Volleyball Headlines for November 2, 2009

The bottom 15 changed a bit as Colorado State found itself ranked for the first time this season. Long Beach State dropped out of the top 25 this week. The Beach debuted on the poll in Week Four and steadily climbed up to #20, but had two big losses to Pacific last week and UC Irvine this week to drop out of sight.

The wacky Pac-10 continued its roller coaster ride. Oregon beat #5 Stanford in five sets and #14 Cal in three to move up three spots to #12.

After stunning #6 Florida last week with a three set victory, newly ranked LSU continued to roll over its opponents and moves up four spots to #20.

NCAA Week Eight Coaches Poll originally appeared on About.com Volleyball on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 10:13:03.

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I was happily enjoying a burger at my church picnic this weekend when a game of "volleyball" broke out. That word must be used loosely as there was nothing resembling the sport I know displayed on that grass court.

A flimsy net was precariously placed such that it seemed even the slightest contact would send it toppling to the ground. It was nothing short of a miracle that it stayed put despite all the folks rolling in it.

There were no sidelines, no end lines and no antennas. The ball was out if they said it was. There seemed to be no concrete rules of any kind.

What they did have was players. Lots and lots of players. At least ten by my count on one side of the court and there had to be twelve on the other.

And they played. Hard. They taunted each other. They trash-talked. They jokingly intimidated and accused each other of cheating in this game with no rules.

Don't get me wrong, it was painful to watch the upturned palms of their double-contact-lift-passes as they sent the ball over on one. Part of me wanted to run out on the court, stop the game entirely and force them into passing lines. And I probably would have if it hadn't been for one thing. They were just having too much fun.

How could I possibly object to lots of folks out on a grass court on a Saturday afternoon having a grand old time playing volleyball? Sometimes, you've just got to let 'em play.

On Jungle Ball originally appeared on About.com Volleyball on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 11:36:20.

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For the past three weeks of conference play, at least three higher ranked teams have fallen to lower ranked teams when going head-to-head. That's not to say that the rankings are inaccurate. On paper, the placement of the teams seems to be warranted. But somehow when the rubber meets the road, there is no accounting for the strength of will.

In the first week of conference play, #19 Arizona shocked both #13 UCLA and #14 USC, unranked Arizona State stole one from UCLA and #12 Cal beat #10 Stanford. The very next week, with fresh new rankings for all, things turned around again. This time #9 Cal lost to #13 USC and #16 UCLA while unranked Oregon State topped #7 Oregon.

This week the ranking shuffle settled again and once more the upsets prevailed. #16 UCLA beat #13 USC and #22 Arizona beat #7 Oregon. Most significantly though, the previously undefeated #3 Washington Huskies who hadn't lost a set, let alone a match, lost in five to #7 Stanford.

Stanford and Washington are fighting it out for the conference championship as they have for the last six years running. Stanford has won out the last three years in a row while Washington took the title the two previous years.

Despite the loss, Washington is still looking like the strongest team in the league. A few too many Washington errors coupled with outstanding play from Stanford role players like middle blocker Janet Okogbaa, tipped the scales in the Cardinal's favor. Okogbaa earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors for her effort.

Keep an eye out. This rivalry should make for an interesting grudge match when Stanford travels to Washington early next month.

Up this week in the Pac-10:

#12 UCLA and #16 USC play at #4 Washington

#5 Stanford and #14 Cal play at #15 Oregon

The Pac-10's Wild Ride originally appeared on About.com Volleyball on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 18:29:34.

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The #1 Nittany Lions bageled their opponents for the first fourteen games of the season. But at the start of October, they dropped a game to unranked Iowa and one to unranked Ohio State. Then mid-month, they went five sets with then #11 Michigan for their closest call of the season.

Penn State is clearly head and shoulders above their regular season competition, but they lack the strength of schedule that some of the other top-ranked teams are experiencing week in and week out.

With only four ranked opponents so far this season, the lack of challenge could hurt them come playoff time. If unranked teams are starting to figure out how to take points and sets off them, Penn State may falter a bit when they face the top eight in December.

This weekend, the Nittany Lions take on Ohio State and #7 Minnesota. Two wins would bring their win-streak to 88-games, which would tie them with the 1971-74 UCLA basketball team for the NCAA record. An amazing feat for an amazing team.

If they can manage not to get too caught up in streaks, rankings and consecutive championships, they will definitely go down in history as one of the best teams ever. The pressure is on.

Penn State at Mid-Season originally appeared on About.com Volleyball on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 21:51:38.

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Both went through something major in the year off. Kerri had a baby and Misty ruptured her Achilles. Neither is easy to come back from. So could the most dominant team in beach volleyball history get their mojo back and return to their former glory?

First let's explore what happened during the time off. Let's start with Kerri. She became a mother, which is a wonderful thing. But giving birth can change a woman's body drastically, shifting the center of gravity, redistributing and sometimes adding weight where it wasn't before, all of which can effect the way she plays.

Parenthood can also change an athlete's perspective. Having a child has been known (in both men and women) to soften that killer instinct athletes need to stay on top. Maybe winning is (understandably) not the most important thing in the world anymore.

But Kerri bounced back in record time, getting herself back in shape and back on the Tour in no time. That answered some questions about her dedication and will to win.

Misty had a battle of her own to fight. A ruptured Achilles is a horrific injury. It's painful, it requires surgery and the recovery process is a long one. An injury like that could have long-term effects on a player's ability to make the quick moves required to play the kind of defense we're used to seeing from Misty.

After only two weeks of training together, Kerri and Misty were thrown back in the lion's den, taking on the powerful Brazilians head-to-head. A very gutsy move indeed.

So how did it go?

Read more...

Kerri and Misty's Mojo originally appeared on About.com Volleyball on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 10:10:22.

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This weekend over 8,000 UH fans packed the arena to watch Dave Shoji, their coach of 35 years win his 1,000th match.
Shoji is now a part of a very exclusive club of two along with Andy Banachowski, UCLA's coach of 43 years, who won his 1,000th match back in 2005.

Shoji has lots to show for his years at the helm - an unreal .851 winning percentage and a record of 1,000-175-1 (please don't ask me how you tie in volleyball because I have no idea.)

With four national titles and countless playoff and regional appearances, Shoji has managed to be among the top teams year after year. This year's squad is no exception. The Rainbow Wahine are currently ranked #3 in the nation with a 16-2 record. There are many more wins to come for this squad before season's end.

Along the way Shoji managed to lure some of the nation's top talent to the island. He coached Olympians Deitre Collins, Teee Williams, Robyn Ah-Mow, Heather Bown and Kim Willoughby and UH greats Tita Ahuna, Diane Sebastian and Angelica Ljundquist to name a few.

So congratulations must go out to Dave Shoji, a fixture in NCAA women's volleyball. He has deservedly gained a unique place in the annals of history. Go 'Bows!

Hitting 1,000 originally appeared on About.com Volleyball on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 00:10:19.

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Stanford moves into the top five after upsetting Washington last weekend in five sets. Washington's first loss of the season put them back one spot to number four and Hawaii takes its spot at number three.

The Pac-10 showed the most movement this week as lower seeds continued to take out the higher seeds. UCLA bounced back this week, beating USC in three to jump four spots to #12, while the Trojans fell three spots to #16. Arizona beat Oregon this week which earned them the #18 spot, while Oregon fell four spots to #15.

Elswehere in the country, both Florida and Michigan fell three spots after the Gators lost to LSU in three sets and the Wolverines fell to Wisconsin in four.

NCAA Week Seven Coaches Poll originally appeared on About.com Volleyball on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 12:54:25.

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Stanford took Washington's spot at #4 after its two wins over the weekend. The Cardinal is now tied with the Huskies for first in the Pac-10, but they have two big matches this weekend against UCLA and USC. They'll need to win both to stay there.

There was an upset in the mid-west as well when then #14 Iowa State beat then #5 Nebraska in five. Iowa State moves up five spots to #9 and Nebraska falls three spots to #8 this week.

NCAA Week Nine Coaches Poll originally appeared on About.com Volleyball on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 09:08:17.

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