Volleyball Headlines for January 9, 2010

In a village in Pakistan, about 100 people were killed and many others injured by an car bomb that exploded on a field in a residential area during a game of volleyball.

It is thought that the suicide bomber had originally planned to detonate at a meeting of tribesmen who had been cracking down on insurgents in the area.

Instead, for reasons not known, he devastated a village at a harmless neighborhood game of volleyball. Apparently, volleyball is a popular sport in Pakistan. So popular in fact, that there were reports of 200-300 people around the court watching the match at the time of the explosion. Many of the spectators were young and several of the dead were children.

Survivors spoke of how happy they were just before the bomb went off. Makes me wonder what this game was about. Was it an organized match or a pick-up game? Was it a neighborhood rivalry? Were the spectators fans?

Maybe the game was tight and the fans were animated. Maybe the home team had just scored on a massive stuff block and the crowd was going wild. Maybe the referee had been missing the block touches and some of the players were getting fed up.

I wonder what was on the minds of the players when they laced up their shoes that morning to go out and play. But mostly I wonder what it is like to live in a place where you're not safe anywhere - not even on the neighborhood volleyball court.

Terrorist Strikes Volleyball Game originally appeared on About.com Volleyball on Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 at 10:00:06.

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Texas should be able to take Minnesota fairly easily. The only question mark is whether they will play up to their potential or if their confidence issues will come home to roost. I think they'll come ready to play and I predict that Texas wins this match in three sets.

That leaves only the finals. Texas vs. Penn State, the match we've all been waiting for. The pressure is definitely on Penn State, but that doesn't seem to phase them. They do what they need to do to win and they are on a mission. On paper, I think they win this match. But that did not stop me from picking Texas in my own personal bracket. I love a good upset and I think Texas has the goods to make it happen. I admit, it is a bit of a long shot, but I pick Texas in five.

Predictions originally appeared on About.com Volleyball on Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 at 09:38:03.

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What this team accomplished was so improbable that we may never see the likes of it again. And that is not an overstatement. Even more unlikely is the manner in which they achieved it. Two straight undefeated seasons. 102 straight wins. Say what you like, but Penn State must be given its proper acclaim. This was a tremendous feat.

We also have to give it up for Texas though. The Longhorns put up quite a fight. They made the match one of the most exciting I've seen in a long time. To come out so fast and get Penn State on the ropes with an 0-2 deficit was a surprise. But a team with the experience of Penn State was not going to go out like that. Even though their senior stars struggled, the youngsters stepped up and they played through it like true champions.

Unfortunately for Texas, history will only remember the unprecedented accomplishments of this mighty Penn State team. It will never adequately reflect how close the Longhorns were to taking it all away. That's a shame because truth be told, a few points here or there and the outcome might have been different.

For those on the losing side of a game that big and that tight, it's the stuff nightmares are made of. But Texas played hard and well and can take pride in the performance they put together on Saturday night.

So a great season of college volleyball has come to an end and Penn State keeps the crown for yet another year. Congratulations to both teams for an amazing final match.

Three Straight originally appeared on About.com Volleyball on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 17:37:07.

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On the beach, the players of the year were April Ross and Phil Dalhausser with Ross and Kessy named the Team of the Year. On the hardwood, Nancy Metcalf and Sean Rooney took the honor of Player of the Year.

The U.S. Sitting Volleyball Players of the Year are Katie Holloway and Eric Duda. For more on these players and their outstanding seasons, check out the full article on USAV's website.

USA Volleyball's Best of 2009 originally appeared on About.com Volleyball on Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 at 19:17:04.

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Misty is planning to play this summer and will compete with a new partner. Depending on who she chooses, the domino effect of the partner shuffle could shake up the women's side.

If all goes as planned the two will join forces again for the 2011 season, just in time to rack up qualification points for the Olympics.

Kerri has shown how quickly she can bounce back from childbirth. She was back on the sand just over two months after delivering her first child. But with all the time apart, and the competition getting fierce internationally, can Kerri and Misty claw their way back to the top when the time comes? What do you think?

POLL: Will Kerri and Misty Win Gold in 2012? originally appeared on About.com Volleyball on Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 23:44:31.

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Branagh, last season's MVP and Best Offensive Player, will end her successful partnership with Elaine Youngs with whom she has competed since 2006. Together they won nine events in the '09 season. Youngs says she will play this summer but has not yet announced her new partner.

With Misty tearing up the back court and Nicole doing her thing in the front, the two should be the pair to beat next summer - on paper, anyway.

Considering the injury and the time away from the game, Misty looked good against the Brazilians last summer (save for some conditioning issues.) She should be back up to speed come the start of the season. The only thing left to figure is a little thing called chemistry and that tends to be much less predictable.

Depending on how the dominoes fall among the other pairs down the line, the women's side should have some great new match-ups in the Spring.

Let the chain reaction begin.

Misty Picks A Partner originally appeared on About.com Volleyball on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 at 19:10:14.

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The fact that there are no Cali teams in this Final Four could mean that the NCAA has finally achieved its goal of parity. The level of volleyball around the country has risen significantly and this year's championship will mark the fifth straight year without a California champ. Could it be that volleyball is no longer dominated by the west coast?

I find this quite shocking in a year in which the Pac-10 had a particularly strong season with eight teams in the top 25 most of the year, all of which made the playoffs.

Let me just throw some stats at you to back my point. Pac-10 conference teams have appeared in all but two Final Fours and been the national champs in 13 of them. California teams have won 18 of the 28 championships. This year, most of the Pac-10 teams made unexpected early exits from the tournament.

In the two years that Pac-10 teams did not appear in the Final Four (1998 & 1993), California still had a representative in Long Beach State. Not so this year, as the 49ers lost in the first round. Hawaii is the lone west coast representative and they are not favored to win. A significant development, indeed.

A California-less Final Four originally appeared on About.com Volleyball on Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 at 09:21:34.

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Surprisingly, there was a lot to choose from this year considering that it was the year after the Olympics. I expected sort of a let down after the build-up and excitement of the Beijing Games, but 2009 did not disappoint. There were major upsets, unbelievable streaks and brand new records this year to keep things interesting.

Over the next two weeks I will be counting down the top five moments starting with #5 as we remember the year that was.

Top Volleyball Moments 2009 originally appeared on About.com Volleyball on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 at 01:00:35.

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