AU Volleyball: Hentz, De La Cruz dominate second-week action
Ali Bastianelli blocks Natalia Valentin-Anderson during Week 2 action/Jade Hewitt/Athletes Unlimited More than a few eyebrows were raised around Athletes Unlimited volleyball when captain Sydney Hilley opted to make rookie outside hitter Claire Chaussee the first overall pick in Week 2’s draft. That left a superstar with...
Women’s pro report: Skinner, Thompson, Parsons, Rivers, May in strong early season form
Cuneo’s Anna Stevenson-Hall, right, goes up to block Kathryn Plummer Plummer of Conegliano/LVF photo This is our weekly update on USA women playing professional volleyball around the world. Most of the players are former NCAA standouts: Italy Avery Skinner earned MVP honors as Chieri swept Roma. Skinner led...
NCAA volleyball chair Holly Strauss-O’Brien joins the VBM Zoom
Holly Strauss-O’Brien, deputy director of athletics at Loyola University Chicago, is the chair of this year’s NCAA Division I volleyball committee. The former North Carolina player and UConn coach joined our weekly (mostly) NCAA Zoom with Big Ten Network and ESPN analyst Emily Ehman and...
International Volleyball Hall induction week: Katsutoshi Nekoda of Japan
It’s induction week at the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Six inductees will join the previous 161 players, coaches, administrators and leaders from 25 countries who have already been enshrined in the museum at the birthplace of volleyball. We have stories on...
“Quigglehorn,” Cook-Caldwell win AVP Laguna Beach titles; Rigney photo gallery
Delaney Peranich takes flight/ Mark Rigney photo That’s a wrap on the 2023 AVP season after both top seeds won tournament titles Sunday at Laguna Beach, California. Corinne Quiggle and Sarah Schermerhorn-Murphy, fondly referred to as “Quigglehorn” beat second-seeded Brook Bauer and Megan J. Rice, 21-17, 19-21,...
Plenty of shuffling between Nos. 5-16 in VolleyballMag.com Super 16 Media Poll
Merritt Beason hits past the Penn State block in Nebraska’s win over Penn State/Nebraska photo After a topsy-turvey week in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball, it’s no surprise that there was a shakeup in spots 5-16 in the VolleyballMag.com Super 16 Media Poll. Wisconsin-Nebraska-Stanford-Washington State remained Nos....
What a Sunday: ASU upsets Oregon; UK tops Vols; Miami stuns GT; Arkansas alone atop SEC
Washington’s Audra Wilmes tips against Utah/Stephen Burns photo This is a recurring Monday theme, where we say best of luck to our VolleyballMag.com Super 16 Media Poll voters. You/we are gonna need it. What to do, for example, with No. 16 Arizona State, which lost in five on...
USA GOLD! Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes win Beach Volleyball World Championships
Kelly Cheng, left, and Sara Hughes celebrate their World Championships victory/Volleyball World photo TLAXCALA, MEXICO — She heard a voice. Clear as day. As if it had come from a person sitting directly next to her. “Breakthrough is here.” That’s what Kelly Cheng heard two years ago, after...
“F–ing fourth.” Trevor Crabb, Theo Brunner end brilliant run with another fourth
TLAXCALA, MEXICO — Theo Brunner had to know. The masochist. “Three fourths,” he said, shaking his head after a second straight loss at the 2023 Beach Volleyball World Championships. “Has anyone ever done that?” No. That honor is Brunner’s alone. Not only has nobody ever finished fourth at...
International Volleyball Hall induction week: Silvano Prandi of Italy
It’s induction week at the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Six inductees will join the previous 161 players, coaches, administrators and leaders from 25 countries who have already been enshrined in the museum at the birthplace of volleyball. We have stories on...
Nebraska sweeps Penn St.; Texas tops Houston; big win for FGCU; Citadel gets to 20-0
There was a record crowd at the Fertitta Center on Saturday at Houston for its match against Texas/Joe Buvid photo Nebraska not only stayed unbeaten as it swept Penn State, but the No. 2 team in the VolleyballMag.com Super 16 Media Poll improved to 17-0 and...
“Mini wins” lead Kelly Cheng, Sara Hughes to World Championship final
TLAXCALA, MEXICO — For the two months leading into this weekend’s Beach Volleyball World Championships, the language between Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes has centered on a single word: Breakthrough. When they partnered up last fall, reviving the most successful collegiate team in NCAA history,...
Louisville sweeps Pitt; GT slips past FSU; 40 kills for Evansville’s Cardona
Colorado’s Cayla Payne hits past Washington’s Katy Wessels/Stephen Burns photo Even on a night when an NCAA Division-I player racked up a rare-as-hen’s-teeth 40 kills, a statement-making victory in a match played between top-10 teams before 11,461 fans on national television justifiably hogged the spotlight. With hometown...
Nuss-Kloth, Cheng-Hughes to face off in World Championships semifinals
TLAXCALA, MEXICO — It’s easy to forget, just how far Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth have come in such a small amount of time. This is the second beach volleyball event the quaint Mexican city of Tlaxcala has hosted, the first being a Challenge in...
Catching up with Morgan Hentz as new AU volleyball teams picked for Week 2
Willow Johnson tips during first-week AU action/Jade Hewitt, Athletes Unlimited The draft for Week 2 of Athletes Unlimited’s volleyball season effectively dismantled the purple gang that terrorized its competition in the opening round, spreading the wealth of its seven starters among the league’s four teams. The juggernaut...
Two big ACC battles highlight Friday’s NCAA volleyball schedule
Western Michigan’s Maggie King hits over the CMU block/Ashley Huss, WMU Photographer The ACC takes center stage Friday in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball. Thursday’s recaps and top performances follow after a day in which some league races tightened, but first a look at Friday’s schedule The featured...
Quarterfinals bound: Four USA teams extend World Championships run in Mexico
TLAXCALA, MEXICO — The phone hit the ground, and there was really no one or anything to blame. The fans forgave the offense. There were Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes, not just posing for selfie after selfie, but snapping them, relaying the phone between the rails separating...
NCAA volleyball: Big wins for IU, K-State; Omaha, UCF roll on; Peacocks fall short
Indiana celebrates with the coveted Monon Spike, the traveling trophy that the Hoosiers and Purdue play for/IU photo Two teams in the AVCA top 25 lost to unranked opponents Wednesday when Indiana beat visiting No. 15 Purdue in the Big Ten and Kansas State swept visting...
Volley: « Quand je lis sur les réseaux sociaux, que je suis un entraîneur de merde… », les vérités de Giani, après un été frustrant pour les Bleus
Après un Top 8 en VNL et une quatrième place à l’Euro cet été, l’entraîneur de l’équipe de France de volley, Andrea Giani, a dressé le bilan de l’été international des Bleus. Pour RMC Sport, le technicien italien a répondu aux critiques et expliqué sa...
Beach Volleyball World Championships: Six USA teams advance into top-10
TLAXCALA, MEXICO — When USA teams are introduced at the Tlaxcala Bullring for this week’s World Championships, the song choice for the DJ is an easy one, if not a bit cliché. “American woman!” crows the forever timeless Lenny Kravitz. “Stay away from me! American woman,...