#5 Washington @
Arizona | Saturday, September 22 | 5pm
no TV, no radio
Under the glare of television cameras, the nation’s top
three teams all lost this weekend:
- #1 UCLA lost to
#2 USC
- #2 USC lost to #7
Oregon
- #3 Nebraska lost
to #4 Penn St
And so … on the one hand, it might not be such bad news for
#5 Washington that its 5pm (Pacific)
match against Arizona will not be
televised.
On the other hand, it really is not good news, because great
volleyball teams should not be overlooked by the networks. If Washington can
beat Arizona, the Huskies could be ranked anywhere from #2 to #4 … and there’s
no way a team ranked that high—one of only three unbeaten teams in Division I!—should
be left off the schedule.
With the launch of the Pac-12
Networks (P12Ns), most conference matches are now available (even as most
nonconference matches were disappointingly not.) And, during this first week,
the P12Ns impressively upgraded their coverage with the addition of three volleyball
broadcast veterans (and former Olympians):
- Paul Sunderland’s
play-by-play of the marquee USC/Oregon match was smooth and professional.
- Chris Marlowe
handled Stanford’s struggle to beat Utah in Salt Lake City. Marlowe—who has
called thousands of matches—knows the sport, even if he doesn’t always avoid clichés.
- Another experienced broadcaster, Holly McPeak, was part of the UCLA/Oregon State telecast. She is
often a lightning rod for volleyball fans; they either love or decidedly don’t
love her analysis of indoor volleyball.
