Week Four Selected Match Highlights:
An untested Cal-Berkeley squad finally played a ranked team in its first Pac-12 match of the season, and the Golden Bears responded with a 3 sets to 1 victory over powerful Stanford. Due to a preponderance of cupcakes on its early schedule, Cal still doesn't deserve a number one ranking, but it moved up on this blog site to the 4 spot.
In other Pac-12 action, USC returned to form and past reputation with a stunning 3-0 upset of host Washington.
Illinois proved its mettle with a 3-2 grudge match win over #28 at the time Louisville. A lowly 2-9 Denver team proved you have to play the game to beat them. Number 23 Colorado State, 6-2 at the time, including a win over Nebraska, didn't and so they fell in four sets.
Proving that FSU, Miami, and Florida aren't the only quality programs in the state, Florida International upset Central Florida (who had earlier upset the Trojans of USC) in five sets. Speaking of upsets, a .500 Wichita State squad knocked off 9-2 Oklahoma in five sets.
Oregon State defeated Arizona State in five sets. On the opposite coast, Wake Forest upset the troubled Blue Devils of Duke in four sets.
Week Four Selected Individual Highlights:
California's three victories last week, including a beat-down of arch-rival Stanford, resulted from Tarah Murrey's 45 kills and 26 digs, Shannon Hawari's 21 kills and 4 blocks, and Robin Rostratter's 69 digs.
USC's undefeated trip to Washington state for matches with the Huskies and the Cougars was thanks to Katie Fuller's 27 kills and 16 digs, Sara Shaw's 23 kills and 17 digs, Alex Jupiter's 19 kills and 15 digs, Lauren Williams' 18 kills and 4 blocks, Natalie Hagglund's 41 digs, and Kendall Bateman's steady setting.
San Diego's undefeated run through its own tourney, including wins over Big 10 Indiana and Big West UCSB, was due in large part to Chloe Ferrari's 28 kills and 6 blocks, Amber Tatsch's 25 kills and 8 blocks, Katie Hoekman's 24 kills and 6 blocks, and Kandiss Anderson's 51 digs.
There were three huge upsets last week, when teams rose above their previous play to overwhelm stronger foes. Denver knocked off Colorado State thanks to Faime Kingsley's 15 kills and 7 blocks, Kate Oakes 6 kills and 14 digs, and Lyndi Johnson's 15 digs. Florida International upended Central Florida due to Jovanna Bjelica's 21 kills and 16 digs, Marija Prsa's 15 kills and 18 digs, Sabrina Gonzalez' 12 kills and 7 blocks, and Chanel Araujo's 24 digs. Wake Forest roofed Duke thanks to Carlin Salmon's 21 kills and 4 blocks, Kadija Fornah's 21 kills and 5 block, Kristin Grissom's 10 kills and 5 blocks, and Dani Thompson's 15 digs.
Three solid programs--TCU, Western Kentucky, and UC Davis--won four times each last week. TCU was led by Kristen Hester with 51 kills and 8 blocks, Jordan Raines with 38 kills and 29 digs, and Sarah Joeckel with 98 digs. Western Kentucky was led by Jordyn Skinner with 45 kills and 43 digs, Tiffany Elmore with 20 kills and 12 blocks, and Ashley Potts with 61 digs. UC Davis was led by Allison Whitson with 66 kills and 38 digs, Betsy Sedlak with 35 kills and 19 blocks, Katie Denny with 38 kills and 19 blocks, and Devon Damello with 24 kills, 45 digs, and 18 blocks.
Week Five Selected Match Previews:
There may be great volleyball played throughout the country, but the best college volleyball is played in the Midwest, the Far West, Texas, Florida, and North Carolina. Fact. With Nebraska's defection to the Big 10 (with good reason), there are only two super-strong volleyball conferences: the Big 10 and the Pac-12. With Florida, Kentucky, LSU, and Tennessee, the SEC is not exactly chump change, but what's with Vanderbilt not fielding an intercollegiate team? With Pepperdine, BYU, and San Diego, the WCC is the fourth best volleyball-playing conference in the country.
Those four conferences are where the best matches are found now that preseason tourneys and individual nonconference contests are winding to a close. One of the last great preconference matches pits TCU against Texas on Tuesday.
The Big 10 finds Nebraska hosting Penn State on Wednesday and Minnesota hosting Illinois on Friday. Nebraska hosts Ohio State on Saturday, while Wisconsin takes on Illinois in Madison on Sunday.
The monster matches of the week occur in the Pac-12, as Stanford and Cal visit a surging USC and UCLA this weekend. If Cal returns to the Bay Area undefeated, they will deserve the number one ranking next week.
In the SEC, the featured matches find the Gators of Florida hosting Kentucky Friday and Tennessee Sunday afternoon.
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