Team USA upsets #1 Brazil at World Cup

The US Women's National Volleyball Team, whose World Cup roster includes former Washington All-American Tama Miyashiro, knocked off top-ranked Brazil today in the World Cup opening round.

Set scores in Nagano, Japan were 25-22, 17-25, 27-25, 25-19.

Miyashiro did not see action against Brazil; in international play, a team may designate a single Libero for each match. Nicole Davis was the USA Libero.

The World Cup is a 12-team round-robin tournament, spanning two weeks. The top three finishers earn bids to the 2012 London Olympic Games. The US is currently ranked second in the world.

see: USA Volleyball press release.

Team USA's Foluke Akinradewo attacks against Brazil
[photo by FIVB]

Can Huskies top #1 UCLA?

Two weeks ago, Illinois was the number one ranked team in the nation. Since then, the Illini have lost three of four, all of them badly.

Last week, it was Nebraska’s turn at the top. The Cornhuskers promptly lost—first, a match to Penn State, then, hours later, their starting setter was arrested (and is out for this weekend’s home matches against #23 Michigan and Michigan State.)

This week, UCLA is ranked #1. Tonight they host #10 Washington. Will the Bruins hang on, or will the top rank jinx continue?

UCLA has just three losses this season:

• a 2-3 preseason setback to #14 Pepperdine (the Waves won the fifth set 15-13);
• a 2-3 conference road loss to Arizona (the Wildcats won set five 15-12);
• an 0-3 sweep in Seattle at the hands of Washington (24-26, 12-25, 20-25)

In Washington’s September 17 victory:

• The Huskies hit .340; the Bruins .243
• Bianca Rowland had 12 kills and just one error on 17 attempts (.647), her best outing of the season.
• Kylin Muñoz wasn’t far behind: 13 kills, 1 error on 28 swings (.429)
• UW had 8 services aces (3 by Krista Vansant) and just one service error. The Bruins had no aces and 6 service errors.

Washington won convincingly despite recording only 7.5 team blocks … one of its lowest block totals of the season. UCLA’s big star, Rachael Kidder, had one of her usual big nights, getting 16 kills and 3 errors on 30 attacks (.433). Kelly Reeves also came up big: 9-2-16 (.438)

Tonight, the Bruins should see a few new twists. Washington has gone to a 6/2 (six hitter/two setter) offense, introducing sophomore outside hitter Gabbi Parker as both an offensive and blocking threat (she will also be Washington’s only jump server.) The 6/2 had a lot of problems when it was introduced three weeks ago in the Bay Area, and there were still rough spots in a 5-set UW win against Arizona State. But it seemed to click in a sweep of Arizona, and tonight’s match will be a real test.

The match will be played in the John Wooden Center, a fairly modern intermural facility across Bruin Walk from Pauley Pavilion. Pauley is undergoing a major renovation all this season.

The match will be carried live tonight, at no cost, on UCLA's All Access web channel.

You can also follow along with Paul Isaac's live chat on gohuskies.com

Washington's Bianca Rowland (15) had a huge night when UCLA came to Seattle earlier this season
[Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann]

Stanford struggles, Cal escapes

The Pac-12's Bay Area behemoths, third-ranked Stanford and seventh-ranked Cal, headed for the Rocky Mountains tonight for what would have seemed a bit of a vacation. Utah is in ninth place, with just four conference wins, while Colorado sits in the cellar, still winless in Pac-12 play.

Out of the blue, however, the Buffs made the Cardinal sweat, as Stanford crawled to a 3-1 win (25-23, 22-25, 25-21, 25-15).

In Salt Lake City, it was even hairier for the Golden Bears. Utah took the first and third sets, and kept the final frame neck-in-neck until the very end. Cal's 3-2 victory was closer than it looks, 22-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-18, 15-13). For the match, Cal hit just .200; Utah only .182. The Utes had five players with 10 or more kills.

And, in case you missed it Tuesday night, fifth-ranked Illinois lost yet again, this time 3-1 to #11 Purdue (25-21, 22-25, 24-26, 21-25). Just two weeks ago, the Fighting Illini were ranked #1; they've now lost three of their last four. The NCAA's hard-to-fathom RPI still had Illinois #1 before Tuesday's loss to the Boilermakers.

John Cook/Lauren Cook: When a dad coaches his daughter

Our son and daughter played a lot of sports growing up. Like many parents, we were occasionally their coach.

It’s tough to coach your own kid.

Nebraska head coach John Cook

Nebraska’s John Cook was reminded of that lesson the hard way Sunday when his daughter, Lauren—who is also his team’s star setter—was arrested in Lincoln. Lauren Cook, 20, is scheduled to be arraigned next Tuesday on charges of driving with a suspended license (reportedly her penalty for numerous previous speeding violations) and of leaving the scene of an accident, in which a man on the side of the road ended up with a broken leg. (It appears uncontested that, soon after the incident, Lauren Cook called her mom and then the police.)

Revered in Nebraska for his string of success and tough-guy image, John Cook strikes many opposing fans and coaches as arrogant and, on occasion, condescending and sarcastic. John Cook is not a cuddly guy.

But as a fellow parent, I certainly feel for the Cook family. And that said, I wonder whether John Cook will have the chance to contemplate a couple of likely lessons from his incredibly difficult situation.

LESSON ONE: KEEP AN EYE ON THE REAL VICTIM

UW Alum Tama Miyashiro selected for Olympic qualifier tournament

The 2012 London Olympics are less than one year away, and former Washington volleyball players are still in the running for the women's Olympic team.

Washington alumni Tama Miyashiro (6) and Courtney Thompson (15)
playing for the USA at the Pan Am Games

UW's Tama Miyashiro was selected to compete in the Women's World Cup, to be held November 4-18 in Japan. The event is the first 2012 Olympic Games qualification event, with the top three teams earning a spot in the London games next summer.

Miyashiro and UW alum Courtney Thompson were both part of the squad that took the bronze last month at the Pan Am Games in Mexico. Both former Huskies saw considerable playing time.

The World Cup roster:

Setters Lindsey Berg (Honolulu) and Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.), outside hitters Cynthia Barboza (Long Beach, Calif.), Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.), Jordan Larson (Hooper, Neb.) and Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah), middle blockers Foluke Akinradewo (Plantation, Fla.), Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.), Danielle Scott-Arruda (Baton Rouge, La.) and Jennifer Tamas (Milpitas, Calif.), opposites Tayyiba Haneef-Park (Laguna Hills, Calif.) and Destinee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas), and liberos Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) and Tamari Miyashiro (Kaneohe, Hawaii).

Huskies, Bruins & Trojans atop conference & national stats

After last weekend’s scramble—in both the Pac-12 and nationally—the Washington Huskies have a chance to gain ground on the conference leaders.

UCLA and USC each have two losses; Washington, Cal and Stanford each have four. If the Huskies can manage a sweep, they’ll inch ever closer to the top of the nation’s toughest conference.

All five schools are nationally ranked in the top 10: #1 UCLA, #3 Stanford, #4 USC, #7 Cal & #10 Washington. Naturally, those schools also dominate the conference team and individual stats.

Washington leads in three team categories: Opponent Hitting Percentage, Blocks and Service Aces. USC is tops in Hitting Percentage and Kills. Overall, the top four in every team category includes the Huskies, Bruins and/or Trojans:

Nationally (318 Division 1 teams), Washington is first in blocks/set and 17^th in aces/set. USC is 5^th and UCLA 13^th in assists/set. The Trojans are 4^th and the Bruins are 17^th in kills/set. USC is 7^th in hitting percentage. For some reason, the NCAA doesn’t report opponent hitting percentage, but Washington is undoubtedly in the top ten, if not the national leader. It certainly leads all other ranked teams:

John Cook: daughter Lauren will not play this weekend

During his weekly radio program Tuesday, Nebraska coach John Cook made the following statement about the playing status of his daughter, Lauren:

“I have made the decision that Lauren Cook will not play in our matches this weekend against Michigan and Michigan State," John Cook said. "As the legal system continues to progress, we will make further determination on Lauren’s playing status. Lauren is still a member of our program and will continue to train and practice with our team.”

Lauren Cook is the starting setter for the 18-2 Cornhuskers, currently the second-ranked team in the country. (Nebraska was #1 the previous week, before losing to #6 Penn State.)

Lauren Cook is scheduled to be arraigned November 8, facing possible charges of driving with a suspended license and leaving the scene of an accident.

According to numerous reports in the Omaha World-Herald, Lauren Cook was behind the wheel of her parent’s SUV Sunday morning when her car struck two motorcyclists on the side of the road. One of those struck suffered a broken leg.

Reports attributed to the Lincoln, Nebraska Police Department say Lauren Cook left the scene without stopping. Several minutes and several blocks later, she reportedly pulled over to call her mother, and then called police. She was arrested, booked, and soon thereafter made bail.

Nebraska media report that Lauren Cook, 20, was driving with a suspended license. She reportedly has been issued four speeding tickets over the past four years.

Although John Cook held a press conference Monday and spoke during his weekly radio program on Tuesday, he has refused subsequent requests for interviews. A Nebraska media spokesman told the World-Herald that members of the volleyball team "were not being made available to the media this week."

_____________________________

Lauren Cook has competed three times against the Washington Huskies. During the 2009 season, she was the starting setter for UCLA, and was eventually named national freshman of the year. Washington defeated UCLA twice that season.

John Cook (left) and Jim McLaughlin (purple shirt) after
the 2010 Sweet 16 match in Seattle
[photo by Matt Miller]

At the end of the 2010 season, Nebraska travelled to Seattle to face Washington in a Sweet 16 match. The Huskies won that contest, in dramatic fashion. Lauren Cook, who had transferred from UCLA to Nebraska, was one of two setters in the Cornhuskers’ 6-2 offense.

At the end of that Sweet 16 match, John Cook and Washington coach Jim McLaughlin exchanged harsh words after Cook complained during the post-match handshake about an earlier referee’s call. Two seasons earlier, Nebraska won a gripping five-set Elite 8 match in Seattle. In 2005, Washington swept heavily-favored Nebraska in the national championship match.

Washington still #10 in weekly media poll

This week’s Volleyball Magazine/Asics media poll is nearly identical to yesterday’scoaches’ poll.

Volleyblog Seattle is a new voter in the media poll. Nine media “regulars” cast their votes, and the rest of us have our votes averaged for the tenth vote. Volleyblog Seattle’s vote in this week’s poll is broken out in the right column.

Rank	School (First-Place Votes)	Total Points	Last Week	Coaches’ Poll	Volleyblog Seattle
1.	UCLA (8)	197	6	1.	1
2.	Nebraska (1)	182	1	2.	3
3.	Stanford (1)	171	5	3.	4
4.	Southern California	163	2	4.	2
5.	Illinois	156	4	5.	6
6.	Penn State	152	8	6.	7
7T.	California	142	3	7T.	5
7T.	Hawaii	142	7	7T.	10
9.	Texas	129	9	9.	9
10.	Washington	105	10	10.	8
11.	Purdue	102	12	11.	11
12.	Northern Iowa	96	13	12.	13
13.	Iowa State	72	14	13.	14
14.	Minnesota	58	15	15	15
15.	Pepperdine	55	17	14	12
16.	Tennessee	46	20	16.	19
17.	Florida	42	11	17.	--
18.	Florida State	38	19	18.	18
19.	Oregon	29	16	20	16
20.	Kentucky	16	RV	19	20