I can't believe I've found a way to mention Prince Harry twice in a month. But with the London Olympics fast approaching, the young Prince is out fulfilling his role as Ambassador to the Games. Apparently, his love for volleyball is no passing fancy.

Prince Harry is taking a trip to Brazil where he will actually play some beach volleyball. Not sure who he'll be taking on, but the rumor is he'll be playing with the boys not the girls. The Prince is athletic, but I'm guessing he's going to be a disaster on the sand. Since he can't seem to go anywhere without a slew of paparazzi, I think we'll get a chance to see some video and determine if he can hold his own.

Volleyball isn't the only sport he'll be giving a try. The Prince will also visit Jamaica and the track where gold medalist and world record holder Usain Bolt trains. Word is he's hoping for a race against the fastest man alive. Seriously.

Former No. 1 BYU was knocked out of the top spot this week after losing two matches to Stanford in Provo. Stanford won in four sets on the first night and three on the second. It should be noted that Taylor Sander, BYU's leading hitter,  did not play in the match. Sander is out 4-6 weeks with a broken hand. BYU did get a boost from the return of Senior MB Futi Tavana after missing the team's first seven matches. With the losses BYU fell two spots in the AVCA Poll to No. 3 while Stanford jumped three spots to No. 4.

UCLA replaces the Cougars in the top spot this week. The Bruins beat cross-town rivals USC in three sets and pulled out a five set victory over Pepperdine as well. USC fell two spots out of the top five to No. 6 and Pepperdine fell two spots to No. 10.

No. 2 UCI was off last week but will head to Honolulu this week to take on Hawaii twice. Stanford will head to Southern California to take on Long Beach State and Northridge. Pepperdine will take on USC this week.

Here are the rest of your matches to watch:

Friday, February 10th
No. 1 UCLA @ No. 14 UCSB
No. 2 UCI @ No 12 Hawaii
No. 4 Stanford @ No. 7 Long Beach State
No. 10 Pepperdine @ No. 6 USC
No. 15 UOP @ No. 11 CSUN

Saturday, February 11th
No. 2 UCI @ No. 12 Hawaii
No. 4 Stanford @ No. 11 CSUN
No. 7 Lewis @ No. 12 Loyola-Chicago
No. 15 Pacific @ No. 7 Long Beach State
No. 4 Stanford @ No. 11 CSUN

Sunday, February 12th
No. 2 UCI @ No. 12 Hawaii

The first month of 2012 is in the books. If you missed any of the coverage from this month here's a quick look back at what transpired in the world of volleyball and here on About.com.

I started out with a look back at the year that was and revisited some of the best stories of 2011. There was a lot of great stuff and some not so great developments for our sport. But we shall move on and hopefully continue to grow bigger and better.

Men's volleyball officially got underway and we have two early frontrunners in the race for number one - BYU and UCI. I got to take a gander at both teams when BYU came to UCI earlier this month to avenge the loss they suffered in a pre-season match and it is still the only match they've lost all year. If these teams keep progressing and stay healthy, it will be tough for anyone to knock them off. But the season is young and as we know, anything can happen.

The FIVB released its schedule for pro beach volleyball in 2012. Things are still tentative here in the States, but there are a few tentative dates to pencil in for now. I'll keep updating the schedule as new events arise and changes undoubtedly occur. You can also check out the beach rankings for both the FIVB Tour and the Olympics. See who would qualify if the Olympics were today.

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Here's a little word problem for you. If Lewis beats Penn State and Penn State beats Stanford, does that mean that Lewis can beat Stanford? I'm not sure it does. But this week's AVCA Poll says yes. Lewis comes in at No. 6 on the poll, one place above Stanford (who they haven't played) at No. 7, but strangely one place below Penn State (who they have played and beaten.) Hmmmm...

Penn State rose three spots on the poll this week to No. 5 after beating the Cardinal in four sets while Stanford fell three spots. Stanford managed to beat Ohio State last week in five sets.

The No. 6 ranking is the highest Lewis has risen since 2003 when they were ranked No. 1 in the nation. Stanford and Lewis will not meet this year in the regular season, so we may never know the answer to the question above. But Stanford heads to Provo this weekend to take on No. 1 BYU twice. If they can pull off an upset and wrestle one of those matches away from the mighty Cougars, they could regain a spot in the top five.

Cross-town rivals No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 USC will face each other at the Galen Center this week and that should also be another great one to catch.

Here are the rest of your matches to watch this week:

Wednesday, February 1st
No. 3 UCLA @ No. 8 Pepperdine
No. 15 UCSB @ No. 4 USC

Friday, February 3rd
No. 7 Stanford @ No. 1 BYU
No. 3 UCLA @ No. 4 USC
No. 15 UCSB @ No. 8 Pepperdine
No. 10 CSUN @ No. 11 Long Beach State
No. 12 Pacific @ No. 14 Hawaii

Saturday, February 4th
No. 7 Stanford @ No. 1 BYU
No. 12 Pacific @ No. 14 Hawaii