Opening weekend

Wouldn’t it be kinda cool if someone were to write a wrapup of the past weekend’s volleyball action? Someone willing to go to all the trouble of rooting around for tasty tidbits from all the various matches, and through the other volleyball gossip, rumors, news, etc.? Someone not the least bit afraid to get the snout a little dirty? I wish I had the energy to do it, but all I can offer is this:

(R)uffda!’s Weekend Wrapup
(Only mildly interesting, but I'm pretty busy so give me a break)


Nebraska Wins AVCA Showcase

Has anyone ever pinned down the NACWAA folks and found out just why exactly they abandoned our sport? Their desertion is right up there with Royal Neighbors of America yanking the carpet out from under the USPV. It stings. It stinks. And I, as God is my witness, will never forget!

Anyhow, Nebraska beat UCLA 3-1 (30-23, 22-30, 30-18, 30-21) in the final and Sarah Pavan walked away with something called the Sports Import/AVCA National Player of the Week. Is there room on her mantel for this trophy? Does Sarah even have a mantel? I'm betting she also won some sort of MVP plaque for the tournament itself. Maybe an AVCA T-shirt?

How secure is the Sports Import backing? Are they as fickle as the others?

Penn State Takes Two from Texas

No doubt someone else has already trotted out the Texas Two-Step -- or Misstep -- line, so I won’t, even if I sorta just did. These were the other big matches of the weekend, pitting #3 PSU versus then #4 Texas at State College in a back-to-back two-night donnybrook. The Longhorns lost them both, 1-3 each night, and remain the biggest enigma in the sport. How can that much talent keep falling short? Will that much talent keep falling short?

Hawai’i Almost Loses Three

This was perhaps the shocker of the opening matches: the Wahine were within a deuce 5th game of starting the season 0-3. They opened with a 16-18 5th game loss to Michigan on Friday, squeaked by Colorado State 15-13 in the 5th on Saturday, and then, perhaps weary of all the drama, were swept away by Oregon State on Sunday. What is going on? you might ask. Beats me, I would answer. But it sure does light up the VolleyTalk board.

Kansas State Poleaxes Cal Poly

The Mustangs were to be the dark horse of the 2007 season, but they were lassoed by the Wildcats in their opener, losing 11-15 in the 5th. Since KSU was a very disappointing 12-18 in 2006, this was not exactly expected. There is always the danger that we read too much into one match -- or, on the other hand, that we ignore what a match is telling us about a team or teams. Like Lassie trying to tell us Timmy has fallen into the well. Again. What is with that kid? Regardless, the win vaulted KSU from the ignominy of the unranked to #25, and dropped Cal Poly from #14 to #18.

Big12 Comes Up Short

It was not a good weekend for the Big12. Nebraska, of course, performed like the #1 team, and we just mentioned KSU’s success; but there were some noteworthy stumbles. Colorado dropped two 5-game matches (to Tulane and Furman), Texas failed to at least split with Penn State, Iowa State lost at home to Middle Tennessee State (a good team, yes, but still), Baylor dropped a match to Stony Brook, Texas Tech lost to Virginia, Kansas lost to Oregon, and Missouri lost in 5 to Ole Miss. Not the sort of stuff you expect from a top conference.

Blue Devils Derail Boilermakers

Duke knocked off Purdue 3-1, at Duke, after dropping the first game 30-32. This was, perhaps, the ACC’s most significant win in two years, probably since Georgia Tech was flirting with a Final Four appearance. (Yes, I will call it a Final Four, basketball stormtroopers be damned!)

AVCA Poll Only Sort of Irritating

Only sort of irritating on principle, too. Either we’re just getting used to it, the poll is not so bad, or we’ve just stopped caring. I have the list here in front of me and even my bile would shrug its shoulders, had it shoulders. Four Pac10 teams in the Top 8? Whatever. Duke at #14? Seems generous. But c'est la vie, as the French say. Just one more funny-shaped pastry.

Michigan Sticks a Landing

The Wolverines and frosh setter Lexi Zimmerman not only showed off amplitude in their routine, they stuck the friggin’ landing. Or did I already say that in my heading? I ask you: Did any team open more eyes this past weekend? I await your response.

Mountain West Bulldozed, Big West Downsized, and ACC Rebounds

These three conferences were once chomping at the heels of the Big Three -- the Pac10, the Big10 and the Big12 -- but not so recently. The ACC, as a matter of fact, was in danger of being caught by DII schools. See Duke’s win over Purdue above for the potential trendstopper. Meanwhile, Colorado State -- picked to finish 2nd in the MWC -- opens up 0-3, and Utah continues a course which would make Job wave the white flag. LBSU, Cal Poly and UCSB suffer damaging losses for the Big West. UCI, at 3-0, including a win over Gonzaga, is the only moderately bright spot. Gonzaga!

Pepperdine Disappoints (Again)

The Waves, picked to win the WCC, were leveled by Arkansas, but then rolled over Georgia Tech, who had beaten the Razorbacks. (Don’t teams know how much this confuses us fans when they do this?!) So the inconsistency which has plagued Pepperdine in recent seasons persists.

Chuck Erbe Takes the Stand

Rumor has it that former MSU coach Chuck Erbe took the up stand in Ball State’s Active Ankle tournament. Anyone who has seen Chuck bark at the Big10 refs would have loved to see him in this new role.

But kudos to Active Ankle for stepping up to the service line, unlike a couple of organizations we could name. We appreciate the... uh... support.