Volleyball

The domestic pro beach season officially kicked off this past weekend with the first tourney of the year, the NVL at the Preakness in Kentucky. No surprise on the women's side as Jen and April won the title over Kropp and Pavlik. But on the men's side, Todd and Phil were upset in three by Casey Patterson and his new partner Ryan Doherty.

Doherty, a big relative newcomer playing in just his ninth event and whose best finish was 17th prior to last weekend, teamed up with Patterson for the first time in this tournament. Seeded No. 10, the two were not expected to challenge the Olympic gold medalists. Nonetheless, they walked away with the 15-13 victory in set three in front of a good crowd in tandem with the Preakness.

The next beach tournament in the U.S. is the first Jose Cuervo event in Fort Lauderdale, FL on Memorial Day weekend.

On the international side, the two U.S. women's teams we will see in London are set. Jen Kessy and April Ross clinched the second spot and will join Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor at the Olympics.

The men are still in a dead heat for the second spot. Fuerbringer/Lucena and Gibb/Rosenthal are tied with 4,920 points. For the time being these two teams are at the top of the Swatch World Tour Rankings - Gibb/Rosie are No. 1 with 1,880 points. Fuerbringer/Lucena are in the No. 2 spot with 1,800 pts. There are just three tournaments left for one of these teams to make its move and qualify for London. The first of the three opportunities is this week in the Czech Republic, so this is going to be fun.

Who do you think should represent the U.S. at the Olympics? Submit your answer in the poll.

Sand volleyball may get a boost from the misfortune of men's tennis. The UC Riverside Athletic Department is considering dropping its men's tennis program and instead starting a women's sand volleyball team.

The school says that the men's tennis is not funded at a level where it can be competitive. The UCR men's tennis team had a 6-18 record last season and went 0-5 in league play. The program is not very popular either, it has trouble drawing crowds and the AD says the courts don't get used when the varsity team isn't using them. Sand volleyball, on the other hand, has high club level interest.

According to the University's estimation, the school would save over $150,000 annually by switching to sand volleyball once the courts are constructed. They would use the money to create some full-time coaching positions for other sports.

The university has put the question out to the community for public comment to see if they would object to losing the men's tennis program. No word on how their response will be considered in the decision.

The tennis community has weighed in and they, of course, don't want to see the end of the program. There are only six men's tennis programs left in the Big West and losing UCR would be a big blow. I know it's sad to see men's programs go, but when the program in question is underfunded, unpopular and expensive, doesn't it make sense to move on?

If schools start to think about bottom lines and cost efficiency, sand volleyball comes out ahead. That's a great selling point and could trigger an upward trend for our sport.  If we want college sand volleyball to thrive, and I think it needs to for the future of the sport at the international and professional levels, something else has to go. Their loss, our gain. What say you, volleyball fans?

Pool play began last week for the first leg of the World League tournament and the results page is full of surprises. Among them, No. 18 Canada beating No. 1 Brazil in five, No. 27 Finland beating No. 4 Poland in five and No. 5 Cuba beating No. 2 Russia in five. We were not spared either, No. 6 USA lost to No. 21 France.

The USA men beat Korea in five sets, but lost to France in four and Italy in three. They tend to start off slowly in this tournament for some reason, but add to that the emotional qualification process they just went through plus a trip overseas and that could explain why they're bringing up the rear in their pool.

The good news is that every other team in the tournament lost at least one match with the exception of the only undefeated squad, Italy. Brazil, currently ranked No. 1 in the world, also went 1-2 through the first weekend of competition. They were without two of the team's stars - Giba (knee) and Murilo (shoulder) - which could explain that uncharacteristic loss to Canada, a team that proved how dangerous it can be with its NORCECA performance.

Even though Korea lost to the Americans and went 0-3 in pool play, they are actually ahead of the U.S. in the pool on points because of the way World League matches are scored. Teams that win in three or four sets are awarded three points while the loser gets none. Teams that win in five sets earn two points while the loser gets one. Korea went five sets in all three matches so they earned three points. The U.S. won its match in five so they were awarded two points for that and none for losing in three and four sets in their other matches.

The schedule for the tournament is a bit different this year due to the Olympics. In order to accommodate the last Olympic qualifier tournaments, there is a break in competition. The U.S. will be back in action on June 15th in Lyon, France. They'll head to Korea after that and finish up pool play in Dallas on June 29th-July 1st.

Just one pool has yet to begin pool play. Pool D, which includes No. 9 Bulgaria, No. 8 Argentina, No. 13 Germany, and No. 34 Portugal, will compete this weekend in Frankfurt. Check out the rest of the World League schedule, standings and results here.

When USA Volleyball does something right, we have to give credit where credit is due. Right about now, the folks that make up our organizing body are looking like geniuses. No kidding.

As volleyball fans, we spend a lot of time complaining about USAV. What they do, how they do it, who they have or don't have doing it, when they do it, why they do it. We do this for good reason. Because we care about the state of the game, about growing it and about making it better. On that, we can all agree. What we can't seem to agree on is how to go about doing it.

Last week, USAV did something right. The NORCECA event that concluded on Saturday with the USA men qualifying for London was hands down the best thing I've ever seen in my my 20+ years of watching and playing in USAV events. If you weren't able to make it, you really missed something special.

The genius part started with stepping in when an opportunity arose. Puerto Rico had a scheduling conflict that rendered them unable to host the NORCECA qualifier. USAV smartly offered to host the matches in Long Beach, just 20 minutes from the training facility in Anaheim. The Pyramid was a great choice for these matches. Not too big, not too small, great volleyball community, centrally located and easy to get to from almost anywhere in SoCal.

They pulled it together with help from sponsors like UPS, who they couldn't thank enough for their support. They had no idea if they'd be able to draw decent crowds for this event. Volleyball fans don't always show up. Though our teams rarely get to play at home, sometimes the fans leave them hanging out to dry. USAV took the risk. They got a lot of help from some very motivated fans who took attendance and enthusiasm into their own hands by organizing events, providing signs and changing the way we cheer for volleyball. That teamwork led to a fresh, new fan experience.

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I just have to take a moment to pay homage to the crowd last weekend for the men's NCAA final. Whenever nearly 10,000 souls purpose to attend a men's match, we should take the time to acknowledge and celebrate it.

The 9,612 people who attended Saturday's match at the Galen Center made up the third largest crowd in history. We can't call it a record crowd but when you look at the two matches that top it in the record books you realize that it might as well have been.

The most fans ever to attend a men's final was back in 1998. Not only was that a whole 14 years ago, but this match took place in Hawaii which is an outlier for volleyball attendance. Still, this year's match was only 210 people shy of breaking that attendance record.

The second highest draw for a final took place at UCLA a whopping 28 years ago when the top players from the 1984 national champion Bruins were Ricci Luyties and Doug Partie and they played another SoCal team in the Pepperdine Waves. Saturday's final was 197 people short of that record.

It didn't hurt that the home team made the final and that we once again had two SoCal teams in a SoCal arena. 'Eater Nation had to travel a whole hour up the 405 freeway to make the match, but their enthusiastic fans managed large enough numbers to give the USC fans a run for their money.

A record? No. But certainly the best we've seen in a long, long while.

The USA men have begun their quest to qualify for London and have successfully completed their first two matches of the NORCECA tournament. The Americans had no trouble doing away with Trindad & Tobago and Costa Rica, beating both 3-0 with neither opponent scoring more than 14 points in a single set.

The mystery at setter seems to be solved for the moment at Donald Suxho has taken his place at the helm for the Americans. His back up, Brian Thornton, did not see action in the first match but started the third set of the second match.

Besides the usual starters, head coach Alan Knipe has also been using middle blocker Russell Holmes, outside hitter Paul Lotman and Riley Salmon who is back at outside hitter after a brief stint at libero. Opposite Dave McKienzie came in for Clay Stanley in both matches and started the third set against Costa Rica, leading all hitters for the match with eight kills. USA has one more pool play match tonight against Mexico. If they win, they'll skip the quarterfinals on Thursday as the pool winner and head straight to the semi-final on Friday where things should start to get interesting.

In the other pool, Cuba and Canada are both 2-0 and the two will meet each other tonight. The outcome of the match will decide the pool winner. The U.S. will most likely play the loser of the Cuba-Canada match in the semifinals with the final taking place on Saturday night.

Tickets for the matches are still available through the Long Beach State website.

In only the third weekend of FIVB play, the battle for the second U.S. spot in London is heating up on the men's side. Only two teams from each country are allowed into the Olympics and since the U.S. routinely has three teams in the top 10 in the world, the cutoff almost always leads to heartbreak for a deserving team. This year, the fight for the second spot is especially fierce.

Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser are the clear No. 1 team with 7,560 points and the No. 2 ranking in the world right now. Beyond that, it is impossible to tell which team will join them in London. The U.S. has two teams that are neck and neck for that second Olympic berth in Fuerbringer/Lucena and Gibb/Rosenthal.

Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena came out of the blocks quickly, making it to the final of the first tournament and opening up some ground on fellow Americans Sean Rosenthal and Jake Gibb. But just two weeks later, Gibb and Rosie have shown they aren't going down without a fight. This week, they matched Fuerbringer and Lucena, getting all the way to the final in Shanghai.

Now Gibb and Rosenthal are only 100 points behind Fuerbringer and Lucena in the battle for No. 2. There's no room for bad weeks for either team from here on out, the stakes are too high and the score is too close.

On the women's side, the battle is not as tight, but it could still turn on just a few good or bad performances. It looks like Kerri and Misty are virtually assured to be in London fighting for their third straight gold medal. As of right now, the No. 2 U.S. spot belongs to Kessy and Ross, but Fendrick and Hansen could have a shot if they perform well. At the moment, Kessy and Ross have a huge lead - they are 2,320 points ahead of Fendrick and Hansen.

There are just seven tournaments remaining for the men and six left for the women before the Olympics. This one is going to be fun to follow.

If you're in the Southern California area and you are on the fence about going to the Olympic Qualifier for the men next week in Long Beach, here are a few very good reasons to get your stuff in gear and get over to the Pyramid next week.

Reason No. 1 - Our Men Need You

Make no mistake, this tournament is a very big deal. The men are in a must-win situation here and this tournament is their last best chance to earn a spot in London. They are going to need all the help they can get and that means a big crowd of Americans waving flags, chanting U-S-A and taunting the competition.

Many times when USAV has matches in the U.S., there are more folks cheering for the visiting team than there are cheering for us. We cannot let that happen this time. This needs to be a true home game for our guys. If there is a chance that a good crowd can give them the extra boost they need to win games, you need to be there to do your part.

Reason No. 2 -  More International Volleyball in the States

There has never been an Olympic qualifier on American soil. Never. As much as we complain that we never get any important tournaments here in the States, USAV has stepped up and delivered. This is a test. We cannot let this very rare opportunity slip away.

Every other country that holds these qualifiers fills the place with crazed and screaming fans. Many of them have drums and noisemakers and the players can't even hear themselves think. If we can show the FIVB that we can draw big crowds for volleyball here in the States, they may actually consider holding more tournaments here. If we don't, we can never complain about not having good events again.

Reason No. 3 - Great Volleyball and Good Fun for All Ages

If you love the sport, this is going to be a great time. If you have kids, bring them. If you have a junior team, there is no earthly excuse for not getting your players to this match. Watching the highest level of volleyball is great for your players to see and it will make them better players themselves. When I was coming up, I had lots of opportunities to watch my sisters play at the next level up and it was invaluable in my own development.

So dust off your American flag, make some signs, paint your face and get yourself to the Pyramid. If you're feeling festive, stop by the enormous fan party in the parking lot on Saturday afternoon. It's called the Vol-B-Que and you can find the info on Facebook.

The tournament starts on May 7th with pool play and ends on May 12th with the finals. Only the winner qualifies for London. It doesn't get more serious than this, folks. Time to put your money where your mouth is.

The men's final four will take place at USC starting on Thursday and thanks to the at-large bid, the home team will be participating. The Trojans, the MPSF regular season champs, were eliminated in the tournament by UCI in a tight five set match but for the second year in a row, they'll get a second chance. UCI will enter the Final Four as the No. 1 seed and USC will be No. 2.

UCI showed us their flair for the dramatic, losing the first two sets and coming back to win the next three against USC. The Anteaters did the same thing to Stanford in the final, losing the first two sets and winning the next three to win the automatic berth to the Final Four.

It was a tough break for Stanford, a team that was playing very well at the end of the season and throughout the playoffs. The Cardinal beat BYU for the third time this season in the semi and was just one set away from the automatic berth when UCI staged their impressive comeback.

Lewis beat defending champs Ohio State in five sets to win the automatic berth for the MIVA Conference. They'll get the No. 3 seed and take on USC in the national semifinal. Penn State beat George Mason in four sets to advance and they'll take on UCI.

NCAA Final Four @ USC:

Thursday, May 3rd

Penn State vs. UCI - 6pm
Lewis vs. USC - 8 pm

Saturday, May 5th
Championship Match - 7 PM

April was another busy month in the sport of volleyball. Not only did beach volleyball get underway, but a new owner emerged for the AVP. No word yet on what if any tournaments we'll see this summer, but I had a chance to chat with the new owner, found out about his background and got to hear some of his plans.

We also concluded the first ever official collegiate sand volleyball regular season and are ready for the first ever championship coming up this weekend. FIVB volleyball began and the Americans started the season off strong on the men's side. In honor of the start of the beach season, I added profiles for Olympic hopefuls Matt Fuerbringer and Nick Lucena and for beach legend and long-time Pepperdine coach Nina Matthies.

NCAA men's volleyball entered into the conference tournament phase. National No. 1 USC lost to UCI in the MPSF semifinal, but was awarded the at-large bid so Tony Ciarelli and his Trojans will get one last chance at a national championship this weekend.

The USA men had two scrimmages with Argentina over the weekend and won both matches. They'll only have a few days to train together before they begin NORCECA on May 7th, the first Olympic qualifier on American soil. The finals will be played on May 12th and only the winner of the tournament will qualify for London so make sure to get to the Pyramid if you can to support them.

May is stacking up to be another busy month of NCAA Championships, pro beach volleyball and Olympic volleyball, so check back for the results as they come in.