National Team | USA Volleyball again defeats Japan

Three former Huskies will be in action for USA tonight

#1 USA 3, #3 Japan 1 (25-17, 26-24, 18-25, 25-20)

Seattle VB | Ellis leaves SU; Junior Volleyball gears up

Shannon Ellis leaves a strong legacy at Seattle U

Girls and boys club volleyball tryouts in full swing

Shannon Ellis is a class act.

Shannon Ellis
-photo by Eric Badeau for Seattle University

Since taking over the helm of the Seattle University volleyball program in 2004, Ellis has always been a bright light on the Seattle-area volleyball scene.

Olympic Volleyball decision looms for two former Washington players

Just two World Grand Prix matches remain; Miyashiro proves worth in tough victory against Turkey

Team USA was struggling.

It was the fourth set; the score was tied 3-3. After handily dispatching Turkey in the first set, the Americans barely hung on in set two, and lost set three.

Although the US was undefeated (11-0) in 2012 World Grand Prix competition, its passing had been suspect the past two weeks, when nine athletes were competing for the final four slots on the 12-member London Olympic roster. Turkey had been on an impressive World Grand Prix run, entering the match with a 9-2 record and a reputation for tough serving.

Viewers watching Internet feeds at 2:00am (Seattle time) got a surprise. The second official, Pedro Fabian of Argentina, was seen removing a blank blue jersey from a plastic sack. Without a translated explanation (the broadcast feed we saw was in Polish), former Washington All-American Tama Miyashiro pulled the jersey over her uniform and took the court, replacing starting libero Nicole Davis (USC).

It was the first time in a month of competition that an American other than Davis had worn the libero jersey.

Tama Miyashiro (left, in blue jersey) and Courtney Thompson (right of Miyashiro) join USA teammates and head coach Hugh McCutcheon in a huddle during the World Grand Prix Final Round match against Turkey

Bill Kauffman, Senior Manager of Communication for USA Volleyball in Colorado Springs, tells Volleyblog Seattle that privacy laws and USA Volleyball policy prohibit comment on injuries or health status unless permission has been granted. But Rule 19.4 of the FIVB rulebook seems to indicate that last night’s Miyashiro-for-Davis switch was possible only if Davis was injured or ill.

Miyashiro played well the rest of the way, helping Team USA to a 3-1 victory. Her spot duty may help head coach Hugh McCutcheon as he fills out the 12 roster spots for the Olympic team. The roster is due on Monday, and is expected to be announced Tuesday or Wednesday. [see Volleyblog Seattle’s roster handicap, below]

Former Husky setter Courtney Thompson is also among those in the running. Although Alisha Glass (Penn State) played most of the Turkey match, Thompson was once again strong during double switches. At worst, she is Glass’s equal in setting and—surprisingly—in blocking, despite Glass’s height advantage. Glass has stepped up her serving, while Thompson has plateaued of late. Thompson, however, maintains a clear advantage in both defense and in intangibles—she is a confident leader where Glass still often seems detached.

Tonight, Team USA faces struggling Cuba. Will Thompson get the start? Will Miyashiro replace Davis if Davis was, in fact, injured? The match starts at 12:30am (Pacific time), and can usually be found on the website www.sportlemon.tv (ignore the “download” buttons and wait about a minute for the initial commercials to play.)

The final 2012 World Grand Prix match pits host China against the USA; it starts Sunday morning at 4:30am.

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Volleyblog Seattle handicaps the Olympic roster:

	Eight players have likely already earned roster spots:
1.	Setter 1		Lindsey Berg	Minnesota
2.	Outside Hitter 1		Logan Tom	Stanford
3.	Outside Hitter 2		Jordan Larson	Nebraska
4.	Outside Hitter 3		Megan Hodge	Penn State
5.	Opposite Hitter 1		Destinee Hooker	Texas
6.	Middle Blocker 1		Foluke Akinradewo	Stanford
7.	Middle Blocker 2		Christa Harmotto	Penn State
8.	Libero		Nicole Davis	Southern California
	The team will certainly carry one of these two as a second setter; at this point, McCutcheon has to decide which player can provide the spark if Berg falters or is injured. Frankly, Thompson has shown she has what it takes:
9.	Setter 2	-OR-	Courtney Thompson	Washington
			Alisha Glass	Penn State
	The team will likely carry one of these two as a second opposite hitter; Haneef-Park may have a slight edge:
10.	Opposite Hitter 2	-OR-	Tayyiba Haneef-Park	Long Beach State
			Nancy Metcalf	Nebraska
	The team will probably carry one of these two as a third middle blocker; both players are deserving, a difficult toss-up for McCutcheon:
11.	Middle Blocker 3	-OR-	Danielle Scott-Arruda	Long Beach State
			Heather Bown	Hawai’i
	Here’s where it gets tricky. Does the team carry a second defender (Miyashiro) or a fourth hitter (Richards or Barboza)? Miyashiro’s performance after Davis’s injury could be the tipping point in her favor. A longshot possibility: no third middle blocker and two of these three players:
12.	Defensive Spec.	-OR-	Tama Miyashiro	Washington
	Outside Hitter 4		Kristin Richards	Stanford
	Outside Hitter 4		Cynthia Barboza	Stanford

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2012 World Grand Prix Final Round Standings

(Team USA has already defeated Brazil, Thailand and Turkey; it plays Cuba tonight and China Sunday morning)

1.	USA	3	0
2.	Brazil	2	1
3.	Turkey	2	1
4.	China	1	2
5.	Thailand	1	2
6.	Cuba	0	3

·         Ties among teams with similar W-L records are broken by sets and points won

·         The six finalists had the best record of 16 teams who competed in three round-robin tournaments in venues around the world.

·         Team USA has not yet lost a match in the 2012 WGP, and is seeking its third consecutive title.

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:

NCAA Sand Volleyball Off to Strange Start

The first steps have been tentative. Like walking barefoot on scorching sand.

Florida State's sand courts

In just a few days, sand volleyball launches as the newest NCAA sport. If you hadn’t heard about it, you’re not alone.

Here, then, is a primer:

SAND=BEACH

If you know this two-person sport as Beach Volleyball, you probably live near a beach. The NCAA uses the term Sand Volleyball to allow those who live in mountains, prairies, swamps or tundras to field a team. And, yes, indoor sand courts are permitted.

SUN BELT FOCUS

That said, only 16 schools will field teams this season, most (not all) near beaches, and none farther north than Malibu (Pepperdine):

HAWAI’I

• University of Hawai’i

CALIFORNIA

• USC
• Pepperdine
• Long Beach State
• Loyola Marymount

FLORIDA

• Florida State
• Florida Atlantic
• North Florida
• Jacksonville
• Stetson
• Webber International (NAIA)

LOUISIANA

• Tulane

ALABAMA

• Alabama-Birmingham

GEORGIA

• Mercer

SOUTH CAROLINA

• College of Charleston

PAC-12 SITS IT OUT

Only one Pac-12 team—USC—is fielding a team this season. Washington considered it, ever so briefly, but the lack of enthusiasm from other Pac-12 schools created a chicken-and-egg stalemate. Why field a team if there's no one else to play?

THE SUMMER ROSS FACTOR

Summer Ross was a home-schooled athlete from San Diego who was the best junior volleyball player in the world; she won two international titles, each with a different partner, and was the first junior player ever named USA Volleyball Beach Female Athlete of the Year. Even so, she accepted a scholarship to play indoor volleyball at Washington, where she started as a freshman.

Summer Ross

At the end of the season, Ross told Washington Coach Jim McLaughlin she wanted to play sand ball, and eventually transferred to Pepperdine (Ross also cited the desire to be closer to her family—her brother plays on the Pepperdine men’s team—and to attend a Christian college.)

At Washington, Ross was a three-tool player: great server, great passer, great defender. Her blocking was adequate, but she was not yet an offensive force on the right side; the cut shots and off-speed attacks that work so well on the beach were not terribly effective against elite indoor competition.

At Pepperdine, Ross will be the early favorite to be national sand player of the year. She could try to snag a beach spot at the London Olympic Games, and will have to determine whether to join Pepperdine’s strong indoor program in the fall (Pepperdine and Washington were among the few teams to defeat national champion UCLA.)

The Ross Factor? If a sand player can also excel indoors, then coaches at indoor powers may worry about losing recruits to schools offering both sports. That alone could encourage schools to add sand, though it might create conflicts during August, when teams are in training. It may not be much of a factor at the moment: The US Professional Beach Tour is a mess, and a lot of elite indoor players make good money playing overseas.

WHO’S COACHING/ WHO’S PLAYING?

Of the 16 sand teams, 9 will be coached by the school’s indoor coach (Pepperdine, Long Beach, Loyola, Jacksonville, Stetson, Webber, North Florida, Mercer and Charleston.) At UAB, indoor coach Kerry Messersmith’s husband, Hal, will coach the sand team.

USC’s indoor team has reached the Final Four the past two seasons, and it’s sand roster will include several members of last season’s indoor team. All-American setter senior Kendall Bateman and libero Natalie Hagglund are the biggest names; Kirby Burnham, Eve Ettinger, Katie Fuller, Sam Hirschmann, Sara Shaw and Emily Young are the other indoor athletes playing sand. Anna Collier will coach the team (not indoor veteran Mick Haley, who played pro beach ball in his younger days.)

USC sand volleyball

Pepperdine’s indoor team reached the Elite 8 last season, and every athlete on that team is listed on the roster of the Waves’ sand team. Summer Ross and Caitlin Racich round out the roster, both with sand scholarships.

Most other teams, including Hawai’i, Long Beach State and Florida State, follow the Pepperdine model, and list most of their indoor team on the sand roster.

FIVE SAND TEAMS THAT SHOULD BE CONTENDERS

1. Pepperdine
2. USC
3. Hawai’i
4. Long Beach State
5. Florida State

WHO PLAYS WHERE AND WHEN?

The first matches are this week; the NCAA Championships (co-sponsored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association) are April 27-29 in Gulf Shores, Alabama

Teams play a combination of head-to-head matches sprinkled with 3-4 team tournaments; there are no conferences and no divisions and the schedule is not balanced (some play more opponents than others.) While schools like USC and Florida State are D1 athletic powerhouses; little Webber International (Winter Haven, Florida) is a member of the NAIA.

LOOKING AHEAD

Four schools have tentatively announced plans to field teams in 2013: State College of Florida (Sarasota), University of Louisiana-Monroe, Florida International University (Miami) and Georgia State (Atlanta.) Seattle University has had some discussions about adding sand; other schools looking to ensure Title IX compliance may look to sand as a way to offer more athletic scholarships to women.