Megan Kraft celebrates 21st in style with qualifier wins at the Paris Elite16
The Paris Elite16 has only been an event for two years. Already, it has established a peculiar penchant for celebrating birthdays in style. Last year, Katja Stam, the Netherlands’ 6-foot-4 blocker, celebrated her 24th birthday by winning a gold medal with Raisa Schoon. One year later,...
Girls HS Dream Team: Kakkis, Clemente, Clark, Jackson, Chatellier, Soiney, Wiley, Evens
Julia Kakkis/Matt Smith photo Every week during the high school season, provided there are enough nominees from varsity coaches, VolleyballMag.com will recognize a Dream Team of high school volleyball players who were standouts the weekend before. Most weeks, the eight-girl Dream Team will consist of the following: Setter Setter,...
Laird Hamilton, Gabby Reece: Good stewards of the high-performance community
MALIBU, CALIFORNIA — Gabby Reece isn’t trying to fool anyone. All those workouts that she and her husband, big wave surfer Laird Hamilton, host at their lovely home in Malibu? The hours and hours they devote to training and working with everyone from elite athletes...
NCAA volleyball: MACtion, Horizon, Southland results; 14-1 EIU wins; AVCA poll
In this NCAA report, we have Tuesday’s NCAA Division I women’s volleyball recaps, a look at Wednesday’s schedule and AVCA news. There are just 13 matches on Wednesday’s schedule, including a key battle between ranked SEC teams. The SEC’s Arkansas, the No. 14 team in the VolleyballMag.com...
Paris Elite16 101: Alix Klineman to make her post-partum debut on Wednesday
The unofficial fall break, the six-week beach volleyball hiatus between the Hamburg Elite16 and this week’s Paris Elite16, comes to an end on Wednesday, kicking off a second season of sorts that won’t end until December’s World Tour Finals. It also happens to be arguably the...
Tawa’s HS Dots: Durango Fall Classic “a feast for volleyball fans”
Mater Dei avenged an early season loss to Mira Costa to take down the national No. 1 Mustangs in the final of the Durango Fall Classic on Saturday This is “Dots,” VolleyballMag.com’s weekly look at 10 things in high school volleyball, past or present, that interest...
Huge step for It’s Called Normal: Bringing adaptive beach volleyball to Motherlode
Left to right: Dave Newkirk, John Kriescher, Katie Pyules, Carly Wopat, Abram Gornik, Randall Ball By John Kriescher for VolleyballMag.com John Kriescher is an adaptive athlete, fundraising professional, writer, and soon-to-be father based in Houston. Through work with It’s Called Normal Athletics (ICN), he is helping to...
Wisconsin edges Nebraska by one point in VolleyballMag.com Super 16 Media Poll
This is the inaugural VolleyballMag.com Super 16 Media Poll, the first of its kind in coverage of NCAA Division I women’s volleyball. We’ve had requests over the years to do this, and the time is now as our sport and the excitement around it continues...
Florida rallies again; Wisconsin, Nebraska, Louisville, WSU, Tennessee win
Sofia Maldonado Diaz of Arizona attacks against Washington State/Catherine Regan, Arizona Athletics Third-ranked Florida continued to live on the edge, No. 2 Nebraska took it to No. 12 Minnesota, No. 7 Washington State escaped Arizona in five, No. 14 Tennessee overpowered No, 22 Kentucky, and Arizona...
Olympics bound! USA beats Germany to clinch spot in Paris 2024 Games
The full USA Volleyball contingent in Lodz, Poland, after beating Germany/Volleyball World photo Annie Drews played like a woman possessed. And now her USA team — which gold in the Tokyo 2021 Olympics — possesses a spot in the Paris 2024 Olympics. The Americans lost the first set...
NCAA volleyball: Xavier stuns Creighton; BYU thumps Baylor; 36 kills for Rivest, Cardona
Loyola’s Karlie McNabb hits against Dayton/Loyola photo Unranked Xavier beat Creighton for the first time, knocking off the No. 11 Bluejays in five Saturday in the Big East. It was Xavier’s first win over a ranked team since 2007. In the only matchup between ranked teams, No....
USA loses to Poland, must beat Germany in Road to Paris Volleyball Qualifier
The fate of the previously unbeaten USA women in the Road to Paris Volleyball Qualifier will come down to the last day. That’s because the Americans lost to Poland on Saturday before the final match of the day in Lodz, Poland, when Italy played Germany. Poland’s 27-25,...
Tampa Bay area courting volleyball history as it prepares for NCAA Championship
By Joey Johnston for the NCAA From start to finish, the Tampa Bay area has become the epicenter of NCAA Division I volleyball this season. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. When the Tampa Bay Sports Commission hosted the Road 2 Tampa Bay Invitational in late August —...
NCAA volleyball: Texas Tech upsets KU; Florida tops Auburn; Wisconsin, Nebraska, Louisville, Pitt win
Louisville’s Anna DeBeer hits against Syracuse/Dior Sy, Louisville Athletics Texas Tech beat visiting No. 17 Kansas in a Big 12 reverse sweep on Friday night and No. 3 Florida had to come back to win in overtime at No. 24 Auburn. Three teams — Stonehill, Bethune-Cookman and...
USA women 5-0 after topping Italy in Road to Paris Volleyball Qualifier
The USA women are like a victory away from clinching a Paris 2024 Olympic berth after beating Italy in four sets Friday in Lodz, Poland. The Americans have two matches left, against Poland on Saturday and Germany on Sunday. Earlier in Pool C on Friday, Poland...
WSU sweeps Washington; Arizona St. stays unbeaten; Minnesota, Iowa St., WMU win
Iowa’s Delaney McSweeney rises above the Minnesota block/Brian Ray, hawkeyesports.com Seventh-ranked Washington State swept visiting Washington on Thursday and Arizona State is 13-0 after sweeping Arizona in their Pac-12 openers, but Wyoming took its first loss when the 11-1 Cowgirls were beaten in five at Utah...
Girls HS Dream Team: Kofe, Aksu, Quest, Segal, Anderson, Ogbechie, Greene, Little
Every week during the high school season, provided there are enough nominees from varsity coaches, VolleyballMag.com will recognize a Dream Team of high school volleyball players who were standouts the weekend before. Most weeks, the eight-girl Dream Team will consist of the following: Setter Setter, S/RS or RS OH OH MB MB Libero DS Players...
NCAA volleyball: Pitt, BYU, GT, Tennessee, Penn St., A&M, Indiana, USC win
USC’s Tyrah Ariail, left, and London Wijay roof UCLA’s Iman Ndiaye/Andy J. Gordon photo There were 23 NCAA Division I women’s volleyball matches Wednesday. Just five of them did not end in sweeps, including Georgia Tech’s four-set, comeback ACC win at Clemson, USC’s five-set Pac-12 win at...
4-0: Day off before USA plays Italy, Poland, Germany with Olympic berth at stake
Korea’s Sohwi Kang hits into the block of Lauren Carlini, left, and Dana Rettke as Jordan Thompson looks on/Volleyball World photo The USA women kept themselves in the driver’s seat with a four-set victory over Korea on Wednesday in the Road to Paris qualifier in Lodz,...
Tawa’s HS Dots: Breakdown, predictions Durango Fall Classic grabs spotlight
This is “Dots,” VolleyballMag.com’s weekly look at 10 things in high school volleyball, past or present, that interest me and hopefully will interest you. Look for Dots every week until the last high school state championship in November: • It’s finally here! The 64-team Durango Fall...