After triumphing over Italy and emerging from the European Championships last week with some highly coveted gold medals, the Serbian National Team was treated to a grand celebration upon their return to their home country. It was a chance for the fans of Belgrade to show their support for some home grown athletes not named Novak Djokovic (seriously, that dude’s been really hogging the spotlight for his country this year). And what a party it was. Around 10,000 loyal Serbians showed up near city hall in Belgrade to whoop, holler, and sing praises for their championship squad.

From The FIVB:

Serbia earned their berth to the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup 2011, due to take place in Japan for November 20 to December 4, earlier this month as they beat Italy in the finals of the biennial tournament.

A press conference was first held at the Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade, where Ivan Slobodan Milosevic, secretary general of the Volleyball Federation of Serbia, Aleksandar Boricic, president of the Volleyball Federation of Serbia and 1st executive vice-president of the CEV and Snezana Samardzic-Markovic, Serbian Minister of Youth and Sports spoke with the media.

After the press conference, the side travelled on an open-top bus to the town hall and to greet their fans, who travelled in throngs to see the squad.

With their place in the FIVB world cup now clinched set, the Serbian National Team can definitely relax a little bit. Of course, they shouldn’t want to get too comfortable, as they’ll still be looking to improve their form come November. By no means did they dominate that final match against the Italians. Sure, they played as the better team overall, but with just a few different bounces of the ball, that match could have swung in an entirely different direction. Still, as of right now, Serbia should be feared as one of the top contenders heading into the World Cup. But now the target on their collective back is just that much bigger, which means everyone (even the non-European contenders) will be gunning for them that much harder.

So keep on partying for now, Serbia, but be ready to buckle down and get serious once more at the World Cup in Japan.

As the season goes on, I’ll be following notable NCAA Women’s Volleyball freshmen players who are either starting or in their teams’ regular rotations. This week, I’ll be focusing on hitters (outsides and opposites), listing those I think are the most worthy of watching, while coming to a rough ranking of their performances so far. In the coming weeks, I’ll be looking at other positions as well.

Attackers (outsides and opposites – Min. 20 sets, .200 hit%)

1. Krista Vansant (UW): 31 sets, 111 kills, 3.21 k/set, .316 hit%, 10/15 SA/SE, .26 blocks/set, 1.97 digs/set, 4.16 pts/set

2. Jane Croson (UH): 40 sets, 140 kills, 3.50 k/set, .257 hit%, 15/22 SA/SE, .23 blocks/set, 2.85 digs/set, 4.01 pts/set

3. Summer Ross (UW): 30 sets, 52 kills, 1.73 k/set, .323 hit%, 12/7 SA/SE, .44 blocks/set, 2.03 digs/set, 2.57 pts/set

4. Crystal Graff (Wisc): 38 sets, 100 kills, 2.63 k/set, .233 hit%, 5/10 SA/SE, .25 blocks/set, 2.42 digs/set, 3.01 pts/set

5. Nia Grant (PSU): 33 sets, 44 kills, 1.33 k/set, .319 hit%, 0/0 SA/SE, .5 blocks/set, 0.06 digs/set, 1.83 pts/set

Note: Haley Eckerman (TX), Khat Bell (TX), and Madison Kingdon (AZ) were not included, due to hitting only .183, .187, and .198 on the season so far.

Vansant is ranked #1 primarily due to having a higher hitting percentage and points per set (.316 and 4.16) than Croson (.257 and 4.01). Croson has the highest digs per set (2.85) of the group, while Vansant is fourth on the list (1.97), pointing to Croson as the better backrow player. On the other hand, Vansant is marginally the better blocker (.26 vs. .23 blocks/set).

It is important to note, however, that Washington’s schedule has not been as strong as Hawaii’s, although that will change as the Huskies get further into their Pac-12 season. Looking at common opponents, at home against LBSU, Croson had a higher hitting percentage (.452 vs. .146), but lower kills per set (3.2 vs. 4) than Vansant, who faced LBSU on the road. Against UCLA at home, Vansant had the higher hitting percentage (.182 vs. .135) and kills per set (3.4 vs. 2.5) than Croson, who also faced UCLA at home. An additional common opponent will be added next week, when Washington faces Arizona on the road. Against the Wildcats at home, Croson hit .111, with 2.4 kills per set. All in all, it looks like there could be a neck-and-neck race all year between the two for Freshman of the Year. (FOY).

Summer Ross comes in with the highest hitting percentage (.323) and service ace/error ratio (12/7), and the second highest blocks per set (.44 vs. .5 for Nia Grant) of those listed, but is next to last in kills per set (1.73). The latter is partly due to her currently being the fourth option among Washington’s hitters (behind Vansant, Munoz, and Rowland), but also because she is still transitioning from the beach to the indoor game which have different hitting styles. She is more of a location hitter than a power hitter and makes the broadest contribution in areas other than hitting.

These are subjective evaluations, of course depending on weighing statistical categories differently. Will Vansant’s statistics suffer or Croson’s improve as they get further into their conference seasons?

This Weekend’s Results:

The top performance goes to Croson, with 23 kills and .388 hitting percentage in a four-set win over Pepperdine on Saturday. She was less impressive on Friday, with 10 kills and a .000 hitting percentage in a four-set win over the same opponent. Croson has also been named WAC Player of the Week. Vansant showed some freshman jitters in her introduction to Pac-12 play, with 10 kills and a .128 hitting percentage in a three-set loss to USC on Friday. She did improve on Saturday, with 10 kills, a .182 hitting percentage and much steadier overall play in a three-set win over UCLA, as UW spread the offense more equally around. Ross had only 4 kills for the weekend, hitting .111 and .333, but had 12 and 10 digs, showing her defensive value. Graff had a rough weekend, with 4, 4, and 7 kills and .143, .000, and .200 hitting percentages. Grant had 5, 4, and 6 kills and .364, .200, and .625 hitting percentages.

Sources: GoHuskies, HawaiiAthletics, UWBadgers, GoPSUSports

Photo by VolleyballMag, ChannelOne

While we wait – oh, the suspenders! – for the AVCA to release their latest attempt at making sense of the nonsensical, let’s take a quick look at some of the past week’s highlights.

Upsets of the Week

Believe it or not, there just weren’t that many this week. Top 25 teams lost, but, for the most part, they lost to other Top 25 teams – which, in my book, are not necessarily upsets. We’ll tackle those matches a bit later. So we are left with:

Wichita State over #22 Oklahoma, from two games down no less – 25-27, 23-25, 25-18, 29-27, 15-13. Is there any doubt the fans of the Shockers (and even the visiting Sooners) left that match feeling thoroughly entertained? This one is my Upset of the Week.

Boxscore (pdf)

Match summary

Denver, playing at home, defeated #19 Colorado State 3-1. Interestingly, CSU also lost to Wichita State last week, suggesting two things: maybe the Shockers should be ranked and perhaps the Rams should not be.

#20 Miami-Florida lost 0-3 at Florida State in each team’s ACC opener. I look for the Hurricanes and Seminoles to battle for the conference title, so I can’t really call this one an upset, even if I do list it here, blatantly risking confusing the easily confused.

#23 Duke, in other ACC action, was knocked off by host Wake Forest 1-3. Duke probably falls from the Top 25 this week.

Top 25 Losses

#2 Stanford fell to #1 California at Berkeley, obviously no upset, but interesting nonetheless. Cal shows no sign of falling from the ranks of the volleyball elite.

The pups of #4 Washington were swept, at home, by the enigmatic #13 USC Trojans, but bounced back the next night to post their own sweep, over #6 UCLA, another team starting to flirt with the “enigmatic” label.

#12 Iowa State dropped a pair of road matches, 0-3 in each, to #15 Northern Iowa and to #10 Nebraska. Good news? They didn’t have to travel far.

#21 Pepperdine completed a very, very tough non-conference schedule with back-to-back 1-3 losses to Hawaii out there in the middle of the Pacific. Just how tough was that schedule? Six matches against teams in the Top 25 and another two against teams who probably should be (Florida State and Dayton).  The Waves emerge from the end of that gauntlet at 6-5.

Close But No Seger

And let’s not overlook these near upsets, where the ranked were almost forced to take those old records off the shelf and work on mysteries without any clues:

Louisville took both #3 Illinois and #14 Purdue to five, only to lose each match.

Marquette pushed visiting #9 Minnesota to five, as well, only to lose, as well.

Boise State almost made #22 Oklahoma’s week worse than it was, taking the Sooners, on their home court, to yet another fifth game.

Drumroll Please

And this week’s AVCA Top 25 leads one to believe they aren’t even pretending they have a clue anymore. And who can blame them?

Photo by GoShockers, GoDuke, GoStanford, UofLSports

With a mediocre start of 4-3 to the season, Penn State has a lot of work to do. For a team that was ranked number 2 in the country just over a week ago, this is not the opening that anyone had in mind. As of last Monday, Penn State had dropped to number 5 in the NCAA rankings. It should be noted that all three of Penn State’s losses have come against ranked opponents (#10 Texas, #2 Stanford, and #16 Oregon), so it’s not like they’ve completely fallen off the proverbial map. These are all good teams capable of beating any of the top teams on a good night. Penn State even managed to get a win against a talented USC team, who held the number 2 ranking at the time of their match. However, it did take Penn State five sets to defeat the Trojans, and in the days following that match, USC has dropped in the NCAA rankings to number 13. So even that win now appears to be somewhat less impressive.

With conference play across the country just barely getting started (Big 10 play actually starts next week), there’s still way more than enough time for the Nittany Lions to right their ship. At this point though, Penn State volleyball coach, Russ Rose doesn’t seem to be feeling very optimistic about his squad’s capabilities.

Matt Howland of “The Collegian” has some interesting thoughts from Coach Rose:

“I think there’s good and bad in all of the things that they’re doing. I don’t think it’s that we’re especially good or especially bad at something,” Rose said. “If I was going to say what’s our biggest challenge, it just seems that we don’t have as good of on-court communication as you need to compete with the top teams. And we have a tendency to make individual errors at inopportune times for the team.”

Those individual errors have added up in a major way for the Lions. Against Texas on Saturday, the Lions had 40 errors — the Longhorns scored 98 points total. That amounts to 26 hitting errors, 13 service errors and one blocking error.

And that error-prone performance didn’t even match up to the Lions’ showing the night before, against Stanford, when the Lions tallied 43 errors.

“We would have to be a little more cautious with giving points away,” Rose said. “In the last game against Texas, we gave them seven points and you can’t expect to beat anyone like that. If we could have served the ball in the court, we could have gone five games with Stanford.”

Essentially, Rose said his squad just isn’t playing well enough to compete with the highest echelon of teams that the Lions are ranked among.The team has one more weekend of non-conference matches to get better before outcomes really start to matter in Big Ten play. Rose said, for now, he isn’t sure if his team will improve enough in time.

“It’s college sports. And the kids that get to the good programs know what they have to do and we haven’t been doing a very good job of it,” Rose said. “I don’t know if they’ll ever reach the level that they should or could, if they were committed.”
Coach Rose has been with this program for over 30 years, and with that much experience, you can bet that he isn’t reaching for any panic buttons just yet. My guess is that his comments are simply intended to remind his players that they won’t be able to go very far on talent alone. Penn State is going to have to put in a lot more dedication in order to develop the proper cohesion that all great teams possess. This is a proud program with a highly regarded volleyball tradition. Don’t expect this slide to continue for too long.

If you recall from a few seasons ago, the 2006 UCLA Bruins men’s squad suffered some similar struggles at the start of their season. They too were losing to opponents who were considered to be inferior, but once they found their rhythm, the Bruins were able to roll on all the way through to the National Championship (the most recent of Al Scates’ coaching career). In no way am I declaring that Penn State women’s volleyball will be hoisting a national championship trophy in 2011, but they will certainly get the opportunity again to show the nation that they are one heck of a team.

Photo by GoPsuSports

By Phil Bush from SEC Sports

We are 3 weeks into the Division I Volleyball Schedule and it is time for Conference Play!  I wanted to do a short review of each team’s Progress through Non-Conference Play.  In nearly all cases, the SEC Teams have made themselves better by playing tough opposition.  You don’t go through Non-Conference Play undefeated most years- and if you do, it usually comes back to bite you when you start playing Conference matches!  So, I think the Conference Teams have all set themselves up for success by doing 2 Important things:

• Going on the Road to play tough teams.  Nearly every team has gone on the road and played at least 1 team from a “Power Conference.”  It is easy to say “they lost.  They clearly are not very good.”  I disagree, because the teams that go on the road and play tough teams get Better Faster in almost every case.  You learn much more about your team from most losses.  The SEC Coaches know this and that is why the SEC is getting better year after year!
• Winning a few matches you were not supposed to win.  Again, you don’t win them all.   But you do continually learn!  The SEC Teams have all learned a lot during the last few weeks, and the travel and the tournaments have all the Teams Fans something to look forward to!

Reminder: If you are in a town where the SEC Home Teams are playing, get out there and support the team.  Defending the home Court is Job 1 for every team, and they need the fans out to care that “Unfair competitive Advantage” when they are at home.  They need that “7^th Fan” advantage because winning on the Road in SEC Volleyball is just plain hard!

So, what happened last week the teams?  Well you can read all the news in the SEC Press Release, but some important highlights:

• Alabama: Won some big matches on the road to against Toledo an Ivy League Perennial Power Pen, and lost a closely contested 4 set affair with #25 Ohio State.  A great week of Prep getting ready for the SEC!
• Arkansas: on the Road at West Point, the Lady Backs took out 3 teams on the road, and only dropped one game doing it!  Going 9-1 in 3 days play including taking out the Tourney host Army gets this team ready for Conference play!
• Auburn: After a strong week of play last week, the Tigers ran into #20 Miami and #22 Oklahoma on back to back nights, and that that was a tough task when you are playing Miami at home.  Still, the start for this team as has been solid, with some good wins along the way.
• Florida: The Gators played 3 5 Set Matches, and there was not a bad team near their schedule.  They lost at home to #12 Iowa State, beat #8 Texas, and barely lost to home standing #2, Stanford.  That all took place in 1 week.  The Gators got ready as they usually do; The Gators basically put up as sign that says “Will take on all comers” and play them at home or on the road.   The Gators may not be undefeated, but they are the pick to win the SEC for this reason: No team in the country gets better like the Gators do-Every year, every match, and the Gators get better!
• Georgia: The Bulldogs have been on the road for 2 weeks, and while their record is not perfect, they are playing teams on the road, and making every team they play sweat!  The Bulldogs are building up and I suspect that they are going to pull off some big victories in conference.  Why?  Because they will not be intimidated and will fight back every match!
• Kentucky: After starting out slowly on the Road, the Wildcats have been dynamite at home. Including a beating of Houston, Louisville, Loyola Marymount, Ohio, and West Virginia.  The Wildcats are ready for the SEC wars; that is for sure.
• LSU: A little bit of a hard week for the Tigers, once again, on the Road!  Losses to Xavier and homestanding Western Kentucky were speed bumps for this team.  The Tigers always have great athletes and will be ready as they hit the Road Again this week, this time in their own conference.
• Ole Miss: Hosted and beat teams last week, including never bad Big 10 Team Northwestern.  The Rebels may have started a little slow, but they have gotten better as each week goes by!
• Mississippi State: Speaking of getting better on the road, these Bulldogs go to Texas, and take out 3 Texas based teams to win the tourney.  Again, this speaks to rapid growth for the SEC Teams! Here’s  quote of the week from Jenny Hazelwood at Mississippi State:

“This was another solid all-around match to build on,” said MSU head coach Jenny Hazelwood.

We can these words as ones that every SEC Coach to live by: “This was another solid around-match to build on.”  Notice the words and how they are phrased.  Not how good or bad we were, but the art of building.  That is what makes great Volleyball Coaches and great Volleyball Teams!

• South Carolina: With one exception, the Gamecocks have been on their game Every Match!  They are 9-1 to start the season, and they have only lost to in-state rival and ACC Power Clemson.  Other than that, they have won, and posted a bunch of 3-0 wins.  This team is ready for significant steps in their Climb up the SEC Ladder
• Tennessee:  The Lady Vols have played their usual tough early season schedule and most of it on the Road again.  This week, they go to Virginia, and take out 3 teams, post a 9-1 record in Sets, and take out the host team, Virginia Tech to win the Championship.  Rob Patrick’s teams tend to always come ready to compete.

I have been very impressed it the performance of all 11 Teams in the Pre-Season.  Now we get to the really fun part of the Year, and the SEC Teams get ready to do battle.

To put it another way, based on teams in the Top 25, The SEC has played 12 of the Currently ranked teams.  Tell me what other conference prepares by playing this many Hard matches, and typically on the road?  No One, that’s who!

Interesting First Week Match-ups

Without going through every battle what catches your eye for this weekend?  How about these great match-ups:

Arkansas hosts Arkansas and then LSU: I can look at this either way:

• Tough weekend to host 2 hot teams
• Teams on the road will have to know they will get their opponents best shot.

Auburn at Kentucky then at Tennessee:  This is a tough road trip to start the Season for the Tigers.  Should be 2 excellent matches for the Tigers to prove themselves.

LSU on the road to take on Ole Miss and then Alabama.  A hard road trip but a chance for the Tigers to put a stake in the ground on the SEC West.

Mississippi State: Hosts #7 Florida and then the Hot South Carolina Gamecocks: 2 Tough matches for the Bulldogs, but don’t think for a minute this team will lay down.  They have played hard teams on the road, and I expect a big Bulldog crowd, particularly on Friday when the Gators come to call!

Tennessee hosts Georgia then Auburn: How much of the Bulldogs improved?   Can they contend in the ultra tough SEC East?  We may have our answers pretty quickly this weekend!

Top SEC Performers – bring on the youth again!

In what is becoming a joyful habit, each week, we have younger players who are getting these awards!  This week, look the Players of the week:  This week, 2 Juniors take player of the week Honors!

SEC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Amanda Philpot

Setter, Ole Miss

5-8 • Jr. • Cincinnati, Ohio

•Had 33 assists, 20 digs and 10 kills in a win over Northwestern, a team receiving points in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll. It was her first triple-double of the season and third of her career

•Named MVP of the Magnolia Invitational after helping her team to a 3-0 mark

•Averaged 32 assists, 12 digs and 6.7 kills per match in three contests over the weekend; added eight blocks on the defensive end

•Turned in five service aces; had a .325 attack percentage during action at the Magnolia Invite

SEC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Stephanie Klefot

Libero, Kentucky

5-7 • Jr. • Louisville, Kentucky

•Had a match-high 24 digs in a win over Houston; became the 10th player in school history to post 1,000 or more digs in a career

•Totaled 69 digs in four matches at the UK Invitational, earning All-Tournament Team honors

•Posted 21 digs in a 3-0 sweep of Louisville, a team receiving votes in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll

•Added 15 digs, three aces and three assists in a sweep over West Virginia

OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES

• All Tangerine Wiggs did last week was hit .387 with 45 kills against three ranked opponents.  Those are some big time numbers when you play Iowa State, Texas, and Stanford in the same week!
• Kelli Stipanovich (OH, Arkansas) – Posted a career-high 16 digs in a win over Dartmouth; named MVP of the West Point Challenge
• Michele Williams (MB, LSU) – Blocked a career-high nine shots in a loss to Western Kentucky
• Caitlin Rance (OH, Mississippi State) – Recorded a double-double (23 kills, 12 digs) in a win over Baylor
• Regina Thomas (MB, Ole Miss) – Averaged 1.90 blocks per set in three matches over the weekend
• Betsy Smith (MB, Florida) – Averaged 1.27 blocks per set in three matches last week
• Paige Wheeler (DS/L, South Carolina) – Totaled 55 digs in three matches at the Carolina Challenge
• Malorie Pardo (S, LSU) – Posted 50 assists, 10 digs and a career-high four blocks against Xavier
• Christa Alvarez (L, Arkansas) – Tallied a career-high 20 digs in a win over Dartmouth
• Tirah Le’au (OH, Georgia) – Had 20 kills and nine digs in a win over Samford

This week is about going on the road or defending the home court.  Anyway you look it, there are going to be a bunch of 4 and 5 set matches that will be talked about all over the country this week!

See you on the courts- support the SEC and go see one of these great teams play!

Photo by University of Alabama, University of South Carolina, Ole Miss Volleyball

After years of running my NCAA Division-III women’s volleyball blog as a stand-alone entity, I’m changing to a 6-2 offense and taking some swings here. On Vballworld, I’ll give periodic updates on what’s happening in the D-III women’s volleyball world.

My blog contains opinions, predictions, original match recaps and a touch of humor to go along with the box scores. The blog’s focus is on the Midwest and Central regions of D-III, complete with pages dedicated to Standout Stats, Standings and Big Matchups, and live online coverage. But I also cover all of the essential national information, from upsets around the country to links for all conference tournaments; from info on the Championship Handbook to a resource guide for the national tournament.

An abridged D-III volleyball primer: If you followed D-III volleyball in 2000, chances are the same programs are still the best. 12 teams have been in the Top 10 in more than 30 percent of the 200 American Volleyball Coaches Association polls. Only 7 different programs currently in D-III have won the national title since 1986. Washington University-St. Louis has won a record 10 volleyball championships. Washington-St. Louis and Juniata College have never been outside the AVCA Top 10, and only ten programs have ever been ranked No. 1. Coming into this season, Washington-St. Louis or Juniata had been the top-ranked team in 137 of the 197 weekly polls since 1992. In short, the upper crust of the division is quite exclusive. However, Calvin College defeated Emory University to win its first national championship in 2010, and the Knights are favored to repeat after returning nearly their entire team.

All-Americans return in droves: 23 of the 42 combined First-, Second- and Third-Team AVCA 2010 D-III All-Americans return to reclaim their status.

7 of the AVCA First Team All-Americans return this season. Washington-St. Louis returns junior setter Marilee Fisher and junior libero Kelly Pang, and Emory University returns senior outside Amelia McCall, the 2010 AVCA National Player of the Year. The other First-Teamers returning are Eastern University senior setter Maria Horning, Calvin College senior middle Rebecca Kamp, Carthage College senior outside Michelle Madeja and UMass Boston junior middle Shannon Thompson.

The 6 returning AVCA 2010 Second Team All-Americans are Christopher Newport University senior setter Jessie Heavenrich, Emory University junior middle Breanah Bourque, Wittenberg University senior middle Katie Sumner, Eastern University senior outside Courtney Reinhold, Millikin University senior outside Kelsy England, and Concordia College, Moorhead senior middle Katie Vohnoutka.

The 10 returning AVCA 2010 Third Team All-Americans are Washington-St. Louis senior middle Lauren Budde, Christopher Newport University junior libero Abbe Hogge, Juniata College senior libero Libby Morrison, University of Wisconsin-Platteville senior setter Ali Sikic, Emory University senior outside Jessica McAlvany, Occidental College junior outside Logan Boyer-Hayse, Carthage College senior outside Lauren Dembkowski, California Lutheran junior setter Jackie Russell, Connecticut College senior outside Amy Newman and Elmira junior outside Sasha Zavadska.

The abridged 2011 D-III season to date: Many top-ranked teams continued their tradition of playing each other in the nonconference portion of the season. Here are some selected results (current rankings). Of particular note: Washington-St. Louis (10-0) has not yet lost a set this season.

#2 Washington-St. Louis 3, #8 Carthage College 0

#2 Washington-St. Louis 3, #6 Christopher Newport University 0

#3 Wittenberg University 3, #4 Emory University 1

#3 Wittenberg University 3, #9 Juniata College 1

#4 Emory University 3, #9 Juniata College 0

#4 Emory University 3, #5 Eastern University 1

#6 Christopher Newport University 3, #8 Carthage College 1

The beat goes on: The American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA D-III Week 2 Top 25 poll was mostly unchanged from a week ago; the top nine remained the same. Defending champion Calvin College (7-0) is No. 1, followed by Washington University-St. Louis (10-0), Wittenberg University (6-0), Emory University (7-1) and Eastern University (7-1). No. 6 Christopher Newport University (7-2), University of St. Thomas (8-0), Carthage College (6-2), Juniata College (4-2) and Southwestern University (7-0) round out the top 10.

Heavyweight clashes continue: Most teams have one more week before nonconference matches consume most of their schedules. Here are the top matches this week:

#1 Calvin College (7-0) vs. #3 Wittenberg University (6-0) (9/16)

#2 Washington-St. Louis (10-0) vs. #9 Juniata College (4-2) (9/16)

#2 Washington-St. Louis (10-0) vs. #12 Colorado College (8-0) (9/16)

#2 Washington-St. Louis (10-0) vs. #15 Concordia College, Moorhead (8-1) (9/17)

#3 Wittenberg University (6-0) vs. #13 Hope College (6-0) (9/16)

#4 Emory University (7-1) vs. #14 California Lutheran University (6-2) (9/17)

#7 University of St. Thomas (8-0) vs. #8 Carthage College (6-2) (9/17)

#7 University of St. Thomas (8-0) vs. #10 Southwestern University (7-0) (9/16)

#8 Carthage College (6-2) vs. #10 Southwestern University (7-0) (9/16)

#9 Juniata College (4-2) vs. #12 Colorado College (8-0) (9/16)

#9 Juniata College (4-2) vs. #15 Concordia College, Moorhead (8-1) (9/17)

I’ll be back in the near future for further D-III women’s updates. In the meantime, visit my blog for more D-III volleyball national news and all you need to know (and more) about the D-III Midwest and Central regions.

Photo by NCAA, Calvin College

Pac-12 conference play kicked off this week with a bang. Overall number 2 seed, Stanford drove on over to the UC Berkeley campus to take on their bitter rivals, the California Golden Bears in a match that is known on campus simply as “The Big Spike”. Oh yeah, and California also happens to be the number one ranked team in the NCAA. The battle for Bay Area supremacy certainly did not disappoint. Stanford struck first and looked fully ready to pull off the upset in a packed Haas Pavilion (well, packed by typical volleyball standards anyway). But ultimately, the University of California prevailed in four tough sets, extending their record on the year to 12-0 (1-0 in the conference). Stanford’s loss left them at 6-1 for the year (0-1 in the conference). I had the chance to observe the match in person, and here’s how it all broke down.

Moment of the Match:
Tarah Murrey stood about 15 ft behind and slightly to right of the court, with the ball in her hands and her head directed upwards desperately in search of an answer. The look on her face seemed to say it all.

“What else can I do?”

Murrey had been playing well. She was racking up kills, passing nails, and serving strong, but her team was still struggling. She had just gotten into position to make a dig off of a roll shot down the line, but at the last second, Cal’s setter, Elly Barret stuck out her hand and shanked the ball behind her and to the right. Murrey was left to chase after the loose ball but it was to no avail. Stanford now led 15-11, and there she stood, alone. Time seemed to freeze as she gazed into the heavens of Haas Pavilion, while her teammates waited for her, in a huddle at the center of their court.

Before turning back, Murrey seemed to pause for just another moment, perhaps to catch her breath, but also to ponder just what was going on. It wasn’t exactly the start that the top ranked California had expected. Stanford was working brilliantly as a cohesive unit, and while Murrey was playing well, her teammates had not been living up to their expectations. The frustration in her eyes was clear, and she could have reacted in a number of ways. She could have bounced the ball angrily into the ground, chewed out and chastised Elly Barret for going after a ball that she had already called off, or simply walk back to her serve-receive position without acknowledging any of her teammates who were currently letting her down. These are all examples of behaviors that many superstar athletes are capable of demonstrating during moments of frustration, but Tarah Murrey is more than just an All-American outside hitter. She is the leader of her team, the captain on the court, and she recognized that this was not a time for her to be selfish.

She turned back towards the court, and walked straight into the huddle. Elly Barret reached out a hand as if to say, “My bad.”. Murrey simply flashed a confident smile, grabbed the outstretched hand and whispered something in Barret’s ear. The team prepared to receive another serve, and on the very next play it was pass, set, kill. Point to the Bears.

Stanford still went on to win the opening set, but the momentum that they had built up from earlier was long gone. Murrey had inspired her team and kept them going strong. It was only a matter of time before they gained complete control of the match.

Here’s how each game broke down -

GAME 1: Stanford Wins (25-23)

Both squads came into this first conference match undefeated. Stanford was 6-0, while California was at 10-0. Cal had also come into today without having dropped a single set, but that streak was about to meet its end. The Golden Bears looked more than sluggish for the first several points of the match. Passes were off target, sets were poorly timed, and Cal gifted numerous free balls which Stanford gobbled up hungrily. Meanwhile, the Stanford girls were on a mission to prove to everyone in the building that perhaps, they deserved the number one ranking.

The Cardinal was playing textbook defense, and they were making Cal pay heavily for every tip, roll shot, or down ball that was sent Stanford’s way. Stanford middle blockers, Carly Wopat and Jessica Walker were getting up and pounding 1’s with ferocity, helping their team race out to a 15-11 lead.

But the Bears fought their way back into the set through some inspired play from Tarah Murrey and middle blocker, Shannon Hawari. An ace from middle blocker, Correy Johnson brought the Bears to within one at 19-20. They pulled even after a clutch kill down the line from Murrey, as ice water flowed rapidly through her veins. Stanford proved too strong in the end, as they took the next two points off of a kill and an ace.

GAME 2: Cal Wins (25-16)

The Bears seemed to wake up from their temporary hibernation midway through game one, but it was actually losing that first set that ultimately got them into the match for good. They opened up with a 5-1 lead, but Stanford wasn’t ready to fold just yet, as they continued their strong play. For the next ten points or so, Cal got a bit tentative. Suddenly, they appeared to be playing as if they didn’t deserve to hold the top ranking in the nation. They stopped swinging hard and resorted back to those pesky tips and roll shots that Stanford libero, Hannah Benjamin was more than happy to deal with.

Cal still held onto the lead, but only because Tarah Murrey was carrying them and earning them points that her team really didn’t deserve. The Bears got back on track and gained a 15-11 edge, causing Stanford to call a time out. From there, Cal continued to pull away. They were aided by some strong serving from DS, Marlee Davis and libero, Robin Rostratter, closing out the game on a 10-5 run. The match was now one set apiece.

Another thing that really jumped out to me in this set was how often California opted to run a “slide” with their middles. It’s a play that can fool defenses when done correctly, and it looks really cool. Still, I’ve never been a huge fan of the slide, mainly because it’s such a slow play. Also, when Cal runs this play, it’s almost always with a front row setter and two attackers. In this situation, the slide becomes almost too easy to read. But to Cal’s credit, they execute this play extremely well, especially when Correy Johnson is on the receiving end. She was finding angles on her shot that initially seemed impossible to convert on, and from the second set on, the slide became one of Cal’s more efficient plays. Stanford ran some slides as well with their middles but with a much lower frequency. They converted a few slides into points, but Cal’s block pretty much had the right side of Stanford’s attack on lockdown.

GAME 3: Cal Wins (25-16)

The score may have been identical to that of the last game, but the story of game 3 was much different. Stanford was clearly the aggressor at the start. They were blocking everything that Cal sent their way and they opened up with a lead of 6-2. When the score became 10-5 in favor of the Cardinal, Cal called for a timeout and sought to regroup. The timeout definitely seemed to work as the Golden Bears rolled off 3 quick points to cut Stanford’s lead to only 2.

That was when Robin Rostratter, the Cal libero, decided to assert herself into the story of this match. Up until this point Rostratter was being marginally outplayed by Stanford’s libero, Hannah Benjamin, but the Cal junior took her game to another level.  Rostratter seemed to come up with every important defensive play in the set. With 29 digs for the match, she certainly gave a good name to liberos everywhere. She was all over the court, digging all types of shots, communicating excessively with her teammates, and passing perfectly.

The biggest moment of the set came as Stanford was clinging to a one point lead at 11-10. The rally seemed to go on for a couple minutes as the ball crossed over the net, maybe, six or seven times, and without Rostratter’s defensive play, Cal would have never stayed in the rally. At one point, she almost ran into the bleachers on the left side in order to bring the ball back in play that was eventually passed over by DS, Erin Freeman. Stanford then tried to end the point from the outside, but the cross court shot landed a few feet wide. Cal had tied the game 11-11, and Stanford called for a timeout. It failed to slow down the Bears’ momentum. From that play moving forward, they never looked back.

On game point, Murrey received a solid set from Barrett, but she was blocked. Of course, Rostratter was there with the timely cover, which gave her team another chance to win the point. This time, Murrey used the Cardinal block to her advantage and tooled the ball out of bounds. The third set went to Cal, and they now led 2 sets to 1.

GAME 4: Cal Wins (25-21)

Much like game 3, Stanford opened an early lead with three easy points. Cal responded with two points of their own off of a kill and then a block, but they were unable to overtake Stanford for a long time. Stanford won a huge point a few plays later that put them up 9-7. It was another long rally with some real heavy hitting, and plenty of huge digs from Stanford’s Hannah Benjamin. The two squads stayed neck and neck for a while, but it looked like Stanford was about to pull away after they stuff blocked Tarah Murrey on two consecutive points. The score was now 18-15 in favor of the Cardinal, and they seemed eager to push this to a fifth and final set; however, Cal was going to have none of that. They called a timeout to regroup and quickly decided that they wanted absolutely no part in a fifth set. A monster block from Adrienne Gehran gave Cal their final lead at 20-19, and soon after, Tarah Murrey closed the door on Stanford with a kill from the back row. Point, set, match to the Golden Bears.

It couldn’t have been a more exciting way to start off conference play in the Pac-12. For the majority of the first two games, Stanford appeared to be the better overall team. But once Cal got settled into the pace of the match, they simply weren’t going to be stopped. Their blocking was too strong, and they simply outworked their opponents in the last couple of sets. Their next matchup with Stanford doesn’t happen until November 25 (the last conference play match), but it sure promises to be one hell of a fight. For now, the Golden Bears proved that they are in fact worthy of that number 1 ranking…at least for one more week.

Most Outstanding Players:
Cal – Tarah Murrey (15 kills, 5 assists, 12 digs, 17.0 points)
Stanford – Karissa Cook (38 assists, 17 digs, 5 kills, 6.0 points)

Upcoming Schedule for Both Squads:
Cal vs. Colorado (Sept. 16)
Stanford vs. Utah (Sept. 16)

For Full match stats, you can go here.
For the Stanford match perspective on how things broke down, go here.
For the California match perspective, go here.

Photo by CalBears, GoStanford

After another week of confusing results, here’s your new AVCA Top 25:

9-12-2011 Rankings

Now, how exactly did we get to this point and why, you may ask, is Penn State ranked so high and Minnesota ranked below the team which they just swept twice? I can attempt to explain the former, but the latter is one of those questions only God or an AVCA voter can answer (and I seriously have my doubts that God wants to bother).

#1 California: The Bears retain the top spot by virtue of a 4-0 week. They are yet to drop a game this season, but have also not played anyone ranked above #80 in the Pablo rankings. The big question about 2011 California is whether or not they can replace their setter, 2010 Player of the Year Carli Lloyd. So far, so good; however, Stanford, tonight, provides a much better test.

#2 Stanford: The Cardinal had themselves a nice weekend at home, knocking off both Penn State (3-1) and Florida (3-2, 15-13 in the 5^th). The general consensus seems to be that #2 is a little high for this team, so the California match will be a good gauge for where Stanford is at as well.

#3 Illinois: The Illini have moved up to this spot with an undefeated record, but a record which includes two 5-game wins (over Dayton and Tulsa) and four matches that went to 4 games. In short, they have been far from dominant. Cincinnati and Louisville are on the schedule in Champaign this week, both quality teams.

#4 Washington: The Huskies, like the Bears, have not faced the toughest of competition this year. They have, however, beaten Long Beach State, currently #39 in the Pablo rankings. USC and UCLA are headed to Seattle this weekend to seriously upgrade Washington’s resume.

#5 Penn State: In addition to their loss to Stanford, the Lions also dropped a 5-gamer to Texas in Palo Alto, dropping their record to 4-3 on the year. It is a sign of the respect this program has gained that they are still ranked #5 in the nation. Either that or some people are not paying enough attention.

#6 UCLA: After coming home from the Islands, the Bruins were tripped up at Pepperdine (3-2, 15-13 in the 5^th). Perhaps Malibu was just too seedy a locale after Hawaii? No matter, they bounced back by thrashing the underperforming USC Trojans 3-0 two days later at the Galen Center.

#7 Florida: Two 5-game losses (Iowa State and Stanford) and one 5-game win (Texas) has the Gators heading into the SEC season at 7-2 and believing, one would think, that this could be the year that elusive title is in reach.

#8 Texas: The very young Longhorns more than held their own in Palo Alto and remain, arguably, the team in the top 10 with the most potential to improve.

#9 Minnesota: After sweeping St. Louis in Cedar Falls, the Gophers lost in 5 to Kansas and then beat their host, Northern Iowa, also in 5. Minnesota may very well be the toughest team in the top 10 to rank.

#10 Nebraska: The Huskers had a scare against St. Mary’s, winning 3-2 (15-13 in the 5^th) and have Iowa State this week in Lincoln before they open their inaugural Big Ten season. There is obviously still some tinkering to be done in Huskerville.

#11 Hawaii: Personally, I think the Wahine are ranked too low. They play a good Pepperdine team twice this week in matches that probably provide more opportunity for ground to be lost than gained – and then they head into their WAC schedule, where they may not be seriously challenged. They, too, will remain a difficult team to rank – but that is nothing new for the most unique program in all of NCAA volleyball.

#12 Iowa State: A nice week ahead for the Cyclones in terms of competition. They play at UNI tonight and then have the Nebraska match on Friday. A couple of wins would probably move them into the top 10.

And let’s keep a close eye on: #14 Purdue (9-0), #17 San Diego (10-0), #18 Michigan (9-0) and #20 Miami (9-0). Although they are not receiving much love from the AVCA voters, those records are probably not misleading.

Will things settle down this week or will more mud be added to the waters? My money is on the muck.

Photo by University of California, Berkeley, University of Illinois

Photo by Berkeley.edu

Apparently Tarrah Murrey isn’t Cal’s Only Threat

Just in case you weren’t already aware, the University of California would like to remind you that they have more than just one good player on their No. 1 ranked women’s volleyball squad. Outside hitter and All-American, Tarah Murrey is widely considered (and rightfully so) the Golden Bears’ best weapon on the court, but in the two tournaments that Cal has played (and won) this season, the MVP award went to someone other than Murrey.

A week ago, in the Cal Molten Classic, the top honors went to Middle/Opposite, Correy Johnson. Just a couple days ago, in the Jefferson Cup, outside hitter, Adrienne Gehan came away with the coveted award. And the school’s newspaper, the “Daily Californian” sent out a warning yesterday to the rest of the NCAA that the Golden Bears can fire on all cylinders.

Gehan was already having a solid weekend at Memorial Gymnasium in the Bears’ two Friday matches, notching nine kills in a 25-14, 25-20, 25-16 win over Long Island and a game-high 15 kills against host Virginia in a 31-29, 25-14, 25-11 victory.But the art history major from Dallas, Texas, solidified her distinction in Cal’s final match, a 25-18, 25-17, 25-18 domination of East Carolina (1-3).

When Murrey slipped during warm-ups and tweaked her hip, the coaches decided to rest the highly productive attacker as a precaution. That chain of events catapulted Gehan into the role of the go-to attacker on the outside.

“I think it shows that this is a real team,” coach Rich Feller said. “Tarah’s for sure a superstar, but we have a lot of superstars. “I think we’re going to show people that we have five or six (players) that will carry us on any given night.”

None of this should really come as much of a surprise. Cal is a great team, and great teams are typically known for using players that know how to get the job done on the court. And keep in mind, this isn’t just any great team. This is the number one team in all of women’s college volleyball, at least as of right now.

The season’s still very young, and in no way has Cal been truly tested by this point, but it’s safe to say that they will be a force to be reckoned with. We’ll see if they can keep up this high level of play for the whole year. Until now, they haven’t even dropped a set to an opponent. And that’s a streak that they’ll be looking to continue.

The 14 teams have been divided into four pools for the preliminary round. Hosts Chinese Taipei, Iran and Indonesia are in Group A, while Group B consists of top seeds and defending champions Thailand, Vietnam and Australia. Group C comprises second seeds China, fifth seeds Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of Korea and India, with third seeds Japan, fourth seeds Korea, Sri Lanka and Turkmenistan in Group D.

The top two countries from each pool will play the classification round from 1st to 8th places in Pool E and Pool F from September 18 to 19 to decide the ranking in the pools for the quarterfinals to be held on September 21.

The most prestigious Asian women’s event also doubles as a qualifier for the 2011 World Cup in Japan later this year. As hosts Japan have already secured a place at the tournament meaning that if they win, the second placed side will qualify as well.The favorites for this tournament are obviously the four top seeds from each pool: Japan, Thailand, China, and South Korea. Those are the powerhouse clubs, and the rest of the field will fall in line behind them. Still, there’s always a chance that one small country can make some noise along the way.So with that being said, go India! (well, don’t go too hard…you’ll need your strength for medical school)We’ll be sure to keep you guys posted on how the tournament plays out.