Travis Mewhirter’s 2023 in beach volleyball, the “most special” year to date
It’s September. I’m sitting on my deck back home, which in this case means Hampstead, Maryland. There’s grass here. And trees. And quiet. I say quiet, not silence, because the place is always humming with life — real life, not the kind of life you get...
Texas coach Jerritt Elliott on taking a break, winning it all and that red card
When I talked with Texas coach Jerritt Elliott on Thursday night, I hadn’t even looked at our voters’ ballots for national coach of the year. So that never came up in our visit while he was in Park City, Utah, taking a break after his Longhorns...
Madisen Skinner of Texas is the VolleyballMag.com national player of the year
For the past two years, our VolleyballMag.com national player of the year was Logan Eggleston of Texas. This year the honor stays in Austin with Texas junior outside hitter Madisen Skinner, who just won her third — third! NCAA volleyball championship. Skinner, who won a title...
Skinner and Elliott of Texas, Pitt’s Babcock lead 2023 VolleyballMag.com All-Americans
For the third year in a row, a Texas Longhorn is the VolleyballMag.com national player of the year. This year it’s junior Madisen Skinner, the outside hitter who was the Big 12 player of the year and then had a tremendous NCAA Tournament. Skinner is joined...
Nebraska’s memorable, record-breaking season; transfer list
Nebraska fans were out in force to greet the Huskers as they walked into the NCAA championship match/@AndyWenstrand All season long, no volleyball attendance or TV-ratings records were safe. An incredible 33 attendance records fell as volleyball drew big audiences in the stands and on television. Nebraska...
NCAA’s Charlie Baker on volleyball: “One of the hottest sports in collegiate athletics”
Charlie Baker talking in the ESPN pre-match show with Missy Whittemore and Eric Frede Charlie Baker wasn’t necessarily a volleyball fan. But now? “I have become one,” Baker replied. Which is a good thing for college volleyball, since Baker is the new NCAA president. We visited with Baker in Tampa...
Tough choices as VolleyballMag.com presents its 2023 Girls HS All-Americans
Julia Hunt VolleyballMag.com presents its 2023 High School All-Americans in three teams of 14 standouts each with 56 additional impact performers receiving honorable-mention recognition. The three teams, consisting of two setters, two defenders, four middles and six pins per team, were determined after consultation with many of...
NCAA volleyball: Greeny leaves WSU for WVU; Lauenstein, Lovett have new teams
Jen Greeny celebrates with her Washington State team after beating Washington last month/Ashley Davis photo We have the first major surprise hire of the NCAA volleyball offseason. West Virginia announced Wednesday its new coach will be Jen Greeny, the former Washington State star who took her alma...
Beach Volleyball Mailbag! Thoughts on the new AVP? Paris predictions?
HERMOSA BEACH, California — The 2023 beach volleyball season was as long as any in recent memory, one that began in Doha, Qatar in January and ended back in Doha just a few weeks ago for the Beach Pro Tour Finals. It criss-crossed continents and...
Almost 2 million viewers: Breaking down record NCAA volleyball TV ratings — again
The 2023 NCAA title match drew a record crowd and record TV ratings/@AndyWenstrand The landmark telecast on over-the-air ABC of the NCAA women’s volleyball championship match on an NFL Sunday afternoon established another record. Ho hum. No surprise there, given a season-long trend of sensational TV ratings for...
International men: Strong week for Taylor Averill, Projekt Warsaw; big matches on tap
Michael Ma’a, left, blocks for Halkbank in its win over Benfica/cev.ru This is Blair Lambert’s VolleyballMag.com weekly men’s professional volleyball report, featuring Americans around the world. Got a note about a player or a comment for Blair? Email him at blairlambert2@gmail.com With the holidays just around the...
Perusic, Gottardi steal the show at our inaugural 2023 Beach Pro Tour Player Awards
The 2023 Beach Pro Tour season was a long and winding and wonderful and wacky one. New hierarchies were established — hello, Ana Patricia and Duda — and old ones broken down, or at least put into question. Who, for example, is the best men’s...
State by state: Top 2023 HS volleyball players from around the nation
VolleyballMag.com presents its 2023 Players of the Year for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Thanks to the more than 150 coaches nationwide surveyed for these recognitions, and to the great players considered for these honors in each of the states and D.C. Look...
Women’s pro report: VakifBank loses Club Worlds, but 31 kills for Jordan Thompson
Jordan Thompson was fantastic for VakifBank in the Club World Championship/Volleyball World photo This is our weekly update on USA women playing professional volleyball around the world. Most of the players are former NCAA standouts. We’ll have a report next week, but Japan and Türkiye are...
NORCECA bronze pushes Benesh, Partain up to No. 7 in Olympic rankings
The podium at the NORCECA Continental Championships/NORCECA photo The Olympic race for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games officially began in February in Doha, Qatar, with the Volleyball World Elite16. The final event is yet to be determined, but the qualification period will conclude on June 9,...
Winning NCAA title “like an out-of-body experience” for Asjia O’Neal
Asjia O’Neal celebrates winning the NCAA title/@AndyWenstrand By Joey Johnston for VolleyballMag.com TAMPA — On match point, as she prepared for the potentially clinching serve, Texas middle blocker Asjia O’Neal said she had one thought. “I said to myself, ‘I’m going to get an ace and we’re going...
NCAA volleyball championship stunner! Texas sweeps Nebraska
All eyes are on Nebraska’s Laney Choboy as she goes all out against Texas @AndyWenstrand TAMPA — No one expected a sweep. Most figured No. 1 Nebraska would win. And then Texas simply served Nebraska into oblivion. The seventh-seeded Longhorns destroyed Nebraska 25-22, 25-14, 25-11 Sunday in the NCAA...
Nebraska vs. Texas NCAA volleyball final: What you need to know
TAMPA — You may have forgotten, but in the AVCA preseason top 25 that came out last August, Texas was No. 1. Yes, those same Longhorns who then went and lost their first match, in four, at Long Beach State on a day when superstar middle...
NCAA volleyball notes: Free agency, AVCA POY, a hiring, USAV ties
TAMPA — This, of course, is the big day, the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship title match between top-seeded Nebraska and seventh-seeded Texas. We’ll have more on that in a later post Sunday in advance of the 3 p.m. Eastern first serve on ABC. First, some NCAA...
All-time highs: More great TV, crowd numbers for NCAA volleyball semifinals
The NCAA semifinals drew a record crowd in Tampa and great TV ratings/@AndyWenstrand To say that the hits just keep on coming for women’s college volleyball in 2023 has gotten to be an understatement. The national semifinal matches of the NCAA tournament that aired Thursday night on...