NCAA Volleyball: Week Two Highlights (8/29/11-9/4/11)

Week Two Selected Match Highlights:


  Hawaii played in two of the best contests of the week, outlasting Long Beach State 25-17, 21-25, 23-25, 25-19, 15-11 and falling to UCLA, 25-20, 28-26, 20-25, and 25-17 before 7300 fans in Honolulu. Before a supportive home crowd of 6750, the Rams of Colorado State had a thrilling come-from-behind upset victory over the Cornhuskers of Nebraska, 12-25, 11-25, 25-16, 25-20, and 15-9.
  The biggest upset of the week occurred in Ft. Myers, Florida, last Friday, when the Central Florida Knights humbled the elite Trojans of USC, 25-16, 25-20, and 25-22. How lopsided was it? The Knights hit .351 to the Trojans' .135. They led in kills, 53-31, assists, 48-27, and digs, 50-35. That is why the game is played. The UCF coach was stunned and gracious in victory, just grateful for the opportunity to play USC and calling them a program to aspire to become.


Week Two Selected Individual Highlights:


  In Colorado State's victory over Nebraska, Megan Plourde had 9 kills and 8 blocks, Katelyn Steffan had 13 kills and 4 blocks, and Tori Brummett had 8 kills and 4 blocks while hitting at a .571 clip.
  In UCF's victory over USC, Latvian native Evijia Vilde compiled 15 kills while hitting .429 and freshman Kayla Keller had 12 kills and 13 digs.
  Chloe Ferrari had 40 kills and 9 blocks in three matches in leading her San Diego Torreros into the Top 15.
 One reason Minnesota easily triumphed twice over Texas in consecutive matches was Tori Dixon's torrid serving (8 aces total) and Katherine Harms' play at the net (17 kills in Friday night's contest alone). 
 Oregon's Alaina Bergsma kept the Ducks on a winning track through D.C., coming up with 35 kills and a hitting percentage near .450 in two matches.
  Stanford's Karissa Cook was named Pac-12 defensive player of the week for coming up with a combined 98 assists, 40 digs, and 5 blocks in Cardinal victories over Duke and Notre Dame.
 Penn State freshman phenom Micha Hancock had 89 assists and 10 aces while soph Katie Slay had 9 blocks in three victorious matches in Pittsburgh last weekend.
 Senior Michelle Bartsch of Illinois had 64 kills and 59 digs in three matches while being named State Farm Illini Classic MVP. Meanwhile, teammates Erin Johnson and Liz McMahon, with 11 and 10 blocks respectively, provided the necessary defense at the net.
  Hawaii's Kanani Danielson led the Rainbows with 18 kills against Long Beach State and 17 kills against UCLA. Speaking of Bruins, UCLA's leader and tourney MVP, Rachael Kidder, had 50 kills, 24 digs, and 15 blocks in three matches.


Week Three Selected Match Previews:


  This weekend, all college volleyball eyes will be focused on the Nike Big Four Volleyball Classic in Palo Alto, where Top 10 host Stanford will play Top 10 Penn State and then the winner or loser of the Top 10 Florida vs. perennial Top 20 power Texas, depending on how the Cardinal fare against the Nittany Lions on Friday. Oregon's upset of Penn State and Minnesota's throttling of Texas in two consecutive matches shouldn't tarnish the significance of the tourney. After all, you won't see this much athletic volleyball talent in one venue until at least the regionals in December. With two wins, Penn State will be top five again. With two wins, Texas and Florida will make amends for last weekend's missteps. With two wins, Stanford could make a strong case for number one next week. 
  The best non-tourney match of the week has to be the Bruins of UCLA taking on the Trojans of USC Friday in North Central L.A. Both teams are loaded, so expect the conference opener to go five sets.