Who are volleyball's giants?

Are the Washington Huskies one of volleyball’s “giants?”

Here’s how I began a post last week about Washington’s 2012 schedule:

Two volleyball giants—Washington and Penn State—will square off this September in State College, Pennsylvania.

Washington celebrates its 2005 title
after defeating Nebraska

I soon heard back from a reader who disagreed. Without offering his/her own list, the reader thought the Huskies do not deserve to be mentioned among volleyball’s elite.

Realizing I had lauded Washington based on gut reaction rather than research, I decided to crunch some numbers to see if my description was justified.

And so, I checked data from the past ten years, and came up with my own ranking of Division 1 women’s volleyball top ten over the past decade. I then tried to cobble a list of those who might deserve to be in the next ten—not quite giants.

Check out my rankings, then weigh in with your own list!

DIVISION 1 VOLLEYBALL: 2002-2011
		NATIONAL CHAMPS	FINAL FOURS	ELITE EIGHTS	W-L	PCT.
1.	Penn State	4	4	5	315-37	.895
		Four consecutive national titles, compete in nation's second-toughest conference
2.	USC	2	6	6	260-60	.813
		Six Final Fours, two titles ('02 & '03), compete in the nation’s top conference
3.	Stanford	1	5	6	278-55	.835
		Five Final Fours, finished first in ’04 and second in ’02, ’06, ’07 & ‘08
t4.	Nebraska	1	3	7	296-32	.902
		’06 champs, seven Elite Eights; impressive W-L record built largely before 2011 move to Big-10
t4.	Washington	1	3	6	258-61	.809
		’05 champs, 2-1 vs. Nebraska, eight matches every season vs. Stanford, USC, UCLA, Cal
6.	UCLA	1	2	5	239-95	.716
		’11 champs, lots of wins against other teams in this Top Ten
7.	Texas	0	3	6	247-60	.805
		Three Final Fours, six Elite Eights, conference even easier now that Nebraska gone
8.	Minnesota	0	3	4	261-87	.750
		Three Final Fours, usually among top three in tough Big-10
9.	Hawai’i	0	3	4	306-36	.895
		Three Final Fours, tons of wins in a second-tier conference, rarely allowed to host playoffs
10.	Florida	0	2	4	296-37	.889
		Two Final Fours, a weaker conference, many bitter playoff losses, several at home

next 10 teams (alphabetical)	California Colorado State Illinois Long Beach State Michigan Oregon Pepperdine Wisconsin San Diego Tennessee
close, no cigar (alphabetical)	Arizona Ball State Iowa State Kansas State Ohio State Purdue Santa Clara UC Santa Barbara Utah Western Kentucky

How would you rank 'em? 

Filling in the blanks for Washington's 2012 volleyball schedule

This latest update (below) for Washington's 2012 volleyball schedule should be about 98% dependable.

Pac-12 Volleyball: An RPI upgrade?

see also:  Filling in the blanks for Washington's 2012 volleyball schedule

Teams seem to be trying to schedule tougher preseason opponents

During last season’s Selection Sunday—November 27—USC Coach Mick Haley famously compared the frustration of Pac-12 fans, coaches and players with the frustration of those who were part of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

USC Coach Mick Haley

Washington volleyball schedules powerful Penn State in preseason

see also:  Filling in the blanks for Washington's 2012 volleyball schedule
Pac-12 Volleyball: An RPI upgrade?

Huskies will also face Purdue and Long Beach State

Two volleyball giants—Washington and Penn State—will square off this September in State College, Pennsylvania. [update: see: Who are volleyball's giants?]

The marquee match promises both a peek back at history and a preview of college volleyball’s future.

Summer rain: fact-checking sand volleyball’s appeal

DID RAIN REALLY DRIVE SUMMER ROSS AWAY?

Yes, it does get soggy in Seattle.

Even so, I took a double-take when I picked up the latest issue of Volleyball USA, the public affairs magazine of USA Volleyball. On the cover: Summer Ross. Inside, “Too much rain for Summer.” On page 29, this excerpt:

Summer Ross and Pepperdine capture Collegiate Sand Volleyball Championship

Summer Ross—indoor player for Washington turned sand player for Pepperdine—showed why she elected to take her game (and her college scholarship) to the beach.

Pepperdine, Florida State dominate sand volleyball pairs championship prelims

Four pairs—two each from Pepperdine and Florida State—went undefeated in pool play during the first day of the collegiate sand volleyball championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Washington volleyball recruit Melanie Wade knows she’s tall, thank you

This morning, Volleyblog Seattle spoke by phone to University of Washington recruit Melanie Wade, who officially enrolled for the fall quarter this week. The 6’5 hitter is a senior at Palo Alto High School, in the shadow of Stanford University. Here are edited excerpts from our conversation:

Volleyball recruit Lianna Sybeldon fell for Washington early

This afternoon, Volleyblog Seattle spoke by phone to University of Washington recruit Lianna Sybeldon, who signed a 2012 letter of intent last week. The 6’2 middle blocker is in her final weeks of high school in Folsom, California, east of Sacramento.  Here are edited excerpts from our conversation:

Inaugural Collegiate NCAA Sand Volleyball National Championship begin this Friday

Summer Ross, the freshman Pepperdine sand volleyball star who played indoors with Washington last fall, will be among the favorites to win the inaugural NCAA/AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championship this weekend in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Ross, of Carlsbad, CA, partners with effervescent junior Caitlin Racich of Santa Barbara.