An inspirational volleyball news hub with a gift and shopping directory for girls and college volleyball players, parents and fans to learn about the indoor and sand game and its female heroes, with inspiring volleyball players stories, self-coaching and training information, volleyball pictures and videos.
Find sites with the Volleyball Voices Search Engine
Volleyball Voices is the doorway to the Volleyball web. Our search engine focuses on volleyball web sites. Can't find what you are looking for? Just use the search box to find what you need on the volleyball web.
College Volleyball Team News
As a service to Volleyball Voices readers, we will provide verbatim texts of selected press releases issued by volleyball-related organizations, federations, schools and universities, businesses and sponsors.
These press releases will appear as sent to Volleyball Voices and are not edited for spelling, grammar or punctuation.
Blog Directory www.free-seo.jp free SEO guide & Free SEO techniques about various Search Engine Optimization resources available around us on the internet. Submit your url, Add reciprocal link exchange directory.
Colorado State University Volleyball Team Improves to No. 16 in AVCA Poll Rams jump another spot in national rankings
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Rams volleyball program improved its ranking once again this week, moving to No. 16 in the Division I Coaches top 25 poll released Monday afternoon by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). The improvement comes after a pair of three-set road wins last week against Air Force and UNLV. Colorado State first traveled south Thursday to defeat the Falcons, without 2009 MWC Player of the Year Danielle Minch, sidelined with an ankle injury. The Rams then traveled to Las Vegas, Nev., to face to Rebels on Saturday, taking another three-set road victory. Outside hitter Dana Cranston tied for match-high honors with Megan Plourde, tallying 10 kills, which was a career best for Cranston. CSU is back at home this week, facing the TCU Horned Frogs on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., and taking on the New Mexico Lobos on Saturday at 7 p.m. Thursday's match marks the unveiling of CSU's new $1 million video board system at Moby Arena and tickets have been reduced to $2 for the occasion. Saturday's match is a "Hike and Spike" special and fans will received admission for just $3 with a ticket stub from that afternoon's homecoming football game vs. UNLV. • Go Rams! •
Arizona Wildcats Volleyball Team Cracks the Rankings At No. 25 Arizona finds itself back among the AVCA’s Top 25 after four straight wins including two this past weekend in Oregon LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Arizona volleyball team played its way back into the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Top 25 national poll, ranking in at No. 25 after wins over Oregon State and Oregon this past weekend. Stanford, which lost to UCLA on Saturday, is No. 2 overall, USC ranks in at No. 5, California at No. 6, Washington at No. 7, the Bruins at No. 10, Oregon is No. 17 and UA is No. 25. The Cats are unbeaten on the road this season and are on a four-match win streak, currently tops in the Pac-10 Conference. The league has a season-high seven teams ranked once more as the preseason poll included those same seven. For the season, Arizona has appeared in the Top 25 three out of the seven poll periods in addition to its No. 18 preseason ranking. This weekend, the Wildcats will host No. 10 UCLA and No. 5 USC in the treacherous Pac-10 round-robin schedule. Arizona will play the Bruins Friday and Trojans Saturday. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m. MST.
Sunbelt Conferece Volleyball Teams: WKU, MT Volleyball Among Nation's Elite
NEW ORLEANS - Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee continue to make national names for themselves as both teams are ranked in the top 40 in the first NCAA Women's Volleyball RPI rankings released Monday. The Lady Hilltoppers (15-4, 4-0 Sun Belt) come in at No. 34, and the Blue Raiders (14-4, 5-0 Sun Belt) follow just three spots away at No. 37. Both teams also received votes in this week's AVCA poll. Middle Tennessee received 14 votes, marking the team's third consecutive week receiving votes. Western Kentucky received votes for the second consecutive week by earning four votes. Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky are ranked in the top 40 nationally for assists per set, hitting percentage and kills per set. The Blue Raiders are 28th averaging 12.95 digs per set, and the Lady Hilltoppers are 30th with an average of 12.93 digs per set. MT ranks 15th with a 0.279 hitting percentage and 23rd in kills per set at 14.12. WKU also has a 0.279 hitting percentage to come in at 17th and ranks 33rd in kills per set at 13.86. In the national pseudo-RKPI rankings, WKU comes in at 36th and Middle Tennessee comes in at 40th. The Lady Hilltoppers are on a seven-game win streak without dropping a single set during that stretch. The Blue Raiders are currently on an 11-game overall win streak. Both teams have had marquee wins this season. MT knocked off No. 24 Long Beach State on Sept. 18, and WKU defeated No. 27 Missouri at home on Sept. 10. The teams remain undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play, but WKU travels to Middle Tennessee on Wednesday to determine which team takes control of the league's East Division.
Auburn Volleyball Team Ranked No. 27 In First NCAA Volleyball RPI
AUBURN, Ala. – The first NCAA Division I Volleyball RPI of 2010 was released Monday night, putting Auburn at No. 27 in the nation. The Tigers stand at 13-5 overall and 4-2 in Southeastern Conference play.
“This is very exciting for Auburn volleyball to be in the top 30,” head coach Wade Benson said. “These rankings are a major part of the NCAA’s criteria for the 64-team tournament at the end of the season. We know it’s early, but this will give us a spark to continue to play hard and grow as a team.”
Auburn concluded the 2009 season at No. 81 in the country, jumping 54 spots this year. The Tiger squad is the fourth-highest SEC ranked team in this year’s opening poll as Florida is No. 1, Tennessee stands at No. 9 and LSU is No. 16.
The NCAA RPI rankings are based on strength of schedule and the team’s overall record both on the road and at home. The Tigers have recorded four wins over teams ranked in the top 100, including a five-set victory at Middle Tennessee who ranks No. 37 in the poll. Auburn also picked up a five-set win over Kentucky, who was nationally-ranked at No. 24 at the time. The Wildcats are No. 40 in the RPI rankings.
Auburn hosts a mid-week match against Georgia Wednesday night at the Student Activities Center. The 7 p.m. match will be televised on ESPNU and is Auburn's first televised home match since the 2006 season.
Florida State Volleyball Team Shows 14th-best RPI Seminoles one of four ACC Teams in the Top 25
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The 20th-ranked Florida State University volleyball team has reaped the benefits of head coach Chris Poole’s rigorous scheduling, showing the 14th-highest Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) in the country following the NCAA’s first unveiling of the all-important formula. The RPI, one of the primary statistical measures for postseason seeding, bases a team’s strength on both its winning percentage and strength of schedule. The Seminoles (12-3, 4-1), which entered the season with eight teams on their schedule that were 2009 postseason participants, are 4-3 against the Top 40 RPI teams. The four victories include No. 19 Oklahoma (W, 3-1) in Houston, at No. 24 Miami (W, 3-1), No. 33 Virginia Tech (W, 3-2) and at No. 40 Kentucky (W, 3-2). “This is a fair place to be right now after the first half of the season,” Poole said. “We knew this season would be a transition with losing five seniors, but the girls have stepped up and stayed competitive. Two of the three losses we had were very close matches and we have found a way to win in most of our matches this season. That speaks a lot for the potential this team has even with the new players.” The Atlantic Coast Conference boasts five teams that rank in the Top 33, including No. 13 Duke, FSU, No. 15 North Carolina, Miami and Virginia Tech. The conference is tied for the second-most teams in the Top 25 RPI, tying the Pac-10 and trailing only the Big Ten (5). “This is the strongest and most depth there has ever been in the ACC, and it makes every match a challenge for us,” Poole added. “We have still not come close to reaching our potential and we continue to improve on different aspects every week.” Despite the competitiveness of the conference, FSU remains the only team ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll. It marks the 21st consecutive week the Seminoles have stayed in the weekly national rankings. FSU has more opportunities to raise its RPI this season. The Seminoles, who finished with the third-highest RPI in 2009, face fellow preseason ACC favorite Duke on Sunday, Oct. 24, at 1 p.m. in Tully Gym. FSU also faces North Carolina again on Nov. 12 in Tallahassee, and takes on the Hurricanes at home on Nov. 26. FSU has two matches at Tully Gym this weekend, including a Sunday afternoon tilt against Georgia Tech that will be televised on FOX Sports Florida at 1 p.m. The Seminoles also play Clemson on Friday evening at 7 p.m. www.seminoles.com
Lobos Volleyball Team Close to Top 25; No. 3 In Attendance
Up Next in 2010 Lobo Volleyball Matches #4-6 - Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic Sept. 2 - vs. RV Michigan State, 6 p.m. Sept. 3 - vs. No. 10 USC, 9 p.m. Sept. 4 - vs. No. 4 Hawai’i, 11 p.m. Stan sheriff Center • Honolulu, Hawai’i
Follow Along ... Live stats will be available for all three matches through links on GoLobos.com. Matches against USC and Hawai’i will be available on the web through uhstreaming.oceanic.com. Both matches will be televised in Hawai’i on KFVE-TV.
Against RV Michigan State (3-0) ... This will be just the second meeting between the Lobos and Michigan State. It has been 20 years since the two last faced each other on the volleyball court. UNM won the first meeting, 3-0, on Aug. 31, 1990 in Tucson, Ariz.
Against No. 10 Southern California (3-0) ... The Women of Troy lead the series, 3-1. Although UNM travelled to the Galen Center for the 2009 NCAA Tournament, it did not play USC. The last time the two met was Dec. 3, 1994 in a 3-0 USC win in the Second Round of the 1994 NCAA Tournament.
Against No. 4 Hawai’i (3-0) ... The Rainbow Wahine lead the series, 7-0. The two teams faced each other in the First Round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles. It is the Lobos first trip to the islands since Oct. 4, 1998 when the teams were members of the Western Athletics Conference.
Next Week ... The Lobos will play three matches in the Comcast Lobo Challenge. SMU, Sacramento State and UC Santa Barbara come to Albuquerque for the Sept. 10-11 tournament at the Johnson Center.
LOBOS 2010 SEASON TIDBITS
• The Lobos are receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll for the second week in a row. UNM jumped from 40th in the voting to 27th with their strong performance last week against Pepperdine, Tulane and now-No. 3 Stanford. 2010 opponents in the poll include - #3 Stanford, #4 Hawai’i, #10 USC, #15 Colorado State, RV UC Santa Barbara, RV Utah, RV Pepperdine, RV New Mexico State, RV San Diego State, RV SMU and RV Michigan State.
• Senior Taylor Hadfield and junior Kelly Williamson were named to the MCM Elegante All-Tournament Team over the weekend.
About New Mexico (2-1, 0-0 MWC; RV) ... The Lobos earned second place in the MCM Elegante Lobo Classic with wins over Pepperdine and Tulane and a loss to No. 4 Stanford. Kelly Williamson and Taylor Hadfield were named to the all-tournament team ... New Mexico is receiving votes in the 2010 AVCA Preseason Poll ... UNM will face 10 teams receiving votes in the preseason poll this seaosn ... The Lobos were picked fourth in the 2010 Mountain West Conference Preseason Poll, eight points out of second ... Senior setter Jade Michaelsen was named to the All-MWC Preseason Team ... Michaelsen and senior outside hitter Lisa Meeter are the team captains for 2010.
About Michigan State (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten; RV) ... The Spartans captured their seventh consecutive MSU Showcase title during the opening weekend of the 2010 season. Redshirt junior Jenilee Rathje earned MVP honors in the tournament for her three-match performance. Rathje averaged 2.50 kills and 1.00 blocks per set, while hitting .424 against Bowling Green, IUPUI and Evansville. Joining her on the all-tournament team were Allyson Karaba and Megan Schatzle. Head coach Cathy George is in her sixth season at MSU and 23rd overall.
About USC (3-0, 0-0 Pac-10; No. 10) ... The Women of Troy won the Luxe City Center Trojan Invitational on opening weekend. Junior setter Kendall Bateman earned MVP honors after posting career-highs with 66 assists and 18 digs against Cal State Fullerton. Bateman averaged 13 assists per set as USC beat Loyola Marymount, Bucknell and CSF. Alex Jupiter led the attack for USC with 4.14 kills per set, while hitting . 254 over the weekend. Head coach Mick Haley is in his 10th season at USC and his 34th as a collegiate head coach.
About Hawai’i (3-0, 0-0 WAC; No. 4) ... The Rainbow Wahine defeated No. 16 UCLA to take the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational championship on opening weekend. Junior Kanani Danielson had 17 kills in the match and earned Most Outstanding Player honors. Elizabeth Ka’aihue and Brittany Hewitt joined Danielson on the all-tournament team. Danielson leads the UH attack with 4.33 kills per set and a .355 hitting percentage. Head coach Dave Shoji is entering his 36th season as the head coach of the Rainbow Wahine. Shoji earned his 1,000 collegiate victory on Oct. 17, 2009 against New Mexico State.
Aiming For New Attendance Marks ... The Lobos have pumped up their numbers in several areas over the past three seasons under head coach Jeff Nelson. A big one is the jump in attendance at Lobo volleyball matches in the Johnson Center. During the first weekend of action in 2010, the Lobos averaged 2,371 fans, including a season-high 3,831 against No. 4 Stanford on Jam Johnson Day, Aug. 29. The mark ranks seventh on the single match attendance record list. The largest crowd of 2009 was when 2,613 fans showed up at the Johnson Center on Nov. 7 to bid farewell to the three Lobo seniors - Anna Lehne, Rose Morris and Allie Suiter - and watch the Lobos beat BYU. It passed the mark of 2,338 fans who showed up for Jam Johnson 2009 on Oct. 1 vs. San Diego State. UNM averaged 1,677 fans over 14 home matches in 2009, ranking 23rd in the nation. It is the only time the Lobos have recorded over 1,000 fans at every match of the season. The mark of 2,613 fans against BYU on Nov. 7 ranks ninth on the all-time UNM single match attendance list at Johnson Center and 14th overall including the years in The Pit.
2010 National Attendance Rankings (courtesy of Diane Nordstrom, University of Wisconsin Athletics Communications) School Avg. Total # 1. Hawai’i 5,296 18,889 3 2. Colorado State 3,829 7,658 2 3. New Mexico 2,371 7,113 3 4. Texas 2,310 6,929 3 5. Minnesota 2,051 6,154 3 6. North Carolina 1,911 5,734 3 7. Missouri 1,529 4,587 3 8. Texas A&M 1,272 3,817 3 9. Fresno State 1,145 3,434 3 10. Long Beach State 1,139 4,556 4 11. Georgia Tech 1,005 3,014 3 12. Creighton 977 2,931 3
Iowa State Volleyball Team Up To No. 11 In AVCA Poll
AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State volleyball team moved up a spot to No. 11 in this week’s American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.
The Cyclones went 4-0 last week and will face No. 18 Northern Iowa on Wednesday at Ames High School. Iowa State also faces Iowa this week in the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series matchup in Iowa City on Friday.
AVCA Top-25 Poll 1. Penn State (55) 6-0 2. Stanford (4) 5-0 3. Illinois 5-0 4. Florida (1) 5-0 5. Texas 5-1 6. Hawai’I 5-1 7. Nebraska 5-1 8. Southern California 5-1 9. Washington 5-0 10. California 4-0 11. Iowa State 5-1 12. Minnesota 5-1 13. UCLA 5-1 14. Tennessee 6-0 15. Colorado State 5-1 16. Kentucky 4-2 17. Florida State 5-1 18. Northern Iowa 5-1 19. Oregon 4-0 20. Dayton 5-1 21. LSU 6-0 22. Michigan 5-1 23. Long Beach State 5-1 24. Arizona 5-1 25. San Diego 2-3
Others Receiving Votes: Ohio State, Missouri, St. Mary’s (Calif.), Michigan State, Duke, Cincinnati, Utah State, Baylor, Missouri State, New Mexico State, Cal Poly.
BARTSCH, BONILLA EARN CONFERENCE HONORS Illini move to No. 3 in latest AVCA Coaches Poll
Park Ridge, Ill. -- Illinois junior right side hitter Michelle Bartsch, the MVP of the Time Warner Cable Invitational over the weekend in Austin, Tex., has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week. Illinois libero Jennifer Bonilla earned the conference’s co-Freshman of the Week after helping lead Illinois to a perfect 2-0 weekend, which included a 3-0 sweep at No. 2 Texas.
Illinois moved up two spots to No. 3 in the latest AVCA Coaches poll following the victories, marking the highest ranking for Illinois since Sept. 6, 1988, when the Illini began the year at No. 2. Penn State remains atop the rankings followed by Stanford, Illinois, Florida and Texas. Two of this weekend’s opponents are also in poll – Nebraska at No. 7 and Dayton at No. 20.
Bartsch wins her first Big Ten Player of the Week honor after hitting .514 to help the Illini to the team title. The junior was 10-for-19 hitting and chipped in three blocks on Friday against second-ranked Texas, guiding Illinois to a three-set win over the Longhorns, ending Texas’ 25-match home court winning streak. The following day against Florida A&M, Bartsch finished with nine kills and two blocks in a sweep. On the weekend, she averaged 3.8 kills and 1.0 blocks per set for the third-ranked Illini.
Bonilla anchored the Illinois serve-pass game over the weekend. The freshman libero averaged 5.2 digs per set in Illinois’ three-set wins over No. 2 Texas and Florida A&M in the tournament. On Friday against the Longhorns, Bonilla finished with 18 digs and added 13 digs against Florida A&M and was 23-for-23 in service receiving attempts last weekend.
LADY VOLS JUMP THREE SPOTS TO NO. 14 IN AVCA POLL
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Following its perfect weekend at the Houston Invitational, the University of Tennessee volleyball team jumped to No. 14 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll released Monday afternoon. The Lady Volunteers are off to one of the best starts in program history, with a school-record six consecutive sweeps to kick off the 2010 campaign.
Tennessee is one of just four teams in the AVCA Top-25 that has yet to drop even a single set this year. Top-ranked Penn State (6-0), No. 9 Washington (5-0) and 10th-rated Cal are the other three teams with a flawless start to the season.
Last weekend, the Big Orange traveled to the Lone Star State where it took out Big 12-foe Oklahoma, then-No. 13 Florida State and host Houston in impressive fashion. In the opening week of play, UT downed Xavier, Chattanooga and Virginia Tech while hosting the Comcast Lady Vol Classic, Aug. 27-28.
This week’s ranking is the highest for the Orange and White since it was rated No. 13 on Sept. 11, 2006 and marks the 28th time in program history that it has been voted among the top-15 schools in the nation.
The Lady Vols will close out the tournament portion of their schedule this weekend when they hit the road to take part in a two-day competition hosted by Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Tennessee will first take on Northwestern and Ohio at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively, on Friday, Sept. 10, before squaring off against Pittsburgh the following day at noon in its final tune-up before the beginning of Southeastern Conference action.
For the first time in the history of the UNLV women's volleyball
program, the Lady Rebels are ranked 26th in the country. The Rebels
received 92 votes in the CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 poll and
have set the pace for a record-breaking 2007 season.
In an unprecedented turn of events the Rebel volleyball squad,
currently 11-2, have registered their best start ever while
simultaneously establishing their longest winning streak in program
history.
The Lady Rebels led by coach Allison Keely decisively won all three
tournaments they've played in including their own season-opening
tournament, followed by the Four Points Sheraton LAX Classic in Los
Angeles and the AT&T Invitational in Reno Nevada.
On the way to setting their impressive record the Lady Rebels beat the
Utah Utes for the first time since 1998 in addition to outscoring the
BYU women's team, marking the first time in the UNLV program's history
that they defeated both teams during the same year. Remarkably almost
all of the Lady Rebel victories have occurred on the road.
For the Las Vegas Sports Magazine I interviewed Coach Allison Keeley to find out
why the UNLV's Women's Volleyball team is having so much success.
It comes out in October ...be sure to pick up a copy.
Sign up for the FREE Volleyball Voices Newsletter Subscription Drive.
Don't Miss Out! Sign UP Now!
Change Your Life...Change Your Life Story
College Volleyball: National American Still Leads the NAIA Division This Week
National American is still leading the pack this week as of 10/11 in the NAIA Division of the NCAA Womens Volleyball season.
NAIA Volleyball Rankings
(As of 10/11/2006)
Rank School
1 National American
2 Fresno Pacific
3 California Baptist
4 Concordia (Calif.)
5 Dickinson State
6 Columbia (Mo.)
7 Hastings
8 Azusa Pacific
9 Missouri Baptist
10 Madonna
Nebraska still leads the NCAA Womens Volleyball Division 1 Rankings this week according to the College Sports Televison / American Volleyball Coaches Association Coaches Poll. I've listed the top 10 here. click here for the rest of the teams in the rankings.
NCAA Women's Volleyball Division 3 Rankings This Week
The race in the NCAA Womens Volleyball Division 3 category is heating up.
Click here to find out who is rounding out the pack this week.
CSTV/AVCA Division III Coaches Rankings
(As of 10/10/2006)
Rank School
1 Juniata
2 Washington (St. Louis)
3 La Verne
4 Concordia-Moorhead
5 Trinity (Texas)
6 Wisconsin-Oshkosh
7 Wisconsin-Eau Claire
8 St. Thomas (Minn.)
9 Southwestern (Texas)
10 Linfield
Return to Volleyball Voices homepage