.bluehens.com.

The top-seed is the second straight for Delaware (18-12,11-3 CAA) and it will be Northeastern’s (21-5, 11-3 CAA) fifth tournamentappearance in the last six years. Other teams in the hunt for the bid arethird-seeded Towson (23-8, 10-4), fourth-seeded Georgia State (14-17, 8-6),fifth-seeded James Madison (19-10, 8-6) and sixth-seeded VCU (15-15, 8-6).

Here’s a link to the NCAA scoreboard: http://www.ncaa.com/content/womens-di-volleyball-scoreboard.What other matches are you looking forward to this week?

Some Thoughts on Sand Volleyball

2011-11-11T10:33:00.001-08:00

by Jonathan Ketterer

For this week's blog, I figured I would talk about something that has been one of my favorite parts of volleyball, and that is the sand game. As a kid, I always loved watching beach volleyball in the Olympics, and the way that Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh took the gold in 2004 and 2008 for the United States made the entertaining matches that much more enjoyable. With that said I am ecstatic about the concept of an annual college season for sand volleyball, and I think everyone involved with volleyball should be as well.

At past AVCA convention seminars (2007, 2008, and 2009), Coach Al Scates has had an ongoing series called "Tales from the Locker Room." I have had the opportunity to listen to a few of them over the past month or so, and if you are an AVCA member you can also access the audio files under their respective convention pages here. The reason I bring this up though is because during these lectures, Coach Scates routinely speaks of how the beach was always the place to be if you were a good volleyball player. In fact, he states that on many occasions, some of the best players he has ever watched were beach players who would routinely hang around the courts. Personally, it just makes sense to me, because with only two players on the court, each team has to have good reactive instincts and a great understanding of the importance of teamwork. So given that there exists some similar qualities that are needed in both the indoor and sand volleyball games, is it logical to think that one may be good training for the other? I would like to think so.

This example may be a little wild considering her outstanding career in both indoor and sand, but I'd like to think that Kerri Walsh was able to use her skills in indoor to help develop her outdoor game. Additionally, for girls who have the aspirations to play professionally, beach volleyball may be a great opportunity to reach that goal. Given that the market nowadays for professional volleyball may be small, I think that with the expansion of a sand division in the college game, there may be an increase in the market for professional sand players. One thing I will definitely be curious to see is how the schools are going to form their teams. It seems likely that adding another coach to the payroll may not come into question, but is it reasonable to assume that some of the women's indoor players will be playing competitively year round? For the sake of the student-athletes and their studies, I would doubt that players would want to be stressed with sports this much.

Another big draw for me with sand volleyball is that it may be a lot more accessible to players who are in areas where sand is prevalent, like Florida or California. In these areas, players have the ability to play pick-up on the beach like basketball, unlike indoor where times must be set aside to use courts.

In a chat I had with Pat Kelly, a player on the University of Kentucky's men's club volleyball team, he expressed that "most people associate volleyball with sand volleyball instead of indoor, so hopefully it will broaden the market for volleyball and make it a bigger sport." We also shared the same feelings about those who gain skills in indoor and move into sand competition. Although when I asked Pat if he had to choose between the two, he said that he felt his skills were more aimed toward the fast-pace of the indoor game. So with that said, there shouldn't be too much fear about outstanding indoor players being lost to the sand game, especially considering most athletes sacrifice one sports opportunity for another.

I hope you enjoyed hearing a bit about my thoughts, and as always, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, feel free to e-mail me at jonathan.ketterer@avca.org. Thanks for reading!

Editor's Note: The inaugural AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball Championships will be held in Gulf Shores, Alabama, April 27-29, 2012. Please click HERE to see the full AVCA release.

A Look Ahead – Nov. 7-13

2011-11-08T05:17:00.000-08:00

by Jen Armson-Dyer

With the conference seasons heading into the home stretch,there are several leagues that have key match-ups this week. Here's what's on tap:

UCLA & USC Head to Oregon

One of the biggest remaining Pac-12 tests for No. 1 UCLA andNo. 4 USC (besides against each other in the last conference match of theseason) is this weekend at No. 20 Oregon. The Ducks play host to the Bruins onFriday night at 7:00 p.m. PT and the Women of Troy on Saturday night at 7:00p.m. UCLA and USC are tied for the Pac-12 lead with 15-2 league records whileOregon sits tied with Washington for fifth with 10-6 marks. Cal and Stanfordare tied for third with 13-4 records.

The previous meeting between UCLA and Oregon was a four-gameBruin win on Oct. 15 and the last meeting between USC and Oregon was a four-setTrojan win on Oct. 14.

UCLA (22-3, 15-2 Pac-12, 9-3 on the road) is led by RachaelKidder (#11) with 4.60 kills per set, Lainey Gera (#6) with 4.84 digs per setand Mariana Aquino (#12) with 1.03 blocks per set.

USC (20-4, 15-2 Pac-12, 9-3 on the road) is led by AlexJupiter (#7) with 4.35 kills per set, Natalie Hagglund (#3) with 5.27 digs perset and Lauren Williams (#8) with 0.81 digs per set.

Oregon (17-7, 10-6 Pac-12, 8-3 at home) is led by AlainaBergsma (#2) with 4.60 kills per set, Haley Jacob (#9) with 4.24 digs per setand Milica Krstojevic (#17) with 0.69 blocks per set.

Nebraska Faces Purdue

Ten days after knocking off then-No. 5 Illinois, No. 10Purdue welcomes No. 2 Nebraska to West Lafayette on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.ET. A link to listen or watch can be found at www.purduesports.com.

The last meeting between the two teams was a four-gameHusker win on Oct. 7 in Lincoln, Neb. Nebraska leads the Big Ten standingswhile Illinois, Purdue and Penn State are all tied for second.

Nebraska (20-2, 13-1 Big Ten, 6-2 on the road) is led byGina Mancuso (#7) with 3.67 kills per set, Lara Dykstra (#1) with 3.58 digs perset and Hayley Thramer (#17) and Morgan Broekhuis (#12) with 1.31 and 0.95blocks per set.

Purdue (22-3, 11-3 Big Ten, 13-1 at home) is led by ArielTurner (#8) with 4.86 kills per set, Blair Bashen (#14) with 4.00 digs per setand Kierra Jones (#12) with 1.35 blocks per set.

Stanford, Cal Travel to Washington

Tied for third in the Pac-12, No. 3 Stanford and No. 5 Calhead north to take on No. 11 Washington. The Cardinal and Huskies meet onFriday night at 7:00 p.m. PT before the Golden Bears and Huskies meet onSaturday night at 7:00 p.m. PT. Links to watch both matches can be found at www.gohuskies.com

The previous meeting this season between Stanford andWashington was a three-set Cardinal win on Oct. 15. The last meeting betweenCal and Washington was a four-set Golden Bear win on Oct. 14.

Stanford (19-4, 13-4 Pac-12, 7-3 on the road) is led byRachel Williams (#6) with 4.30 kills per set, Hannah Benjamin (#4) with 3.24digs per set and Carly Wopat (#2) with 1.57 blocks per set.

California (23-4, 13-4 Pac-12, 7-2 on the road) is led by TarahMurrey (#4) with 4.15 kills per set, Robin Rostratter (#2) with 5.09 digs perset and Kat Brown (#11) and Shannon Hawari (#7) with 1.17 and 1.16 blocks perset, respectively.

Washington (18-6, 10-6 Pac-12, 9-1 at home) is led by KristaVansant (#16) with 3.39 kills per set, Jenna Orlandini (#4) with 4.38 kills perset and Bianca Rowland (#15) with 1.57 blocks per set.

Penn State Takes onIllinois

With both teams splitting matches last weekend and Purduehosting Nebraska, second place in the Big Ten is on the line when No. 9 PennState travels to No. 7 Illinois on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. CT. A link towatch the match can be found at www.fightingillini.com.

The previous meeting between the two squads was a five-setthriller with Illinois coming out on top 15-12 in the fifth.

Illinois (22-3, 11-3 Big Ten, 10-1 at home) is led byMichelle Bartsch (#6) and Colleen Ward (#4) with 3.83 and 3.65 kills per set,Jennifer Beltran (#3) with 4.16 digs per set and Anna Dorn (#5) with 1.31blocks per set.

Penn State (18-6, 11-3 Big Ten, 5-3 on the road) is led byAriel Scott (#1) and Deja McClendon (#18) with 3.55 and 3.42 kills per set, AliLongo (#23) with 2.95 digs per set and Katie Slay (#16) with 1.43 kills per set.

Miami, Florida StateHead to Duke

Duke plays host to ACC-leading Miami and No. 17 FloridaState in matches with league title implications. The Blue Devils take on Miamion Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. ET before facing Florida State on Sunday at 1:00p.m. ET. Links to watch both matches can be found at www.goduke.com.

Florida State leads the ACC as Miami sits second and NorthCarolina and Duke are tied for third. In the last meetings, Duke lost 3-0 toboth squads on the road.

Florida State (19-4, 13-0 ACC, 8-1 on the road) is led by JekaterinaStepanova (#3) with 3.18 kills per set, Katie Mosher (#2) with 4.65 digs perset and Ashley Neff (#14) with 1.71 blocks per set.

Miami (19-3, 10-3 ACC, 7-2 on the road) is led by LaneCarico (#2) with 3.55 kills per set, Ryan Shaffer (#10) with 4.44 digs per setand Ali Becker (#21) with 0.92 blocks per set.

Duke (15-7, 9-4 ACC, 10-1 at home) is led by Sophia Dunworth(#13) with 2.98 kills per set, Ali McCurdy (#5) with 5.61 digs per set andChristiana Gray (#11) with 0.95 blocks per set.

Interview Series: Part 5, with Penn State's Deja McClendon

2011-11-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

by Jonathan Ketterer

After the absence of last week's post, the Friday blog returns to the interview series with Penn State's star outside hitter Deja McClendon. Now a sophomore, Deja has been instrumental to the team's success this season, having played in all 82 sets and leading the squad with 275 kills. During her freshman season, Deja made an immediate impact playing in 122 of 123 sets, while recording 418 kills, which was second on the team to Blair Brown. In high school, she was honored as Miss Kentucky Volleyball, Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year, and as an Under Armour All-American. In her freshman season, she was also recognized as a standout player, garnering the awards of: AVCA Division I National Freshman of the Year, AVCA Second Team All-American, NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player, NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team, and First Team All-Big Ten. These honors however, may pale in comparison to the fact that she helped the Nittany Lions to their 4th straight NCAA title. To this point in the season, Penn State holds a 17-5 record, while riding a 6 game win streak which includes a home win over #1 Nebraska, in which Deja had a match-high 18 kills. I got a chance to get an interview with Deja this past week, and here's what she had to say.

(Photo courtesy of Jason C. York)

What's your favorite part about being a student athlete? What's your least favorite part?

Being a student athlete is like becoming a new addition to a huge multi-talented family. I've had such a great opportunity to meet people from all over the nation who are here for some of the same reasons that I am and I think that's an awesome perk. My least favorite part of being a student athlete is how much time it demands. I would love to join the multi-cultural club or take a pottery class but there’s not a lot of spare time during season.

What was it like to be a crucial part of defending the title and making it a 4-peat in your freshman season? Was it fun to be a go-to player?

I was lucky to have had the chance to learn from and play next to legends like Blair Brown, Arielle Wilson and Alyssa D’errico. To say I helped get them a 4^th ring is an insane thought to me. Playing with girls who are so competitive is always fun, and I think they are the reason that I was confident enough to step up in some of the more crucial matches of the season.

How would you say you have progressed from last season to this season?

This season has been a huge challenge in a different way for everyone. I’ve struggled trying to adjust from playing a secondary role last year to taking on a primary role this year. My overall goal is to be more of a vocal leader. I think on the court I have made improvements in defense compared to last year.

What was it like being recognized by the AVCA as an All-American?

To me, being named an AVCA All-American is one of the highest honors in collegiate volleyball. I can remember going to the banquet and seeing people like Megan Hodge and Alisha Glass accepting their awards. It was like a dream to actually be on the stage as a freshman.

Who has helped you the most in your volleyball career?

It’s extremely difficult to narrow it down to one person who has helped me the most, but I can definitely say that without the support of my parents, I would never have played college volleyball. Although my mom doesn’t play sports, she is one of the most competitive people I know, and it rubbed off on me. My dad, who played college basketball, has given me a passion for sports that I will never lose. They both taught me to work hard and to push myself.

A lot of girls talk about balancing their studies and volleyball, and how it is difficult. Do you have any strategies that help you out? (i.e. tutors, or a strict schedule/routine?)

(AP Photo/ Charlie Riedel)

During season it is always a struggle to keep a good balance between volleyball and school. Our academic advisors help us a lot when it comes to scheduling the right classes. What helps the most is that they make it a point to not over schedule in the fall so I never feel overwhelmed. Then in the spring when volleyball is less demanding, we take the more challenging courses.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

My dream is to play professional volleyball. I have no clue where, but I would love to have that experience in 5 years. If that doesn’t work out, I hope to be working in advertising.

Describe how playing in the Big Ten is different than any of your non-conference games.

The Big Ten is a conference where every game is going to be competitive because every team is good. Even the easiest games of the year can be challenging. To win the Big Ten, you can’t take any games off, because it is really easy to let it slip away. Our pre-season games were more of a mixture. We played a good amount of unranked teams to balance out the tough matches against Stanford, Texas and Cal.

I'd like to thank Deja for being able to take the time to do this interview, and I wish her and the Nittany Lions nothing but the best as the season continues. After their huge home win last Saturday, Penn State returns to action tonight as they take on Minnesota in Minneapolis at 9:00. If you'd like to read a more in-depth biography of Deja, you can visit her profile on Penn State's athletics website: Deja McClendon Profile. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, feel free to e-mail me at jonathan.ketterer@avca.org. Thanks for reading!

A Look Ahead

2011-10-31T19:52:00.000-07:00

by Jen Armson-Dyer

If you weren’t already convinced that this season women’sDivision I season has no real clear frontrunner for the NCAA title, lastweekend should have convinced you. All of the teams in the top five lost, andthis week’s AVCA poll has seven different teams receiving first place votes.Here’s a look at some key matchups this week:

UCLA, USC HostWashington

Newly-minted No. 1 UCLA and No. 4 USC play host to No. 10Washington on Friday and Saturday. Last weekend the Bruins claimed victoriesover Cal and Stanford while the Women of Troy split with the same teams, fallingin three to the Cardinal before sweeping the Golden Bears. The Huskies defeatedboth Arizona and Arizona State. Links to listen and watch the UCLA/Washingtoncontest on Friday at 7:00 p.m. PT can be found at www.uclabruins.com. A link to watch theUSC/Washington match on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. PT can be found at www.usctrojans.com.

The previous meeting this season between Washington and UCLAresulted in a three-game sweep by the Huskies on Sept. 17 in Seattle , whilethe last matchup between Washington and Southern California ended with athree-game Trojan victory on Sept. 16, which was Washington’s first loss of theseason. UCLA and USC currently sit atop the Pac 12 standings while Washingtonis fifth behind Cal and Stanford.

UCLA (20-3, 13-2 Pac 12, 7-0 at home) is led by RachaelKidder (#11) with 4.54 kills per set, Lainey Gera (#6) with 4.86 digs per setand Mariana Aquino (#12) with 1.03 blocks per set.

Southern California (18-4, 13-2 Pac 12, 6-1 at home) is ledby Alex Jupiter (#8) with 4.38 kills per set and 0.48 aces per set, NatalieHagglund (#3) with 5.25 digs per set and Lauren Williams (#8) with 0.79 blocksper set.

Washington (18-4, 10-4 Pac 12, 5-3 on the road) is led by KristaVansant (#16) with 3.41 kills per set, Jenna Orlandini (#4) with 4.36 digs perset and Bianca Rowland (#15) with 1.67 blocks per set.

Illinois Heads ToPurdue

After defeating Wisconsin and falling to No. 15 Minnesota,No. 5 Illinois continues its battle through the treacherous Big Ten season witha trip to No. 11 Purdue. The match will be on the Big Ten Network on Wednesday,Nov. 2 at 8:00 p.m. ET, so you can be sure the black-clad student section inWest Lafayette will be out in full force. A link to listen to the match canalso be found at www.purduesports.com.

The previous meeting between the two schools was a four-setIllini win on Oct. 1 in Champaign, Ill. Currently, Illinois sits second in theBig Ten while Purdue is fourth.

Illinois (21-2, 10-2 Big Ten, 7-1 on the road) is led byMichelle Bartsch (#6) and Colleen Ward (#4) with 3.96 and 3.61 kills per set,respectively, Jennifer Beltran (#3) with 3.96 digs per set and Anna Dorn (#5)with 1.31 blocks per set.

Purdue (20-3, 9-3 Big Ten, 11-1 at home) is led by ArielTurner (#8) with 4.85 kills per set, Blair Bashen (#14) with 3.96 digs per setand Kierra Jones (#12) with 1.28 blocks per set.

Oklahoma Hosts IowaState

Both squads will be looking to get back on track as No. 25Oklahoma hosts No. 13 Iowa State on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. CT in a match thatwill be aired on ESPNU. Last weekend the Cyclones dropped a three-game match atTexas and the Sooners fell in three at Missouri.

The previous meeting between the schools was a four-gameIowa State win on Oct. 8 in Ames, Iowa. Texas sits atop the league standingswhile Iowa State is second and Oklahoma and Texas A&M are tied for third.

Iowa State (17-4, 8-2 Big 12, 8-2 on the road) is led byCarly Jenson (#1) with 3.75 kills per set and 3.28 digs per set, Kristen Hahn(#6) with 5.49 digs per set and Tenisha Matlock (#17) with 0.97 blocks per set.

Oklahoma (19-6, 6-3 Big 12, 13-0 at home) is led by SuzyBoulavsky (#2) with 3.28 kills per set, Maria Fernanda (#4) with 4.94 digs perset and Sallie McLaurin (#14) with 1.42 blocks per set.

Marquette Travels ToCincinnati, Louisville

Marquette takes to the road with implications for theregular-season Big East title on the line as it faces Cincinnati and Louisvilleon Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. CT each day. A link to watch the GoldenEagles-Bearcats match on Saturday can be found at www.GoBearcats.com. A link to watch theGolden Eagles-Cardinals match on Sunday can be found at www.uoflsports.com.

This will be the first meeting of the season between theschools. Marquette sits atop the Big East standings while Louisville is secondand Cincinnati is third.

Marquette (20-6, 10-0 Big East, 9-3 on the road) is led by CiaraJones (#1) and Ashley Beyer (#5) with 3.60 and 3.32 kills per set,respectively, Julie Jeziorowski (#6) with 5.08 digs per set and DanielleCarlson (#8) with 80 total blocks, good for 0.84 blocks per set.

Cincinnati (18-8, 8-2 Big East, 7-0 at home) is led by MissyHarpenau (#14) and Jordanne Scott (#8) with 3.43 and 3.17 kills per set,respectively, Emily Macintyre (#15) with 3.91 digs per set and Becca Refenes(#11) with 1.11 blocks per set.

Louisville (17-6, 9-1 Big East, 7-1 at home) is led by LolaArslanbekova (#9) with 5.00 kills per set, Caitlin Welch (#1) with 4.22 digsper set and Tanya Lukyanenko (#11) with 1.14 blocks per set.

Western Michigan,Northern Illinois Host Ball State

The Cardinals take to the road for two important conferencematchups. Ball State travels to Western Michigan on Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET beforefacing Northern Illinois on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. CT.

The previous meeting between Ball State and the two schoolsresulted in a 3-1 Cardinals win over Northern Illinois on Sept. 30 and a 3-1win over Western Michigan on Oct. 1. Ball State sits atop the MAC Weststandings as Northern Illinois and Western Michigan are tied for second in thedivision.

Ball State (22-3, 11-1 MAC, 7-3 on the road) is led by KaraBates (#1) with 3.09 kills per set, Catie Fredrich (#16) with 4.65 digs per setand Kelsey Brandl (#15) with 71 total blocks for 0.77 blocks per set.

Western Michigan (21-5, 10-2 MAC, 9-1 at home) is led by JessicaBrown (#14) with 3.13 kills per set, Lena Oliver (#1) with 5.92 digs per setand Ashley Turnage (#10) with 0.86 blocks per set.

Northern Illinois (21-5, 10-2 MAC, 9-3 at home) is led byLauren Wicinski (#12) with 5.50 kills per set, Amber Walker (#2) with 3.86 digsper set and Mary Kurisch (#10) with 0.92 blocks per set.

A Look Ahead – Oct. 24-30

2011-10-24T17:08:00.001-07:00

by Jen Armson-Dyer

Nebraska Faces RoadTests At Ohio State, Penn State

Fresh off a huge win over then-No. 1 Illinois at home, the newNo. 1 Huskers take to the road to battle No. 23 Ohio State and No. 8 Penn Stateon Friday and Saturday, Oct. 28 and 29 in Columbus, Ohio (St. John Arena) andUniversity Park, Pa., (Rec Hall) respectively. The Nebraska-Penn State matchwill be shown live on the Big Ten Network at 8:00 p.m. ET.

The Huskers hold a 8-3 series advantage over Ohio State,including a 3-1 win earlier this year in Lincoln, Neb., while Nebraska leadsPenn State 12-6 all-time, including claiming a five-set thriller to open theBig Ten season on Sept. 21. Nebraska leads the Big Ten standings at the half-waymark while Penn State sits third and Ohio State is tied for fifth with fourother schools.

Nebraska (17-1, 10-0 Big Ten, 5-1 on the road) is led byGina Mancuso (#7) with 3.64 kills per set, Lara Dykstra (#1) with 3.70 digs perset and Hayley Thramer (#17) with 1.36 blocks per set.

Ohio State (15-8, 5-5 Big Ten, 6-2 at home) is led by MariHole (#14) with 4.01 kills per set, Sarah Mignin (#7) with 4.57 digs per set andKelli Barhorst (#2) with 1.10 blocks per set.

Penn State (15-5, 8-2 Big Ten, 9-2 at home) is led by DejaMcClendon (#18) and Ariel Scott (#1) with 3.35 and 3.30 kills per set,respectively, Ali Longo (#23) with 2.78 digs per set and Katie Slay (#16) with1.42 blocks per set.

Pac-12 Showdowns:Southern California & UCLA at California & Stanford

The Southern California schools travel to the NorthernCalifornia battlefield as the No. 4 Bruinsface the No. 2 Golden Bears and the No. 4 Women of Troy face the No. 5 Cardinalon Friday. On Saturday, UCLA plays at Stanford and USC plays at Cal. Allmatches are slated for 7:00 p.m. PT, with the USC/Cal match being televised onFSN.

Earlier this year, Cal dropped both contests to USC and UCLA– the Golden Bears’ only losses of the year to date. Stanford also fell to bothschools at the end of September. Currently, USC sits atop the Pac 12 standingswith a 12-1 league record while Cal and UCLA are second with 11-2 conferencerecords and Stanford is third with a 10-3 mark (with its other league loss atthe hands of Cal).

California (21-2, 11-2 Pac 12, 14-0 at home) is led by TarahMurrey (#4) with 4.18 kills per set, Robin Rostratter (#2) with 5.31 digs per setand Shannon Hawari (#7) with 1.28 blocks per set.

Stanford (16-3, 10-3 Pac 12, 10-0 at home) is led by RachelWilliams (#6) with 4.39 kills per set, Karissa Cook (#15) with 3.14 digs perset and Carly Wopat (#2) with 1.54 blocks per set.

Southern California (17-3, 12-1 Pac 12, 8-1 on the road) isled by Alex Jupiter (#7) with 4.31 kills per set, Natalie Hagglund (#3) with5.32 digs per set and Lauren Williams (#8) with 0.82 blocks per set.

UCLA (18-3, 11-2 Pac 12, 7-3 on the road) is led by RachaelKidder (#11) with 4.45 kills per set, Lainey Gera (#6) with 4.88 digs per setand Mariana Aquino (#12) with 1.10 blocks per set.

Minnesota Travels ToIllinois

Back on its home turf, the No. 3 Fighting Illini play hostto No. 15 Minnesota on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. CT (also hosting Wisconsinon Friday night). Links to watch and listen can be found on the Illinoiswebsite at www.fightingillini.com. Earlierthis year, Illinois escaped Minneapolis with a five-set win to open conferenceplay.

Illinois (20-1, 9-1 Big Ten, 9-0 at home) is led by MichelleBartsch (#6) and Colleen Ward (#4) with 3.93 and 3.71 kills per set,respectively, Jennifer Beltran (#3) with 3.99 digs per set and Anna Dorn (#5)with 1.27 blocks per set.

Minnesota (12-7, 5-5 Big Ten, 5-3 on the road) is led byAshley Wittman (#13) with 4.55 kills per set, Jessica Granquist (#2) with 4.61digs per set and Ariana Filho (#11) with 0.97 blocks per set.

Iowa State Takes OnTexas

In a battle for the lead in the Big 12, No. 14 Iowa Statetravels to No. 9 Texas on Friday at 8:00 p.m. CT. The match will be availableon the Longhorn Network and also via audio on Texas’ website at www.texassports.com. Earlier this year,the Longhorns claimed a five-set win over the Cyclones in Ames on Oct. 2.

Texas (14-4, 7-1 Big 12, 9-0 at home) is led by HayleyEckerman (#10) with 3.29 kills per set, Sydney Yogi (#15) with 3.42 digs perset and Rachael Adams (#5) with 1.23 blocks per set.

Iowa State (16-3, 7-1 Big 12, 8-2 on the road) is led byCarly Jenson (#1) with 3.80 kills per set and Kristen Hahn (#6) with 5.59 digsper set.

Tennessee HostsFlorida

Two more squads sitting atop their conference will face offon Friday when No. 13 Florida travels to No. 20 Tennessee. A link to watch willbe on Tennessee’s website at www.utladyvols.comand audio can be found on Florida’s website at www.gatorzone.com. Earlier this year Tennesseenarrowly escaped Gainesville with the win (18-16 in the fifth) on Sept. 25.

Tennessee (18-3, 11-1 SEC, 7-0 at home) is led by KelseyRobinson (#9) with 4.52 kills per set, Ellen Mullins (#10) with 3.83 digs perset and DeeDee Harrison (#8) with 1.08 blocks per set.

Florida (17-3, 10-1 SEC, 6-1 on the road) is led by KristyJaeckel (#6) with 3.57 kills per set, Taylor Unrow (#55) with 3.62 kills perset and Betsy Smith (#14) with 1.02 blocks per set.

West Coast ConferenceShowdown

No. 17 San Diego travels to No. 18 Pepperdine Monday nightat 7:00 p.m. PT. A live broadcast of the match is available at www.pepperdinesports.com. This willbe the first meeting of the season for the two squads.

San Diego (22-1, 7-1 WCC, 6-1 on the road) is led by AmberTatsch (#7) with 3.38 kills per set, Kandiss Anderson (#10) with 4.12 digs perset and Katie Hoekman (#9) with 0.95 blocks per set.

Pepperdine (14-5, 8-0 WCC, 5-1 at home) is led by Kim Hill(#13) with 3.63 kills per set, Stevi Robinson (#10) with 3.34 digs per set andSamantha Cash (#16) with 1.19 blocks per set.

Interview Series: Part 4, with KU Assistant Coach Todd Chamberlain

2011-10-21T11:41:00.000-07:00

by Jonathan Ketterer

For this week's blog, I figured I would shake things up a bit and feature a coach rather than a current player. This week's interviewee is the University of Kansas' Assistant Coach Todd Chamberlain. Todd, like myself and last week's interviewee Kelsey Dunaway, is a graduate of St. Martha grade school in Louisville. He attended Trinity High School and after being the volleyball team's MVP during his junior and senior years, went on to play at Ball State University. While at Ball State, Coach Chamberlain made the 1st Team All-MIVA as a senior while playing as an Outside Hitter, and earlier in his career, in 2006, he played on the Youth National Team which competed in a tournament in Brazil. Chamberlain's coaching career has seen great success as an assistant, helping teams to victory in the Indiana 2A-State Championship (Burris High School '08, '09) and in the AAU and JVDA National Championships (Munciana Samurai 18-1 Club '09). Todd also held a position as a volunteer assistant coach at Kentucky in 2009, when the Wildcats amassed a 29-5 record and a Sweet 16 appearance. In his second year at Kansas though, Chamberlain works with the outside attackers and recruiting, as well as being the team's video coordinator and alumni contact. I spoke with him yesterday afternoon for a bit, and take a look at what he had to say.

What was it like representing the U.S.?

I was just a freshman in college at the time, and we went to a tournament down in Brazil. It was a lot of fun, and it gave me lot of pride in our country, plus being able to play with other talented guys from America made it a great experience. You're used to playing for your team or your school, but being able to play for your country was something different, and it was a whole lot of fun.

If you could go back and change one thing about your playing career, what would it be?

I would've starting playing outside [hitter] at a younger age, because I started out at middle in club, and I didn't start playing outside until college.

Are you still able to play?

Not as much as I'd like, but I still get involved with adult tournaments whether it be grass, sand, or even indoor. But normally I'm pretty busy with recruiting so it's kind of hard to work playing into my schedule.

Speaking of recruiting, how has the transition been from strictly coaching to where you are now?

It's different, it's much more wide-range. We are watching players from Texas, Chicago, Nebraska, Kansas City, kids from all over the place, and it's a much broader scope definitely, because you have to know volleyball contacts in almost every city.

What are your aspirations for coaching?

I definitely want to be a head coach. I really want to be someone who makes the decisions and sees out the direction of the program. At what level that will be though, I really can't say quite yet, but we'll see how it plays out.

What do you enjoy most about being a coach?

I really like being in the gym everyday, and seeing the team come together and grow. When everyone is clicking and working as a unit, it gets very exciting.

What do you least enjoy about being a coach?

When the team doesn't quite accomplish the goals that they set out for. It's disheartening to not meet those goals, especially when the girls work and train so hard, then when we face a loss, it's just really tough.

A lot of our interviewees have had the opportunity of playing for young coaching staffs. What are your views on young versus older coaching staffs?

I think that having as much experience as possible is extremely valuable. Young coaches have a lot to learn and may not understand how to confront certain situations, and in those times, I think it's important to have composure, which experience brings. I know I'm guilty of it at times. I think it also depends of the level at which you're coaching, because at the college level, if a younger coach treats the players like mature adults, then their relationship with the team will likely be better, and little things in the locker room won't go unattended to.

Do you have any hopes of returning to the Bluegrass State (Kentucky) for coaching?

Maybe, but it's likely that won't be anytime soon. I mean it's home, I have family there, so it would be great, but I enjoy what I'm doing here at the same time.

What's it like going home to Louisville for recruiting?

Well, I know all of those schools in the area, so I go back whenever I get the chance. It helps having grown up there too, everything is so familiar. And of course whenever I get to see my family, it's always a good time.

To this point in your coaching career, who would you say has advocated your success the most?

I'd say there are a few, including the head coach here at Kansas, Ray Bechard. He's the one who gave me this shot at coaching college volleyball. Mike Lingerfelter, the club director for Munciana Volleyball, up in Muncie, Indiana, is another guy, and I worked with him a lot when I was college. Then Steve Shondell, who is now the head coach for the women's team at Ball State, I got to work with him in high school volleyball when I was in college.

It seems like success has followed you a lot in your career thus far, how is it dealing with failure and loss when you encounter it?

It's definitely tough, it magnifies everything. When you're winning, small issues with the team aren't that big of a deal, but it seems like when you're not, everything is a much bigger deal whether it be small disagreements or rough relationships amongst the players.

What are you looking forward to the most with the rest of the season?

I'm hoping that we can play the best volleyball we can down the stretch. We're always trying to get better and with the work we've been putting in, I really am looking forward to seeing how we progress.

Lastly, will you be attending the AVCA Convention in San Antonio this year?

Oh yeah! I've already got my registration, hotel, and flights all ready to go. It was a whole lot of fun last year in Kansas City, and I can't wait for it this year.

Coach Chamberlain and the Jayhawks will be in action tomorrow night as they host Texas Tech. I'd like to wish them good luck in that match as well as with the rest of the season. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, feel free to e-mail me at jonathan.ketterer@avca.org. Thanks for reading!

A Quick Preview of Upcoming Matches

2011-10-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

by Jonathan Ketterer

Nebraska averages nearly 4,092 in attendance
and currently has a 7-game home win streak

First, let's preview what could be one of the biggest games of the season: #1 Illinois (19-0, 8-0) at #4 Nebraska (15-1, 8-0). The storied Nebraska program faces Iowa (11-10, 1-7) at home tonight, but on Saturday they will be playing host to the #1 team in their first ever head-to-head Big Ten battle. Nebraska is coming off of a five set win at #14 Minnesota (11-6, 4-4) and plans to thrive in their home environment for the next two games. If you'll recall Nebraska's Big Ten opener against Penn State, it took five sets for the Huskers to dispatch the Nittany Lions, and many will say that the crowd was rocking throughout the match, which is sure to be no different when the top-ranked Illini come to town this weekend. Illinois, however, is feeling quite strong themselves to say the least, riding their 19-game win streak that in the past few weeks has included wins over ranked foes Michigan, Purdue, Penn State, and Ohio State.

Stanford's Karissa Cook was named
AVCA National Player of the Week for her stellar
performances against Wash. and Wash. St.

Secondly, I'd like to look at a Pac-12 matchup that will be taking place this Friday night in Tucson, Arizona as the Arizona Wildcats (13-6, 5-5) welcome in the hot #5 Stanford Cardinal (14-3, 8-3). Stanford is cruising with a six-game winning streak that has included a road win over the #18 Oregon Ducks (12-6, 5-5) and a home sweep of then #2 Washington (15-3, 7-3). Arizona isn't playing too shabby either with three straight wins, one of which was a home upset over the then #2 UCLA Bruins (16-3, 9-2). The Wildcats are sitting one spot outside of the AVCA Coaches' Top 25, and surely could use a marquee victory like this to push them into the polls. This game will also be Arizona's first home game since that upset over UCLA, which hopefully will draw out a good crowd for what appears to be a crucial game for the Wildcats season.

From left to right: Scott, Grant, McClendon

Lastly, look for #9 Penn State (13-5, 6-2) to be challenged this week with two Big Ten matches against ranked teams in #21 Michigan (15-5, 3-5) and #23 Ohio State (14-7, 4-4). Tonight, the Buckeyes will be travelling to University Park, Pennsylvania with hopes of notching a solid conference win, but the Nittany Lions' strong hitters Deja McClendon and Ariel Scott are sure to thrive in the home environment where they have lost only once in conference play, having fallen to #1 Illinois back on October 8th. On Saturday, the Wolverines will get their turn, and they are aiming to turn around their season which saw a 4-game skid in conference play before they defeated Northwestern in five sets last weekend.

So as you keep your eyes on these games in the coming days, be sure to look out for the next installment of the Interview Series this Friday. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, feel free to e-mail me at jonathan.ketterer@avca.org. Thanks for reading!

A Look At The Weekend –Oct. 14-16

2011-10-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

by Jen Armson-Dyer

California, StanfordTake Down Washington

It was a tough weekend for the second-ranked Huskies, whodropped contests to No. 4 California and No. 7 Stanford on the road. The GoldenBears claimed the win in four sets on Friday night (25-20, 22-25, 25-18, 27-25)in front of 1,875 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif. Senior outside hitterTarah Murrey notched a double-double with a match-high 21 kills and 18 digswhile freshman outside hitter Christina Higgins posted 13 kills, redshirtjunior middle hitter Shannon Hawari chipped in 12 kills on .409 hitting(12-3-22) and junior Correy Johnson added in 11. Junior setter Elly Barrettdished out 55 assists while picking up 12 digs and junior libero RobinRostratter led the match with 26 digs. Junior middle hitter Kat Brown led theblocking front with seven stuffs. For Washington, freshman outside hitter SummerRoss led the team with 14 kills. In the match, Cal recorded 14 more kills(63-49) and 23 more digs (94-71) as Washington claimed the blocking battle,13.5 to 12.0. "I really thought our blocking and defense came ontonight," Cal head coach Rich Feller said. "Also, being able toadjust when we couldn't pass very well helped. We still weren't as good as wecould have been on some of our defense but we can make some adjustments and beeven better."

The following night, the Cardinal earned a sweep (25-19,25-16, 25-23) in front of more than 4,200 fans at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto,Calif. Sophomore outside hitter Rachel Williams led Stanford with 15 kills as sophomoremiddle hitter Carly Wopat picked up 10 kills on .500 hitting (10-1-18). ThreeStanford players reached double-digit digs, led by junior setter Karissa Cookwith 13. Wopat and Cook also both topped the squad with four blocks. TheCardinals recorded more kills (46-29) and digs (59-40) while Washington pickedup one more block (10.0-9.0). Freshman outside hitter Krista Vansant ledWashington with nine kills and 11 digs. "I was disappointed in that wedidn't play well in any facet of the game," said Washington head coach JimMcLaughlin. "Stanford deserves some credit for that, but we did not doanything at the level you need to beat a good team on the road. We've got toget to work and fix things."

Nebraska Survives Minnesota

The fifth-ranked Huskers moved to 8-0 in the Big Ten with afive-set victory (28-30, 19-25, 25-10, 25-12, 15-11) over the 14^th-rankedGolden Gophers Saturday night in Minneapolis in front of 9,353 at WilliamsArena, the fourth-largest crowd ever to witness a Gopher volleyball match. Nebraskaemerged from the locker room between games two and three a different team, asevidenced by its hitting percentage. In the first two sets, the Huskers hit acombined .133 (28-16-90) and in the final three sets they attacked at a .367clip (34-5-79) and also held Minnesota to a combined -.167 percentage in thattime (24-25-68). Junior outside hitter Gina Mancuso led three Nebraska playersin double-digit kills with 18 as both sophomore opposite Morgan Broekhuis and junioroutside hitter Hannah Werth chipped in 15 kills. Freshman libero Lara Dykstraled four players in double-digit digs with 23 as junior setter Lauren Cook putup a double-double with 45 assists and 19 digs. Senior middle hitter BrookeDelano dominated the net with 12 blocks as Werth added in six. For the match,Nebraska outblocked Minnesota 17.0 to 8.0. Sophomore outside hitter AshleyWittman led the Gophers with 22 kills. "I told them before that this wasgoing to be our toughest test," Nebraska head coach John Cook told theLincoln Journal Star. "I thought we found a way to hang in there and tryto win game one, and we just didn't capitalize. It's indescribable as a coachwhen you see your team, that you've been training and working so hard onthrowing clipboards and threatening to throw them out of practice, to see themcome together and play together. I don't know what else you can ask for as acoach."

Georgia Tech UpsetsMiami

The Yellow Jackets captured a four-set victory over the No.23 Hurricanes (11-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-21) Sunday in Coral Gables, Fla. Sophomoresetter Kaleigh Colson led Georgia Tech with a triple double of 12 kills on .800hitting (12-0-15), 34 assists and 11 digs, and also added in four service aces.It marks the first triple-double since the 2006 season for the Yellow Jackets. Junioropposite Monique Mead led all players with 19 kills as junior libero NickiMeyer also added in 11 digs. Sophomore middle hitter Quinn Evans led theblocking list with four stuffs. Senior outside hitter Lane Carico led Miamiwith 14 kills. “I thought it was a great, gutsy performance by our kids,” saidGeorgia Tech head coach Tonya Johnson, who picked up her 50^th win asa Yellow Jacket. “To lose the first set 11-25 and then to come back and playwith some determination like we did in sets two, three and four speaks volumesabout the character of this team.”

Mississippi State TakesOut Kentucky In Front Of Record Crowd

The Bulldogs swept the 25^th-ranked Wildcats(25-23, 25-18, 25-19) Friday night in Starkville, Miss., in front of 4,535fans, the largest crowd in Mississippi State history, and also the largestcrowd to ever watch a collegiate volleyball match. It was Mississippi State’ssecond win against Kentucky in 42 matches. Senior outside hitter Caitlin Ranceled the Bulldogs with 14 kills as junior opposite Faith Steinwedell posted 11and senior middle hitter Hannah Wilkinson chipped in seven kills on anerrorless 15 swings to hit .467. Sophomore setter Paris Perret dished out 34assists and junior libero Hillary Parker picked up a match-high 17 digs.Wilkinson led the blocking front with five stuffs as Mississippi Stateoutblocked Kentucky 9.0 to 5.0 for the match. Ashley Frazier led Kentucky with15 kills. “I am so very proud of our players,” said Mississippi State headcoach Jenny Hazelwood. “We executed our game plan well tonight and the teamseemed very comfortable playing in front of a huge supportive crowd.”

Interview Series: Part 3, with Xavier's Kelsey Dunaway

2011-10-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to the Friday blog, where this week I will be sharing with you all another interview, this time with Xavier Musketeer outside hitter Kelsey Dunaway. Kelsey is a sophomore from Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, Kentucky. In high school, Kelsey was named to the all-district team three times, as well as being named to the All-Region, All-State, and All-State Tournament teams during her senior year. In both 2007 and 2009, she was picked for AAU All-American squads while playing for the Mid-America Volleyball Association, where she was instrumental to the team's excellent play in the '07, '08, and '09 seasons.Another interesting note about Kelsey is that in 2006 she graduated with Lipscomb middle blocker Sarah Ulinski and I from St. Martha grade school in Louisville. Enough with the background information though, take a look at how she responded to some of my questions.

How's the season going so far?

It's going great, We have won all of our games in conference except for one, against [George Washington]. We're looking really good, and we're running a new system, and I think we can win the A-10 and get a shot at the NCAA Tournament.

What do you attribute the team's struggles on the road to?

It hurts not having the fan support and having other fans scream at you. It also is kind of rough not having any friends or family there. And this weekend we play at Dayton, so that should be a pretty tough environment.

Does the travel bother you all?

It's not that bad, but it mainly comes down to falling behind in our classes. It's stressful mentally, especially at the beginning of the season when it felt like we were missing every Thursday and Friday class for a whole month.

Speaking of travel, have you gotten to go anywhere exciting?

We got to go to Michigan and then Maryland was pretty fun. Houston was pretty cool too, until we got one of our vans robbed while we were at breakfast.

How was it getting to play former teammate Ashley Potts at WKU?

It was so much fun playing Ashley, it's so awesome when you get to play people you knew in high school, and with Ashley it was great considering our MAVA (Mid-America Volleyball Association) vs. KIVA (Kentucky-Indiana Volleyball Academy) rivalry and that we played at Sacred Heart together.

What would you say is your favorite/least favorite part about being a student-athlete?

My favorite part would have to be being on a team. I love all of my teammates; we hang out together, we go out together, and we play together. Plus all of our coaches are fairly young, so I feel like that does a lot for our team chemistry. One just graduated from college, one is two years out, and then our head coach isn't even 30 yet. So I feel like we have a different relationship with them than most players have with their coaches.

My least favorite part would have to be missing so much school that I have to do make up work for and then having to miss social life on the weekends.

What made you choose Xavier for college?

I chose Xavier because I liked all of the girls on the team. At first, I wasn't sold on the small campus feel, but when I came back and spent a night with the team, I loved it. It was great to know that these girls are just like me, they were so nice and so much fun, and I really felt welcome.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Five years from now I'd like to be teaching the first grade and coaching a club team in either Cincinnati or Louisville.

What made you want to major in childhood education?

I really love children, and I wanted to help them and be a big part of someone's life. I feel like giving children the foundation for their education is a big thing, and I want to be a part of that.

What would you say to young girls who have aspirations to play in college?

I would tell them to keep working hard, and to make sure they love it. You also need to make sure you're having fun with it, and especially when you're young, because that's when it's the most fun.

What has been the highlight of the season so far?

I think the way we have dealt with adversity has been excellent. It's almost like any player on the team can play any position and you have a good feeling they will perform well. It's awesome to see how versatile our team has become in the past year, especially with the injuries that have occurred.

What are you looking forward to the most for the rest of the season?

What I'm most looking forward to would have to be beating everyone on the rest of our schedule, and having the chance to win the A-10 and go to the tournament, which hopefully we can go really far in.

Kelsey and the Xavier Musketeers will face in-state and conference rival Dayton tonight in Dayton, Ohio. I would like to wish Kelsey and her team the best of luck with tonight's big game and for the rest of the season, and special thanks to Kelsey and her sports information director Jessica Souto for making this interview possible. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, feel free to e-mail me at jonathan.ketterer@avca.org. Thanks for reading!

Volleyball and the Presidential Reform Agenda

2011-10-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

Part 2: The proposed changes and their impact onvolleyball – the full cost of attendance debate

by Kathy DeBoer

The summer’s presidential retreat spawned four subgroupsdesignated to work on particular areas of reform: the student-athletewell-being working group, the resource allocation working group, the committeeon academic performance and the rules working group.

The group doing the most ground-shifting work is thefirst one. To answer the criticism thatnone of the new money going into intercollegiate athletics is directlybenefiting the student-athletes who are producing the increases, proposals arebeing studied to allow a full scholarship to include $2000 beyond the cost ofroom, board, tuition, fees and books. Even the non-mathematicians among us can do the calculation on what thatincrease will entail if it is spread across the athletics department. Thetarget groups for more aid, of course, are football and men’s basketball playersas the rights fee producers, but Title IX will likely mean that a number ofwomen’s sports will be included in the increase. An institution which funds 250 totalgrants-in-aid will see a $500,000 increase in their scholarship budget if theyinclude all their sports in the new ceiling.

It is anticipated that the BCS automatic qualifierschools, currently those in the Big 10, Big 12, ACC, SEC, Big East and Pac 12, willbe able to afford the $2000 increase through rights fees escalation andcontrolling other costs. The frighteningprospect for volleyball lovers is that those schools on the financial fringesof either an elite conference or DI generally, will choose to shed sports in anattempt to stay in the mix with their high profile programs.

The driver is football, and more specifically, footballtelevision money which, unlike the NCAA men’s basketball payout, is not broadlyshared throughout Division I and the NCAA. The recent round of conferencerealignments is fueled by calculations on campuses about the best path to stayin a healthy BCS grouping of schools. Theconferences viewed as safe havens are the Big 10, the Pac 12, the SEC and theACC. The Big 12 and the Big East havelost key football-playing schools and are both scrambling to regain their footing. The desire to align with or to stay alignedwith the major football programs is trumping all other considerations includingprotecting traditional rivalries, geographic proximity, and the repercussionsfor other sports.

Those conferences without escalating rights fees or largefootball stadiums will, in all likelihood, be structurally relegated to secondtier status in Division I since they will not be able to fund the $2000increase. They may also choose to tiertheir sports within the conference, providing full cost-of-attendance to someand not others.

A consistently used catchphrase in this debate is ‘competitiveequity’; one side argues that the move to add $2000 to full grants-in-aid isdestroying it, while the other side argues that, even though all schools havehad the same scholarship limit for years, equity on the playing field has beena myth for a long time. The ‘myth’ group cites as evidence that, over the lastseven years, 90% of Division I championships have been won by teams from BCSconferences. The ‘myth-buster’ group canname every upset of the last seven years and is vigilantly opposed toinstitutionalizing the disparities between schools in DI.

The impact on volleyball of this change is hard topredict at the moment. Currently onlyHawaii appears in our top-ten poll as a representative from outside the BCS AQgroup, but Northern Iowa, San Diego and Pepperdine in the top 20 make anargument that funding is not the final determinant of elite play.

It seems as if a two-tiered scholarship structure willmake a difference in recruit’s choices so the question becomes will the schoolsin conferences where volleyball is an important sport make the choice toupgrade those programs to full cost of attendance. How will these changes impact our 22 men’sprograms? Will there be cuts or will institutions with diminished prospects forsuccess in major sports be incentivized to try to make a mark on the nationalscene in volleyball?

This working group is also considering proposingmulti-year grants-in-aid, and eliminating the six year restriction on fiveyears of aid. Neither of theseprovisions will have much impact on volleyball.

Next week we will explore the proposals coming from the resourceallocation working group.

A Look At The Weekend –Oct. 7-9

2011-10-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

By Jen Armson-Dyer

Illinois Tops Penn State

For the first time since 1995, the top-ranked Fighting Illini escaped Happy Valley with a win, defeating No. 8 Penn State in five sets (21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 15-12) in front of more than 5,200 fans at Rec Hall. The win also snapped Penn State’s 68-match Big Ten home winning streak. Senior outside hitter Colleen Ward led the Illini with 15 kills as freshman outside hitter Liz McMahon posted 14 and junior middle hitter Erin Johnson tallied 11 on .417 hitting. The Nittany Lions recorded 13 more kills in the match (68-55), and the service game was close (eight aces, six errors for Illinois; nine aces and five errors for Penn State), but Illinois came out on top in the blocking battle, 17.0 to 12.5. Fueling the Illini wall was redshirt freshman middle hitter Anna Dorn, who tied an Illinois record with 13 block assists, including four in the final set. Sophomore middle hitter Ariel Scott led Penn State with 27 kills as freshman setter Micha Hancock racked up seven service aces and 19 digs. For the match, nine players also reached double-digit digs as senior Michelle Bartsch led five Illini players with 25 digs and sophomore libero Ali Longo led four Lion players with 24 digs. "It was just an epic battle," head coach Kevin Hambly said. "I thought Liz (McMahon) in that second set took over and Anna Dorn took over the match blocking late, but it really took a lot of players who made big plays throughout the match. Penn State does a great job of exposing your weaknesses so you have to maximize your strengths.”

Arizona Takes Down UCLA

The Wildcats handed the No. 2 Bruins their third loss of the season in five sets (25-22, 10-25, 19-25, 25-18, 15-12) Saturday night at the McKale Center in Tucson. The win marks the first time since 1993 that Arizona has defeated a team ranked in the top two in the country. Freshman outside hitter Madison Kingdon led the Wildcats with 16 kills as senior outside hitter Courtney Karst posted 14 and senior middle hitter Cursty Jackson notched 13. For the Bruins, Rachael Kidder posted 26 kills. UCLA claimed every major statistical category in the match, including kills (63-59), hitting percentage (.256-.239), service aces (8-4), digs (69-62) and blocks (9.0-6.0). “They responded exactly how I would want my team to respond,” Arizona head coach David Rubio said. “UCLA didn’t come in here juiced and we are good enough to push a team like that. We played a lot better during the difficult moments, and that put us in a position to win.”

Wisconsin Upsets Michigan

Competing against its second ranked opponent in six days, the Badgers handed the 18^th-ranked Wolverines a four set loss (25-18, 25-19, 18-25, 25-15) in Ann Arbor, Wisconsin’s first win over a team ranked that high since the 2009 season. Freshman outside hitter Ellen Chapman collected 12 kills on .323 hitting for the Badgers while sophomore outside hitter Dominique Thompson posted 11 kills on .412 hitting and freshman outside hitter Crystal Graff notched 10 kills. As a team, Wisconsin hit .259 while Michigan attacked at a .137 clip. Three Badgers also reached double-digit digs, led by freshman Courtney Thomas with 15. Graff and junior middle hitter Alexis Mitchell both contributed six blocks to the team’s 16.0 team block total. For Michigan, Alex Hunt led the squad with 15 kills. "That was fun," said Wisconsin head coach Pete Waite after the match. "We just came out very composed and we passed well. We didn't have to make a lot of subs because everyone was doing well out there."

Seton Hall Sweeps Cincinnati

The Pirates handed the Bearcats their first Big East loss of the season with a three-game sweep (25-19, 25-23, 25-23) in South Orange, N.J. Senior Meghan Matusiak led Seton Hall with 16 kills on .378 hitting as freshman outside hitter Stacey Manthorpe posted 12 kills. Junior setter Olivia Trudeau led the defense with 14 digs as both senior middle hitter Krissy Wrobel and junior middle hitter Morgan DeVries each collected five blocks to aid the squad in outblocking Cincinnati 12.0 to 8.5. Emily Hayden led Cincinnati with 11 kills on .471 hitting.

Loyola Marymount Outlasts UC Santa Barbara

LMU came out on top of an extended five-set match over UCSB (25-22, 20-25, 25-21, 18-25, 19-17) Friday night in Los Angeles. Four players from each team reached double-digit kill figures, as senior outside hitter Jasmine Rankins led LMU with 20 kills on .348 hitting (20-4-46). Freshman outside hitter Caitlin DeWitt chipped in 13 kills as both junior middle hitter Kenna Crouse and freshman middle hitter Litara Keil each notched 11 kills while hitting better than .300 for the match. Sophomore outside hitter Betsi Metter led all defenders with 34 digs, which ranked ninth all-time on LMU’s single-match dig list. Keil also led the Lions with six blocks. For UC Santa Barbara, Stacey Schmidt led the squad with 17 kills on .395 hitting. “Jasmine was huge, she was incredible in certain moments,” said LMU head coach Tom Black. “Big players rise up to the occasion and she definitely did that. It was a big win for our program. Santa Barbara has a long run of successful years and I’m really proud of our effort. A lot of people stepped up in different moments and we did a lot of good things as a team.”

UNLV Knocks Off TCU

The Rebels came out on top in four sets over TCU (25-20, 21-25, 25-17, 25-14) Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas. Sophomore outside hitter Makenzie Moea’i led UNLV with 15 kills as both freshman outside hitter Daryn Glenn and sophomore outside hitter Sekola Falemaka each notched 11 kills, with Glenn’s coming on .400 hitting (11-1-25). Falemaka also paced the defense with 18 kills as sophomore middle hitter Madeline Westman and sophomore setter Stephanie Thelen collected four blocks apiece. Five Rebel players collected at least one ace in the match as UNLV racked up seven aces while not allowing the Horned Frogs any. "This is probably one of our best overall performances from the team," said UNLV head coach Cindy Fredrick. "Our serving made a big difference. We were able to keep the ball away from their middles, which we wanted to do, and our serving helped us do that."

Interview Series: Part 2, with WKU's Sarah Rogers, Melanie Stutsman, and Ashley Potts

2011-10-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

by Jonathan Ketterer

Hey everybody! In case you missed last week's post, the Friday interview series has begun and this week's edition features Western Kentucky defensive specialists Sarah Rogers and Ashley Potts, as well as Lady Topper setter Melanie Stutsman. Considering there were three separate interviews with these girls, I'm going to split them up a little and feed you all a little background info on each of them.

First, I'd like for you all to meet junior Sarah Rogers. In her third season on the hill, Sarah has already been the team leader in digs for the past two seasons, as well as having played in every set for both of those seasons as well. In high school, Sarah played at Assumption with last week's interviewee Melanie Hicks. For the rockets, Sarah was able to be a part of teams that won two state titles in 2006 and 2007, while being captain in her 2008 senior year campaign. For her AAU career, she was a part of 3 national championship squads in '04, '05, & '07 (with runner-up finishes in '06 & '08). She also had the honor of competing with the USA Jr. Olympic Team in '04 & '06.

What made you want to play in college?

"Ever since I was little, I've always strived to be on the better team and get to the next level. My high school coach Ron Kordes pushed me to be better every single day, and eventually I came to the realization that I had the abilities to play in college."

What's your favorite part/least favorite part about being a college athlete?

"My favorite part is having a community amongst the athletes. There is a great support group here with my coaches and teammates, and it's been like a family for me since day one. My least favorite thing would have to be that I don't have the time to experience the other activities on campus, like big football games and tailgates."

What is your favorite activity outside of volleyball?

"Being able to relax with my teammates. Volleyball is serious and fun at the same time, but being able to be calm and just hang out and laugh with each other is great."

What has surprised you so far this season? Either about your team or another?

"We're off to a really good start, and we haven't won a Sun Belt regular season title with any of our current seniors, and this year I think we have a really good chance at winning it. Normally our offense has been what carries us and helps us win matches, but this year it's been the defense in almost every single game. Some games we've had a really low hitting percentage, but with the defense this year, we've been able to hold the other team to a low one as well. It's kind of amazing to see how much our defense has helped us this year. In my freshman and sophomore years, there was a lot of offense and now with the role reversals, it's exciting to see it all come together for us."

Now second, meet sophomore Ashley Potts. Like Rogers, Ashley made an immediate impact her freshman year by appearing in all of the team's 121 sets. She currently leads the Toppers in digs with 310 through 19 games, and at 5'4", she is the only Topper without a kill so far this season, which all of us are hoping will come at some point. In high school, Potts was a stellar player for Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, being honored with All-State Tournament and All-Region awards her junior and senior years.

What made you want to play in college?

"My sister Kelly [Potts] (the WKU record-holder of most played sets) had a big influence on me, and I've been playing since kindergarten, so it's always been my dream to play at this level."

What's your favorite part/least favorite part about being a college athlete?

"Missing class all the time, because we travel almost every Thursday and Friday, so it's hard to make up the work, but the teachers understand. And as for my favorite part, it would probably be being a part of the athletic community here, and being able to compete at this level"

What do people need to know about Western that makes them different from any other team?

"The team here is like a huge family. I know I can talk to my coach about pretty much anything, and all my teammates are like my sisters. Most of my friends that I talk to (players at other schools) don't have the same relationship with their coach as we do, so everyone else that I've talked to is kind of jealous of what we have with our coach [Travis Hudson]."

What was your favorite highlight from last season?

"Probably playing with my sister all year, but also getting to go to the NCAA Tournament. The initial dream is to be able to play at this level, and then the next dream is to make the tournament, and being able to do that in my freshman year was pretty cool."

What's it like playing against old friends?

"It's not too different, because in high school I was always playing against my friends. It's definitely fun though, because we got to travel to Lipscomb, and we got to see our friends from home."

Last, but certainly not least, let me introduce you to Melanie Stutsman. You may have heard her name before, because last season, Melanie made the AVCA All-American Honorable Mention list, while also accruing All-South Region team, second team All-Sun Belt Conference, SBC Freshman of the Year, and South Region Freshman of the Year honors. Currently, Stutsman leads the 17-2 Toppers with 708 assists and 27 service aces, while having played in all 65 sets thus far.

What made you want to play in college?

"It was always a dream of mine when I was little. I always watched it on TV, and I always wanted to play at the big schools."

What's your favorite part/least favorite part about being a college athlete?

"My least favorite part is having to miss class, having to do the extra work, and not being there for lessons and stuff. My favorite part is that everything is done for you, like with food, books, travel, etc., it takes a lot of stress off of our shoulders, and I've talked to other people who don't have that luxury, so that's nice. Also being able to go places and see things, like when we went to Washington D.C. earlier this year for the American Classic."

Do you or your team have any rituals before games or anything?

"Nothing really that out of the ordinary, mainly just hanging out in the locker room and listening to music, basically getting ourselves pumped up for the game."

What was your highlight from last season?

"Probably going to the NCAA Tournament. It was a really cool experience, and hopefully we get can make it there again this year!"

What are you looking forward to for the rest of the season?

"I'm really looking forward to seeing us go out and compete in every game we play, because we haven't won a regular season conference title in like seven years. So it'd be awesome if we could win that, but I'm looking forward to going out and competing like we have to win every game, because we set a goal for 16-0."

What's your favorite activity outside of volleyball?

"Just chilling and relaxing when I get the chance, because normally there's always homework, practicing, or having to work out."

What do people need to know about Western that makes them different from any other team?

"No matter what, we're always going to keep coming at you. In every situation where we've lost the first game in a match, we've come back to win. We're persistent and resilient, we'll always keep fighting.

Are there any surprises from the season thus far?

"In the non-conference season, I think we surprised a lot of people by going 13-1. We had originally said if we could be 10-4, that would be good, but here we are. We all knew we could do it if we put our minds to it, and we were able to beat some really good teams."

Western currently sits one spot outside of the AVCA Coaches Top 25 with a school record 53 votes. Sadly though, they dropped just their second game of the season this past week, falling to Middle Tennessee in four sets, but the Lady Toppers are hoping to rebound tonight with home game against Troy at 8:00 EST. I wish them the best of luck with the continuing season, and I'd like to give special thanks to these three wonderful ladies, and also to WKU volleyball SID Melissa Anderson for making these interviews possible. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, feel free to e-mail me at jonathan.ketterer@avca.org. Thanks for reading!

Volleyball and the NCAA Presidential Reform Agenda: Part 1

2011-10-05T13:03:00.000-07:00

Volleyball and the NCAA Presidential Reform Agenda

Part 1: What’s it all about?
By Kathy DeBoer, AVCA Executive Director

As you know ‘The Great Recession’ which began in December of 2007 ostensibly ended in July of 2009. Intercollegiate volleyball came through it down only two women’s Division I programs and one men’s Division II program. Some high schools lost funding for their junior varsity teams, salaries were capped or in some cases cut and fundraising became everyone’s job. On the flip side, participation in club volleyball actually grew, men’s Division III acquired enough teams to earn an NCAA Championship, and, after surviving an override scare, Sand Volleyball was added to the NCAA Emerging Sports list.

Other sports also, despite a few hiccups, seemed to survive the downturn intact. Further, the NCAA signed its largest men’s basketball deal to date, rights fees for major conferences skyrocketed, salaries continued to climb, and investment in facilities and support personnel chugged along largely unabated.

So, why are the Presidents of Division I schools on this reform rampage?

There are two economic reasons and several campus culture reasons. First, the economics: 1.) Recessions make their way through large economies in stages, with the public sector, i.e. schools, one of the last to feel the full impact, and, 2.) the $800 billion government stimulus package passed in early 2009 provided a cushion that allowed states and, consequently, schools, to survive for a year without massive cuts and layoffs. The plan was that a recovery would happen in time to avoid them altogether.

Whether you agree with the strategy or not, the prayed-for recovery was wimpy at best and did not include a rebound in the housing sector or enough new jobs to replace those lost during the downturn. The loss of both property tax and payroll tax income, along with the extended increase in demand for unemployment benefits and other social services has left state tax coffers in their worst shape since the Great Depression.

Even though the economic picture is dire, the campus culture issues may actually be driving the reform agenda more than the economy. Most of the Presidents leading the charge are from BCS conferences where athletics money per se is not the top problem. In fact, in many of these conferences rights fees from television packages have gone up in the last four years instead of down like everything else.

There are, however, some persistent problems in athletics that presidents feel helpless to control and are sick of trying to explain: 1.) Certain groups of student-athletes consistently underperform academically; 2.) Rule-breaking scandals continue and seem to be increasing among the major programs; 3.) Athletics departments keep hiring more people, mostly non-coaching folks, when the rest of the campus is under hiring freezes or laying people off; 4.) Little to none of the money generated by the escalating rights fees in the major conferences is going directly to the student-athletes who play on the teams that are generating the increases while coaches and administrators have seen significant pay hikes.

Equipped with the mandate that accompanies new leadership, NCAA president Mark Emmert called together 45 of his colleagues in July for a meeting designed to ‘fix things.’ The strategy is to bypass the intentionally deliberate systems of the NCAA and to fast track legislation. The issues have been assigned to four working groups: academic performance, resource allocation, student-athlete well being, and enforcement/legislative reform.

Each working group is headed by Presidents but includes representatives from the athletics director, coaching, and SAAC groups. The timetable is aggressive: an update was circulated at the end of September and each group is to have recommendations finished by the end of October.

*Coming Up on the AVCA Blog on October 12: The Presidential Reform Agenda, Part 2: The proposed changes and their impact on volleyball

A Look At The Weekend – Sept. 30-Oct. 1

2011-10-03T13:55:00.000-07:00

By Jen Armson-Dyer

Illinois Remains Unbeaten

Something had to give as No. 1 Illinois and No. 12 Purdue met as the only two undefeated teams remaining in the country. In front of a sold-out crowd of 4,261 fans – the second largest volleyball crowd in Huff Hall history - the Fighting Illini came out on top in four sets (26-24, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23). Senior outside hitter Michelle Bartsch recorded a double-double with 15 kills and 15 digs as senior outside hitter Colleen Ward also reached double-digits in both categories, with 14 kills and 17 digs. Sophomore libero Jennifer Beltran topped the defense with 26 digs as the trio of redshirt freshman middle hitter Anna Dorn, junior middle hitter Erin Johnson and freshman outside hitter Liz Mc Mahon all tallied five blocks. For Purdue, junior outside hitter Ariel Turner racked up 20 kills and 12 digs. "For people to believe that this sport has value is huge," Illini head coach Kevin Hambly said. " It's exciting because I feel like we have a good product here and these kids are working their hearts out. The staff is working hard to put out a good product and I hope people had fun tonight." Added junior setter Annie Luhrsen (44 assists, eight digs, three blocks) about the crowd: "It's like having a seventh person out on the court. It gives us an advantage in a lot of ways and it's such a positive atmosphere. Volleyball is a game of energy and it's all about who has more of it. (The crowd) helps us win and keep moving forward. It really made a difference tonight."

Nebraska Sweeps Michigan

The seventh-ranked Huskers finished off their first Big Ten road weekend with a sweep of No. 17 Michigan (25-27, 26-24, 25-16) Saturday night. Sophomore opposite Morgan Broekhuis led Nebraska with 13 kills as senior middle hitter Brooke Delano posted nine kills on .389 hitting. Freshman libero Lara Dykstra led the defense with 12 kills and sophomore middle hitter Hayley Thramer collected six blocks, including assisting on five of Nebraska’s 10.5 team blocks. "This is a great win for us," Delano told the Lincoln Star-Journal. "This is our first back-to-back Big Ten weekend and Michigan was a big challenge for us." Nebraska also survived Michigan State Friday night in five sets (27-25, 16-25, 21-25, 25-17, 16-14).

Texas Rebounds To Defeat Iowa State

After falling Wednesday night at Oklahoma, the eighth-ranked Longhorns regrouped to capture a five-set (25-26, 14-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-8) road win over the 16^th-ranked Cyclones in Ames. Iowa native and freshman outside hitter Haley Eckerman connected for a match- and career-high 21 kills as sophomore opposite Bailey Webster pounded a personal-best 16 kills on .593 hitting (16-0-27). Senior libero Sydney Yogi picked up 19 digs and senior middle hitter Rachael Adams led the team with six blocks. "She (Eckerman) is tremendous," Iowa State head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch noted. "She is one of the best athletes in the country. Sometimes when you come home it can be tough to play in front of your home crowd. I did not know how she would transition right away but she has different angles she can hit and she is a great player."

Minnesota Falls To Ohio State, Penn State

The Golden Gophers had a tough road trip east as they were handed a pair of sweeps at the hands of No. 24 Ohio State (23-25, 20-25, 26-28) and No. 9 Penn State (15-25, 24-26, 15-25). Junior outside hitter Mari Hole led the Buckeyes with 16 kills on .467 hitting and 11 digs in the win as junior middle hitter Mariah Booth posted nine kills on .500 hitting (9-2-14). For Minnesota, Ashley Wittman led the squad with 18 kills. The following night at Penn State, sophomore Ariel Scott led the Nittany Lions with 14 kills and sophomore middle hitter Katie Slay connected on nine of her 12 attacks to hit .667 as sophomore Maddie Martin led the team with 10 digs. Penn State outblocked Minnesota 14.5 to 4.0, led by Slay with seven and Scott and freshman Nia Grant with six apiece. Wittman again led Minnesota with 14 kills. “I didn’t expect this right now,” Minnesota interim head coach Laura Bush said of the sweep to the Minnesota Daily. “I think I expected this earlier in the season. I was really disappointed Friday night. (Saturday) we were just a little off in every area of the game, which made us look way off as a team.”

Wisconsin Tops Ohio State

Coming off its huge win over Minnesota Friday night, the Buckeyes faltered on Sunday, falling to Wisconsin in four (16-25, 20-25, 25-21, 20-25). It’s the first win for Wisconsin over Ohio State since 2009. Freshman outside hitter Crystal Graff led the Badgers with 14 kills as junior middle hitter Alexis Mitchell and sophomore opposite Julie Mikaelsen added in 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Four Wisconsin players reached double-digit digs, led by sophomore libero Annemarie Hickey with 22. Junior outside hitter Emily Danks led Ohio State with 14 kills in the loss. Wisconsin outhit Ohio State .292-.171 for the match while the Buckeyes dominated the blocking battle, 11.0-5.0. “Our blocks weren’t as high as theirs but we had some people that got some good blocks,” said Wisconsin head coach Pete Waite. “Just (getting) touches on the ball at the block slowed things down and we were able to transition on that.”

UC Riverside Halts Long Beach State

The Highlanders halted their 15-match losing streak to the 49ers with a five-set victory (16-25, 25-23, 25-16, 18-25, 15-13) Saturday in Riverside, Calif. The win also snaps a 20-match winless streak in Big West play for UC Riverside, as its last league win was Nov. 6, 2009. Junior outside hitter Amanda Vialpando pounded 20 kills as junior outside hitter Shelby LeDuff added in 17 and junior outside hitter Bianca Endersby posted 12. Four players reached double-digit digs, led by senior Katie Meyers with 18. Haleigh Hampton led Long Beach State with 13 kills on .478 hitting with seven blocks.

Ball State Has Big Weekend

The Cardinals picked up two big wins at home this weekend with victories over Northern Illinois (25-21, 19-25, 11-25, 25-23, 15-9) and Western Michigan (25-21, 25-19, 200-25, 25-19) to take the lead atop the MAC West standings. Against the Huskies, Ball State came back from a 20-15 fourth-game deficit to take down the conference preseason favorite. Whitney Heeres and Jennifer Boyd pounded 18 and 12 kills, respectively, in the win, with Boyd’s coming on .478 hitting (12-1-23). The following night, Ball State pushed its home-court winning streak to 20 matches – the fifth-longest active streak in the nation – led by Kara Bates with 11 kills. Ball State also outblocked Western Michigan 12.0-4.0. "We turned in another great team effort," said Ball State head coach Steve Shondell. "It was great to go into the halftime locker room up two games, but we knew Western Michigan would come out very focused and intense in game three and they did. We had trouble matching their intensity in the third game, and they actually got us down at the start of game four. However, we were able to get our game back together and put pressure on them with our serve. We played maybe as well as we have all year from start to finish. It was really a great team victory today."

Boston College Downs Virginia

The Eagles defeated the Cavaliers in four sets (25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 25-20) Sunday afternoon, marking the first time since 2007 that Boston College has swept conference play in one weekend. The Eagles also defeated Virginia Tech on Friday night in three. Freshman outside hitter Courtney Castle led BC with 18 kills, 15 digs and four blocks as junior middle hitter Krystle Higgins and sophomore Melisa McTighe recorded 11 and 10 kills, respectively, a career-high for McTighe. Senior libero Brennan Clark led the defense with 23 digs.

Interview Series: Part 1, with IU's Melanie Hicks

2011-09-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

by Jonathan Ketterer

After another great week in volleyball, the Friday blog is back, and this time, we will be kicking off a multi-part series of interviews with Indiana Hoosier defensive specialist Melanie Hicks. You will find that many of the girls in this series are from the Midwest region, specifically Louisville, Kentucky. This is in part due to the fact that these are some old friends of mine, and in case you haven't guessed, they are all fairly close with each other as well. For some background on Melanie, she attended Assumption High School in Louisville, which is a national powerhouse in the high school volleyball scene. She was part of both JVA (2009) and AAU (2006) national championship squads, and she held AAU All-American honors in her 2005 and 2006 seasons. As for school, she is currently a sophomore majoring in interior design. It took me a while to get ahold of Melanie this week, but earlier today, I managed to catch her after practice for a few questions:

What made you want to play for the Indiana Hoosiers?

"I knew that I didn't want to be that far away from home, so that my mom and family could come watch me play. Also, it's about an hour and a half drive, so if I ever get homesick, I can always drive home and see my friends and family. Also, the competition of play is amazing. We play in the Big Ten, which is arguably the best conference in college volleyball right now. Like tonight, I get the chance to play the #1 team in the nation, which is not something that everybody gets to do in the regular season."

Before you made the decision to play collegiately, were you weighing any other options?

"Well, I definitely knew that this was going to be like a job, but I just thought it would be really weird to drop volleyball, which has been such a huge part of my life. You have some days where you really dread it and just wonder what it's like to be a regular student, but for me, I'd rather dread it, than to not have it all."

What are your thoughts on playing #1 Illinois tonight?

"We were talking about it as a team, considering it's their first time being ranked number one, all of the pressure is going to be on them. Whereas we can just go out there and play and have fun with it. It should be exciting."

What's your favorite part of being an NCAA student-athlete?

"The perks and all that are great, but I'd say that the relationships I have with my teammates are my favorite part. A lot of people have that with sports in high school, but I still get to have the opportunity to continue building relationships, and these girls (her teammates) are my best friends, so I think it's great that I can still do that."

What's your least favorite part of being an NCAA student-athlete?

"I really don't have a lot of free time. My schedule gets pretty hectic sometimes, and anyone is going to say that they don't want to get up at six every morning in the Spring, but hey, it's all to get better."

Does your team have any interesting habits before or after the game?

"Like most teams, we will listen to music and that stuff, but one thing that really stood out to me was that we pray before every game, and Mary [Chaudoin], our senior captain, does the prayer. We also have an ace cheer that incorporates the 'Movin' like Bernie' song/dance into it, you know, we're all just trying to have fun with it."

Is there something about IU Volleyball that most people don't know that they should?

"Everyone on our team comes in every day with that passion and drive to get better. Right now we're trying to build our program, and we're trying to start a great tradition, so we put in the extra hours. And I think it's different because it's not just one or two of us, it's all of us, and we're also really helping one another when we do that as well."

Where did you want to be at this age when you were a kid?

"When I started playing sports, I knew I wanted to play in college. But the funny thing is, I always wanted to play basketball, because I was awful at volleyball for a while in grade school. But once I started playing club and that type of stuff, I became determined to play in college, and here I am. So I guess you could say I'm living out my dream, which is pretty awesome."

Where do you want to be in ten years?

"I'd like to hope for a job, you know like a good career. It's really scary to think about being married and all that. I really just want to be happy with whatever I am doing, and if that pans out, I'm sure I'll be content. Then again, everyone always asks me if I want to become a coach, and I'd really like to still be around volleyball, but I'm not sure just yet if I'd want to coach or not."

What has been your highlight of the season thus far?

"We got to play a preseason tournament in San Diego. That was really neat for me, considering I've never been to California, and I got to touch the Pacific Ocean for the first time. It was also really cool to play the West Coast teams that we normally don't get the chance to play."

What are you looking forward to the most for the rest of the season?

"Mainly just being able to compete with the top teams in the nation now that conference play is starting. Plus we get to play Nebraska for the first time, and they're having a really good season so far, and I can't wait to encounter that atmosphere, which will be next weekend."

Melanie and the Hoosiers will be in Champagne, Illinois tonight as they take on #1 Illinois. I'd like to wish them good luck with tonight's game and the rest of season. I'd also like to give special thanks to Melanie and the Indiana Athletic Department for making this interview possible. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, feel free to e-mail me at jonathan.ketterer@avca.org. Thanks for reading!

A Look At The Weekend – Sept. 23-25

2011-09-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

By Jen Armson- Dyer

SoCal Ousts NorCal

Both No. 7 UCLA and No. 12 Southern California picked up wins over No. 1 California and No. 2 Stanford over the weekend. On Friday night, the Women of Troy handed the Golden Bears their first loss of the season in three sets (25-23, 25-20, 25-22), and the contest also marked USC’s first win over a top-ranked opponent since 2004. Senior outside hitter Alex Jupiter led the way with 16 kills and four blocks, including two solo efforts. The following night, Southern California again picked a sweep, ousting the Cardinal in three deuce games, 25-23, 26-24, 25-23. The win was the first time that USC had swept Stanford since the 2006 season (at Stanford), and the last time that the Women of Troy swept the Cardinal at home was the 2003 national championship season. Jupiter again led USC with 15 kills and also added in 11 digs while for the weekend, sophomore libero Natalie Hagglund picked up 42 digs through six sets. “I’m pretty happy we competed like that,” said USC head coach Mick Haley after the Stanford match. “Sometimes winning a little bit ugly is ok. I thought we kept our composure and confidence. I felt pretty good that we could play that close and still come out on top. It was fun to watch us compete through the game. I think we’re growing up pretty good. We had way too many errors and I could tell you about all of the things we want to do better, but you still have to come back to winning 3-0.”

For UCLA, its weekend began with Stanford, as the Bruins outlasted the Cardinal in five sets (25-18, 25-18, 23-25, 27-29, 15-9) in front of a standing-room only crowd of 2,176 at the John Wooden Center. Junior outside hitter Rachael Kidder had a career-high 30 kills in the win, the first time since the 2001 season that a Bruin player has reached that mark. Sophomore outside hitter Kelly Reeves also added in a double-double with personal best marks of 17 kills and 19 digs. The following night, Reeves led the way against the Golden Bears with 14 kills and 14 digs as UCLA knocked off Cal in four sets (25-17, 25-20, 19-25, 25-15). For the weekend, Bruin senior libero Lainey Gera posted 39 digs. “The atmosphere was really awesome,” said Reeves after the Cal match. “Big credit to the crowd who came out here and helped us win these matches. Both Stanford and Cal are really great teams, this weekend just went our way.”

Illinois Survives Minnesota

In its Big Ten opener, the third-ranked Fighting Illini outlasted the ninth-ranked Golden Gophers in front of 3,503 fans at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis. Senior outside hitter Michelle Bartsch led the way with 23 kills and 14 digs as senior outside hitter Colleen Ward picked up 16 kills and 12 digs. Junior middle hitter Erin Johnson was a wall at the net, assisting on 10 of Illinois’ 16.0 team blocks, four of which game in the fifth set. Johnson also contributed 11 kills on .435 hitting. "Our defense and block did a great job tonight," Illinois head coach Kevin Hambly said. "Our middles made the difference and Erin Johnson came up huge in the fifth set. We didn't play all that well but found a way to win. We looked pretty comfortable in a fifth set, and anytime you can get a Big Ten win on the road it is a big deal."

Tennessee Takes Down Florida

In front of 2,031 fans at the O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla., the Lady Vols captured a five-set, extra-points thriller (25-21, 20-25, 25-21, 19-25, 18-16) over the sixth-ranked Gators live on ESPNU. With the win, Tennessee is off to a 4-0 start in SEC play for the first time since 2004. Four Lady Vol players reached double-digit kills, led by sophomore outside hitter Carly Sahagian with 19 on .429 hitting (19-4-35), sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Robinson and junior middle and outside hitter Leslie Cikra with 17 apiece, and junior middle hitter DeeDee Harrison with 12 on .409 hitting (12-3-22), as Robinson also led the squad with 15 digs. As a team, Tennessee recorded 71 kills to Florida’s 61 and also in aces (7-4), but the Gators led in hitting percentage (.295-.239), digs (66-62) and blocks (14.0-7.5). "This was as high of a level match as you are going to see in college volleyball," Lady Vol head coach Rob Patrick said. "This was two great, athletic, well coached teams battling it out. Unfortunately, there had to be a loser. Fortunately, I'm glad it wasn't us. Coming down to Florida, it is one of the hardest places to win a match. I couldn't be prouder of every single player on this team."

Purdue Sweeps Michigan, Remains Undefeated

The 13^th-ranked Boilermakers swept both Michigan and Michigan State to remain one of only two undefeated teams in the top 25 – with the other being league foe and third-ranked Illinois. Against the 18^th-ranked Wolverines, Purdue claimed two close games before running away with the third (26-24, 26-24, 25-15). No players from either team reached double-digit kills, but the Boilermakers used a balanced attack in the win, as junior outside hitter Ariel Turner and senior middle hitter Tiffany Fisher both had nine kills and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Catherine Rebarchak and freshman outside hitter Valerie Nichol each posted eight kills. Purdue outblocked Michigan, 8.0 to 4.0, led by freshman middle hitter Kierra Jones with four. “It was a great team effort and we had a lot of people who played very very well,” said Boilermaker head coach Dave Shondell. “To sweep a team like Michigan, who I have a ton of respect for, we had to play well to do that. I thought squeezing out those two games 26-24 showed a lot of heart and a lot of courage, which is what you want to see from your team early in the year.”

San Francisco Topples San Diego

In its West Coast Conference opener, the Dons stunned the 16^th-ranked and defending league champion Toreros in three sets (25-18, 25-21, 25-20). It was the first win against a top-25 program for San Francisco since the 2009 season. Freshman opposite Vendula Strakova led the Dons with 13 kills on .323 hitting as sophomore middle hitter Malina Terrell posted 11 kills on .444 hitting. Sophomore setter Joan Caloiaro connected on seven of her errorless 10 swings to hit .700 for the match, and also dish out 34 assists and collect 10 digs. Freshman libero Rebecca Kopilovitch led the squad with a match-high 17 digs. “We knew that it wasn’t going to be easy,” said USF head coach Gilad Doron. “We had some great runs and good, timely kills from different players. I thought Malina played probably her best game. We knew she was going to have the matchup we wanted and she just took it from there and the rest followed.” San Francisco also picked up another conference win on Saturday as it took down Saint Mary’s in four sets (28-26, 25-21, 22-25, 25-21) for the first win against the Gaels since 2008.

Other Notables:

- UC Santa Barbara knocked off No. 21 Long Beach State in five sets (19-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-23, 15-11) for the first win in Long Beach, Calif., for the program since the 2004 season. Sophomore outside hitter Kara Sherrard led five Gaucho players in double-digit kills with 17 and also led the squad with 18 digs.

- In front of a season-high 3,105 fans at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo., Missouri came away with a close four set win over Texas A&M, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-23. Sophomore outside hitter Lisa Henning led the Tigers with a match- and career-high 21 kills as senior libero Priscilla Armendariz racked up a personal-best 25 digs, also becoming the 11^th player in school history to surpass 1,000 career digs.

- Eastern Michigan claimed a four set victory over Northern Illinois (28-26, 26-28, 25-15, 25-20) to improve to 13-3. Junior outside hitter Rachel Iaquaniello led the Eagles with 18 kills and 13 digs as senior libero Haley Stein posted a season-high 34 digs in the match.

- Playing in its first-ever national television match, Villanova topped Notre Dame in four games (25-18, 15-25, 25-19, 25-19) at the Joyce Center in South Bend, Ind. Senior middle hitter Maggie Mergen led the Wildcats with 13 kills as senior libero Kim Maroon paced the defense with 29 digs. Three Villanova players recorded six blocks in the match, including Mergen, sophomore middle hitter Allison Williams and junior outside hitter Krista Andersen.

Conference Realignments

2011-09-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

by Jonathan Ketterer

In the past few months, the topic of conference realignments for plenty of schools have made headlines, most notably for the sport of football. In today's blog, I wanted to touch on how the other sports, volleyball in particular, are being affected.

When I initially heard that Pittsburgh and Syracuse were leaving the Big East Conference, I thought merely of football and did not even consider until a few days later that this movement would drastically change the traditional basketball power held by the conference. At the same time, I also wondered: what changes in conference memberships have had an effect on volleyball?

The most important change would probably have to be the addition of Nebraska to the Big Ten that was made effective this past summer. With Nebraska having started conference play this past week, they are looking at a stretch of very tough matches against teams like #3 Illinois, #5 Penn State, #9 Minnesota, #13 Purdue, #18 Michigan, and #24 Ohio State. Despite the intimidating schedule, Nebraska has already shown some strength in having defeated the #5 Nittany Lions in a five set match this past Wednesday night. The Huskers thrived off of their full capacity crowd at Nebraska Coliseum, winning the first two sets before Penn State fought back, only to leave the home team victorious in the first Big Ten match-up between the two schools.

This match was evidence that the conference movements have provided other sports with thrilling new match-ups. In a rivalry that normally pits the two teams in the pressure-heavy environment of the tournament, the new Big Ten now allows for big, thrilling games like this to be a biannual contest, which is great for the sport. The Huskers will face Ohio State tomorrow night in their second Big Ten home game of the season, which will be sure to not disappoint, given that both teams are ranked in the AVCA Top-25.

Outside of Nebraska, there have been no real changes in the top-25 that have impacted the sport so far this season, but there have been plenty of rumors that could change this for next season. One of these rumors considered the possible move of Texas and Oklahoma to the Pac-12. While the Pac-12 has stated that it has no interest in expanding, we can still consider what it would be like for volleyball if either of these moves happened. Could you imagine a top-10 team like Texas being added to an already stacked conference with Cal, Stanford, Washington, UCLA, USC and Oregon? A move like this would certainly increase the entertainment of an already great conference schedule for each of the schools' fan bases.

All in all, you can see that with the talks surrounding powerhouse conferences like the Big Ten and the Pac-12, volleyball fans and football fans alike should show some attention to the moves that are being made by each school. While some conferences may be falling apart, conferences like the Big Ten and the Pac-12 have rising stock and stability that is forcing some schools to reconsider their options. These shake-ups are providing for fresh, new rivalries to begin, and for teams like Nebraska, they are renewing and building on older ones. In my opinion, it is great for all college sports to switch up the landscape and see some change, because I find that it is starting to show us some interesting match-ups that probably would not have been possible without the realignments.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas, feel free to e-mail me at jonathan.ketterer@avca.org. Thanks for reading!