NCAA | Washington volleyball alums take root 3,000 miles away

Sanja Tomasevic hired by Keno Gandara at Miami

NCAA | Coaches with Washington connections move up the coaching ladder

Former UW standout Stevie Mussie now a Penn State assistant; father of current UW player Bailey Tanner heads up Pepperdine

International | Courtney Thompson’s professional team faces uphill Champions League battle

Washington alum’s Swiss team drops first leg of quarterfinals to Russian powerhouse

• Dinamo Kazan def. Voléro Zürich 3-1 (20-25, 25-14, 27-25, 25-22)
• next: Voléro Zürich @ Dinamo Kazan | February 11

Seattle | Super Bowl Parade

A departure today from the usual volleyball fare. Seattle Police say we were among 700,000 to line downtown streets for the Seahawks' Super Bowl Parade. Photos, from Lower Queen Anne, by Leslie and Jack Hamann.

The Lombardi Trophy

Marshawn Lynch, cigar and Skittles in hand, leads the parade

Lynch rides the Ducks

Pete Carroll

Typical scene: Seahawks juggling Google glasses, cellphones and cameras

Legion and Lombardi

Hugs all around

Richard Sherman

Lombardi on Lower Queen Anne

Russell Wilson

NCAA | Volleyball fans do Seattle proud

Huge crowds fill Key Arena, even when home team no longer in contention

• #2 Penn State def. #14 Wisconsin 3-1 (25-19, 26-24, 20-25, 25-23)

Penn State libero Dominique Gonzalez stood on the Key Arena volleyball court and marveled at the noise.

Wisconsin's Lauren Carlini
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

“It was really loud,” she said. “They filled the stands. Even though their home team wasn’t playing here, they still came out to cheer on the national championship game. That is, obviously, great.”

Two days after the Nittany Lions eliminated Washington in the national semifinals, there was trepidation in some circles about whether Seattle fans would show for Penn State vs. Wisconsin. Not only were the seats filled, but players figured fans had picked a favorite.

“There were a couple times I heard boos,” said PSU setter Micha Hancock, voted the championship’s Most Outstanding Player. “It was, like, dang! Tough crowd!”

“I think a lot of people were cheering for Wisconsin, the underdog,” said Gonzalez. “And why not? They play hard. They want to win.”

The loudest explosion came toward the end of the third set, when Wisconsin’s 5-7 Deme Morales stuffed 6-1 All-American Deja McClendon. That gave the Badgers a 23-18 lead, on the way to their only set win of the match.

Penn State players celebrate their championship in front of an appreciative Seattle crowd
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Brett Hamann

From our perspective at courtside, the roar of the crowd seemed evenly balanced. More than anything, appreciative fans screamed approval for big plays, especially on defense, no matter which team won the point. And the crowd stood and cheered for both squads when Penn State won the final point and the school’s sixth championship.

See also:

Photo gallery (Bettina Hansen)

Penn State beats Wisconsin for NCAA volleyball title (Terry Wood)

NOTES:

• In case you missed it, Wisconsin’s gritty libero, Annemarie Hickey, suffered a shoulder separation in set four … and stayed in the match. See details in Penn State defeats Wisconsin 3-1 for fifthvolleyball championship in seven years and Wisconsin’s Annemarie Hickey tries to gut out dislocated shoulder (Jayda Evans)
• The all-Championship Team, selected by media, did not include Wisconsin middle Dominque Thompson, who hit .314 and led the Badgers with 16 kills, trailing only the 21 kills by Penn State’s Ariel Scott. C’mon, media … if Wisconsin had won, Thompson was our leading candidate for Most Outstanding Player, and was—on the ballot we submitted—second only to Micha Hancock on the “outstanding” scale.

NCAA | Penn State defeats Wisconsin 3-1 for fifth volleyball championship in seven years

Left/right weapons prove decisive for Nittany Lions; Badger plays with separated shoulder

• #2 Penn State def. #14 Wisconsin 3-1 (25-19, 26-24, 20-25, 25-23)

During the NCAA D1 Women's Volleyball Championships, Volleyblog Seattle on assignment for ncaa.com. Please follow our coverage at http://www.ncaa.com/sports/volleyball-women/d1

SEATTLE -- It was a championship bout with a left and right attack. And after the final round of an

exceptionally high-energy match, Penn State emerged with a 3-1 (25-19, 26-24, 20-25, 25-23) victory against Big Ten rival Wisconsin. It was Penn State’s fifth volleyball championship in the past seven seasons, and sixth overall, tying Stanford for the highest total in NCAA women’s Division I volleyball history.

Penn State's Micha Hancock
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

The attack from the left came from Penn State setter Micha Hancock, voted the most outstanding player of the championships. Hancock’s blistering serve—delivered with her left arm—offered the razor-thin difference throughout the match and—in particular—the deciding fourth set.

“She’s one of the elites,” Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said. “We had no offense at all when she was serving.”

“She’s the best-ever in the nation,” Wisconsin libero Annemarie Hickey said.

Penn State’s right side attack ran primarily through Ariel Scott, who pounded a match-high 21 kills on 51 attempts. The 6-4 All-American was matched up against Wisconsin’s 5-7 dynamo, Deme Morales, nine-inch advantage.

“We planned to go over Morales, because she’s shorter,” Hancock said. “[Morales] is a great player, but we’ve got the hammer over there.”

Wisconsin's Lauren Carlini
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

Throughout the match, Wisconsin countered with a right-side attack of its own. Setter Lauren Carlini sent her middles in motion, connecting almost at will on slides to Dominque Thompson, who finished with a team-high 16 kills on 35 swings. “She’s probably one of the most underrated middles in country,” Carlini said. “People look at her height and think, ‘oh, she can’t be good.’”

Oh, yes, Thompson’s height. Just like her teammate Morales, 5-11 Thompson gave away several inches to her opponent, Penn State’s 6-6 Katie Slay. Yet Wisconsin scored a disproportionate percentage of its points off serve with Morales and Thompson on the front row. Their grit was part of the reason why the Badgers got all the way to set point in the second frame, and reached 23-23 in the fourth. The rest of the story? Lights-out defense.

“That’s what we do,” Sheffield said. “We defend like crazy. It doesn’t always look pretty, but we’ll throw our bodies around with the best of them.”

Throwing bodies around was more than a metaphor; late in the match, Wisconsin libero AnneMarie Hickey landed wrong, popping her shoulder out of its socket. She refused to leave the game.

Wisconsin's AnneMarie Hickey separates her shoulder while diving for a dig
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Brett Hamann

“It hurt pretty bad,” Hickey admitted. “But we were playing with such high intensity, and we were winning the set. All I wanted to do was win for my teammates.”

Penn State coach Russ Rose talks during a timeout
with setter Micha Hancock
-Volleyblog Seattle photo by Leslie Hamann

And Wisconsin came close. Its second-set late lead evaporated with two service errors and some furious Penn State defense down the stretch. The Badgers seemed in control of the fourth set, but it was Hancock who made the difference.

Because Hancock is a lefty, her powerful jump serve comes at defenders from an angle they rarely see. It’s a high risk/high reward skill that sometimes produced errors instead of aces. After missing a couple of serves, her coach, Russ Rose told Hancock during a timeout to switch to a safer serve.

“Sometimes players swear at the coaches,” Rose said, with a grin. “I can’t repeat how the conversation went.” Hancock, however, insisted she continue using a jump serve. “Then you might want to serve it in,” Rose told her.

So with her team trailing 22-23, she stepped to the line. Her first serve, an ace, forced a Wisconsin timeout. Her second serve, barely handled by the Badgers, was over-passed for a Slay kill, forcing a second timeout. Her third serve? Another ace, setting up the final rally, and a Penn State victory.

“This was a match we had to grind out against a really good opponent,” said Rose. “It was hard to win this championship.”

See also:
Volleyball fans do Seattle proud

NCAA | Seattle volleyball fans: “I hope they’ll come out on Saturday”

Washington coach Jim McLaughlin says he’ll attended the NCAA Championship in Key Arena

• #12 Wisconsin vs. #2 Penn State | December 21 | 6:30 PM (Pacific) | Key Arena, Seattle | ESPN2

NCAA | Wisconsin vs Penn State volleyball: Badgers dreamed it could happen

Seattle hosts 2013's final volleyball match 

• #12 Wisconsin vs. #2 Penn State | December 21 | 6:30 PM (Pacific) | Key Arena, Seattle | ESPN2

NCAA | Penn State volleyball overwhelms Washington

A single serve may have set the tone for a decisive defeat

• #2 Penn State def. #3 Washington 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-16)
• #12 Wisconsin vs. #1 Texas | December 21 | 6:30 PM (Pacific) |Key Arena, Seattle | ESPN2

NCAA | Washington vs Penn State played memorable match the last time out

“Courtney Thompson just kicked our butts,” remembers a former Penn State star

• #12 Wisconsin vs. #1 Texas | December 19 | 4:30 PM (Pacific) |Key Arena, Seattle
• #2 Penn State vs. #3 Washington | December 19 | 6:30 PM (Pacific) |Key Arena, Seattle

NCAA | Final Four teams all turned losses into winning lessons

Washington, Wisconsin, Texas and Penn State each faced turning points that pointed to this week's Championships

• #12 Wisconsin vs. #1 Texas | December 19 | 4:30 PM (Pacific) |Key Arena, Seattle | ESPN2
• #2 Penn State vs. #3 Washington | December 19 | 6:30 PM (Pacific) |Key Arena, Seattle | ESPN2

NCAA | Whose serve will scorch in the semis, Washington or Penn State?

A renowned server faces a team that serves tough

• #12 Wisconsin vs. #1 Texas | December 19 | 4:30 PM |Key Arena (NCAA Semifinal)
• #2 Penn State vs. #3 Washington | December 19 | 6:30 PM |Key Arena (NCAA Semifinal)

NCAA | Final Four at Key Arena on brink of a sellout

Less than 200 seats remain; still a few suites available

• #12 Wisconsin vs. #1 Texas | December 19 | 4:30 PM |Key Arena (NCAA Semifinal)
• #2 Penn State vs. #3 Washington | December 19 | 6:30 PM |Key Arena (NCAA Semifinal)

NCAA | A coach who should know makes his Final Four volleyball picks

Kevin Hambly’s Illinois team played all four of this year’s finalists. So who does he think will win this week in Seattle?

• #12 Wisconsin vs. #1 Texas | December 19 | 4:30 PM |Key Arena (NCAA Semifinal)
• #2 Penn State vs. #3 Washington | December 19 | 6:30 PM |Key Arena (NCAA Semifinal)

NCAA | Familiar two at Final Four

Washington among decade’s best as Penn State and Texas continue a habit

• #12 Wisconsin vs. #1 Texas | December 19 | 4:30 PM |Key Arena (NCAA Semifinal)
• #2 Penn State vs. #3 Washington | December 19 | 6:30 PM |Key Arena (NCAA Semifinal)