(through end of regular season, 11/27/11)
Rank School Record Ranked Schools Previous Ranking
Played to Date
1. Hawaii (29-1) 7 1
2. Purdue (27-4) 13 2
3. Southern Cal (25-4) 13 3
4. Texas (22-4) 13 5
5. Illinois (27-4) 13 7
6. Tennessee (27-3) 11 6
7. UCLA (24-6) 14 9
8. Nebraska (24-4) 11 4
9. Miami FL (25-4) 7 13
10. Florida (25-5) 7 12
11. Northern Iowa (32-1) 5 10
12. Kentucky (26-5) 8 8
13. Iowa State (22-5) 15 11
14. Western Kentucky (31-3) 3 15
15. California (25-6) 12 19
16. Colorado State (23-5) 5 18
17. Penn State (23-7) 14 21
18. Long Beach State (23-6) 6 22
19. Pepperdine (22-6) 10 24
20. Florida State (24-6) 11 14
21. Stanford (21-7) 16 16
22. Texas A&M (22-7) 9 20
23. Washington (21-7) 13 26
24. Tulsa (27-6) 5 17
25. Oregon (20-9) 13 23
26. Dayton (24-6) 6 27
27. San Diego (27-4) 7 28
28. Cincinnati (26-9) 11 25
29. Milwaukee (25-4) 1 29
30. Northern Illinois (28-6) 7 30
31. Duke (21-8) 7 34
32. Samford (29-4) 0 33
33. North Carolina (22-8) 8 38
34. North Dakota (26-5) 1 39
35. Michigan (20-12) 14 36
36. Missouri State (22-8) 5 31
37. TCU (25-7) 4 NR
38. Oklahoma (20-11) 12 NR
39. Minnesota (18-11) 17 NR
40. Yale (18-6) 0 40
Others Almost Good Enough: Wyoming (21-11), Furman (21-9), New Mexico State (23-10), Ball State (25-7), Western Michigan (24-8), BYU (21-9), San Diego State (20-10), Louisville (23-8), Kansas State (20-10), Ohio State (19-14), Lipscomb (20-10)
Dropped Out: Arizona (19-12), Michigan State (21-11), Marquette (23-10)
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Sandflea's Week Thirteen 2011 NCAA Football Top 40
(through games of 11/26/11)
Rank School Record Ranked Teams Rank Last Week
Played to Date
1. LSU (12-0) 7 1
2. Alabama (11-1) 2 2
3. Houston (12-0) 1 3
4. Stanford (11-1) 4 5
5. Virginia Tech (11-1) 4 6
6. Boise State (11-1) 4 7
7. Oklahoma State (10-1) 4 8
8. Oklahoma (10-2) 6 10
9. Oregon (10-2) 5 9
10. Southern Cal (10-2) 5 12
11. Michigan State (10-2) 6 13
12. Arkansas (10-2) 5 4
13. Michigan (10-2) 4 15
14. TCU (9-2) 5 11
15. Georgia (10-2) 5 16
16. South Carolina (10-2) 5 17
17. Wisconsin (10-2) 3 19
18. Kansas State (9-2) 6 14
19. Baylor (8-3) 7 22
20. Nebraska (9-3) 7 23
21. West Virginia (8-3) 5 24
22. Southern Mississippi (10-2) 2 30
23. Cincinnati (8-3) 3 35
24. BYU (8-3) 3 27
25. Clemson (9-3) 5 20
26. Penn State (9-3) 4 18
27. Arkansas State (9-2) 3 31
28. Northern Illinois (9-3) 1 33
29. Ohio U. (9-3) 1 34
30. Notre Dame (8-4) 4 26
31. Georgia Tech (8-4) 4 29
32. Rutgers (8-4) 4 21
33. Florida State (8-4) 4 40
34. Texas (7-4) 5 NR
35. Tulsa (8-4) 5 25
36. Temple (8-4) 2 NR
37. Wyoming (7-4) 3 32
38. Virginia (8-4) 4 28
39. Toledo (8-4) 3 NR
40. Louisiana-Lafayette (8-4) 1 36
Others to Watch: Auburn (7-5), Louisiana Tech (8-4), Florida International (8-4), San Diego State (7-4), North Carolina State (7-5), Louisville (7-5), Western Michigan (7-5), California (7-5), SMU (7-5), Utah State (6-5), Western Kentucky (7-5), North Carolina (7-5), Missouri (7-5), Air Force (7-5), Washington (7-5)
Dropped Out: Utah (7-5), Iowa State (6-5), Iowa (7-5)
Rank School Record Ranked Teams Rank Last Week
Played to Date
1. LSU (12-0) 7 1
2. Alabama (11-1) 2 2
3. Houston (12-0) 1 3
4. Stanford (11-1) 4 5
5. Virginia Tech (11-1) 4 6
6. Boise State (11-1) 4 7
7. Oklahoma State (10-1) 4 8
8. Oklahoma (10-2) 6 10
9. Oregon (10-2) 5 9
10. Southern Cal (10-2) 5 12
11. Michigan State (10-2) 6 13
12. Arkansas (10-2) 5 4
13. Michigan (10-2) 4 15
14. TCU (9-2) 5 11
15. Georgia (10-2) 5 16
16. South Carolina (10-2) 5 17
17. Wisconsin (10-2) 3 19
18. Kansas State (9-2) 6 14
19. Baylor (8-3) 7 22
20. Nebraska (9-3) 7 23
21. West Virginia (8-3) 5 24
22. Southern Mississippi (10-2) 2 30
23. Cincinnati (8-3) 3 35
24. BYU (8-3) 3 27
25. Clemson (9-3) 5 20
26. Penn State (9-3) 4 18
27. Arkansas State (9-2) 3 31
28. Northern Illinois (9-3) 1 33
29. Ohio U. (9-3) 1 34
30. Notre Dame (8-4) 4 26
31. Georgia Tech (8-4) 4 29
32. Rutgers (8-4) 4 21
33. Florida State (8-4) 4 40
34. Texas (7-4) 5 NR
35. Tulsa (8-4) 5 25
36. Temple (8-4) 2 NR
37. Wyoming (7-4) 3 32
38. Virginia (8-4) 4 28
39. Toledo (8-4) 3 NR
40. Louisiana-Lafayette (8-4) 1 36
Others to Watch: Auburn (7-5), Louisiana Tech (8-4), Florida International (8-4), San Diego State (7-4), North Carolina State (7-5), Louisville (7-5), Western Michigan (7-5), California (7-5), SMU (7-5), Utah State (6-5), Western Kentucky (7-5), North Carolina (7-5), Missouri (7-5), Air Force (7-5), Washington (7-5)
Dropped Out: Utah (7-5), Iowa State (6-5), Iowa (7-5)
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
NCAA Volleyball Week Thirteen Highlights (11/14-11/20/11)
Week Thirteen Selected Match Highlights:
At this late point in the season, good teams have one of two challenges: either they are jockeying for a better NCAA tourney seed and home-court advantage in the first two rounds if in a major power conference, or they are trying to avoid upsets in conference tourneys and thus possibly be shut out of the big dance if in a non-Big Six conference.
In the Big Ten, host Penn State beat Purdue, 3-1, after losing the first set (22-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-18), thanks to outhitting (.285 to .169), outblocking (10 to 4), and outservice-acing (6 to 4) the Boilermakers. Elsewhere, host Michigan State stunned Illinois, 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-21, 25-22), in an upset to make the Spartans' season.
It was a big week in the Pac-12, with Oregon and USC faring the best. On the road, Oregon beat both Stanford and Cal by identical 3-2 scores, outhitting the host schools .292 to .234 and .245 to .231, respectively. Meanwhile, host USC crushed both Arizona and Arizona State without losing a set. Conference upsets included Oregon State knocking off Cal, 3-2 (17-15 in the fifth set decider), and Arizona once again upending UCLA, this time on the road, 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-20), outhitting (.259 to .189) and outblocking (7 to 4) the bigger Bruins.
In the SEC, host Kentucky came from behind to defeat a stubborn Arkansas team, 3-2 (18-25, 26-28, 25-23, 25-21, 15-13). In the Big 12, and in another epic contest, Iowa State got by host Baylor, 3-2 (22-25, 25-12, 25-15, 4-26, 15-12).
In the Big East tournament, Cincinnati emerged triumphant, including a 3-2 (21-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-17, 15-13) championship match win over Notre Dame. In the MAC tournament, Central Michigan was crowned champion, thanks to an upset championship match win over Northern Illinois, 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 15-11). CMU outhit (.321 to .216), outblocked (13 to 4), and outaced (4 to 3) NIU. At 27-5, Northern Illinois should still receive an at-large bid from the committee, but nothing is guaranteed--especially when the committee unimaginatively prefers 6 or 7 teams from each of the power conferences. Zzzzzzz.
In the ACC, Miami struggled on the road at Georgia Tech (3-2) and Clemson (2-3) in five-set marathons. An average Virginia Tech squad upset 21-7 North Carolina, 3-1. In the WCC, visiting Pepperdine made quick work out of San Diego, 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-18), and captured the conference crown.
There was a noble loser of the week. A mediocre Northwestern team put up valiant fights against both Michigan and Michigan State on the road, losing in five sets each time (11-15 and 12-15 in the fifth sets, respectively). The peskiness was even more admirable when considering the Wildcats' hitting inaccuracy (.137 against Michigan and .160 against Michigan State). Quality losses.
Week Thirteen Selected Individual Highlights:
Oregon showed tenacity and perseverance (not to mention improvement) in out-duelling both Cal and Stanford on the road in epic five-set matches, as Liz Brenner (44 kills, 7 blocks), future Miss Oregon USA Alaina Bergsma (30 kills, 3 ace, 15 digs, 7 blocks), Ariana Williams (27 kills, 4 blocks), Lauren Plum (9 kills, 117 assists, 4 aces, 25 digs, 4 blocks), Katherine Fischer (24 kills, 2 aces, 31 digs, 6 assists, 1 block), and Haley Jacob (56 digs, 5 assists) excelled on the court.
Also in the Pac-12, USC, displaying team hitting percentages of .488 and .336, lost only one set in hosting Arizona and Arizona State last weekend, thanks primarily to the efforts of Alex Jupiter (35 kills, 3 aces, 14 digs, 7 blocks), Lauren Williams (21 kills, 6 blocks), Alexis Olgard (20 kills, 5 blocks), Katie Fuller (18 kills, 3 blocks, 11 digs), Sara Shaw (13 kills, 1 ace, 20 digs), and superstar setter Kendall Bateman (93 assists, 13 digs, 4 blocks, 2 kills).
Pepperdine displayed stifling defense in smothering San Francisco and San Diego, illustrated by the 27 digs of their best hitter, Kim Hill, who also had 30 kills, 4 aces, and 4 blocks. Other major contributors included Lilla Frederick (20 kills, 4 aces, 30 digs, 3 blocks), Samantha Cash (16 kills, 12 blocks, 4 digs), Katie Messing (13 kills, 6 blocks, 4 digs), Kellie Woolever (80 assists, 23 digs, 6 blocks, 6 kills), and Stevi Robinson (29 digs).
Colorado State rolled through the Mountain West Conference tournament without losing a set against Air Force, Wyoming, and UNLV thanks to Katelyn Steffan (34 kills, 1 ace, 18 digs, 9 blocks), Megan Plourde (28 kills, 1 ace, 13 blocks, 4 digs), Dana Cranston (24 kills, 6 aces, 18 digs, 4 blocks), Brieon Paige (17 kills, 16 blocks), Deedra Foss (99 assists, 27 digs, 8 blocks, 1 ace), and Izzy Gaulia (3 aces, 1 kill, 50 digs).
North Dakota claimed the Great West championship with victories over Houston Baptist and Utah Valley at home due in large part to the efforts of Devin Trefz (28 kills, 1 ace, 8 blocks, 5 digs), Annika Smed (27 kills, 1 ace, 25 digs, 3 blocks), Lisa Parlich (15 kills, 9 blocks), Ronni Munkeby (15 kills, 6 blocks), Nikki Husfeldt (62 assists, 15 digs, 2 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace), and Erica Turner (43 digs, 6 assists, 2 aces).
In the Midwest, Michigan State surprised Illinois in four sets and got by Northwestern in five sets at home, as Jenilee Rathje (33 kills, 9 blocks, 25 digs, 5 assists), Kyndra Abron (35 kills, 7 blocks, 5 digs), Becca Zialis (21 kills, 33 digs, 5 blocks, 2 aces, 5 assists), Alexis Mathews (20 kills, 14 blocks), Natalie Emro (10 kills, 55 assists, 9 blocks, 4 digs), Kristen Kelsay (40 assists, 5 kills, 18 digs), and Kori Moster (5 aces, 43 digs, 10 assists) played near-perfect team ball.
Finally using their superior size to their advantage, Central Michigan earned a spot in the NCAA tournament by knocking off the top three seeds (Western Michigan, Ohio U., and Northern Illinois) in succession in the Mid-American Conference tourney. Kaitlyn Schultz (44 kills, 9 blocks, 4 aces, 4 digs), Kaitlyn McIntyre (36 kills, 10 digs), Lindsey Dulude (30 kills, 6 aces, 22 digs, 5 blocks), Danielle Gotham (21 kills, 13 blocks), Kelly Maxwell (131 assists, 4 aces, 20 digs, 6 kills, 6 blocks), and Jenna Coates (54 digs, 1 ace, 6 assists, 2 kills) all overachieved at the right time.
Dayton slammed Duquesne and Xavier in winning the Atlantic-10 tournament thanks principally to Rachel Krabacher (29 kills, 15 digs, 2 blocks, 1 ace), Yvonne Marten (27 kills, 23 digs, 7 blocks, 2 aces), Megan Campbell (22 kills, 2 aces, 11 blocks, 4 digs), Samantha Selsky (83 assists, 18 digs, 6 blocks, 6 kills), and Paige Vargas (29 digs, 2 assists).
Cincinnati got through the Big East tourney unscathed, not losing a set to Villanova and Notre Dame but going five sets against Marquette, due primarily to the efforts of Jordanne Scott (39 kills, 11 digs, 10 blocks, 1 ace), Missy Harpenau (39 kills, 35 digs, 8 blocks, 2 aces), Megan Turner (26 kills, 2 aces, 11 digs, 4 blocks), Emily Hayden (26 kills, 13 blocks), Caylin Mahoney (126 assists, 28 digs, 12 kills, 9 blocks), and Emily MacIntyre (53 digs, 9 assists, 2 aces).
Milwaukee aced the Horizon League tournament, shutting out Valparaiso and Cleveland State, thanks primarily to Elizabeth Egerer (27 kills, 4 blocks, 4 digs), Julie Kolinske (21 kills, 2 blocks), Rachel Neuberger (15 kills, 7 blocks), Kerri Schuh (13 kills, 6 blocks, 19 digs, 9 assists, 1 ace), Kayla Price (6 kills, 65 assists, 22 digs, 4 blocks), and Morgan Potter (34 digs, 1 ace).
In the South, four schools had great weeks on the court. Tennessee shut out Arkansas and LSU at home due to the excellence of Kelsey Robinson (33 kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks, 18 digs), Leslie Cikra (19 kills, 5 blocks), Tiffany Baker (18 kills, 9 blocks, 11 digs), DeeDee Harrison (14 kills, 11 blocks), Mary Pollmiller (78 assists, 11 digs, 3 kills, 1 block), and Ellen Mullins (19 digs, 2 aces, 6 assists).
Florida State clinched the ACC title with wins over Clemson and Georgia Tech on the road by identical 3-1 scores. Spelling bees could be created using the Seminole roster names alone! Jekaterina Stepanova (38 kills, 20 digs, 2 blocks, 1 ace, 5 assists), Visnja Djurdjevic (20 kills, 33 digs, 4 blocks), Sareea Freeman (16 kills, 14 blocks), Elise Walch (16 kills, 4 blocks), Rachael Morgan (11 kills, 10 blocks, 9 digs, 1 ace), Sarah Wickstrom (45 assists, 11 digs, 1 ace, 1 kill), and Duyqu Duzceler (47 assists, 2 aces, 2 kills, 16 digs) played well in both matches.
Elsewhere in the ACC, Duke's talent is peaking at the right time, with emphatic 3-1 wins over Maryland and Boston College on the road. Sophia Dunworth (27 kills, 31 digs, 6 blocks, 1 ace, 4 assists), Christiana Gray (28 kills, 15 blocks), Amanda Robertson (24 kills, 10 blocks, 1 ace, 21 digs), Jeme Obeime (25 kills, 13 digs, 2 blocks), Kellie Catanach (96 assists, 23 digs, 6 blocks, 7 kills), and Ali McCurdy (46 digs, 2 aces, 7 assists) all excelled in preparation for the Big Dance.
Finally, Samford won its first two Southern Conference tournament matches, beating Davidson and Furman, thanks in large part to the efforts of Lauren Hutchinson (25 kills, 8 blocks, 1 ace, 4 digs), Elizabeth Neisler (31 kills, 11 digs, 2 blocks), Katie Murphy (25 kills, 5 blocks), Michaela Reeser (15 kills, 21 digs, 6 blocks), Casey Garvey (96 assists, 7 kills, 2 aces, 1 block, 4 digs), and Alexis Bauer (41 digs, 5 assists). They will play College of Charleston for the conference title on Monday.
Week Fourteen Selected Match Previews:
The final week of the regular season is dotted with big rivalry games and two more conference tournaments of note. Potential trap games are also noted.
The Missouri Valley Conference, featuring Wichita State, Missouri State, and powerhouse Northern Iowa, has its tourney in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Advantage, NIU. The Western Athletic Conference, featuring New Mexico State and Hawaii, has its tourney in neutral Las Vegas before Thanksgiving.
Big rivalry games of consequence include USC at UCLA, Cal at Stanford, Texas at Texas A&M, Oklahoma at Texas, Kentucky at Tennessee, and Florida State at Miami FL.
Potential trap games for NCAA shoe-ins include Penn State at Michigan State, Purdue at Wisconsin, New Mexico at Long Beach State, and Colorado State at New Mexico State.
At this late point in the season, good teams have one of two challenges: either they are jockeying for a better NCAA tourney seed and home-court advantage in the first two rounds if in a major power conference, or they are trying to avoid upsets in conference tourneys and thus possibly be shut out of the big dance if in a non-Big Six conference.
In the Big Ten, host Penn State beat Purdue, 3-1, after losing the first set (22-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-18), thanks to outhitting (.285 to .169), outblocking (10 to 4), and outservice-acing (6 to 4) the Boilermakers. Elsewhere, host Michigan State stunned Illinois, 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-21, 25-22), in an upset to make the Spartans' season.
It was a big week in the Pac-12, with Oregon and USC faring the best. On the road, Oregon beat both Stanford and Cal by identical 3-2 scores, outhitting the host schools .292 to .234 and .245 to .231, respectively. Meanwhile, host USC crushed both Arizona and Arizona State without losing a set. Conference upsets included Oregon State knocking off Cal, 3-2 (17-15 in the fifth set decider), and Arizona once again upending UCLA, this time on the road, 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-20), outhitting (.259 to .189) and outblocking (7 to 4) the bigger Bruins.
In the SEC, host Kentucky came from behind to defeat a stubborn Arkansas team, 3-2 (18-25, 26-28, 25-23, 25-21, 15-13). In the Big 12, and in another epic contest, Iowa State got by host Baylor, 3-2 (22-25, 25-12, 25-15, 4-26, 15-12).
In the Big East tournament, Cincinnati emerged triumphant, including a 3-2 (21-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-17, 15-13) championship match win over Notre Dame. In the MAC tournament, Central Michigan was crowned champion, thanks to an upset championship match win over Northern Illinois, 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 15-11). CMU outhit (.321 to .216), outblocked (13 to 4), and outaced (4 to 3) NIU. At 27-5, Northern Illinois should still receive an at-large bid from the committee, but nothing is guaranteed--especially when the committee unimaginatively prefers 6 or 7 teams from each of the power conferences. Zzzzzzz.
In the ACC, Miami struggled on the road at Georgia Tech (3-2) and Clemson (2-3) in five-set marathons. An average Virginia Tech squad upset 21-7 North Carolina, 3-1. In the WCC, visiting Pepperdine made quick work out of San Diego, 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-18), and captured the conference crown.
There was a noble loser of the week. A mediocre Northwestern team put up valiant fights against both Michigan and Michigan State on the road, losing in five sets each time (11-15 and 12-15 in the fifth sets, respectively). The peskiness was even more admirable when considering the Wildcats' hitting inaccuracy (.137 against Michigan and .160 against Michigan State). Quality losses.
Week Thirteen Selected Individual Highlights:
Oregon showed tenacity and perseverance (not to mention improvement) in out-duelling both Cal and Stanford on the road in epic five-set matches, as Liz Brenner (44 kills, 7 blocks), future Miss Oregon USA Alaina Bergsma (30 kills, 3 ace, 15 digs, 7 blocks), Ariana Williams (27 kills, 4 blocks), Lauren Plum (9 kills, 117 assists, 4 aces, 25 digs, 4 blocks), Katherine Fischer (24 kills, 2 aces, 31 digs, 6 assists, 1 block), and Haley Jacob (56 digs, 5 assists) excelled on the court.
Also in the Pac-12, USC, displaying team hitting percentages of .488 and .336, lost only one set in hosting Arizona and Arizona State last weekend, thanks primarily to the efforts of Alex Jupiter (35 kills, 3 aces, 14 digs, 7 blocks), Lauren Williams (21 kills, 6 blocks), Alexis Olgard (20 kills, 5 blocks), Katie Fuller (18 kills, 3 blocks, 11 digs), Sara Shaw (13 kills, 1 ace, 20 digs), and superstar setter Kendall Bateman (93 assists, 13 digs, 4 blocks, 2 kills).
Pepperdine displayed stifling defense in smothering San Francisco and San Diego, illustrated by the 27 digs of their best hitter, Kim Hill, who also had 30 kills, 4 aces, and 4 blocks. Other major contributors included Lilla Frederick (20 kills, 4 aces, 30 digs, 3 blocks), Samantha Cash (16 kills, 12 blocks, 4 digs), Katie Messing (13 kills, 6 blocks, 4 digs), Kellie Woolever (80 assists, 23 digs, 6 blocks, 6 kills), and Stevi Robinson (29 digs).
Colorado State rolled through the Mountain West Conference tournament without losing a set against Air Force, Wyoming, and UNLV thanks to Katelyn Steffan (34 kills, 1 ace, 18 digs, 9 blocks), Megan Plourde (28 kills, 1 ace, 13 blocks, 4 digs), Dana Cranston (24 kills, 6 aces, 18 digs, 4 blocks), Brieon Paige (17 kills, 16 blocks), Deedra Foss (99 assists, 27 digs, 8 blocks, 1 ace), and Izzy Gaulia (3 aces, 1 kill, 50 digs).
North Dakota claimed the Great West championship with victories over Houston Baptist and Utah Valley at home due in large part to the efforts of Devin Trefz (28 kills, 1 ace, 8 blocks, 5 digs), Annika Smed (27 kills, 1 ace, 25 digs, 3 blocks), Lisa Parlich (15 kills, 9 blocks), Ronni Munkeby (15 kills, 6 blocks), Nikki Husfeldt (62 assists, 15 digs, 2 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace), and Erica Turner (43 digs, 6 assists, 2 aces).
In the Midwest, Michigan State surprised Illinois in four sets and got by Northwestern in five sets at home, as Jenilee Rathje (33 kills, 9 blocks, 25 digs, 5 assists), Kyndra Abron (35 kills, 7 blocks, 5 digs), Becca Zialis (21 kills, 33 digs, 5 blocks, 2 aces, 5 assists), Alexis Mathews (20 kills, 14 blocks), Natalie Emro (10 kills, 55 assists, 9 blocks, 4 digs), Kristen Kelsay (40 assists, 5 kills, 18 digs), and Kori Moster (5 aces, 43 digs, 10 assists) played near-perfect team ball.
Finally using their superior size to their advantage, Central Michigan earned a spot in the NCAA tournament by knocking off the top three seeds (Western Michigan, Ohio U., and Northern Illinois) in succession in the Mid-American Conference tourney. Kaitlyn Schultz (44 kills, 9 blocks, 4 aces, 4 digs), Kaitlyn McIntyre (36 kills, 10 digs), Lindsey Dulude (30 kills, 6 aces, 22 digs, 5 blocks), Danielle Gotham (21 kills, 13 blocks), Kelly Maxwell (131 assists, 4 aces, 20 digs, 6 kills, 6 blocks), and Jenna Coates (54 digs, 1 ace, 6 assists, 2 kills) all overachieved at the right time.
Dayton slammed Duquesne and Xavier in winning the Atlantic-10 tournament thanks principally to Rachel Krabacher (29 kills, 15 digs, 2 blocks, 1 ace), Yvonne Marten (27 kills, 23 digs, 7 blocks, 2 aces), Megan Campbell (22 kills, 2 aces, 11 blocks, 4 digs), Samantha Selsky (83 assists, 18 digs, 6 blocks, 6 kills), and Paige Vargas (29 digs, 2 assists).
Cincinnati got through the Big East tourney unscathed, not losing a set to Villanova and Notre Dame but going five sets against Marquette, due primarily to the efforts of Jordanne Scott (39 kills, 11 digs, 10 blocks, 1 ace), Missy Harpenau (39 kills, 35 digs, 8 blocks, 2 aces), Megan Turner (26 kills, 2 aces, 11 digs, 4 blocks), Emily Hayden (26 kills, 13 blocks), Caylin Mahoney (126 assists, 28 digs, 12 kills, 9 blocks), and Emily MacIntyre (53 digs, 9 assists, 2 aces).
Milwaukee aced the Horizon League tournament, shutting out Valparaiso and Cleveland State, thanks primarily to Elizabeth Egerer (27 kills, 4 blocks, 4 digs), Julie Kolinske (21 kills, 2 blocks), Rachel Neuberger (15 kills, 7 blocks), Kerri Schuh (13 kills, 6 blocks, 19 digs, 9 assists, 1 ace), Kayla Price (6 kills, 65 assists, 22 digs, 4 blocks), and Morgan Potter (34 digs, 1 ace).
In the South, four schools had great weeks on the court. Tennessee shut out Arkansas and LSU at home due to the excellence of Kelsey Robinson (33 kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks, 18 digs), Leslie Cikra (19 kills, 5 blocks), Tiffany Baker (18 kills, 9 blocks, 11 digs), DeeDee Harrison (14 kills, 11 blocks), Mary Pollmiller (78 assists, 11 digs, 3 kills, 1 block), and Ellen Mullins (19 digs, 2 aces, 6 assists).
Florida State clinched the ACC title with wins over Clemson and Georgia Tech on the road by identical 3-1 scores. Spelling bees could be created using the Seminole roster names alone! Jekaterina Stepanova (38 kills, 20 digs, 2 blocks, 1 ace, 5 assists), Visnja Djurdjevic (20 kills, 33 digs, 4 blocks), Sareea Freeman (16 kills, 14 blocks), Elise Walch (16 kills, 4 blocks), Rachael Morgan (11 kills, 10 blocks, 9 digs, 1 ace), Sarah Wickstrom (45 assists, 11 digs, 1 ace, 1 kill), and Duyqu Duzceler (47 assists, 2 aces, 2 kills, 16 digs) played well in both matches.
Elsewhere in the ACC, Duke's talent is peaking at the right time, with emphatic 3-1 wins over Maryland and Boston College on the road. Sophia Dunworth (27 kills, 31 digs, 6 blocks, 1 ace, 4 assists), Christiana Gray (28 kills, 15 blocks), Amanda Robertson (24 kills, 10 blocks, 1 ace, 21 digs), Jeme Obeime (25 kills, 13 digs, 2 blocks), Kellie Catanach (96 assists, 23 digs, 6 blocks, 7 kills), and Ali McCurdy (46 digs, 2 aces, 7 assists) all excelled in preparation for the Big Dance.
Finally, Samford won its first two Southern Conference tournament matches, beating Davidson and Furman, thanks in large part to the efforts of Lauren Hutchinson (25 kills, 8 blocks, 1 ace, 4 digs), Elizabeth Neisler (31 kills, 11 digs, 2 blocks), Katie Murphy (25 kills, 5 blocks), Michaela Reeser (15 kills, 21 digs, 6 blocks), Casey Garvey (96 assists, 7 kills, 2 aces, 1 block, 4 digs), and Alexis Bauer (41 digs, 5 assists). They will play College of Charleston for the conference title on Monday.
Week Fourteen Selected Match Previews:
The final week of the regular season is dotted with big rivalry games and two more conference tournaments of note. Potential trap games are also noted.
The Missouri Valley Conference, featuring Wichita State, Missouri State, and powerhouse Northern Iowa, has its tourney in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Advantage, NIU. The Western Athletic Conference, featuring New Mexico State and Hawaii, has its tourney in neutral Las Vegas before Thanksgiving.
Big rivalry games of consequence include USC at UCLA, Cal at Stanford, Texas at Texas A&M, Oklahoma at Texas, Kentucky at Tennessee, and Florida State at Miami FL.
Potential trap games for NCAA shoe-ins include Penn State at Michigan State, Purdue at Wisconsin, New Mexico at Long Beach State, and Colorado State at New Mexico State.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Sandflea's Week Thirteen NCAA Women's Volleyball Top 40
(through games of 11/20/11)
Rank School Record Ranked Teams Rank Last Week
Played to Date
1. Hawaii (22-1) 7 1
2. Purdue (25-4) 13 3
3. Southern Cal (24-4) 12 4
4. Nebraska (23-3) 11 5
5. Texas (20-4) 12 8
6. Tennessee (26-3) 10 9
7. Illinois (25-4) 13 2
8. Kentucky (26-4) 7 10
9. UCLA (24-5) 13 6
10. Northern Iowa (30-1) 5 11
11. Iowa State (22-4) 14 14
12. Florida (23-5) 7 15
13. Miami FL (24-4) 6 13
14. Florida State (24-5) 10 17
15. Western Kentucky (31-3) 3 18
16. Stanford (21-6) 15 12
17. Tulsa (27-5) 5 20
18. Colorado State (22-5) 5 23
19. California (24-6) 11 7
20. Texas A&M (21-6) 7 21
21. Penn State (21-7) 13 24
22. Long Beach State (20-6) 6 22
23. Oregon (19-8) 13 26
24. Pepperdine (21-6) 10 25
25. Cincinnati (25-8) 11 28
26. Washington (19-7) 13 27
27. Dayton (23-6) 6 30
28. San Diego (27-4) 7 16
29. Milwaukee (25-4) 1 29
30. Northern Illinois (27-6) 6 19
31. Missouri State (22-7) 5 31
32. Arizona (18-11) 13 37
33. Samford (28-4) 0 34
34. Duke (20-8) 7 39
35. Michigan State (21-9) 9 NR
36. Michigan (19-11) 13 NR
37. Marquette (23-9) 7 38
38. North Carolina (21-8) 8 35
39. North Dakota (26-5) 1 NR
40. Yale (18-6) 0 40
Others to Watch: Wyoming (21-11), Furman (21-9), New Mexico State (21-8), Ball State (24-7),
Minnesota (16-11), Western Michigan (23-8), BYU (21-9), Oklahoma (19-10), San
Diego State (19-9), Xavier (20-10)
Dropped Out: Louisville (22-8), TCU (23-7), Kansas State (19-10)
Rank School Record Ranked Teams Rank Last Week
Played to Date
1. Hawaii (22-1) 7 1
2. Purdue (25-4) 13 3
3. Southern Cal (24-4) 12 4
4. Nebraska (23-3) 11 5
5. Texas (20-4) 12 8
6. Tennessee (26-3) 10 9
7. Illinois (25-4) 13 2
8. Kentucky (26-4) 7 10
9. UCLA (24-5) 13 6
10. Northern Iowa (30-1) 5 11
11. Iowa State (22-4) 14 14
12. Florida (23-5) 7 15
13. Miami FL (24-4) 6 13
14. Florida State (24-5) 10 17
15. Western Kentucky (31-3) 3 18
16. Stanford (21-6) 15 12
17. Tulsa (27-5) 5 20
18. Colorado State (22-5) 5 23
19. California (24-6) 11 7
20. Texas A&M (21-6) 7 21
21. Penn State (21-7) 13 24
22. Long Beach State (20-6) 6 22
23. Oregon (19-8) 13 26
24. Pepperdine (21-6) 10 25
25. Cincinnati (25-8) 11 28
26. Washington (19-7) 13 27
27. Dayton (23-6) 6 30
28. San Diego (27-4) 7 16
29. Milwaukee (25-4) 1 29
30. Northern Illinois (27-6) 6 19
31. Missouri State (22-7) 5 31
32. Arizona (18-11) 13 37
33. Samford (28-4) 0 34
34. Duke (20-8) 7 39
35. Michigan State (21-9) 9 NR
36. Michigan (19-11) 13 NR
37. Marquette (23-9) 7 38
38. North Carolina (21-8) 8 35
39. North Dakota (26-5) 1 NR
40. Yale (18-6) 0 40
Others to Watch: Wyoming (21-11), Furman (21-9), New Mexico State (21-8), Ball State (24-7),
Minnesota (16-11), Western Michigan (23-8), BYU (21-9), Oklahoma (19-10), San
Diego State (19-9), Xavier (20-10)
Dropped Out: Louisville (22-8), TCU (23-7), Kansas State (19-10)
Monday, November 21, 2011
Sandflea's Week Twelve 2011 NCAA Football Top 40
(through games of 11/19/2011)
Rank School Record Ranked Teams Rank Last Week
Played to Date
1. LSU (11-0) 6 1
2. Alabama (10-1) 2 5
3. Houston (11-0) 0 6
4. Arkansas (10-1) 4 7
5. Stanford (10-1) 3 9
6. Virginia Tech (10-1) 3 10
7. Boise State (10-1) 3 11
8. Oklahoma State (10-1) 4 2
9. Oregon (9-2) 5 3
10. Oklahoma (9-2) 5 4
11. TCU (9-2) 5 13
12. Southern Cal (9-2) 5 16
13. Michigan State (9-2) 6 14
14. Kansas State (9-2) 6 15
15. Michigan (9-2) 4 20
16. Georgia (9-2) 4 18
17. South Carolina (9-2) 4 17
18. Penn State (9-2) 3 23
19. Wisconsin (9-2) 2 21
20. Clemson (9-2) 4 8
21. Rutgers (8-3) 4 25
22. Baylor (7-3) 7 27
23. Nebraska (8-3) 5 19
24. West Virginia (7-3) 5 24
25. Tulsa (8-3) 4 30
26. Notre Dame (8-3) 3 28
27. BYU (8-3) 3 29
28. Virginia (8-3) 3 31
29. Georgia Tech (8-3) 3 32
30. Southern Mississippi (9-2) 2 12
31. Arkansas State (9-2) 3 35
32. Wyoming (7-3) 2 33
33. Northern Illinois (8-3) 1 34
34. Ohio U. (8-3) 1 36
35. Cincinnati (7-3) 3 22
36. Louisiana-Lafayette (8-3) 1 40
37. Utah (7-4) 4 NR
38. Iowa State (6-4) 4 NR
39. Iowa (7-4) 3 NR
40. Florida State (7-4) 4 26
Others to Watch: Auburn (7-4), Toledo (7-4), Louisiana Tech (7-4), Temple (7-4), Florida International
(7-4)
Dropped Out: San Diego State (6-4), Nevada (6-4), Texas (6-4)
Rank School Record Ranked Teams Rank Last Week
Played to Date
1. LSU (11-0) 6 1
2. Alabama (10-1) 2 5
3. Houston (11-0) 0 6
4. Arkansas (10-1) 4 7
5. Stanford (10-1) 3 9
6. Virginia Tech (10-1) 3 10
7. Boise State (10-1) 3 11
8. Oklahoma State (10-1) 4 2
9. Oregon (9-2) 5 3
10. Oklahoma (9-2) 5 4
11. TCU (9-2) 5 13
12. Southern Cal (9-2) 5 16
13. Michigan State (9-2) 6 14
14. Kansas State (9-2) 6 15
15. Michigan (9-2) 4 20
16. Georgia (9-2) 4 18
17. South Carolina (9-2) 4 17
18. Penn State (9-2) 3 23
19. Wisconsin (9-2) 2 21
20. Clemson (9-2) 4 8
21. Rutgers (8-3) 4 25
22. Baylor (7-3) 7 27
23. Nebraska (8-3) 5 19
24. West Virginia (7-3) 5 24
25. Tulsa (8-3) 4 30
26. Notre Dame (8-3) 3 28
27. BYU (8-3) 3 29
28. Virginia (8-3) 3 31
29. Georgia Tech (8-3) 3 32
30. Southern Mississippi (9-2) 2 12
31. Arkansas State (9-2) 3 35
32. Wyoming (7-3) 2 33
33. Northern Illinois (8-3) 1 34
34. Ohio U. (8-3) 1 36
35. Cincinnati (7-3) 3 22
36. Louisiana-Lafayette (8-3) 1 40
37. Utah (7-4) 4 NR
38. Iowa State (6-4) 4 NR
39. Iowa (7-4) 3 NR
40. Florida State (7-4) 4 26
Others to Watch: Auburn (7-4), Toledo (7-4), Louisiana Tech (7-4), Temple (7-4), Florida International
(7-4)
Dropped Out: San Diego State (6-4), Nevada (6-4), Texas (6-4)
Sunday, November 20, 2011
NCAA Volleyball Week Twelve Highlights (11/7-11/13/11)
Brief Note to Readers:
Due to technical difficulties, this blog is being published about 5 days late. Sorry for the inconvenience and untimeliness!
Week Twelve Match Highlights:
In the most important, if not the best, match in the Big Ten last week, host Purdue vanquished Nebraska, 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-16). As expected, temporarily suspended star setter Lauren Cook was reinstated to Nebraska's line-up, but she couldn't help the Huskers' hitting woes. Nebraska hit .146, .306, and .093 in the three sets, while the Boilermakers hit .318, .600, and .355.
In the Pac-12, Oregon came from behind to defeat visiting UCLA, 3-2 (20-25, 23-25, 25-15, 25-18, 15-9), in a 150-minute marathon. UCLA hit an anemic .173 for the match. Elsewhere in the conference, host Washington gained revenge in beating Stanford, 3-2 (18-25, 27-25, 25-19, 22-25, 10-15).
In the ACC, Duke displayed its talent on a rare occasion in defeating visiting Florida State, 3-2 (25-20, 14-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-7). In the Big East, Cincinnati triumphed over host Villanova, 3-2 (22-25, 25-14, 25-23, 24-26, 15-4). Unlucky but tenacious Villanova also fell to Louisville in five sets. A noble loser.
In the SEC, Florida got by gritty host Arkansas, 3-2 (18-25, 30-32, 25-21, 26-24, 15-9). Another conference team that doesn't believe in intimidation or the press is Mississippi, for Ole Miss stretched visiting powerhouses Tennessee and Kentucky to five sets each before losing by scores of 15-13 and 17-15 in the fifth sets, respectively. Another noble loser. The Rebels may only be 5-13 in league play, but they are 4-3 in their last seven matches.
In the Big 12, the best match of the week had Kansas State beating Oklahoma, 3-2 (18-25, 25-23, 16-25, 25-21, 15-12).
In the MAC, powerhouse Northern Illinois had trouble with host Bowling Green, finally disposing of the feisty underdog, 3-2 (23-25, 22-25, 27-25, 25-15, 15-11). Elsewhere in the MAC, host Miami (OH) upset Western Michigan, 3-2 (25-27, 25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 15-11).
In another upset, this time in the Southern Conference, visiting Appalachian State surprised Samford, 3-2 (12-25, 25-21, 25-23, 18-25, 15-12).
There were two other notable upsets last week. In the Mountain West, Wyoming downed host TCU, 3-2 (25-23, 25-9, 21-25, 21-25, 15-12). In the WCC, inconsistent Saint Mary's put it together one more time and shut out visiting conference powerhouse Pepperdine, 3-0.
Colorado State had two tough matches on the road in the MWC, falling first to TCU, 3-2 (25-21, 25-23, 18-25, 20-25, 15-11), before defeating stubborn New Mexico, 3-2 (19-25, 25-14, 25-19, 22-25, 15-11).
Meanwhile in the Sun Belt, Western Kentucky got by host Middle Tennessee, 3-2 (22-25, 19-25, 25-16, 25-20, 15-12). Finally, in the best Ivy League match of the week, host Dartmouth beat back an upset-minded Harvard squad, 3-2 (26-24, 18-25, 26-24, 20-25, 15-10).
Week Twelve Selected Individual Highlights:
Cal-Berkeley overpowered Washington State and Washington on the road, losing only one set combined, thanks to Tarah Murrey (33 kills, 20 digs, 5 blocks, 1 ace), Shannon Hawari (20 kills, 9 blocks), Correy Johnson (18 kills, 5 aces, 7 blocks, 6 digs), Kat Brown (11 kills, 2 aces, 12 blocks), Elly Barrett (88 assists, 19 digs, 7 blocks), and Robin Rostratter (38 digs, 2 aces, 6 assists).
Clinching its twelfth Big West title, Long Beach State also lost only one set combined at Pacific and Cal-Davis, thanks to Caitlin Ledoux (32 kills, 27 digs, 4 blocks, 1 ace), Haleigh Hampton (18 kills, 14 blocks, 2 aces, 4 digs), Delainey Aigner-Swesey (15 kills, 5 digs, 3 blocks), Alma Serna (10 kills, 11 blocks), Erin Juley (74 assists, 6 blocks, 11 digs, 2 aces, 1 kill), and Lauren Minkel (35 digs and 1 ace).
Putting themselves on the NCAA bubble (though unlikely to land in the post-season tourney), Saint Mary's continued to sizzle with shutout home wins over BYU and powerful Pepperdine, thanks to Jordan Shaw (24 kills, 11 digs, 3 block, 11 digs), Samantha Tinsley (20 kills, 1 ace, 10 blocks, 12 digs), Lauren Corp (16 kills, 7 aces, 13 digs, 1 block), Missy White (77 assists, 4 aces, 5 kills, 10 digs, 1 block), and Sarah Reams (25 digs, 9 assists, 1 ace).
Moving to the Midwest, Texas hammered Texas Tech in Lubbock and Kansas State back in Austin, losing one set total, due in large part to Haley Eckerman (38 kills, 5 aces, 4 blocks, 9 digs), Rachael Adams (18 kills and 5 blocks), Bailey Webster (21 kills and 4 blocks), Sha'Dare McNeal (17 kills, 23 digs, 5 blocks, 1 ace), Hannah Allison (54 assists, 8 kills, 10 digs, 2 blocks), and Sydney Yogi (33 digs, 9 assists, 1 ace, 1 kill). The Longhorns are peaking at the right time.
Northern Iowa lost only one set in three matches last week, thanks to Krista DeGeest (33 kills and 9 blocks), Michelle Burow (31 kills, 4 aces, 6 blocks, 5 digs), Shelby Kintzel (30 kills, 3 blocks, 8 digs), Bre Payton (22 kills, 114 assists, 35 digs, 4 blocks, 1 ace), Jenny Willms (6 aces, 11 assists, 39 digs), Megan Lehman (25 kills, 8 blocks, 9 digs), and Amy Braun (20 kills, 26 digs, 6 assists, 4 blocks, 1 ace).
Illinois returned to top form, shutting out Penn State and losing only one set to Ohio State at home because Michelle Bartsch (23 kills, 4 blocks, 2 aces, 21 digs), Liz McMahon (22 kills and 5 blocks), Colleen Ward (21 kills, 17 digs, 4 blocks, 2 aces), Anne Luhrsen (76 assists, 6 kills, 4 aces, 21 digs, 2 blocks), Jennifer Beltran (21 digs, 3 aces, 2 kills 8 assists), Erin Johnson (16 kills and 4 blocks), and Anna Dorn (8 kills and 11 blocks) weren't intimidated by reputation and talent across the net.
Louisville clinched a regular-season Big East title, winning on the road at Villanova and Georgetown, thanks to Lola Arslanbekova (36 kills, 3 aces, 33 digs, 1 block), Kaitlynn James (17 kills, 20 digs, 3 blocks), Emily Juhl (17 kills, 3 aces, 8 blocks, 9 digs), Taylor Brauneis (77 assists, 17 digs, 5 kills, 2 aces, 4 blocks), Caitlin Welch (39 digs, 8 assists, 3 aces), and Tanya Lukyanenko (9 kills and 12 blocks).
Florida continued working their way through the SEC menu, thumping LSU and Arkansas on the road, due greatly to the efforts of Chloe Mann (37 kills10 blocks, 7 digs), Kristy Jaeckel (24 kills, 5 aces, 5 blocks, 30 digs), Kelly Murphy (23 kills, 54 assists, 14 digs, 5 blocks), Tangerine Wiggs (14 kills, 9 blocks, 5 digs), Chanel Brown (60 assists, 14 digs, 1 kill, 1 ace), and Taylor Unroe (34 digs and 2 aces).
Miami (FL) humbled Duke and Wake Forest on the road, losing only one set combined, thanks primarily to potential ACC MVP Lane Carico (30 kills, 26 digs, 2 blocks, 1 ace), Ali Becker (25 kills, 8 blocks, 7 digs), Alex Johnson (17 kills, 5 blocks, 3 aces, 25 digs, 9 assists), Emani Sims (17 kills and 7 blocks), Katie Gallagher (86 assists, 21 digs, 6 kills, 1 block), and Ryan Shaffer (30 digs and 1 ace).
Dartmouth solidified a second-place Ivy League finish last week by upsetting Yale and steamrolling Brown at home, as Madeline Baird (26 kills, 26 digs, 3 blocks, 2 aces), Annie Villanueva (23 kills, 4 blocks, 8 digs), Lucia Pohlman (20 kills, 13 digs, 2 blocks, 6 assists, 2 aces), Elisa Scudder (10 kills, 7 aces, 10 blocks), Amber Bryant (28 digs and 1 kill), and Alex Schoenberger (20 kills and 4 blocks) excelled in both matches and Kendall Houston (55 assists, 13 digs, 2 aces, 1 kill, 1 block) excelled against Yale.
Week Thirteen Selected Match Previews:
The Big Ten once again is the center of the collegiate volleyball universe this week, with four featured matches, including Minnesota at Nebraska, Purdue at Penn State, Illinois at Michigan State, and Illinois at Michigan. The ACC has Florida State and Miami (FL) visiting Clemson. The SEC will have always tough LSU visit Tennessee and Kentucky, while the Big 12 will feature Kansas State at Iowa State and Texas A&M at Oklahoma.
The Pac-12 has pesky and talented Oregon visiting powerhouses Cal and Stanford in the north, while peskier and not-as-talented Arizona will travel to powerhouses USC and UCLA. In the WCC, Pepperdine visits San Diego in what could be the national match of the week (with all apologies to Purdue and Penn State).
Not to be ignored are important conference tournaments, which often determine a league's sole NCAA representative in the Big Dance. Tournaments scheduled this week include the Big East, the MAC. the Atlantic 10, the Horizon, the Southern, the Mountain West, and the Great Western. Do post-season conference tournaments diminish the value of regular season conference games? Perhaps, perhaps not.
Due to technical difficulties, this blog is being published about 5 days late. Sorry for the inconvenience and untimeliness!
Week Twelve Match Highlights:
In the most important, if not the best, match in the Big Ten last week, host Purdue vanquished Nebraska, 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-16). As expected, temporarily suspended star setter Lauren Cook was reinstated to Nebraska's line-up, but she couldn't help the Huskers' hitting woes. Nebraska hit .146, .306, and .093 in the three sets, while the Boilermakers hit .318, .600, and .355.
In the Pac-12, Oregon came from behind to defeat visiting UCLA, 3-2 (20-25, 23-25, 25-15, 25-18, 15-9), in a 150-minute marathon. UCLA hit an anemic .173 for the match. Elsewhere in the conference, host Washington gained revenge in beating Stanford, 3-2 (18-25, 27-25, 25-19, 22-25, 10-15).
In the ACC, Duke displayed its talent on a rare occasion in defeating visiting Florida State, 3-2 (25-20, 14-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-7). In the Big East, Cincinnati triumphed over host Villanova, 3-2 (22-25, 25-14, 25-23, 24-26, 15-4). Unlucky but tenacious Villanova also fell to Louisville in five sets. A noble loser.
In the SEC, Florida got by gritty host Arkansas, 3-2 (18-25, 30-32, 25-21, 26-24, 15-9). Another conference team that doesn't believe in intimidation or the press is Mississippi, for Ole Miss stretched visiting powerhouses Tennessee and Kentucky to five sets each before losing by scores of 15-13 and 17-15 in the fifth sets, respectively. Another noble loser. The Rebels may only be 5-13 in league play, but they are 4-3 in their last seven matches.
In the Big 12, the best match of the week had Kansas State beating Oklahoma, 3-2 (18-25, 25-23, 16-25, 25-21, 15-12).
In the MAC, powerhouse Northern Illinois had trouble with host Bowling Green, finally disposing of the feisty underdog, 3-2 (23-25, 22-25, 27-25, 25-15, 15-11). Elsewhere in the MAC, host Miami (OH) upset Western Michigan, 3-2 (25-27, 25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 15-11).
In another upset, this time in the Southern Conference, visiting Appalachian State surprised Samford, 3-2 (12-25, 25-21, 25-23, 18-25, 15-12).
There were two other notable upsets last week. In the Mountain West, Wyoming downed host TCU, 3-2 (25-23, 25-9, 21-25, 21-25, 15-12). In the WCC, inconsistent Saint Mary's put it together one more time and shut out visiting conference powerhouse Pepperdine, 3-0.
Colorado State had two tough matches on the road in the MWC, falling first to TCU, 3-2 (25-21, 25-23, 18-25, 20-25, 15-11), before defeating stubborn New Mexico, 3-2 (19-25, 25-14, 25-19, 22-25, 15-11).
Meanwhile in the Sun Belt, Western Kentucky got by host Middle Tennessee, 3-2 (22-25, 19-25, 25-16, 25-20, 15-12). Finally, in the best Ivy League match of the week, host Dartmouth beat back an upset-minded Harvard squad, 3-2 (26-24, 18-25, 26-24, 20-25, 15-10).
Week Twelve Selected Individual Highlights:
Cal-Berkeley overpowered Washington State and Washington on the road, losing only one set combined, thanks to Tarah Murrey (33 kills, 20 digs, 5 blocks, 1 ace), Shannon Hawari (20 kills, 9 blocks), Correy Johnson (18 kills, 5 aces, 7 blocks, 6 digs), Kat Brown (11 kills, 2 aces, 12 blocks), Elly Barrett (88 assists, 19 digs, 7 blocks), and Robin Rostratter (38 digs, 2 aces, 6 assists).
Clinching its twelfth Big West title, Long Beach State also lost only one set combined at Pacific and Cal-Davis, thanks to Caitlin Ledoux (32 kills, 27 digs, 4 blocks, 1 ace), Haleigh Hampton (18 kills, 14 blocks, 2 aces, 4 digs), Delainey Aigner-Swesey (15 kills, 5 digs, 3 blocks), Alma Serna (10 kills, 11 blocks), Erin Juley (74 assists, 6 blocks, 11 digs, 2 aces, 1 kill), and Lauren Minkel (35 digs and 1 ace).
Putting themselves on the NCAA bubble (though unlikely to land in the post-season tourney), Saint Mary's continued to sizzle with shutout home wins over BYU and powerful Pepperdine, thanks to Jordan Shaw (24 kills, 11 digs, 3 block, 11 digs), Samantha Tinsley (20 kills, 1 ace, 10 blocks, 12 digs), Lauren Corp (16 kills, 7 aces, 13 digs, 1 block), Missy White (77 assists, 4 aces, 5 kills, 10 digs, 1 block), and Sarah Reams (25 digs, 9 assists, 1 ace).
Moving to the Midwest, Texas hammered Texas Tech in Lubbock and Kansas State back in Austin, losing one set total, due in large part to Haley Eckerman (38 kills, 5 aces, 4 blocks, 9 digs), Rachael Adams (18 kills and 5 blocks), Bailey Webster (21 kills and 4 blocks), Sha'Dare McNeal (17 kills, 23 digs, 5 blocks, 1 ace), Hannah Allison (54 assists, 8 kills, 10 digs, 2 blocks), and Sydney Yogi (33 digs, 9 assists, 1 ace, 1 kill). The Longhorns are peaking at the right time.
Northern Iowa lost only one set in three matches last week, thanks to Krista DeGeest (33 kills and 9 blocks), Michelle Burow (31 kills, 4 aces, 6 blocks, 5 digs), Shelby Kintzel (30 kills, 3 blocks, 8 digs), Bre Payton (22 kills, 114 assists, 35 digs, 4 blocks, 1 ace), Jenny Willms (6 aces, 11 assists, 39 digs), Megan Lehman (25 kills, 8 blocks, 9 digs), and Amy Braun (20 kills, 26 digs, 6 assists, 4 blocks, 1 ace).
Illinois returned to top form, shutting out Penn State and losing only one set to Ohio State at home because Michelle Bartsch (23 kills, 4 blocks, 2 aces, 21 digs), Liz McMahon (22 kills and 5 blocks), Colleen Ward (21 kills, 17 digs, 4 blocks, 2 aces), Anne Luhrsen (76 assists, 6 kills, 4 aces, 21 digs, 2 blocks), Jennifer Beltran (21 digs, 3 aces, 2 kills 8 assists), Erin Johnson (16 kills and 4 blocks), and Anna Dorn (8 kills and 11 blocks) weren't intimidated by reputation and talent across the net.
Louisville clinched a regular-season Big East title, winning on the road at Villanova and Georgetown, thanks to Lola Arslanbekova (36 kills, 3 aces, 33 digs, 1 block), Kaitlynn James (17 kills, 20 digs, 3 blocks), Emily Juhl (17 kills, 3 aces, 8 blocks, 9 digs), Taylor Brauneis (77 assists, 17 digs, 5 kills, 2 aces, 4 blocks), Caitlin Welch (39 digs, 8 assists, 3 aces), and Tanya Lukyanenko (9 kills and 12 blocks).
Florida continued working their way through the SEC menu, thumping LSU and Arkansas on the road, due greatly to the efforts of Chloe Mann (37 kills10 blocks, 7 digs), Kristy Jaeckel (24 kills, 5 aces, 5 blocks, 30 digs), Kelly Murphy (23 kills, 54 assists, 14 digs, 5 blocks), Tangerine Wiggs (14 kills, 9 blocks, 5 digs), Chanel Brown (60 assists, 14 digs, 1 kill, 1 ace), and Taylor Unroe (34 digs and 2 aces).
Miami (FL) humbled Duke and Wake Forest on the road, losing only one set combined, thanks primarily to potential ACC MVP Lane Carico (30 kills, 26 digs, 2 blocks, 1 ace), Ali Becker (25 kills, 8 blocks, 7 digs), Alex Johnson (17 kills, 5 blocks, 3 aces, 25 digs, 9 assists), Emani Sims (17 kills and 7 blocks), Katie Gallagher (86 assists, 21 digs, 6 kills, 1 block), and Ryan Shaffer (30 digs and 1 ace).
Dartmouth solidified a second-place Ivy League finish last week by upsetting Yale and steamrolling Brown at home, as Madeline Baird (26 kills, 26 digs, 3 blocks, 2 aces), Annie Villanueva (23 kills, 4 blocks, 8 digs), Lucia Pohlman (20 kills, 13 digs, 2 blocks, 6 assists, 2 aces), Elisa Scudder (10 kills, 7 aces, 10 blocks), Amber Bryant (28 digs and 1 kill), and Alex Schoenberger (20 kills and 4 blocks) excelled in both matches and Kendall Houston (55 assists, 13 digs, 2 aces, 1 kill, 1 block) excelled against Yale.
Week Thirteen Selected Match Previews:
The Big Ten once again is the center of the collegiate volleyball universe this week, with four featured matches, including Minnesota at Nebraska, Purdue at Penn State, Illinois at Michigan State, and Illinois at Michigan. The ACC has Florida State and Miami (FL) visiting Clemson. The SEC will have always tough LSU visit Tennessee and Kentucky, while the Big 12 will feature Kansas State at Iowa State and Texas A&M at Oklahoma.
The Pac-12 has pesky and talented Oregon visiting powerhouses Cal and Stanford in the north, while peskier and not-as-talented Arizona will travel to powerhouses USC and UCLA. In the WCC, Pepperdine visits San Diego in what could be the national match of the week (with all apologies to Purdue and Penn State).
Not to be ignored are important conference tournaments, which often determine a league's sole NCAA representative in the Big Dance. Tournaments scheduled this week include the Big East, the MAC. the Atlantic 10, the Horizon, the Southern, the Mountain West, and the Great Western. Do post-season conference tournaments diminish the value of regular season conference games? Perhaps, perhaps not.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Sandflea's Week Twelve NCAA Women's Volleyball Top 40
(through games of 11/13/11)
Rank School Record Ranked Teams Rank Last Week
Played to Date
1. Hawaii (22-1) 7 1
2. Illinois (24-3) 13 5
3. Purdue (24-3) 12 4
4. Southern Cal (22-4) 11 6
5. Nebraska (21-3) 11 2
6. UCLA (23-4) 12 3
7. California (24-4) 10 9
8. Texas (18-4) 12 11
9. Tennessee (24-3) 10 10
10. Kentucky (24-4) 7 12
11. Northern Iowa (28-1) 5 13
12. Stanford (20-5) 14 7
13. Miami FL (23-3) 6 14
14. Iowa State (20-4) 13 16
15. Florida (21-5) 7 18
16. San Diego (26-3) 6 21
17. Florida State (22-5) 10 8
18. Western Kentucky (28-3) 3 20
19. Northern Illinois (25-5) 6 22
20. Tulsa (25-5) 5 23
21. Texas A&M (20-6) 7 28
22. Long Beach State (19-6) 6 24
23. Colorado State (19-5) 5 17
24. Penn State (19-7) 12 19
25. Pepperdine (19-6) 9 15
26. Oregon (17-8) 11 27
27. Washington (17-7) 13 29
28. Cincinnati (22-8) 10 32
29. Milwaukee (23-4) 1 36
30. Dayton (21-6) 6 39
31. Missouri State (20-7) 5 37
32. Louisville (21-7) 3 40
33. TCU (22-6) 3 30
34. Samford (26-4) 0 25
35. North Carolina (20-7) 8 NR
36. Kansas State (18-9) 10 NR
37. Arizona (17-10) 11 NR
38. Marquette (22-8) 6 NR
39. Duke (18-8) 7 NR
40. Yale (18-6) 0 38
Others to Watch: Michigan (18-10), LSU (18-9), Ball State (23-6), New Mexico State (21-8), Furman
(20-8), Wyoming (20-10), San Diego State (19-8), Michigan State (19-9)
Dropped Out: North Dakota (24-5), Minnesota (15-10), BYU (20-8), Oklahoma (19-9), Western
Michigan (23-7)
Rank School Record Ranked Teams Rank Last Week
Played to Date
1. Hawaii (22-1) 7 1
2. Illinois (24-3) 13 5
3. Purdue (24-3) 12 4
4. Southern Cal (22-4) 11 6
5. Nebraska (21-3) 11 2
6. UCLA (23-4) 12 3
7. California (24-4) 10 9
8. Texas (18-4) 12 11
9. Tennessee (24-3) 10 10
10. Kentucky (24-4) 7 12
11. Northern Iowa (28-1) 5 13
12. Stanford (20-5) 14 7
13. Miami FL (23-3) 6 14
14. Iowa State (20-4) 13 16
15. Florida (21-5) 7 18
16. San Diego (26-3) 6 21
17. Florida State (22-5) 10 8
18. Western Kentucky (28-3) 3 20
19. Northern Illinois (25-5) 6 22
20. Tulsa (25-5) 5 23
21. Texas A&M (20-6) 7 28
22. Long Beach State (19-6) 6 24
23. Colorado State (19-5) 5 17
24. Penn State (19-7) 12 19
25. Pepperdine (19-6) 9 15
26. Oregon (17-8) 11 27
27. Washington (17-7) 13 29
28. Cincinnati (22-8) 10 32
29. Milwaukee (23-4) 1 36
30. Dayton (21-6) 6 39
31. Missouri State (20-7) 5 37
32. Louisville (21-7) 3 40
33. TCU (22-6) 3 30
34. Samford (26-4) 0 25
35. North Carolina (20-7) 8 NR
36. Kansas State (18-9) 10 NR
37. Arizona (17-10) 11 NR
38. Marquette (22-8) 6 NR
39. Duke (18-8) 7 NR
40. Yale (18-6) 0 38
Others to Watch: Michigan (18-10), LSU (18-9), Ball State (23-6), New Mexico State (21-8), Furman
(20-8), Wyoming (20-10), San Diego State (19-8), Michigan State (19-9)
Dropped Out: North Dakota (24-5), Minnesota (15-10), BYU (20-8), Oklahoma (19-9), Western
Michigan (23-7)
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sandflea's Week Eleven 2011 NCAA Football Top 40
(through games of 11/12/11)
Rank School Record Ranked Teams Rank Last Week
Played to Date
1. LSU (10-0) 6 1
2. Oklahoma State (10-0) 4 2
3. Oregon (9-1) 4 6
4. Oklahoma (9-1) 4 5
5. Alabama (9-1) 2 7
6. Houston (10-0) 0 8
7. Arkansas (9-1) 4 9
8. Clemson (9-1) 4 12
9. Stanford (9-1) 3 3
10. Virginia Tech (9-1) 2 11
11. Boise State (9-1) 2 4
12. Southern Mississippi (9-1) 2 13
13. TCU (8-2) 5 18
14. Michigan State (8-2) 6 19
15. Kansas State (8-2) 5 22
16. Southern Cal (8-2) 4 15
17. South Carolina (8-2) 4 16
18. Georgia (8-2) 4 20
19. Nebraska (8-2) 4 21
20. Michigan (8-2) 3 24
21. Wisconsin (8-2) 2 17
22. Cincinnati (7-2) 2 14
23. Penn State (8-2) 3 10
24. West Virginia (7-3) 5 29
25. Rutgers (7-3) 3 27
26. Florida State (7-3) 3 34
27. Baylor (6-3) 6 35
28. Notre Dame (7-3) 3 37
29. BYU (7-3) 3 32
30. Tulsa (7-3) 4 33
31. Virginia (7-3) 2 38
32. Georgia Tech (7-3) 3 23
33. Wyoming (6-3) 2 NR
34. Northern Illinois (7-3) 1 NR
35. Arkansas State (8-2) 3 NR
36. Ohio U. (7-3) 1 NR
37. San Diego State (6-3) 2 NR
38. Nevada (6-3) 2 NR
39. Texas (6-3) 3 25
40. Louisiana-Lafayette (8-3) 1 39
Others to Watch: Southern Methodist (6-4), North Carolina (6-4), Toledo (6-4), Utah (6-4), California
(6-4), South Florida (5-4), Iowa State (5-4), Ball State (6-4), Louisiana Tech (6-4),
Temple (6-4), Florida International (6-4)
Dropped Out: Washington (6-4), Ohio State (6-4), Illinois (6-4), Arizona State (6-4), Iowa (6-4),
Auburn (6-4)
Rank School Record Ranked Teams Rank Last Week
Played to Date
1. LSU (10-0) 6 1
2. Oklahoma State (10-0) 4 2
3. Oregon (9-1) 4 6
4. Oklahoma (9-1) 4 5
5. Alabama (9-1) 2 7
6. Houston (10-0) 0 8
7. Arkansas (9-1) 4 9
8. Clemson (9-1) 4 12
9. Stanford (9-1) 3 3
10. Virginia Tech (9-1) 2 11
11. Boise State (9-1) 2 4
12. Southern Mississippi (9-1) 2 13
13. TCU (8-2) 5 18
14. Michigan State (8-2) 6 19
15. Kansas State (8-2) 5 22
16. Southern Cal (8-2) 4 15
17. South Carolina (8-2) 4 16
18. Georgia (8-2) 4 20
19. Nebraska (8-2) 4 21
20. Michigan (8-2) 3 24
21. Wisconsin (8-2) 2 17
22. Cincinnati (7-2) 2 14
23. Penn State (8-2) 3 10
24. West Virginia (7-3) 5 29
25. Rutgers (7-3) 3 27
26. Florida State (7-3) 3 34
27. Baylor (6-3) 6 35
28. Notre Dame (7-3) 3 37
29. BYU (7-3) 3 32
30. Tulsa (7-3) 4 33
31. Virginia (7-3) 2 38
32. Georgia Tech (7-3) 3 23
33. Wyoming (6-3) 2 NR
34. Northern Illinois (7-3) 1 NR
35. Arkansas State (8-2) 3 NR
36. Ohio U. (7-3) 1 NR
37. San Diego State (6-3) 2 NR
38. Nevada (6-3) 2 NR
39. Texas (6-3) 3 25
40. Louisiana-Lafayette (8-3) 1 39
Others to Watch: Southern Methodist (6-4), North Carolina (6-4), Toledo (6-4), Utah (6-4), California
(6-4), South Florida (5-4), Iowa State (5-4), Ball State (6-4), Louisiana Tech (6-4),
Temple (6-4), Florida International (6-4)
Dropped Out: Washington (6-4), Ohio State (6-4), Illinois (6-4), Arizona State (6-4), Iowa (6-4),
Auburn (6-4)
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
The Big Ten: Legends and Leaders? Time to Rethink Division Names
It's obviously a horrible time for Penn State and a difficult time for Ohio State and a disillusioning time for Nebraska, but it's also an awkward time for their conference, the Big Ten. After all, it was the Big Ten and its commissioner, Jim Delaney, that slapped the newly-devised divisions of the conference with the monikers "Legends" and "Leaders" last spring. Legends and Leaders. Really? How about Arrogant and Conceded? How about Adonis and Narcissus?
Athletic departments always run into trouble with public images when humility is taken out of the equation. Even BYU, a school that takes pride in its accomplished athletics and adherence to a higher moral code, including humility, ran into trouble PR-wise when 1) it helped to organize an elite spin-off of the WAC called the Mountain West in order to boost revenues, then 2) bolted the Mountain West a dozen years later to go independent in order to boost revenues. Unfortunately, the impression created was that the good folks in Provo believed they were too good for their colleagues.
Unfortunately with Legends and Leaders titles, the impression created is that the good folks in Jim Delaney's Big Ten conference office believe they are too good to use simple geographic nomenclature. Of course, the problem started with the decision to keep Michigan and Ohio State in separate divisions. Who decided that? Michigan and Ohio State. All conference schools are equal; some are more equal than others.
With that egocentric decision (after all, the universe revolves around those two schools), using East and West clusters became impossible.
What about North and South? A North would have Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue. A South would have Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Northwestern, Penn State. Throw Indiana into the North and Ohio State into the South, and the problem is solved. Nope. We got Legends and Leaders.
Perhaps with the problems engulfing Penn State and Ohio State football and the problem affecting Nebraska volleyball, it's time for a rethink. It's time to incorporate humility. Otherwise, the jokes keep coming. Leaders. Leaders of what--cover-ups? Legends. Legends of what--criminal or unethical behavior (or both)?
The scandals are no jokes. No jokes to the victims. No jokes to the perpetrators. No jokes to the schools. No jokes to the conference. Wake up, Big Ten. Change your division names. Now.
Athletic departments always run into trouble with public images when humility is taken out of the equation. Even BYU, a school that takes pride in its accomplished athletics and adherence to a higher moral code, including humility, ran into trouble PR-wise when 1) it helped to organize an elite spin-off of the WAC called the Mountain West in order to boost revenues, then 2) bolted the Mountain West a dozen years later to go independent in order to boost revenues. Unfortunately, the impression created was that the good folks in Provo believed they were too good for their colleagues.
Unfortunately with Legends and Leaders titles, the impression created is that the good folks in Jim Delaney's Big Ten conference office believe they are too good to use simple geographic nomenclature. Of course, the problem started with the decision to keep Michigan and Ohio State in separate divisions. Who decided that? Michigan and Ohio State. All conference schools are equal; some are more equal than others.
With that egocentric decision (after all, the universe revolves around those two schools), using East and West clusters became impossible.
What about North and South? A North would have Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue. A South would have Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Northwestern, Penn State. Throw Indiana into the North and Ohio State into the South, and the problem is solved. Nope. We got Legends and Leaders.
Perhaps with the problems engulfing Penn State and Ohio State football and the problem affecting Nebraska volleyball, it's time for a rethink. It's time to incorporate humility. Otherwise, the jokes keep coming. Leaders. Leaders of what--cover-ups? Legends. Legends of what--criminal or unethical behavior (or both)?
The scandals are no jokes. No jokes to the victims. No jokes to the perpetrators. No jokes to the schools. No jokes to the conference. Wake up, Big Ten. Change your division names. Now.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
NCAA Volleyball Week Eleven Highlights (10/31-11/6/11)
Week Eleven Selected Match Highlights:
There were few epic matches last week, but Penn State was involved in two of the best. At Minnesota, the Nittany Lions struggled to achieve victory over a recharged Golden Gopher squad: 27-25, 25-17, 23-25, 23-25, and 15-12. At Wisconsin, the talented but underachieving Badgers played their best match of the season and upset PSU: 26-24, 25-19, 32-34, 14-25, and 15-12.
In the Pac-12, Cal had trouble with the pesky Utes of Utah in Salt Lake City in a great five-set victory: 22-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-18, and 15-13.
In the Big 12, Texas A&M got by Kansas State in Manhattan (13-25, 15-25, 25-21, 25-15, 15-12) and Texas triumphed over a fired up Jayhawk squad in Lawrence (25-20, 18-25, 25-19, 16-25, 15-8).
In the SEC, LSU beat Georgia on the road, 3-2 (20-25, 25-17, 25-16, 21-25, 18-16).
In the MAC, Western Michigan showed true grit in two five-set victories at home, first dismantling Ball State (21-25, 25-27, 25-16, 25-16, 17-15) before wearing out Toledo (25-19, 26-28, 24-26, 25-23, 15-8).
Week Eleven Selected Individual Highlights:
Terrific individual highlights across the nation start with Tennessee, where Louisville and Mississippi State faced the efficiency of Kelsey Robinson (32 kills, 15 digs, 2 blocks), Tiffany Baker (22 kills, 15 digs, 5 blocks), Leslie Cikra (21 kills, 4 digs, 2 blocks), DeeDee Harrison (18 kills, 6 blocks), Mary Pollmiller (7 kills, 87 assists, 18 digs, 1 service ace), and Ellen Mullins (2 aces, 28 digs).
At nearby Western Kentucky, South Alabama and Troy succumbed in quick order to the skills of Jordyn Skinner (22 kills, 5 aces, 26 digs, 3 blocks), Lindsay Williams (16 kills, 5 blocks), Tiffany Elmore (15 kills, 6 blocks), Paige Wessel (14 kills, 3 aces, 7 digs), and Melanie Stutsman (14 kills, 69 assists, 12 digs, 5 blocks).
In Conference USA, Tulsa went to the Big Easy and outplayed Tulane in two separate matches, 3-0, thanks to the efforts of Tyler Henderson (36 kills), Diana Silva (24 kills, 23 digs, 1 ace), Kellie Culbertson (13 kills, 4 aces, 23 digs, 6 blocks), Jordan Clampitt (4 kills, 47 assists, 10 digs), and Jessica Adams (3 aces, 31 digs).
Western Michigan won 5-set marathons against Ball State and Toledo due to the skills of Ashley Turnage (25 kills, 12 blocks), Ali Gossen (24 kills, 24 digs, 1 ace, 6 blocks), Gillian Asque (23 kills, 8 blocks), Jessica Brown (21 kills, 10 digs, 8 blocks), Terin Norris (16 kills, 95 assists, 28 digs, 5 blocks), and Lena Oliver (48 digs).
San Diego lost only one set on the road against Gonzaga and Portland combined because Chloe Ferrari (30 kills, 6 blocks), Katie Hoekman (23 kills, 5 blocks), Sandra Lozic (21 kills, 1 ace, 2 blocks, 9 digs), Carrie Baird (14 kills, 4 aces, 17 digs, 4 blocks), Jianna Bonomi (1 kill, 56 assists, 22 digs), and Kandiss Anderson (1 ace, 6 assists, 40 digs) stepped up.
Speaking of stepping up, Nebraska walk-on setter Brigette Root, inserted into the starting line-up due to superstar setter Lauren Cook's off-court troubles and subsequent suspension, led the Cornhuskers to 3-0 and 3-1 victories over Michigan and Michigan State, respectively. Admittedly, she had a little help from Gina Mancuso (29 kills, 14 digs, 5 blocks), Hannah Werth (17 kills, 27 digs, 7 blocks), Morgan Broekhuis (17 kills, 8 digs, 7 blocks), Brooke Delano (13 kills, 11 blocks), and Lara Dykstra (25 digs). Ms. Root, herself, finished both matches with combined stats of 6 kills, 69 assists, 2 aces, 19 digs, and 3 blocks. Who said Nebraska wasn't deep?
Wisconsin achieved the Big Ten upset of the year over Penn State thanks mostly to Ellen Chapman (18 kills, 14 digs), Bailey Reshel (14 kills, 2 blocks), Alexis Mitchell (10 kills, 7 blocks), Janelle Gabrielsen (7 kills, 5 blocks, 27 assists, 13 digs), Courtney Thomas (6 kills, 3 blocks, 24 assists, 17 digs), and Annemarie Hickey (25 digs).
The Trojans of USC continued advancing towards the big year-end showdown match with UCLA by disposing of Washington and Washington State at home. Credit goes to Alex Jupiter (24 kills, 2 aces, 21 digs, 2 blocks), Lauren Williams (20 kills, 6 blocks), Katie Fuller (14 kills, 1 ace, 4 blocks), Sara Shaw (9 kills, 3 aces, 13 digs, 2 blocks), Kendall Bateman (2 kills, 2 blocks, 74 assists, 11 digs), and Natalie Hagglund (2 aces, 33 digs).
Week Twelve Selected Match Previews:
It makes sense that the best volleyball conference in 2011, the Big Ten, has the best matches coming up this week. Ohio State and Penn State both play at Illinois, and Nebraska plays at Purdue, perhaps still without their suspended star setter, Lauren Cook.
In the Pac-12, Stanford and Cal both travel to Washington to see if the inconsistent Huskies squad have any life left in them this year. In the Mountain West, Colorado State travels to TCU for a difficult road match.
In the SEC, Florida tries to regain some traction by taking on a talented LSU squad on the road.
There were few epic matches last week, but Penn State was involved in two of the best. At Minnesota, the Nittany Lions struggled to achieve victory over a recharged Golden Gopher squad: 27-25, 25-17, 23-25, 23-25, and 15-12. At Wisconsin, the talented but underachieving Badgers played their best match of the season and upset PSU: 26-24, 25-19, 32-34, 14-25, and 15-12.
In the Pac-12, Cal had trouble with the pesky Utes of Utah in Salt Lake City in a great five-set victory: 22-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-18, and 15-13.
In the Big 12, Texas A&M got by Kansas State in Manhattan (13-25, 15-25, 25-21, 25-15, 15-12) and Texas triumphed over a fired up Jayhawk squad in Lawrence (25-20, 18-25, 25-19, 16-25, 15-8).
In the SEC, LSU beat Georgia on the road, 3-2 (20-25, 25-17, 25-16, 21-25, 18-16).
In the MAC, Western Michigan showed true grit in two five-set victories at home, first dismantling Ball State (21-25, 25-27, 25-16, 25-16, 17-15) before wearing out Toledo (25-19, 26-28, 24-26, 25-23, 15-8).
Week Eleven Selected Individual Highlights:
Terrific individual highlights across the nation start with Tennessee, where Louisville and Mississippi State faced the efficiency of Kelsey Robinson (32 kills, 15 digs, 2 blocks), Tiffany Baker (22 kills, 15 digs, 5 blocks), Leslie Cikra (21 kills, 4 digs, 2 blocks), DeeDee Harrison (18 kills, 6 blocks), Mary Pollmiller (7 kills, 87 assists, 18 digs, 1 service ace), and Ellen Mullins (2 aces, 28 digs).
At nearby Western Kentucky, South Alabama and Troy succumbed in quick order to the skills of Jordyn Skinner (22 kills, 5 aces, 26 digs, 3 blocks), Lindsay Williams (16 kills, 5 blocks), Tiffany Elmore (15 kills, 6 blocks), Paige Wessel (14 kills, 3 aces, 7 digs), and Melanie Stutsman (14 kills, 69 assists, 12 digs, 5 blocks).
In Conference USA, Tulsa went to the Big Easy and outplayed Tulane in two separate matches, 3-0, thanks to the efforts of Tyler Henderson (36 kills), Diana Silva (24 kills, 23 digs, 1 ace), Kellie Culbertson (13 kills, 4 aces, 23 digs, 6 blocks), Jordan Clampitt (4 kills, 47 assists, 10 digs), and Jessica Adams (3 aces, 31 digs).
Western Michigan won 5-set marathons against Ball State and Toledo due to the skills of Ashley Turnage (25 kills, 12 blocks), Ali Gossen (24 kills, 24 digs, 1 ace, 6 blocks), Gillian Asque (23 kills, 8 blocks), Jessica Brown (21 kills, 10 digs, 8 blocks), Terin Norris (16 kills, 95 assists, 28 digs, 5 blocks), and Lena Oliver (48 digs).
San Diego lost only one set on the road against Gonzaga and Portland combined because Chloe Ferrari (30 kills, 6 blocks), Katie Hoekman (23 kills, 5 blocks), Sandra Lozic (21 kills, 1 ace, 2 blocks, 9 digs), Carrie Baird (14 kills, 4 aces, 17 digs, 4 blocks), Jianna Bonomi (1 kill, 56 assists, 22 digs), and Kandiss Anderson (1 ace, 6 assists, 40 digs) stepped up.
Speaking of stepping up, Nebraska walk-on setter Brigette Root, inserted into the starting line-up due to superstar setter Lauren Cook's off-court troubles and subsequent suspension, led the Cornhuskers to 3-0 and 3-1 victories over Michigan and Michigan State, respectively. Admittedly, she had a little help from Gina Mancuso (29 kills, 14 digs, 5 blocks), Hannah Werth (17 kills, 27 digs, 7 blocks), Morgan Broekhuis (17 kills, 8 digs, 7 blocks), Brooke Delano (13 kills, 11 blocks), and Lara Dykstra (25 digs). Ms. Root, herself, finished both matches with combined stats of 6 kills, 69 assists, 2 aces, 19 digs, and 3 blocks. Who said Nebraska wasn't deep?
Wisconsin achieved the Big Ten upset of the year over Penn State thanks mostly to Ellen Chapman (18 kills, 14 digs), Bailey Reshel (14 kills, 2 blocks), Alexis Mitchell (10 kills, 7 blocks), Janelle Gabrielsen (7 kills, 5 blocks, 27 assists, 13 digs), Courtney Thomas (6 kills, 3 blocks, 24 assists, 17 digs), and Annemarie Hickey (25 digs).
The Trojans of USC continued advancing towards the big year-end showdown match with UCLA by disposing of Washington and Washington State at home. Credit goes to Alex Jupiter (24 kills, 2 aces, 21 digs, 2 blocks), Lauren Williams (20 kills, 6 blocks), Katie Fuller (14 kills, 1 ace, 4 blocks), Sara Shaw (9 kills, 3 aces, 13 digs, 2 blocks), Kendall Bateman (2 kills, 2 blocks, 74 assists, 11 digs), and Natalie Hagglund (2 aces, 33 digs).
Week Twelve Selected Match Previews:
It makes sense that the best volleyball conference in 2011, the Big Ten, has the best matches coming up this week. Ohio State and Penn State both play at Illinois, and Nebraska plays at Purdue, perhaps still without their suspended star setter, Lauren Cook.
In the Pac-12, Stanford and Cal both travel to Washington to see if the inconsistent Huskies squad have any life left in them this year. In the Mountain West, Colorado State travels to TCU for a difficult road match.
In the SEC, Florida tries to regain some traction by taking on a talented LSU squad on the road.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Sandflea's Week Eleven NCAA Women' Volleyball Top 40
(through games of 11/6/11)
Rank School Record Ranked Teams Rank Last Week
Played to Date
1. Hawaii (20-1) 7 1
2. Nebraska (20-2) 10 2
3. UCLA (22-3) 11 4
4. Purdue (22-3) 11 5
5. Illinois (22-3) 12 3
6. Southern Cal (20-4) 10 7
7. Stanford (19-4) 13 6
8. Florida State (21-4) 10 9
9. California (22-4) 9 12
10. Tennessee (22-3) 6 14
11. Texas (16-4) 12 8
12. Kentucky (22-4) 7 11
13. Northern Iowa (25-1) 13 13
14. Miami FL (21-3) 6 17
15. Pepperdine (18-5) 9 15
16. Iowa State (19-4) 13 19
17. Colorado State (18-4) 4 18
18. Florida (19-5) 7 21
19. Penn State (18-6) 11 10
20. Western Kentucky (27-3) 3 23
21. San Diego (25-3) 6 26
22. Northern Illinois (23-5) 5 30
23. Tulsa (23-5) 5 31
24. Long Beach State (17-6) 6 25
25. Samford (25-3) 0 33
26. North Dakota (24-4) 0 34
27. Oregon (16-7) 9 36
28. Texas A&M (18-6) 7 22
29. Washington (16-6) 11 16
30. TCU (21-5) 2 24
31. Minnesota (14-9) 13 29
32. Cincinnati (20-8) 10 38
33. BYU (20-7) 6 39
34. Oklahoma (19-7) 7 35
35. Western Michigan (23-5) 4 NR
36. Milwaukee (21-4) 1 NR
37. Missouri State (18-7) 5 NR
38. Yale (17-5) 0 40
39. Dayton (19-6) 6 28
40. Louisville (19-7) 3 37
Others to Watch: Ohio State (17-10), Michigan (17-9), LSU (17-8), Kansas State (17-8), Notre Dame (15-9)
Dropped Out: North Carolina (18-7), Ball State (22-5), Northeastern (19-5)
Rank School Record Ranked Teams Rank Last Week
Played to Date
1. Hawaii (20-1) 7 1
2. Nebraska (20-2) 10 2
3. UCLA (22-3) 11 4
4. Purdue (22-3) 11 5
5. Illinois (22-3) 12 3
6. Southern Cal (20-4) 10 7
7. Stanford (19-4) 13 6
8. Florida State (21-4) 10 9
9. California (22-4) 9 12
10. Tennessee (22-3) 6 14
11. Texas (16-4) 12 8
12. Kentucky (22-4) 7 11
13. Northern Iowa (25-1) 13 13
14. Miami FL (21-3) 6 17
15. Pepperdine (18-5) 9 15
16. Iowa State (19-4) 13 19
17. Colorado State (18-4) 4 18
18. Florida (19-5) 7 21
19. Penn State (18-6) 11 10
20. Western Kentucky (27-3) 3 23
21. San Diego (25-3) 6 26
22. Northern Illinois (23-5) 5 30
23. Tulsa (23-5) 5 31
24. Long Beach State (17-6) 6 25
25. Samford (25-3) 0 33
26. North Dakota (24-4) 0 34
27. Oregon (16-7) 9 36
28. Texas A&M (18-6) 7 22
29. Washington (16-6) 11 16
30. TCU (21-5) 2 24
31. Minnesota (14-9) 13 29
32. Cincinnati (20-8) 10 38
33. BYU (20-7) 6 39
34. Oklahoma (19-7) 7 35
35. Western Michigan (23-5) 4 NR
36. Milwaukee (21-4) 1 NR
37. Missouri State (18-7) 5 NR
38. Yale (17-5) 0 40
39. Dayton (19-6) 6 28
40. Louisville (19-7) 3 37
Others to Watch: Ohio State (17-10), Michigan (17-9), LSU (17-8), Kansas State (17-8), Notre Dame (15-9)
Dropped Out: North Carolina (18-7), Ball State (22-5), Northeastern (19-5)
Sandflea's Week Ten 2011 NCAA Football Top 40
(through games of 11/5/11)
Rank School Record Ranked Teams Rank Last Week
Played to Date
1. LSU (9-0) 6 1
2. Oklahoma State (9-0) 4 3
3. Stanford (9-0) 2 4
4. Boise State (8-0) 1 5
5. Oklahoma (9-1) 4 7
6. Oregon (8-1) 3 8
7. Alabama (8-1) 2 2
8. Houston (9-0) 0 9
9. Arkansas (8-1) 4 12
10. Penn State (8-1) 2 10
11. Virginia Tech (8-1) 1 13
12. Clemson (8-1) 4 16
13. S, Mississippi (8-1) 2 17
14. Cincinnati (7-1) 1 19
15. Southern Cal (7-2) 3 15
16. South Carolina (7-2) 4 11
17. Wisconsin (7-2) 2 21
18. TCU (7-2) 4 24
19. Michigan State (7-2) 5 25
20. Georgia (7-2) 3 23
21. Nebraska (7-2) 3 6
22. Kansas State (7-2) 5 18
23. Georgia Tech (7-2) 2 27
24. Michigan (7-2) 2 14
25. Texas (6-2) 3 28
26. Washington (6-3) 5 20
27. Rutgers (6-3) 3 34
28. Auburn (6-3) 5 31
29. West Virginia (6-3) 4 26
30. Ohio State (6-3) 4 37
31. Illinois (6-3) 3 32
32. BYU (6-3) 3 33
33. Tulsa (6-3) 4 40
34. Florida State (6-3) 3 38
35. Baylor (5-3) 6 36
36. Arizona State (6-3) 3 22
37. Notre Dame (6-3) 3 NR
38. Virginia (6-3) 2 NR
39. La-Lafayette (8-2) 1 39
40. Iowa (6-3) 4 NR
Others to Watch: Wyoming (5-3), San Diego State (5-3), Northern Illinois (6-3), SMU (6-3), Nevada (5-3), Ohio U. (6-3), Arkansas State (7-2)
Dropped Out: Wyoming (5-3), North Carolina (6-4), Texas A&M (5-4)
Rank School Record Ranked Teams Rank Last Week
Played to Date
1. LSU (9-0) 6 1
2. Oklahoma State (9-0) 4 3
3. Stanford (9-0) 2 4
4. Boise State (8-0) 1 5
5. Oklahoma (9-1) 4 7
6. Oregon (8-1) 3 8
7. Alabama (8-1) 2 2
8. Houston (9-0) 0 9
9. Arkansas (8-1) 4 12
10. Penn State (8-1) 2 10
11. Virginia Tech (8-1) 1 13
12. Clemson (8-1) 4 16
13. S, Mississippi (8-1) 2 17
14. Cincinnati (7-1) 1 19
15. Southern Cal (7-2) 3 15
16. South Carolina (7-2) 4 11
17. Wisconsin (7-2) 2 21
18. TCU (7-2) 4 24
19. Michigan State (7-2) 5 25
20. Georgia (7-2) 3 23
21. Nebraska (7-2) 3 6
22. Kansas State (7-2) 5 18
23. Georgia Tech (7-2) 2 27
24. Michigan (7-2) 2 14
25. Texas (6-2) 3 28
26. Washington (6-3) 5 20
27. Rutgers (6-3) 3 34
28. Auburn (6-3) 5 31
29. West Virginia (6-3) 4 26
30. Ohio State (6-3) 4 37
31. Illinois (6-3) 3 32
32. BYU (6-3) 3 33
33. Tulsa (6-3) 4 40
34. Florida State (6-3) 3 38
35. Baylor (5-3) 6 36
36. Arizona State (6-3) 3 22
37. Notre Dame (6-3) 3 NR
38. Virginia (6-3) 2 NR
39. La-Lafayette (8-2) 1 39
40. Iowa (6-3) 4 NR
Others to Watch: Wyoming (5-3), San Diego State (5-3), Northern Illinois (6-3), SMU (6-3), Nevada (5-3), Ohio U. (6-3), Arkansas State (7-2)
Dropped Out: Wyoming (5-3), North Carolina (6-4), Texas A&M (5-4)
Friday, November 4, 2011
The NBA Lockout: Big Market Team Owners Have Two Adversaries
For a long time, NBA Commissioner David Stern has said that 22 of the 30 league franchises are not profitable and regularly lose money due to the last collective bargaining agreement, spiraling costs, and shrinking private and corporate arena attendance because of the recession. NBA owners can do nothing to eliminate spiraling costs and the recession; they can, however, restructure the new collective bargaining agreement.
It amazes me how the press focuses on fracturing unity and developing factions on the Players Association union side (Hunter vs. Fisher), when the real rift is and has always been between big-market and small-market owners. Among the profitable 8 franchises, you have Boston, New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, and the 2 Los Angeles teams. At least, those should be the ones. For the Big Eight, they want basketball now, even if certain concessions must be made to pacify the players.
On the other hand, the unprofitable teams (at least 10 to 14 of the 22, anyway) wish to make no further concessions to the players, including the maintenance of a hardline position on BRI percentages.
If the Big Eight owners hadn't been so greedy in the first place, with little revenue sharing and minor luxury tax penalties for high payrolls creating gross inequities and mini-dynasties, they wouldn't find themselves now facing two adversaries: the players' union in the open and the unprofitable/small-market owners behind closed doors.
The Little Twenty-Two owners have been brilliant throughout the negotiations, agreeing to disagree with any movement toward concessions and appeasement. They see this moment (or year) in history as their opportunity to address and redress old grievances with the Big Eight and Commissioner's Office. It's time to be fair to the small owners, not the big owners and the players who are rolling in it regardless of the final negotiated numbers.
If changes are not adopted to benefit the Little Twenty-Two, you will hear a giant sucking sound (to paraphrase Ross Perot, circa 1992) as NBA franchises either fold or relocate to suburbs of the major metropolitan areas. Sacramento to Orange County? That's only the tip of the iceberg if fairness along an NFL model of revenue sharing is not implemented.
The players have their beef, legitimate or not; the small-market owners have their beef, truly legitimate.
The NBA has problems besides those discussed above, regardless of the inflated 2011 postseason television ratings. First of all, the season is just too long. The most popular team sport, NFL football, has a regular season that is only one month longer than its college counterpart. Why does the NBA still believe it can stretch out a regular season three months longer than its similar counterpart (including the one-month headstart in the fall)? College athletes skilled enough to go pro go from 32 regular-season games (at most) to 82 in the NBA!
Is the resulting abundance counterproductive? Apparently, not to revenue streams. However, such a schedule elephantiasis is detrimental to the quality of the game being played, and it is detrimental to the players' health. With such a glutted schedule, do teams ever coast through games, particularly on the road? Of course! They have to! An athlete only has so much energy, so much durability, so much endurance, so much mental acuteness.
The result is that fans and players are cheated. Players' careers are shortened by years because of the number of games and length of the season. Basketball knees prematurely age: injuries only exacerbate the situation. Look at Kobe Bryant: he is slowing down tremendously, and not because he wants to. Kobe has endured 14 NBA seasons, many with an extra six weeks os so of full postseason runs. Kareem was right: cap the season at 60 games max, with no back-to-backs.
How else is the fan cheated? Frankly, there are too many teams, resulting in a dilution in quality, particularly when it comes to bench depth beyond the starting five. If 10 teams went away, the quality of the product remaining would be boosted tremendously.
How else is the fan cheated? Stars only stay in college for one year before bolting for the NBA. That cheats not only college basketball fans who remain frustrated at a lack of continuity in regal programs, but it also cheats NBA fans, because the players arrive with great physical skills but usually substandard fundamentals and a subsubstandard team mentality.
The NBA made a little progress, requiring a player to be 19 before playing in the league after so many 18-year-olds had crashed and burned (Lebron, Kobe, and Kevin among the notable exceptions). It should do more. Make the age minimum 21 (like the NFL), or make players eligible for the draft at 18, but if they opt for college, they cannot re-enter the draft until their senior season (like the NHL or MLB).
To recap, NBA players have legit grievances, but most of them concern scheduling and drafting issues, not financial ones. Unprofitable NBA team owners also have legit grievances, most recently voiced by none other than legend and former superstar Michael Jordan (now a part-owner of a small-market team).
What is the good news? No NBA games until at least December 1, as it should be.
It amazes me how the press focuses on fracturing unity and developing factions on the Players Association union side (Hunter vs. Fisher), when the real rift is and has always been between big-market and small-market owners. Among the profitable 8 franchises, you have Boston, New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, and the 2 Los Angeles teams. At least, those should be the ones. For the Big Eight, they want basketball now, even if certain concessions must be made to pacify the players.
On the other hand, the unprofitable teams (at least 10 to 14 of the 22, anyway) wish to make no further concessions to the players, including the maintenance of a hardline position on BRI percentages.
If the Big Eight owners hadn't been so greedy in the first place, with little revenue sharing and minor luxury tax penalties for high payrolls creating gross inequities and mini-dynasties, they wouldn't find themselves now facing two adversaries: the players' union in the open and the unprofitable/small-market owners behind closed doors.
The Little Twenty-Two owners have been brilliant throughout the negotiations, agreeing to disagree with any movement toward concessions and appeasement. They see this moment (or year) in history as their opportunity to address and redress old grievances with the Big Eight and Commissioner's Office. It's time to be fair to the small owners, not the big owners and the players who are rolling in it regardless of the final negotiated numbers.
If changes are not adopted to benefit the Little Twenty-Two, you will hear a giant sucking sound (to paraphrase Ross Perot, circa 1992) as NBA franchises either fold or relocate to suburbs of the major metropolitan areas. Sacramento to Orange County? That's only the tip of the iceberg if fairness along an NFL model of revenue sharing is not implemented.
The players have their beef, legitimate or not; the small-market owners have their beef, truly legitimate.
The NBA has problems besides those discussed above, regardless of the inflated 2011 postseason television ratings. First of all, the season is just too long. The most popular team sport, NFL football, has a regular season that is only one month longer than its college counterpart. Why does the NBA still believe it can stretch out a regular season three months longer than its similar counterpart (including the one-month headstart in the fall)? College athletes skilled enough to go pro go from 32 regular-season games (at most) to 82 in the NBA!
Is the resulting abundance counterproductive? Apparently, not to revenue streams. However, such a schedule elephantiasis is detrimental to the quality of the game being played, and it is detrimental to the players' health. With such a glutted schedule, do teams ever coast through games, particularly on the road? Of course! They have to! An athlete only has so much energy, so much durability, so much endurance, so much mental acuteness.
The result is that fans and players are cheated. Players' careers are shortened by years because of the number of games and length of the season. Basketball knees prematurely age: injuries only exacerbate the situation. Look at Kobe Bryant: he is slowing down tremendously, and not because he wants to. Kobe has endured 14 NBA seasons, many with an extra six weeks os so of full postseason runs. Kareem was right: cap the season at 60 games max, with no back-to-backs.
How else is the fan cheated? Frankly, there are too many teams, resulting in a dilution in quality, particularly when it comes to bench depth beyond the starting five. If 10 teams went away, the quality of the product remaining would be boosted tremendously.
How else is the fan cheated? Stars only stay in college for one year before bolting for the NBA. That cheats not only college basketball fans who remain frustrated at a lack of continuity in regal programs, but it also cheats NBA fans, because the players arrive with great physical skills but usually substandard fundamentals and a subsubstandard team mentality.
The NBA made a little progress, requiring a player to be 19 before playing in the league after so many 18-year-olds had crashed and burned (Lebron, Kobe, and Kevin among the notable exceptions). It should do more. Make the age minimum 21 (like the NFL), or make players eligible for the draft at 18, but if they opt for college, they cannot re-enter the draft until their senior season (like the NHL or MLB).
To recap, NBA players have legit grievances, but most of them concern scheduling and drafting issues, not financial ones. Unprofitable NBA team owners also have legit grievances, most recently voiced by none other than legend and former superstar Michael Jordan (now a part-owner of a small-market team).
What is the good news? No NBA games until at least December 1, as it should be.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)