Division I | Division II | Division III | October 18, 1999 The USA TODAY/American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 women's Division I volleyball teams as ranked by 60 coaches with records through October 9 (first place votes in parenthesis): Rank School Total Points 1999 Record Last Week 1 Penn State (43) 1480 18-1 1 2 Hawai'i (17) 1455 16-0 2 3 Pacific 1374 17-1 3 4 Florida 1293 17-2 4 5 Long Beach State 1266 15-2 5 6 UCLA 1212 17-1 6 7 Stanford 1126 14-2 7 8 BYU 1069 13-2 8 9 UC Santa Barbara 993 15-3 9 10 Texas 915 13-3 10 11 Pepperdine 914 14-2 11 12 Kansas State 854 14-2 13 13 Nebraska 839 14-4 12 14 Clemson 660 18-1 15 15 Colorado State 588 17-1 14 16 Texas A&M 569 14-4 16 17 USC 524 11-5 17 18 Arizona 475 12-5 18 19 Northern Iowa 425 19-0 19 20 Illinois 313 11-3 23 21 Colorado 292 11-6 20 22 Arkansas 255 16-4 21 23 Minnesota 203 16-4 22 24 Univ of San Diego 149 14-3 25 25 North Carolina 109 17-3 NR Others receiving 30 or more points: San Jose State (54).

I scribbled the first post because I discovered it was a poll from three years ago and irrelevant. Now that Penn State is Number 1 on at least this poll, I just had to post it! Thanks, Terry, for this topic. It should be popular - especially when the men get playing. Men are great to watch play Volleyball....*sigh*

Volleyball is not that big of a spectator sport on the mainland. Not like here. Most people only know either the Olympians or the two-man beach kine v.b. Almost nobody saw our own beloved but beleaguered coach Sharon Peterson play either as an Olympian (1964 Tokyo, 1968 Mexico City) or as a pro in the mid 70s.

That well may be, but the lady longhorns are 10th and the lady aggies are 16th on that top 25 list. Someone other than Hawaii (and California) must be watching it! (I did not see her play, did you???)

One team who will never see that Top 25 is the University of Hawaii at Hilo Vulcan Wahine. They are having their worst year ever that I can remember in longer than I care to say, and we are playing our strongest in-state team this evening. Two nights ago we lost to the second strongest in just an hour and three games 1-15, 2-15, 10-15. This evening should be under an hour and I think our total score will be tallied on one hand for all of the games we play. Sad!

John, what has happened to our recruiting?! Coach Peterson's pipeline has sprung leaks or has rusted shut? Something is definitely wrong...!

Women's Volleyball Rankings Volleyball Polls (All Divisions) USA TODAY/AVCA women's top 25 Through Nov. 29 Rank Team (1st-place) Pts. Record Last 1 Penn State (52) 1488 30-1 1 2 Stanford (8) 1444 26-2 2 3 Hawaii 1367 27-1 3 4 Florida 1301 30-2 4 5 Pacific 1292 28-2 5 6 Long Beach State 1194 27-3 7 7 UC Santa Barbara 1116 26-5 8 8 UCLA 1056 25-3 6 9 Pepperdine 1048 24-3 10 10 Nebraska 934 25-5 11 11 Colorado State 922 28-2 12 12 Brigham Young 857 26-4 9 13 Texas A&M 780 25-5 13 14 Southern California 684 20-8 14 15 Texas 614 21-7 15 16 Clemson 604 31-2 16 17 Northern Iowa 555 28-0 17 18 Arizona 437 19-10 19 19 Kansas State 387 20-8 18 20 Baylor 361 25-8 22 21 Colorado 261 18-11 21 22 Minnesota 239 25-8 20 23 North Carolina 221 27-5 23 24 Arkansas 125 29-6 24 25 San Diego 110 22-5 25

Wow, Hawaii is a volleyball powerhouse. Do they play Texas in the upcoming schedule?

They played Texas A&M last evening and lost, but i think that was men's basketball. In women's collegiate volleyball Penn State has clinched the Big 10 (11) title. BIG 12 NCAA REGIONAL SCHEDULE Dec. 9-10 at Honolulu, Hawaii Colorado State vs. Long Beach State 9 p.m. Texas A&M vs. Hawaii 11 p.m. Regional Final 9 p.m. Dec. 9-10 at Palo Alto, Calif. Nebraska vs. Santa Barbara 7 p.m. Stanford vs. Arizona 9:30 p.m. Regional Final 9 p.m. Times listed as Central NCAA semifinals/championship Dec. 16 & 18, at Honolulu, Hawaii Stan Sheriff Center BIG 12 NCAA TOURNAMENT RESULTS First & Second Rounds Dec. 3-4 at University Park, Pa. Baylor def. Temple 3-1 (11-15, 16-14, 15-7, 15-12) Penn State def. Baylor 3-0 (15-2, 15-6, 15-10) Dec. 2-3 at Austin, Texas Texas def. Houston 3-0 (15-6, 15-7, 15-10) Arizona def. Texas 3-0 (15-8, 15-6, 15-7) Dec. 2-3 at Lincoln, Neb. Nebraska def. Davidson 3-0 (15-3, 15-5, 15-3) Nebraska def. San Diego 3-0 (15-12, 15-8, 15-9) Dec. 2-3 at Honolulu, Hawaii Utah def. Colorado 3-0 (15-10, 15-6, 17-15) Dec. 2-3 at College Station, Texas Texas A&M def. Stephen F. Austin 3-0 (15-4, 15-7, 15-1) Texas A&M def. North Carolina 3-0 (15-8, 15-4, 15-8) Dec. 2-3 at Fort Collins, Colo. Kansas State def. Louisville 3-0 (15-1, 15-6, 15-10) Colorado State def. Kansas State 3-1 (15-12, 8-15, 15-13, 15-10)

1999 BIG 12 VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS (Through 12/7/99) # NCAA Tournament participant # Nebraska # Texas A&M # Texas # Kansas State # Baylor # Colorado Kansas Texas Tech Missouri Oklahoma Iowa State Hawaii already has the WAC championship won as Penn State has in the Big 10.

http://www.cvu.com/wu/ncaad199.shtml Shows the team standings in each conference but it did not post well - so I scribbled it.

Tomorrow Penn State Lady Lions plays Stanford Lady Cardinal for the NCAA Volleyball Championship in Honolulu at the UH main campus...and we don't get ESPN2. Hmmm... December 18, 1999 Final Four matches played at Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu, HI. Penn State (35-1) vs. Stanford (31-2), 5 p.m. HST (ESPN2 Tape Delay 12/19, 11 am, PT) December 16, 1999 Final Four matches played at Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu, HI. Penn State (35-1) def. Pacific (32-3) 14-16, 15-5, 15-6, 7-15, 15-12. (ESPN2 Tape Delay 12/17, 10 a.m., PST) Stanford (31-2) def. Long Beach State (31-4) 15-10, 15-10, 15-3. (ESPN2 Tape Delay 12/17, 10 pm, PT).

From today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin: TV or not TV is the question Some think volleyball should change for television; others like the game the way it is By Cindy Luis Star-Bulletin Volleyball, volleyball, wherefore art thou, volleyball? Deny thy roots and refuse thy game. What's in a name? That which we call volleyball by any other name still won't be shown on television. With apologies to The Bard ... The two houses in volleyball are feuding. There's been talk of a let serve, a two-point play for hitting behind the 10-meter line, the use of a tri-color ball a la the defunct ABA. The FIVB, the international organization, has already jumped to a new system, complete with rally scoring through the entire match and the use of a libero, a roving defensive specialist. The U.S. collegiate game is governed by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, which is holding its annual convention in Waikiki. The AVCA has been slower to make wholesale changes but has tinkered with various elements of the game, including experimenting with three formats using timed rally scoring just this past spring. TODAY'S TITLE CLASH No. 1 Penn State is in the championship match for the third year in a row. The Nittany Lions have lost in the two previous finals in five games, including the 1997 title match to Stanford. No. 2 Stanford is going for its fifth title in 1990s Game time: 5 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center. Most of the changes are designed to make the sport more marketable and attractive to television. But what it has done is begun to alienate a solid fan base in pursuit of some vague ratings number. "I'm concerned about the next few years,'' said Stanford women's coach Don Shaw, whose team plays for the national title today at the Stan Sheriff Center. "I like the sport the way it is, but then I'm a purist. I played volleyball (collegiately in the 1970s) when it was more of a counterculture thing and it was a nice little world we had. "When it does grow bigger, I hope it stays as close to the original game. I don't know if TV is the determining factor but I hate to see the game change drastically for a spot on TV.'' Hawaii has shown that volleyball done right on television is a marketable commodity. However, not many places have a captive audience, one without a major pro team, and one with grassroots love of the game firmly entrenched. A prime example is this week's final four. ESPN2 will air it sometime next week, cut into 90-minute packages that fit a time slot. "Until the ratings get better, you're not going to get these matches live nationally,'' said Chris Marlowe, here to do ESPN's coverage this week. "Of course, I would prefer to see the matches live but, at this point in time, the networks don't seem to believe in volleyball as much as the aficionados do. "There's not a number of big sponsors saying 'We want to see it live and we'll pay for it.' "KFVE has done a great job in Hawaii but they've also done a lot of games (since 1986). And the Wahine and Rainbows have also been good products to sell.'' Dave Shoji doesn't agree. "I don't think our state is all that different,'' said Shoji, who just completed his 25th season as the Hawaii women's coach. "People who like volleyball will watch. Why risk the integrity of the game? "With different philosophies dictating the international and collegiate games, it's been difficult to keep the game uniform. The FIVB seems to change the rules at a whim and are too quick to jump while, at the collegiate level, we're too slow.'' What is beginning to happen is the international powers are seeing that change is not all that good. Some of the rally scoring variations have turned matches into routs lasting less than an hour. "I think before you can figure out the rules, you have to figure out which game you're going to play,'' said former Wahine All-American Deitre Collins, the head coach at UNLV. "Some of the international rule changes are interesting but now you see the FIVB not too happy with it. Some of the changes were made for television but if it's going to end up being tape-delay, I'm not going to be gung ho about it unless there's a real reason to do it.'' Collins pointed to the more liberal contact allowed on the serve-receive as one point of confusion. "When I played (in the 1980s), serve-receive is a skill you really had to learn. The crowd now doesn't understand the rules because they keep changing.'' What's good for the international game may not be good for the domestic game. And what's good for the men's collegiate game may not work at the women's level. The men's game has become more of a power, sideout game. Rally scoring works, as does the libero. "I think rally score is a pretty good way to play the men's game,'' said UC I rvine men's coach Charlie Brande, a former Wahine assistant. "And the libero brings the little guy back into game. "I like the let serve in a rally score game. As it is, rally scoring takes away the jump serve. If you miss (the jumper) then it's really two points. You lose one and the other team gets one for the missed serve. The let serve brings the jumper back into the match.'' The let serve (where the ball is played if it hits the net and continues to the other side of the court) has met with mixed reaction. "I think the let serve rewards someone for making a mistake,'' said Long Beach State women's coach Brian Gimmillaro, who spoke on the subject during yesterday's convention sessions. "I don't think it's good for the sport. "And awarding two points for a back-row attack? Then give three points for hitting the mascot. That takes skill.'' But Gimmillaro is serious about where the sport is going. "The scoring system is experimental and we know something is going to change after 2000,'' he said. "What it will be, we don't know. But I have a hard time accepting a system that has failed. "The reason that there is no consensus among the coaches is because the experiments didn't work. The traditional scoring system had great thought to it. It didn't happen overnight.'' Last year, the Division I Women's Volleyball Committee voted to maintain the current scoring format for the 1999 Division I Women's Volleyball Championship. But the committee also voted to request that institutions experiment with three prescribed formats in spring with the intent to likely change to a point-per-play format effective with the 2000 championship and submit a survey of how the experimentation went. The consensus was that there was no consensus. "We played with the new scoring system against Alberta in Kona last month,'' said Rainbow men's coach Mike Wilton, who used the rally score to 25, best-of-five format. "What I don't like is that it's real difficult, almost impossible, to mount a comeback if you fall way behind. "On the up side, every point is real important and you have to be on it all the time. I like the old scoring system and I don't like the (liberal) first contact on the serve. My feeling is when you receive the serve, it had better come out clean.'' The Rainbows will use the libero next month and the tri-color ball. "Volleyball is an amazing game, a wonderful game,'' said former Pacific player Heather Cox, the color commentator for ESPN volleyball. "What it needs is more exposure and for the game to be consistent. "I'm all in favor of making it more TV-friendly as long as we don't change the game too much.'' The powers that be might be wise to reread "Romeo and Juliet.'' A rose by any other name still left both sides dead.

Penn State lady Lions win NCAA Volleyball Championship Penn State beat Stanford in three straight 15 - 2 15 - 10 15 - 7

Saturday, December 18, 1999 - 9:30:48 PM HST Nittany Lions celebrate NCAA title Penn State pounds Stanford to win its first national championship By Cindy Luis Star-Bulletin Happy Valley is an even happier place tonight. The Penn State women's volleyball team broke through for its first NCAA title tonight when the top-ranked Nittany Lions hammered No. 2 Stanford, 15-2, 15-10, 15-7, in front of 7,578 (10,252 tickets) at the Stan Sheriff Center. The blowout took 80 minutes, the shortest final in the 19 years of the tournament. It eclipsed the previous mark of 91 minutes set when Stanford swept Hawaii for the 1996 championship in Cleveland. "There was a lot of passion on our side of the court tonight,'' said Penn State coach Russ Rose, whose team had lost the last two title matches in five sets. "It feels great. I was reminded before the match that I could become the first coach to lose in three consecutive title games. That's one club I didn't want to join.'' What Penn State (36-1) did join was the list of teams that have won the championship in straight sets (now at seven). The Nittany Lions also are the first team east of the Mississippi to win a Division I volleyball title, joining Hawaii, Nebraska and Texas as the only non-California schools to earn a banner. The 19 points scored by Stanford (31-3) was the third-lowest in tournament history, behind Hawaii's 15 points in 1996 and Nebraska's 18 points in the 1989 final, was also played in Honolulu. "Our past finishes motivated me,'' said Penn State senior All-American setter Bonnie Bremner. "I think the difference this year was we didn't peak at the beginning,'' added senior All-American Lauren Cacciamani, who had match highs of 20 kills and eight blocks en route to being named the final four's most valuable player. "We lost our first match so we knew we could not have an undefeated season. I think we got better as the year went on and it was a uphill progression.'' Penn State jumped out to an 8-0 lead in Game 1 and it was all downhill for Stanford after that. The Cardinal (31-3) was in negative hitting numbers until early in Game 3 and finished the match hitting negative .008 as a team. "I think that's the first time we've ever been in negative numbers since maybe the early days of the program,'' said Stanford coach Don Shaw, failing in his attempt for a fifth title in the 1990s. "The only thing we did better tonight was we have three more digs than them. "We've never been blown out like this. We never had a chance. Now I know how Hawaii felt when we beat them in 1996.'' Stanford threatened once. In Game 3, three Penn State hitting errors helped the Cardinal to close to 7-6. "We've had teams come back on us before,'' said Cacciamani. "I think at that point I told my teammates, 'Do it now.' "We had to push away. We did and we were in control.'' Penn State applied the pressure, outscoring a stunned Stanford team with an 8-1 run. Cacciamani served for the final four points. Joining Cacciamani and Bremner on the all-tournament team were teammate Carrie Schonveld (nine kills and 10 digs); Stanford's Kerri Walsh and Logan Tom and Elsa Stegemann of Pacific. Walsh, who shared national player of the year honors with Cacciamani, led Stanford with 11 kills but hit .000. Tom had 15 digs and six blocks but was held to seven kills in hitting negative .097. Penn State was undefeated last season until losing in the final to Long Beach State in five. The Nittany Lions opened this year with a five-set loss to Florida. Penn State is 104-4 over the past three seasons.

I wonder what year Texas won that banner?

You know who's a huge volleyball fan? Forrest Stroud who does the reviews in our apps conference. He has a little corner of his website devoted to college volleyball, or used to anyway.

Gotta go check that. Good for him! I am still waiting to see anything mentioned on ESPN or CNN. Nothing!!! According to http://www.TexasSports.com/news/vol/wvol/1999/11/30/943986436496.html UT won their first and only NCAA Volleyball Championship in 1988

This includes both mens and womens teams?

Just women's teams. Men's season begins after the New Year.

Hawaiian Style Classic Hilo, Hawai`i August 31- September 2, 2000 Brigham Young University-Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific University, University of Hawaii at Hilo, Chaminade University, Northwood University, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Texas A&M(Commerce) Meanwhile Penn State is at UTexas Tournament the same weekend!

(I was gonna make some flippant remark about Texas being so big that each department at Aggieland U had its own team...but...)