Argentine women begin Continental Cup countdown
Ana Gallay, Virginia Zonta, Luciana Forguez and Gabriela Albano are all scheduled to step out for their country at the CSV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup final later this year with a berth to the Games at stake. Standing in their way will be tandems from Brazil, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Working under Pablo Bernardi, the man in charge of all national beach volleyball teams, the foursome are training at San Sebastián Resort.
COBRA SPORTS
U.S. Men's Update: Holt's Upset in Italy
B.J. Hoeptner Evans
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 26, 2012) – U.S. middle blocker Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio) and his Italian Serie A League team Copra Elior Piacenza scored an upset victory over Lube Banca Marche Macerata, 25-19, 25-18, 20-25, 25-20 on Jan. 22.Holt scored nine points on four kills, four blocks and one ace as Piacenza, ranked 11th in the league, defeated second-place Macerata.
U.S. setter Donald Suxho (Korce, Albania) helped his Italian team Sisley Belluno to a 19-25, 25-20, 25-17, 27-25 victory over Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia on Jan. 22. Suxho scored three points on one attack, one block and one ace. He also set his team to a 51.0 kill percent and a 0.429 hitting efficiency.
Belluno is in sixth place in the league and Vibo Valentia is in eighth.
U.S. opposite Evan Patak (Pleasanton, Calif.) led his Italian team Energy Resources San Giustino with 24 points as it took a 25-21, 32-34, 25-20, 20-25, 15-9 victory over U.S. middle blocker Theo Brunner (Ridgefield, Conn.) and CMC Ravenna on Jan. 22.
Patak scored on 19 attacks (41.3 kill percent, .370 hitting efficiency), one block and four aces. U.S. setter Riley McKibbin (Honolulu, Hawaii) started the first set and scored one point on a kill. Brunner scored 12 points on nine attacks (60.0 kill percent, .600 hitting efficiency), two blocks and one ace.
San Giustino is in 12th place in the league while Ravenna is 14th.
U.S. outside hitter Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.) and Casa Modena fell to Acqua Paradis Monza Brianza, 28-26, 25-22, 25-18 on Jan. 22. U.S. outside hitter Sean Rooney (Wheaton, Ill.) did not play in the match due to a minor injury (according to the team’s coach).
Anderson scored six points on five attacks and one ace. Modena is in fourth place in the league and Monza Brianza is in fifth.
Monza Brianza played Modena again on Jan. 25 in the quarterfinals of the Italian Cup on Jan. 25. This time, Anderson’s team came out on top, 35-33, 25-21, 25-27, 25-17.
Anderson finished with 22 points on 19 attacks (59.3 kill percent, .531 hitting efficiency), one block and two aces. He also had 27 receptions with 67 percent considered “positive.”
Rooney started the final two sets for Monza Brianza and scored seven points on four attacks and three blocks.
Suxho and Belluno defeated Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo, 25-22, 21-25, 25-16, 25-22 on Jan. 25. Suxho scored eight points on three attacks and a match-high five blocks.
POLAND
Jastrzębski Węgiel, the Plus Liga team of U.S. middle blocker Russell Holmes (Fountain Valley, Calif.) and setter Brian Thornton (San Clemente, Calif.), advanced to the final match of the Polish Cup where it lost to PGE Skra Belchatow, 25-16, 25-20, 25-19 on Jan. 22.
In the semifinals, Belchatow defeated U.S. outside hitter Paul Lotman (Lakewood, Calif.) and his Polish team Asseco Resovia Rzeszow, 21-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-23 on Jan. 21. Lotman scored eight points on seven attacks and one block. He also led the team in positive and excellent receptions.
To view photos from the match, click here.
RUSSIA
U.S. outside hitter Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.) and his Russian Super League team Zenit Kazan continue to lead the league’s east division with a perfect 12-0 record following victories over Kuzbass Kemerovo (25-18, 25-19, 25-22) on Jan. 21 and Gazprom Ugra (21-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-23) on Jan. 25.
Against Kemerovo, Priddy scored nine points on four kills, four blocks and one ace. Against Ugra, he scored 15 points on 13 attacks (46.0 kill percent and .464 hitting efficiency), one block and one ace.
U.S. setter Lloy Ball (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Ural Ufa are in fourth place in the east division after winning their last five matches. On Jan. 21, Ural defeated Ugra, 24-26, 25-19, 25-22, 25-22. Ball scored five points on two attacks and three blocks and also set the team to a 49.1 kill percent and .417 hitting efficiency.
On Jan. 25, Ural beat Lokomotiv-Izumrud Ekaterinburg, 25-16, 25-18, 25-16. Ball had three points on an attack and two blocks and set his team to a 53.7 kill percent and a .493 hitting efficiency.
GERMANY
U.S. outside hitter Scott Touzinsky scored 12 points on nine kills (41.0 kill percent, .364 hitting efficiency), one block and two aces as his German league team Berlin Recycling Volleys defeated TV Buhl on Jan. 21, 25-15, 25-17, 25-22.
U.S. setter Kawika Shoji (Honolulu, Hawaii) also started the entire match for Berlin, scoring two points on two attacks and setting the team to a 51.2 kill percent and a .465 hitting efficiency. U.S. outside hitter Cory Riecks (Auburn, Calif.) played as a substitute for Buhl, but did not score.
Berlin is in third place in the league and Buhl is in fourth.
FRANCE
Tourcoing, which includes U.S. setter Jonathan Winder (Irvine, Calif.) and outside hitter Jayson Jablonsky (Yorba Linda, Calif.), defeated Narbonne on Jan. 20, 25-19, 25-21, 21-25, 19-25, 15-12 on Jan. 20. Jablonsky started all five sets and scored 10 points. Tourcoing is in fifth place in the league.
U.S. middle blocker David Smith (Saugus, Calif.) and Tours have fallen to second place in the league after losing to U.S. outside hitter Robert Tarr (Cape Canaveral, Fla.) and Cannes on Jan. 21, 25-17, 25-21, 21-25, 25-21.
Tarr finished with 17 points on 16 kills and one block. Smith scored six points on four attacks and two blocks.
SWITZERLAND
U.S. coach Shawn Patchell is the head coach for the Lausanne University Club in the Swiss league and has three U.S. players on his team: middle blocker Andy Hein (Carol Stream, Ill.), outside hitter Andrew Stewart (Sandy, Utah) and opposite Evan Romero (Miami Lakes, Fla.).
Lausanne is in fifth place in the league. On Jan. 21, it defeated VBC Münchenbuchsee, 25-6, 25-14, 25-15.
COBRA SPORTS
Q & A with Dagenais: Rising Junior Class
Jan. 26, 2012
By Eric DeSalvo
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The rising junior class features an All-American outside hitter and a solid defensive specialist as Angelica Crump (Atlanta, Ga.) and Roxy Mendez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) turned in impressive 2011 campaigns.
Crump finished the 2011 season 22nd in the nation in kills per set (4.34) and 42nd in points per set (4.60), earning her AVCA Honorable Mention All-America status and All-Conference USA First Team honors. As for Mendez, her situational defense aided the Knights to averaging 15.38 digs per set, nearly a dig per set better than opponents faced.
Head coach Todd Dagenais shared his thoughts on the two rising juniors.
On Angelica Crump...
"Angelica established herself as one of the premier attackers in the country last year, easily one of the top 50 overall. She still has two years left and is probably operating at 25% of what she is going to be when it is all said and done. Speeds of attack, approach angels, arm-swing changes and ball manipulation are all things she hasn't touched on yet. When she does, she is going to become an elite attacker. Not to mention the blocking that is coming along. She is becoming an all-around player.
"It is really exciting to look at someone like that and say `Wow she is just a sophomore.' People say that athletes have a sophomore slump, but she had a sophomore slugfest. We are looking for her to continue to be one of the top attackers in the conference and hopefully land herself on one of the top three All-America teams next year."
On Roxy Mendez...
"Roxy is another one of those players who has come in and filled a roll very much like Dani (Harrison). What's nice about Roxy is as soon as we see a need plug, that is where she goes. Roxy has really made herself a very versatile player for us and she is continuing to grow and get more confident. Her defensive instincts are probably amongst the best, if not the best, of our back-row core. We are just trying to hone those instincts and make them a little more game-like for her. I really see her stepping into some big rolls after Meredith (Murphy) graduates."
COBRA SPORTS
Beach volleyball put on ice during off season in Gstaad
Although conditions are far from perfect now, the town will install the artificial beach closer to the tournament, which has become one of the most popular events on the calendar having featured 12 times on the women’s circuit and 11 on the men’s. It was also the host of the 2007 Swatch World Championships, with the women’s tournament won by USA’s Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Wash and the men’s crown scooped up by compatriots Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers.
Of course, despite being scheduled for the moderate Swiss summer, the tournament did experience one freak hailstorm on the final day of the women’s tournament two years ago, with play delayed for three hours.
The 2012 Tour will feature a total of 14 events in 15 countries over a seven-month period, including a record-breaking nine Grand Slam tournaments, increasing from six in 2011.
There will also be eight Open events, six of which will be single-gender competitions.
With total prize money of $7.3 million on offer, the FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH World Tour 2012 will also include Grand Slams offering $600,000 prize money in Beijing, Moscow, Rome, Stavanger, Klagenfurt, Stare Jablonki as well as Shanghai, which has been upgraded from an Open, event and Berlin which may return to the calendar for the first time since 2008.
COBRA SPORTS
IPFW men's volleyball hopes to grow sport with road trip to N.C.
of The News-Sentinel
Friday, January 27, 2012 - 2:27 am
Arnie Ball in his 32 years with IPFW men's volleyball has coached in matches around the world, but this weekend will be the first time he and Mastodons will play in the Southeast portion of the United States.
IPFW will travel to North Carolina for a two-match non-conference weekend series against Mount Olive beginning at 7 p.m. Friday -- all in an effort to help increase interest in NCAA men's volleyball.
Mount Olive is a member of the Conference Carolinas, which is the newest conference to add men's volleyball.
"This is a new conference and we are trying to help them out a little bit," Ball said. "It's one of things you have to do to help our sport grow."
Less than 40 schools throughout the nation have a NCAA Division I-II men's volleyball team. Men's volleyball prior to the addition of the Conference Carolinas had three conferences: the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, which is comprised of West Coast teams.
The Conference Carolinas in 2009 became the first multi-sport Division II conference to sponsor men's volleyball and is considered an NCAA emerging conference for men's volleyball.
Ball said schools like IPFW from the top three conferences that are willing to schedule non-conference matches against Conference Carolinas teams makes it more enticing for other schools to add men's volleyball.
"There are so many young men that want to have a chance to play and there are very few places that let them play," Ball said. "Any time I have a chance to help fix that, I do so."
Ball said having matches against developing teams and conferences is something he learned and did during his college playing career at Ball State in the late-1960s. At that time men's volleyball was attempting to attract more programs in the hopes of becoming an NCAA sanctioned sport.
IPFW (3-3, 0-0 MIVA) is one of the five MIVA teams that will play Mount Olive (2-2, 1-0 Conference Carolinas) this season. In addition, three MIVA teams, including IPFW, will play road matches against Conference Carolinas schools.
The amount of schools willing to schedule non-conference matches against developing programs has contributed to the recent expansion of NCAA men's volleyball.
Three schools have added a Division I-II men's volleyball team since the Conference Carolinas sponsored men's volleyball. Lindenwood and Cal Baptist also announced in 2010 that they will begin transitioning from NAIA to NCAA Division I-II in men's volleyball.
The Conference Carolinas added its sixth men's volleyball member this season -- the minimum amount of teams needed for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament -- and will be eligible for the four-team Division I-II men's volleyball NCAA Tournament starting in 2014.
Ball said a Conference Carolinas team soon being able to compete in the NCAA Tournament will be a good thing for the sport. He also said it could lead to possible expansion of the NCAA Tournament.
“I'm excited about the fact that we have a new conference developing,” Ball said.
Mount Olive, the two-time defending Conference Carolinas regular season champions, enters Friday's match against IPFW after sweeping Barton in its conference-opener on Wednesday. The Trojans in their only match this season against a MIVA team lost to Quincy in four games.
IPFW split a two-match homestand last week – including a five-game loss to George Mason, which received votes this week in the top 15 national coaches poll.
This upcoming road trip for IPFW, though, has created some logistical challenges.
The Mastodons left by bus for North Carolina on Thursday. The 13-hour bus trip is the longest road trip by bus for IPFW in recent history.
"It's a long way down there. I'm not sure why I scheduled these matches like it did," Ball jokingly said Thursday.
Despite the long trip, Ball said he is confident his team will be able to sweep this two-match series.
"It's a team that we should beat, but you never know when you are going on the road," he said.
IPFW men's volleyball hopes to grow sport with road trip to N.C.
of The News-Sentinel
Friday, January 27, 2012 - 2:27 am
Arnie Ball in his 32 years with IPFW men's volleyball has coached in matches around the world, but this weekend will be the first time he and Mastodons will play in the Southeast portion of the United States.
IPFW will travel to North Carolina for a two-match non-conference weekend series against Mount Olive beginning at 7 p.m. Friday -- all in an effort to help increase interest in NCAA men's volleyball.
Mount Olive is a member of the Conference Carolinas, which is the newest conference to add men's volleyball.
"This is a new conference and we are trying to help them out a little bit," Ball said. "It's one of things you have to do to help our sport grow."
Less than 40 schools throughout the nation have a NCAA Division I-II men's volleyball team. Men's volleyball prior to the addition of the Conference Carolinas had three conferences: the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, which is comprised of West Coast teams.
The Conference Carolinas in 2009 became the first multi-sport Division II conference to sponsor men's volleyball and is considered an NCAA emerging conference for men's volleyball.
Ball said schools like IPFW from the top three conferences that are willing to schedule non-conference matches against Conference Carolinas teams makes it more enticing for other schools to add men's volleyball.
"There are so many young men that want to have a chance to play and there are very few places that let them play," Ball said. "Any time I have a chance to help fix that, I do so."
Ball said having matches against developing teams and conferences is something he learned and did during his college playing career at Ball State in the late-1960s. At that time men's volleyball was attempting to attract more programs in the hopes of becoming an NCAA sanctioned sport.
IPFW (3-3, 0-0 MIVA) is one of the five MIVA teams that will play Mount Olive (2-2, 1-0 Conference Carolinas) this season. In addition, three MIVA teams, including IPFW, will play road matches against Conference Carolinas schools.
The amount of schools willing to schedule non-conference matches against developing programs has contributed to the recent expansion of NCAA men's volleyball.
Three schools have added a Division I-II men's volleyball team since the Conference Carolinas sponsored men's volleyball. Lindenwood and Cal Baptist also announced in 2010 that they will begin transitioning from NAIA to NCAA Division I-II in men's volleyball.
The Conference Carolinas added its sixth men's volleyball member this season -- the minimum amount of teams needed for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament -- and will be eligible for the four-team Division I-II men's volleyball NCAA Tournament starting in 2014.
Ball said a Conference Carolinas team soon being able to compete in the NCAA Tournament will be a good thing for the sport. He also said it could lead to possible expansion of the NCAA Tournament.
“I'm excited about the fact that we have a new conference developing,” Ball said.
Mount Olive, the two-time defending Conference Carolinas regular season champions, enters Friday's match against IPFW after sweeping Barton in its conference-opener on Wednesday. The Trojans in their only match this season against a MIVA team lost to Quincy in four games.
IPFW split a two-match homestand last week – including a five-game loss to George Mason, which received votes this week in the top 15 national coaches poll.
This upcoming road trip for IPFW, though, has created some logistical challenges.
The Mastodons left by bus for North Carolina on Thursday. The 13-hour bus trip is the longest road trip by bus for IPFW in recent history.
"It's a long way down there. I'm not sure why I scheduled these matches like it did," Ball jokingly said Thursday.
Despite the long trip, Ball said he is confident his team will be able to sweep this two-match series.
"It's a team that we should beat, but you never know when you are going on the road," he said.
London 2012 Olympics: Beach Volleyball is most popular sport for ministers
January 26, 2012
Former Labour sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe asked officials if it was an oddity that government departments had bought 410 beach volleyball tickets, compared to just 246 for athletics.
But officials have insisted that there is an entirely innocent explanation for the disparity, claiming the decision was all about the timing of the events rather than an unhealthy interest in the outfits.
Jonathan Stephens, permanent secretary at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport explained that as the events mostly take place at the weekend, it would be more convenient for MPs diaries.
He said top sponsors could buy up to 13,500 tickets, but the Government had not taken up its full allocation, purchasing instead just 8,800 at a cost of £750,000.
COBRA SPORTS
Nummerdor and Schuil strike gold in Aalsmeer
It didn’t take long for the three-time European champions to assert their supremacy in the final, despite the eagerness of the young Polish pair as they easily took the opening set. From there it was a simple win for the duo, with Nummerdor successfully defending the title he won in 2011 with then partner Jon Stiekema.
The battle for bronze was a tense affair with Swiss duo Patrick Heuscher and Jefferson Bellaguarda eventually gaining the upper hand against Dutch rising stars Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen. The home tandem punished their Swiss counterparts in the opening set 21-18 but Heuscher and Bellaguarda bounced back in the second 21-16 to take the match to a tie break where Heuscher made the difference by taking the score from 10-all to 13-10 with his floating serve and killing blocks. By then the final result was all but a formality as the pair clinched a 15-13 win to take the bronze medal.
The VISADE Women’s Invitational – an exhibition tournament which ran alongside the Satellite – saw Madelein Meppelink and Sophie van Gestel clinching a 21-17, 21-17 win over compatriots Merel Mooren and Jantine van der Vlist, while Dutch stars Sanne Keizer and Marleen van Iersel – winners of two stops on last year’s FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH World Tour – took bronze after edging Belgium’s Liesbeth Mouha and Katrin Gielen 16-21, 21-12, 15-12).
COBRA SPORTS
Von Braun Center will be site of Super Regional volleyball tourney
January 26, 2012
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Huntsville already plays host to the AHSAA state soccer and wrestling tournaments, as well as the North Super Regional softball tournament.
Add volleyball to the list after the AHSAA Central Board of Control on Wednesday approved the city as one of its two Super Regional sites for the sport's new postseason format, set to begin with the 2012-13 school year.
The Von Braun Center will be the site of the North Super Regional Oct. 26-27. Montgomery's new multi-purpose complex at Cramton Bowl was approved to host the South Super Regional, contingent on a site visit scheduled later this week.
The new volleyball playoff format will include three rounds beginning next season - area tournaments to be played any time Oct. 18-20; Super Regional tournaments with 96 teams in six classifications at the north site and 96 teams in six classifications at the south site Oct. 26-27; and the Elite Eight state tournament to be held Oct. 31-Nov. 1
The new format streamlines the volleyball playoffs by combining two regional tournaments into one and eliminating the sub-state round, thus reducing travel costs. The 2012 format will advance the winner and runner-up from each area tournament to a Super Regional. The top four finishers in each Super Regional will then advance to the Elite Eight state tournament in each classification.
"We think this will elevate the championship program to a new level for volleyball and provide a memorable and positive experience for our student-athletes and schools," AHSAA Executive Director Steve Savarese said.
COBRA SPORT
Brazilian teams in reshuffle ahead of 2012 season
Meanwhile, Marcio’s former partner, Fabio Luiz Magalhaes, will also have a new partner in two-time FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH Junior World Championship runner-up Alvaro Filho.
With Carolina set to take much of the season off to have her baby, Maria Clara will partner 2000 Sydney Olympic Games volleyball bronze medallist Raquel Peluci. Elsewhere, Olympian Renata Ribeiro will also have a new team mate after ending her partnership with Priscilla Lima. She will join 27-year-old Elize Maia, while Lima will team up with Izabel Bezerra.
Meanwhile, FIVB Beach Volleyball Men’s SWATCH world champions Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego; and Ricardo Santos and Pedro Cunha will turn out for the men and women’s Swatch world champions Juliana da Silva Felisberta and Larissa França; and Talita Antunes and Maria Elisa Antonelli step out for the women.
COBRA SPORTS
