Tuesday, November 27, 2018

USC @ UCLA 11-23-18 WVB

Dear Readers~




On November 23, 2018 the USC Trojans traveled across town to Pauley Pavilion to play their cross town rivals, the UCLA Bruins, in a game of women's volleyball to end their 2018 indoor regular season. When these two teams played each other at the Galen Center back in mid September, with UCLA being the visitors and USC having home court advantage, the game ended with USC winning all 3 sets. It was because of this that UCLA wanted revenge, and also because this game was their last game of the regular season and was their senior night.


This game at Pauley Pavilion was much closer than the game at the Galen Center. The first set ended 25-23 in favor of USC. The second set had a similar outcome with it ending 25-22 USC. With USC winning the first two sets, UCLA knew they couldn't let USC win a third on home court and also on senior night. The third set ended 25-22 in favor of UCLA. The fourth set ended 25-22 in favor of UCLA as well, so with each team winning two sets, a fifth and final set was in order. this set ended 15-9 with USC beating their cross town rivals, UCLA.


At the end of the night, UCLA ended it's regular season with an overall record of 13-14 while USC ended their regular season 13-7.


It was a night full of plays. There were 5 types of moves the scorekeepers kept tabs on. Those where kills, digs, blocks, assists, and aces. The leaders in kills were Brooke Botkin, with 21, for USC and Mac May, with 16, for UCLA. The leaders in digs were Brooke Botkin, with 25, for USC and Zana Muno, with 35, for UCLA. The leaders in blocks were Madison Murtagh, with 5, for USC and Emily Ryan, with 6, for UCLA. The leaders for assists were Raquel Lazaro, with 50, for USC and Kylie Miller, with 39, for UCLA. The leaders for aces were Raegan LaGrand, with 4, for USC and Emily Ryan, with 4 as well, for UCLA.


With it being senior night, UCLA recognized their seniors. They include Middle Blocker, Kyra Rogers and Defensive Specialist, Zana Muno.


Don't forget to follow the above players on Instagram: @madisonmurtagh, @raquelitalc, @brookebotkin, @zanamuno, @emilyryan14, @kyliemiller10, @macmay3, and @kyra_rogers


Stay tuned for my latest blog post when that comes out next. If you would like your favorite sport or team covered, let me know down below and until next time, Miller out




~J. Miller

Monday, November 19, 2018

P1440 Las Vegas: Day 3 (finals)

Der Readers~








Sorry it's been so long. I've been having homework lately. Now I can do Day 3 of the 2018 FIVB Las Vegas Open presented by P1440. Day 3 was on Sunday October 21, 2018. The teams in the semifinals were Bansley with Wilkerson against Solberg with Antonelli, Pavan with Humana-Paredes against Solberg with Antonelli. The men's semfiinals were Fijalek with Bryl against Krasilinikov with Stoyanovskiy and Mol with Sorum against Trevor Crabb and Tri Borne.




The first women's semifinals was Bansley with Wilkerson against Solberg with Antonelli ended with Bansley and Wilkerson winning 21-18. The second set went to Antonelli and Solberg, winning 24-22, so a third set happened. that set ended 15-11 in favor of Wilkerson and Bansley. Wilkerson and Bansley moved on to the finals.




The second women's semifinals were Antonelli and Solberg against Pavan and Humana-Paredes. That game ended with Pavan and Humana-Paredes winning both sets 21-14 and 21-19. This means that the women's finals were all from Team Canada.




The first men's semifinals was Fijalek with Bryl against Krasilinikov with Stoyanovskiy. The first set ended 21-13 in favor of Fijalek and Bryl. Krasilinikov and Styanovskiy got their revenge by winning the second set 21-14, causing a third set. The third set ended 15-11 in favor of Fijalek and Bryl, winning 2 of the 3 sets and moving on to the finals.




The second men's semifinals was Tri Bourne and Trevor Crabb, of the AVP, against Mol and Sorum. The game ended in 2 sets with set 1 ending 21-17 and set 2 ended 21-16 with Mol and Sorum winning both sets and moving on to the finals against Fijalek and Bryl.




The women's finals took 3 sets. Set 1 ended 21-17 in favor of Bansley and Wilkerson. Pavan and Humana-Paredes won the second set 21-17 and causing a third set. The third set ended 15-9 in favor of Bansley and Wilkerson. That win made Bansley and Wilkerson FIVB/P1440 Las Vegas winners.




The men's finals were Mol and Sorum against Fijalek and Bryl. The men's final only took 2 sets. Set 1 ended 21-13 and set 2 ended 21-17. Both went in favor of Mol and Sorum, crowning the pair as the winners of the FIVB/P1440 Las Vegas Champs.




With this being an FIVB event, points for Olympic qualifying were up for grabs for every athlete. Qualifying has just started and it won't be until June of 2020 that the teams will be chosen for Tokyo in 2020.


That concludes the summary of Day 3 of the 2018 FIVB Las Vegas Open presented by P1440 from October 18-21, 2018. Stay tuned for November 30, 2018 when P1440 returns with their next event, in Huntington Beach, California. Until my next post, Miller out




~J. Miller

Thursday, November 1, 2018

P1440 Las Vegas: Day 2

Dear Readers~




I must start off by saying, I was having some problems with technology so I had to make a new blog. I have posted the previous Day 1 results on here if you're interested in that. without anymore interruptions, let Day 2 begin.


On October 20, 2018 Day 2 of the 2018 FIVB Las Vegas stop presented by P1440 was underway. The four teams that I'll be talking about are Emily Day with Betsi Flint and Taylor Crabb with Jake Gibb for the Americans, Melissa Humana-Paredes with Sarah Pavan, of Canada, and Anders Mol with Christian Sorum, of Norway. Humana-Paredes and Pavan, of Canada, were the only team to play 2 games on Day 2, since they didn't play at all on Day 1, while the other three teams each played 1 game.


The first team is Day and Flint. Their game was against Silva Ramos and Cavalcanti Barbosa Silva on stadium court at 12:20. The first set ended in favor of Day and Flint 21-18 but they came up short to lose the second set 18-21, so a third set happened. Day and Flint came up short on the third set, losing 11-15. After losing the game, Day and Flint were out of the tournament and were unable to move on.


The next team is Crabb and Gibb. The pair played Krasilnikov and Stoyanovskiy on court 1 at 9:00. Crabb and Gibb won the first set 21-15, but weren't so lucky on the second set. As many beach volleyball fans know, in order to win the set, the team needs to be first to reach 21. The hard part is that a 2 point rule is in play. because of this rule, the second set ended 30-28 with Krasilnikov and Stoyanovskiy winning and causing a third set. The third set was a little harder because it ended 15-13 in favor of Krasilnikov and Stoyanovskiy. The two beat Crabb and Gibb, knocking them out of the tournament.


The third team that only played one game was Norway's Mol and Sorum. the pair played Ricardo and Alcaro Filho at 11:00 on Court 2. Anders and Mol came up short 19-21 on the first set, but redeemed themselves by winning the second set 21-16, and causing a third set. Mol and Sorum won the third set 15-11, and move on to the semifinals on the next day against Trevor Crabb, Taylor's older brother, and his partner, Tri Bourne, both of the AVP.


The final team was Canada's Pavan and Humana-Paredes. Their games were on court 5 at 9:00 against Kolsinka and Kociolek. Humana- Paredes and Pavan won in back to back sets 21-17 and 21-15. Their next game was on court 2 at 12:20 against Menegatti and Orsi Toth. Humana-Paredes and Pavan also won that game in back to back sets 21-14 and 21-16, to make it to the semifinals. They will be playing Solberg and Antonelli.


I hope you enjoyed Day 2 of the P1440 stop in Las Vegas and stay tuned for Monday, November 5th when my next blog post comes out. Until next time, Miller out




~J. Miller

P1440 Las Vegas: Day 1

Dear Readers~


On October 19, 2018 the first day of the main draw was underway. The teams that played on Day 1 that I'll be covering are Emily Day with Betsi Flint, Taylor Crabb with Jake Gibb, and Anders Mol with Christian Sorum. Each team had 1 game on Day 1, except Day and Flint who had 2 games.

Day and Flint's game 1 was at 2:10 on stadium court against Kerri Walsh Jennings and Brooke Sweat. Kerri and Brooke won the first set 21-19 but Day and Flint got revenge by winning the second set 21-19, and causing a third set. The third set ended 15-12 in favor of Day and Flint. They're second game was at 5:30 on stadium court against Sara Hughes and Summer Ross. Day and Flint won the first set 22-20 but came up short 14-21 on the second set, causing a third set to happen. The third set ended 15-11, in favor of Day and Flint. The pair's next game is on Day 2 at 12:20 PM on stadium court against Silva Ramos and Cavalcanti Barbosa Silva.

Crabb and Gibb's one game on Day 1 was at 3:50 on Court 1 against Perusic and Schweiner. Crabb and Gibb won the first set 21-18 but came up short 17-21 on the second set, causing a third. The third set ended 15-13 in favor of Crabb and Gibb. The pair will play their next game on Day 2 at 9:00 AM on Court 1 against Krasilnikov and Stoyanovskiy.

Mol and Sorum's one game on Day 1 was against Plains and Tocs. Mol and Sorum won the game in back to back sets, 21-18 and 21-14. Their next game is at 11:00 AM on Day 2 on Court 2 against Ricardo and Alcaro Filho.

Sorry tha this one is a little shorter than my previous ones. Make sure to stay tuned for Thursday, November 1st for my next blog post. If you're interested, leave your comments on what I should cover next down below and feel free to check the rest of my blog posts. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller

P1440 Las Vegas: Pool Play

Dear Readers~


I know it says 'Pool Play' in the title, but please keep reading. On September 18, 2018 P1440 had the pool play for the 2018 FIVB Las Vegas Open. You may be asking why the P1440 is involved. That's because it's for the FIVB, since Olympic qualifying points are up for grabs, but is presented by P1440. I decided to cover the pool play because this stop was for Olympic qualifying points to try to make it to Tokyo in 2020. The four teams I'll be covering are 2 AVP teams and 2 international teams. The American teams are Emily Day with Betsi Flint for the women and Jake Gibb with Taylor Crabb for the men. The international teams I decided to cover were Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes, of Canada, for the women, and Anders Mol with Christian Sorum, of Norway, for the men. For those who don't know: Mol and Sorum have a vlogging YouTube channel called "Beach Volley Vikings" if you're interested in some behind the scenes footage of their competitions. Now it's time to introduce the results of the teams. All of the teams played two games in the pool play before they could move on.

The first team is Americans Emily and Betsi Flint. They played their first game  against Liliana and Else. Day and Flint won the first set 21-16 but came up short on the second set, losing 15-21, so a third set happened. Day and Flint won the third set 15-10. Their second game was against Pavan and Humana-Paredes. Day and Flint lost the first set 10-21 but the second set was closer. Day and Flint lost the second set 23-21, since you need a 2 point advantage in order to win. Day and Flint lost both sets and the game. That has them leaving the pool play with 1 win and 1 loss.

The second team is Americans Taylor Crabb and Jake Gibb. Their first game in the pool play was against Krov and Rowlandson. Crabb and Gibb won the first set 21-15 but came up short on the second set 12-21. The third set ended 15-13 in favor of Crabb and Gibb. Their second game was against Ricardo and Alvaro Rilho. Crabb and Gibb won the first set 21-16 and also winning the second set 26-24. By winning both of those games, Crabb and Gibb leave the pool play undefeated by winning both of their games.

The third team is the international women's team I chose from Canada, Pavan and Humana-Paredes. Their first game of pool play was against Day and Flint, who I mentioned above. Because I have previously listed the scores, I won't be listing them again. Their second game was against Suzuki and Murakami. Pavan and Humana-Paredes won both sets 21-14. By winning both of their games, they also get to move out of the pool play being undefeated.

The final team is the international men's team I chose from Norway, Sorum and Mol. Their first game was against Priddy and Casebeer, of the AVP. Mol and Sorum won both sets 21-12. Their second game against Bouter and Verenhorst. Mol and Sorum came up short by losing the first set 18-21 but were able to save it by winning the second set 21-18 and the third set 15-9 to win the game. Mol and Sorum move out of the pool play being undefeated.

That concludes my summary of the pool play for the 2018 FIVB Las Vegas Open presented by P1440. Stay tuned for Day 1 of the main draw where Day and Flint take on Kerri Walsh Jennings and Brooke Sweat, Crabb and Gibb take on Perusic and Schweiner, Pavan and Humana-Paredes take on Kolosinka and Kociolek, and Mol and Sorum take on Plains and Tocs.

Feel free to check out any of my previous blogs. There are things like AVP stops in MBO, Hawaii, and the championships to updates on my "DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME" story to a summary of the UCLA at USC women's volleyball game. I hope you can check some of those out if you haven't already. Stay tuned for Monday, October 29th for my next blog post. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller