LMU @ UCLA 3-26-2019 BVB

UCLA's game day post featuring Zana Muno (Follow her on Instagram: @zanamuno and UCLA Beach: @uclabeachvb)

LMU's game day post featuring Savannah Slattery (#3) and Reka Orsi Toth (#5) (Follow them on Instagram: @lmulionsbeach, @savannahslattery, and @rekaorsitoth)

Dear Readers~


On Tuesday, March 26, 2019 #1 UCLA had 2 games. The first game was against an unranked Oregon while the second game was against #13 LMU. I will be covering the game against LMU but if you would like to see how the game against Oregon went, I'll be attaching a link to the results below: https://uclabruins.com/news/2019/3/26/beach-volleyball-no-1-ucla-posts-two-more-sweeps.aspx Both games were at Ocean Park Beach there in Santa Monica, California. The Oregon game was at 12:30 and the game against LMU was at 2:30. Now it's time to start talking about the UCLA against LMU game.

The first game to end was the 4's. That consisted of Mac May and Savvy Simo, for UCLA, while Ella Boehle and Emma Doud played for LMU. The first set was close, ending at 21-16 in favor of Mac and Savvy. The second set wasn't as close, ending at 21-11 for Mac and Savvy. UCLA now has a 1 game lead over LMU.

The next game to end were the 2's. That consisted of Sarah Sponcil and Madi Yeomans, for UCLA, against Savannah Slattery and Reka Orsi Toth, for LMU. The first set was close, ending at 21-14 in favor of UCLA but the second set was the closest set between UCLA and LMU that happened that day. The second set ended at 21-19 with Savvy and Mac coming out on top and getting UCLA a 2 game lead over LMU.

The next game to finish was the 1's. That game had Megan and Nicole McNamara, for UCLA, against Megan Nash and Bo Culo, for LMU. The first set was one of the closest of the entire day. that set ended 21-18, in favor of Nicole and Megan. The second set had a bit of a bigger gap in the score at 21-10, with Nicole and Megan winning that set. UCLA is now up 3 games to none against LMU and there are only 2 games left.

The next game to finish were the 3's. That included Abby Van Winkle and Zana Muno, for UCLA, against Sara Kovac and Jessie Princhard, for LMU. Both sets were close. The first set ended 21-17, in favor of Abby and Zana. The second set was even closer than that. The second set ended 21-19, and being one of the longest sets of the day. In the end, it was Abby and Zana who won the set. This now has UCLA up 4 games to LMU's none with only one game left.

The last game between the two teams was Izzy Carey and Lindsey Sparks, for UCLA, taking on Veronica Nederend and Erin Martin, for LMU. The first set was close, ending at 21-18, in favor of Izzy and Linsey. The second set wasn't as close but still big because it ended 21-16 with Veronica and Erin taking that set, causing a third set to happen. That set ended 15-12 with Izzy and Lindsey winning the set. By wining that set, UCLA had just swept LMU in all 5 games.

That game now has UCLA at a record of 17-0 while LMU is now at a record of 13-7. UCLA's next game is part of the Surf and Turf Invitational on March 29th and 30th as the team travels to Miami Beach, Florida where they will play teams including LSU, Stetson, Florida State, and FIU. After that tournament, UCLA's next game is going to be a rematch against LMU on April 3, 2019 at the Sunset Canyon Recreation area in Los Angeles. While UCLA is at the Surf and Turf Invitational, LMU will be spending those 2 days at the Santa Cruz WCC Mid-Season Invitational there in Santa Cruz, California with the other teams in that tournament. The teams that are playing in that tournament are not posted.

That game also had a very special moment for UCLA's Izzy Carey. That's because she just had her 103rd career victory playing NCAA beach volleyball. This is a big deal because it's a new record at UCLA.

 

This is 5'11 Senior Isabelle "Izzy" Carey, of UCLA with her record of 103 career victories in the NCAA (Follow her on Instagram to see if the 103 becomes 104: @isabellecarey)

As many of you know, AVP pro Irene Pollock is a beach coach at UCLA but what you may not know is that another AVP player is a beach coach for the NCAA. This time for LMU. That other AVP player is Betsi Flint. Her name may sound familiar because she won the 2018 AVP Seattle Open then won the 2018 AVP San Francisco Open a few weeks later, both with Emily Day. Betsi also does a thing called "Monday Mishaps" on her Instagram so follow her to check those out each Monday: @betsiflint and some of those mishaps feature Emily Day and sometimes other AVP players are guest stars like Corinne Quiggle and Kelly Reeves, who I've mentioned in previous blogs about Pepperdine and UCLA before.

This is Irene Pollock watching over her team (follow her on Instagram for more: @irenepollock)

This is Emily Day (left) and Betsi Flint (right) at the 3 star FIVB event held in Sydney, Australia where they came home with a silver medal (Don't forget to follow them on Instagram: @betsiflint and @emday6)

The 2019 AVP season is getting closer with a little over a month until the first stop in Huntington Beach, California as part of the FIVB where you can watch Emily, Betsi, Irene, and so many of your favorite AVP players. Also don't forget that same weekend also has the NCAA men's indoor national championships happening at Long Beach State but if you live on the east coast and can't afford to travel to California that weekend, no worries because that same weekend also has the NCAA women's beach national finals happening in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller

Long Beach State @ USC 3-23-2019 MVB

 

This is the game day post Long Beach State put up on their Instagram. Follow them on Instagram to keep up with their  2019 season and beyond: @lbsumvb

 

This is one of USC's Outside Hitters, 6'8 Senior #24 Ryan Moss on USC's game day post against Long Beach State. Follow @uscmensvolley on Instagram to follow along during their 2019 season and beyond

Dear Readers~


On Saturday, March 23, 2019 a #1 Long Beach State traveled to Los Angeles to take on #11 USC in a game of men's indoor volleyball. This was not a normal game. This was a big deal. Allow me to explain why. For those who don't know, prior to this game, USC was at 11-8, with 8 of those wins happening the previous 8 times they had a home game in the 2019 season. This means that going up against Long Beach State they have yet to lose a home game during the 2019 season. That's impressive until you realize that Long Beach State went into that game with a record of 19-0 by winning ever single game during the 2019 season. USC wanted to keep their streak alive of winning all home games while Long Beach State wanted to keep their streak alive by having a perfect record but as we all know, in order for one team to win, another team must lose. This asks the question: Will USC lose it's first home game or will Long Beach State lose it's first game of the 2019 season? Now it's time to cover the game.

The game was held at USC's north gym in Los Angeles, California on March 23, 2019. The first set was close. That set ended 25-21 in favor of USC. Long Beach State knew that they had to win the second set to stay in it. That second set would later end at 25-21 with USC coming out on top and leading 2 sets to none against the undefeated Long Beach State. Long Beach State knew that if they wanted to win this game they had to win the third, fourth, and fifth sets. The third set ended at 25-17 with a shocked audience. The streak of Long Beach was over. USC had just swept the previously undefeated Long Beach State in 3 straight sets there at USC. That game now has USC with 8 wins at home while Long Beach State goes from being undefeated at 19-0 to having lost 1 game of the 20 they've played this season with a record of 19-1.

No game is complete without saying who helped each team get their results. Up first is kills. The leader was USC's Ryan Moss, with 14 and the man on USC's game day Instagram post, while Kyle Ensing led Long Beach State with 9. The leader in aces was Long Beach State's TJ DeFalco, with 2, while Jack Wyett and Gianluca Grasso each got 1 ace a piece for USC. The leader in blocks was Sam Lewis, for USC with 4, while Simon Andersen, the man on Lon Beach State's game day Instagram post, and Nick Amado each got 1 block a piece for Long Beach State. The leader in assists goes to Chris Hall, of USC, with a total of 36 assists while Josh Tuaniga led Long Beach State with 25 assists of his own. The leader in digs was USC's Matt Douglas, with 9, while TJ DeFalco led Long Beach State with 5 digs of his own.

 

This is another one of USC's Outiside Hitters, 6'5 redshirt senior #20 Jack Wyett

The next game for Long Beach State is on the road again. This time they travel to Irvine, California to take on UCI at the Bren Events Center on Friday, March 29, 2019 at 7 pm Pacific Time. USC's next game is also on Friday, March 29, 2019 at 7 pm Pacific Time as they are host to Stanford at the Galen Center. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller

Pepperdine @ UCLA 3-16-2019 BVB

The game was tough having #1 in the nation hosting #5. This is also the second straight week that the same schools that make up the top 5 were in the same order.

This is UCLA's game day post they put on their Instagram (@uclabeachvb) of #2 lily Justine, a 5'10 Junior

Dear Readers~


On March 16, 2019 the #5 ranked Pepperdine Wave traveled to the Sunset Canyon Recreation area in Los Angeles, California to take on the #1 ranked UCLA Bruins in a game of women's beach volleyball. With UCLA being undefeated so far this season with a 14-0 record, Pepperdine wanted to be the first team this season to beat UCLA, since UCLA is sitting at 11-4 right now. With Pepperdine coming off of their 3 wins at the Waves Invite, UCLA wanted to take them down. At 10 am Pacific Time, there in Los Angeles, the game got started.

The first game to end was the 4's that had UCLA's Savvy Simo and lea Monkhouse against Pepperdine's Nikki Lyons and Maddie Dilfer. The first set was tough when it ended at 21-13, in favor of UCLA. The second set was even tougher, ending at 21-18, in favor of UCLA. That gave UCLA a 1-0 game lead over Pepperdine.

The next team to finish was the 2's. That includes UCLA's Sarah Sponcil and Lily Justine against Pepperdine's Gigi Hernandez and Heidi Dyer. The first set ended at 21-14, in favor of UCLA but the second set was the second closest set of the entire day. That set ended at 22-20 with UCLA winning that set and making the overall score now 2-0 in favor of UCLA.

The third game to end was the 1's. This game had UCLA's Nicole and Megan McNamara against Pepperdine's Deahna Kraft and Brook Bauer. The first set was over at 21-13, in favor of UCLA. The second set ended closer at 21-18, in favor of UCLA. That game now has UCLA up 3-0 against Pepperdine in the overall scoring of the day.

The fourth game to end was between the 3's. That was UCLA's Abby Van Winkle and Zana Muno against Pepperdine's Alexis Filippone and Skylar Caputo. the first set was the closest set of the day, ending at 28-26 in favor of UCLA. The second set ended close at 21-19, with UCLA taking that set and making the overall score 4-0 with just one game left.

The final game was between the 5's. That includes UCLA's Izzy Carey and Lindsey Sparks against Pepperdine's Simone Priebe and Katie Gavin. The first set ended 21-16, in favor of UCLA. Pepperdine wanted redemption in this second set since it was the last of the day. In the end, they fell short and the set ended 21-10 in favor of UCLA. That gave UCLA a 5-0 sweep over Pepperdine.

If you've read some of my previous blogs you're probably wondering where UCLA's Mac May and Megan Muret were during this game. They were part of the exh. game. They took on Pepperdine's Melanie Paul and Jenna Tunnell. The first set ended 21-19 in favor of UCLA. The second set wasn't as close, ending at 21-12. That second set went in favor of UCLA.

With UCLA now sitting at a record of 15-0, they're ready to take on Oregon on Tuesday, March 26, 2019 at Ocean Park Beach in Santa Monica, California. With Pepperdine sitting at 11-5, they get less of a break since their next game is Friday, March 22, 2019 at 10 am Pacific Time as they take on Hawaii in Tempe, Arizona as part of the ASU tournament held there at Arizona State.

With UCLA sitting at 15-0 for women's beach and Long Beach State sitting at 19-0 for men's indoor, things are looking pretty good for those two teams as each day gets closer to the national finals happening the first weekend of May with indoor being held at Long Beach State and beach being held in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Don't forget that the first weekend of May also has the first stop of the 2019 AVP tour happening in Huntington Beach, California. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller

Long Beach State @ UCSB 3-15-2019 MVB

This is the game day post Long Beach State put on their Instagram. give them a follow: @lbsumvb

Dear Readers~


Just to clarify, UCSB stands for University of California, Santa Barbara. Anyone with a sense of humor (or anyone that has seen the YouTube video titled "UC Stereotypes Explained" by Fung Bros will think something else. Here's the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=int3lFioTtU The part I'm referring to comes at 3:18 if you'd like to watch that part. Anyways, back to the game.

So on Friday, March 15, 2019 Long Beach State traveled up the coast to Santa Barbara, California for the next meet up between #1 Long Beach State and #3 UCSB for a game of men's indoor volleyball at the Robertson Gym there in Santa Barbara, California. The last time the two teams played each other was on Thursday, March 14, 2019 when UCSB traveled down the coast to play at Long Beach State. That game was close. The results to the game on March 14th will be linked below: https://longbeachstate.com/boxscore.aspx?id=6115&path=mvball

The game they had at UCSB was just as intense as the previous game they had against each other at Long Beach State. Set 1 ended 31-29 in favor of UCSB but Long Beach State got their revenge by winning the secondset 31-29. The third set was the only set that ended at 25. That score was 25-14 with Long Beach State up 2 sets to 1 against UCSB. Going into the fourth set UCSB knew that if Long Beach State won this fourth set the game would be over. With both teams battling hard, the fourth set ended 26-24 with Long Beach State coming out on top and winning 3 of the 4 sets that day. By beating UCSB at both home and away in back to back games, Long Beach State has a total record of 19-0 for the season while UCSB is sitting at 15-5.

Now it's time to see how the top players did in each category. The leader in kills goes to Long Beach State's TJ DeFalco, with 20, while Carey Chavers and Spencer Fredrick led UCSB with 16 kills each. The leader in aces goes to Long Beach State's Ethan Siegfried, with 4, while Ryan Wilcox, Keenan Sanders, and Brandon Hicks all had 1 ace each for UCSB. The leader in blocks was Long Beach State's Nick Amado, with 6, while Brandon Hicks and Carey Chavers had 3 blocks each for UCSB. The assists had some crazy numbers. The most went to Long Beach State's Josh Tuaniga, with 52, while UCSB's Casey McGarry had 44 assists of his own. The leader of digs was UCSB's Hayden Boehle, at 14, while Long Beach State's leader was TJ DeFalco, with 11 of his own.

 

These are the results of the game that Long Beach State put on their men's volleyball Instagram page

The next game for Long Beach State is on Saturday, March 23, 2019 when they travel to Los Angeles to take on USC at 7 pm Pacific Time. UCSB has a little longer since their next game isn't until Friday, March 29, 2019 at 7pm Pacific Time when they take on CSUN (California State University, Northridge) in Santa Barbara.

So as many of you know, the AVP's Taylor Crabb attended Long Beach State but what you may not have known is that another well known AVP player was also at Long Beach State. This time I'm talking on the women's side about Caitlin Ledoux. She wasn't in any of the videos with the Mckibbin brothers but she was in a video with the Sandcast Podcast, done by AVP pros Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter so check that out at the link below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LefgU1aryUQ and don't forget to follow all of them on Instagram: @caitlinledouxbeachvolley for Caitlin, @trammew for Travis, and @tribourne for Tri to see what they're up to these days.

 

This was the first FIVB medal that Caitlin ever won. This was at the 3 start FIVB event in Chetumal, Mexico back in 2018

UCSB has an AVP player as well. This man is actually not currently on the AVP but he's famous enough that I had to mention. I'm talking about the Beijing 2008 Olympic gold medalist along with Phil Dalhausser and now head beach volleyball coach at Cal Poly, Mr. Todd Rogers. As many of you know, I've mentioned current AVP player Allie Wheeler before, who helps Rogers coach at Cal Poly. Here's a highlight of Rogers and Dalhausser when they won gold back in Beijing at the 2008 Olympics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTiiWMQ5xIs Don't forget to follow Todd, Phil, and Allie on Instagram: @toddjrogers, @phildalhausser, and @alwheels12 to keep up with what they do.

 

This is a photo that Todd Rogers put on his Instagram in Manhattan Beach. He has a total of 2 pictures on his Instagram.

That concludes my blog between Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara. Don't forget to mark your calendars for the first weekend of May when the AVP goes to Huntington Beach, the NCAA men's indoor volleyball national championships happen at Long Beach State, and the NCAA women's beach volleyball national championships happen in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller

TCU @ Pepperdine 3-13-2019 BVB

 

This is a 5'10 Junior, #12 Avery Arellano for TCU

 

TCU played Pepperdine first then they played LMU

Dear Readers~


On Wednesday, March 13, 2019 TCU traveled to Zuma Beach in Malibu, California to play in the Waves Invite, hosted by the Pepperdine Waves in partnership with Platform 1440. Some of the other teams include Cal Poly and LMU. This tournament has 3 teams from California, them being Pepperdine, Cal Poly, and LMU, along with 1 team from Texas, that being TCU. At 11 am Pacific Time the game between TCU and Pepperdine started. This game was the first game of the day. Now it's time to see how the teams did.

The first game to finish was between the 3's. That includes Skylar Caputo and Alexis Filippone, for Pepperdine, taking on Molly Scheel and Taylor Bradley, for TCU. The first set ended 21-17 with Skylar and Alexis taking the first set. The second set ended at 21-17 as well with Skylar and Alexis taking that set as well and making the overall score 1-0 and Pepperdine having a 1 game lead over TCU.

The second game to finish was between the 2's That includes Heidi Dyer and Gigi Hernandez, for Pepperdine, against Haven Hill and Mandi Orellana, for TCU. The first set ended 21-11 in favor of Heidi and Gigi . The second set was the closest between the two games. The set ended at 22-20 in favor of Heidi and Gigi. That now puts the overall score at 2-0 with Pepperdine winning.

The third game to finish was between the 1's. That includes Brook Bauer and Deahna Kraft, for Pepperdine, against Jaelyn Green and Victoria McDonald, for TCU. The first set was 21-12 with Brook and Deahna winning that set. The second set ended 21-17 with Brook and Deahna taking the second set as well. The overall score is now at 3-0 with Pepperdine winning all 3 games so far.

The fourth game to finish was between the 4's. Those include Nikki Lyons and Maddie Dilfer, for Pepperdine, along with Claire Doyle and Jordan Westendorff, for TCU. The first set ended 21-17 for Claire and Jordan. The second set ended 21-15 for Nikki and Maddie, as well as causing a third set. That third set ended 15-10 in favor of Nikki and Maddie. That now gives Pepperdine a 4-0 lead over TCU with only 1 game left.

The last game between the two teams was the 5's. That includes Simone Priebe and Katie Gavin, for Pepperdine, against Avery Arellano and Hailey Brockett, for TCU. The first set ended 21-17 with Hailey and Avery winning that set. The second set ended 21-11 with Simone and Katie winning for Pepperdine and causing a third set. That third set ended 15-10 with Simone and Katie winning for Pepperdine. That made the final score between the two teams Pepperdine winning all 5 games against TCU.

TCU's next game is on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at 11:30 am Central Time as they take on UNC Wilmington as part of the Islanders Beach Volleyball Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas. Pepperdine's next game is on Saturday, March 16, 2019 as they travel to Los Angeles to play against UCLA at 10 am Pacific Time. It's just a normal game not a tournament like TCU has.

As many of you know, Corinne Quiggle went to Pepperdine but what you may not know is that there was a different female AVP player that went to TCU. Her name is Irene Pollock. You may have heard of her because she helps coach UCLA beach's team for the 2019 season. Irene doesn't have any videos with Riley or Maddison Mckibbin but she does have a video on YouTube about mental toughness that I'll link below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTYX5sAU3pc and don't forget to follow her on Instagram: @irenepollock

 

This is UCLA's newest beach coach, Irene Pollock. Don't forget to follow her on Instagram: @irenepollock

Just like how Irene hasn't done any videos with Riley or Maddison, Corinne still has yet to do a video with those boys. A video I'll be linking down below is a video Corinne did on her hidden talent. Here's the link if you'd like to find out what she plays: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTEYfCOL1sQ and don't forget to follow her on Instagram for more fun stuff: @corinnequiggle

 

This is former Pepperdine beach volleyball player, Corinne Quiggle. Don't forget to follow her on Instagram: @corinnequiggle

That concludes the game between TCU and Pepperdine. Don't forget that the first AVP tournament is in 50 days from May 3-5, 2019 in Huntington Beach, California. If you prefer to watch indoor volleyball, May 2-4, 2019 has the NCAA national championships being held in Long Beach, California by Long Beach State. If you live on the east coast and don't want to travel to California, May 3-5, 2019 also has the NCAA beach volleyball national championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller

Stanford @ Long Beach State 3-8-2019 MVB

This was the game day post that Long Beach State put on their Instagram. Follow them to keep up with their 2019 season and beyond: @lbsumvb and also follow the Stanford men's team as well: @therealstanfordmvb (They didn't have a gameday post like Long Beach did)

Dear Readers~


On March 8, 2019 The #8 Stanford Cardinals traveled from northern California to Long Beach to take on the #1 Long Beach State 49ers in a game of men's indoor volleyball. Long Beach State was sitting at 15 wins in a row, which is every game they've played during the 2019 season, before their game against Stanford, who is coming off of 1 win and 1 lost, both were against BYU. Now it's time to see how the game went.

The first set ended 25-18 with Long Beach State taking that set. The second set ended 25-13, with Long Beach taking that set as well. Going into the third set Stanford knew that if they lost this third set they would lose in 3 straight sets. Both teams played hard and that third set ended at 25-14 with Long Beach taking that set and winning the game in 3 straight sets against Stanford at the Walter Pyramid there in Long Beach, California. By beating Stanford, Long Beach State is sitting at 16 wins in a row for their 2019 season, that's 16 out of the 16 games they've played this season.

Now it's time to see how the players did as individuals. Up first is kills. The leader was Long Beach State's TJ DeFalco, with 11, while Jordan Ewert led Stanford with 7 kills of his own. The leader in aces goes to 2 of Long Beach State's players, TJ DeFalco and Louis Richard, who each had 2 aces while Stephen Moye and Leo Aenken each had 1 ace of their own for Stanford. The leader in blocks was Long Beach State's Nick Amado, with 4, while Paul Bischoff and Kyler Presho each had 1 block a piece for Stanford. The leader in assists was Long Beach State's Josh Tuaniga, with 34, while Paul Bischoff led Stanford with 21 assists of his own. The leader in digs goes to Long Beach State's Louis Richard, with 7, while Stanford's Kyle Dagostino had 3 digs of his own.

These are the stats from the game that Long Beach State put on their Instagram

This is 6'3 senior setter for Long Beach State, Josh Tuaniga getting recognized for getting 4,000 assists during his college career. that 4,000 came during this game.

The next game for Long Beach State is at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California as they take on UC Santa Barbara at 7 pm Pacific Time on Thursday, March 14, 2019. Stanford's next game is also on Thursday, March 14, 2019 at 7 pm Pacific Time. They play at home against Pepperdine at the Maples Pavilion.

Don't forget to mark your calendar for the first weekend of May when 3 big tournaments are going on in the world of volleyball. May 2-4, 2019 is the NCAA men's indoor national finals at Long Beach State or if you're on the east coast at that time, May 3-5, 2019 has the NCAA women's beach national finals at Gulf Shores, Alabama. If you want to watch some pros play beach, the first stop of the 2019 AVP season is happening May 3-5, 2019 in Huntington Beach, California. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller

Florida State @ USC 3-7-2019 BVB

This game has #4 Florida State taking on #2 USC there in Malibu, California

This is a 5'10 sophomore for USC, Sammy Slater. USC's first game is against Florida State while their second game is against Stetson there in Malibu

This is a 6'1 graduate for Florida State, Payton Rund. Florida State's first game is against USC while their second game is against Long Beach State there in Malibu

Dear Readers~


On Thursday, March 7, 2019 the Florida State Seminoles traveled to southern California to take on the USC Trojans in a game of beach volleyball at the Merle Norman Stadium there in Los Angeles, California as part of the East meets West Invitational. The game between the two teams was at 10 am Pacific Time, which is at 1 pm Eastern Time for the Florida team. After 8 wins in a row, Florida State was ready for a challenge. After having only 1 loss this whole season, USC brought just the challenge Florida State was looking for.

The first game to finish was the 5's which include Cammie Dorn and Mollie Ebertin, for USC, against Macy Jerger and Jenna Johnson, for FSU. The first set ended 21-12, in favor of Macy and Jenna. The second set ended at 22-20 with Cammie and Mollie getting their revenge for USC and causing a third set. The third set ended 15-12 with Macy and Jenna winning the game for FSU. That game gave FSU a 1-0 lead over USC.

The second game to finish wasthe 3's which had Haley Hallgren and Alexandra Poletto, of USC, against Molly McBain and Kate Privett, of FSU. The first set was the longest set between the two teams of the day. That set ended 27-25 wihth Molly and Kate taking the first set for FSU. The second set was similar in scoring, ending at 24-22, with Haley and Alexandra winning the second set and causing a third set. The third set ended at 15-13 with Haley and Alexandra winning, making the overall score 1 for USC and 1 for FSU.

The third game to finish was the 4's which had Payton Caffrey and Sara Putt, of FSU, against Joy Dennis and  Maja Kaiser, of USC. The first set ended 21-16 in favor of Payton and Sara for FSU. The second set ended 21-19 in favor of Joy and Maja for USC and also causing a third set. That set ended 15-9 with Payton and Sara winning for FSU and making the overall score 2-1, in favor of FSU.

The next game to finish were the 1's with Abril Bustamante and Tina Graudina, for USC, against Brooke Kuhlman and Payton Rund, for FSU. First set ended 21-16 in favor of Abril and Tina, for USC. The second set ended 21-17, in favor of Brooke and Payton, for FSU, and also causing a third set. The third set ended 15-9, in favor of Abril and Tina for USC, making the overall score now tied at 2 all.

The last game was the 2's with Terese Cannon and Sammy Slater, for USC, against Alaina Chacon and Madison Fitzpatrick, for FSU. The first set ended 27-25 with Terese and Sammy winning the first set. The second set was also close at 21-19 but with Alaina and Madison winning that set and causing a third set to happen. The third set ended15-13 with Terese and Sammy winning. By winning that game, The final score is 3-2 with USC beating Florida in 3 of the 5 games they played.

The next game both teams play will be on Saturday, March 9, 2019 in Manhattan Beach, California as part of the East Meets West Invitational. USC takes on Florida International, or FIU, at 8:40 am Pacific Time while FSU will take on Pepperdine at 2:30 pm Eastern Time.

The head coach of FSU is Brooke Niles and most people don't know who that it. Well, she's married to one of the best beach volleyball players that currently plays. His name is Nick Lucena. Nick also attended FSU and got his degree in sports management back in the early 2000's. Being an alumni from FSU, he attended the game and also helps coach the FSU beach team. If you want to see Nick in his element as a player, he did a video with the Mckibbin brothers titled "3 Tips to Improve Your Defense Beach Volleyball Tutorial" You can check that out at the link below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpk8xk4eviY and make sure to follow him on Instagram: @njlucena

 

On the left is Nick Lucena and on the right is Maddison Mckibbin

On the USC side of things, there's Nicolette Martin, who majored in art as well as used to play volleyball for USC. If you're wondering why I put her major in there then you probably should follow her on Instagram (@nicmartin_vb) because she's doing a giveaway of one of her awesome art balls so check her out on Instagram for your chance to win the awesome prize or win it for someone else. She was also in a video with the Mckibbin brothers titled "AVP Seattle 2018 The Players Tent" and I recommend checking that video out. The link is down below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEyToNf4YNE

 

This is the ball that Nicolette is giving away. If you want to win it for you or someone else, find this post on her Instagram (@nicmartin_vb) and follow the rules

 

 

From left to right: Nicolette Martin, Allie Wheeler, and Riley Mckibbin at the 2018 AVP Seattle Open in June

Don't forget to mark your calendars for the first weekend of May when many tournaments happen. There's the AVP's first stop of the season happening in Huntington Beach, California happening from May 3-5 along with the men's NCAA indoor volleyball national finals happening from May 2-4 in Long Beach, California. If you live on the east coast and want to watch some volleyball, May 3-5 also has the women's NCAA beach volleyball national finals happening in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Don't forget to check out some of my other blogs involving NCAA indoor volleyball for men or women, NCAA beach volleyball for women, or beach volleyball for the pros that play in the AVP, FIVB, or P1440. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller

Hawaii @ UCI 3-2-2019 MVB

 

If you want to see more of Hawaii's game day photos, give them a follow on Instagram: @hawaiimvb

 

This is one of UCI's Middle Blockers, a Redshirt Freshman, #18 Austin Wilmot

 

 

 

Dear Readers~


On Saturday, March 3, 2019 the UCI Anteaters were host to the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in a game of men's indoor volleyball at the Bren Events Center there in Irvine, California. The two teams played each other on both Friday, March 1st and also Saturday March 2nd. This was big because Hawaii is ranked #2 while UCI is ranked #3. I'll be covering their second game. The results to their first game will be linked below: https://ucirvinesports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=5883&path=mvball Now that you've seen how the first game went, it's time to start off the second game.

The first set of the second game ended 25-13 in favor of Hawaii. The second set was the closest set of the day ending at 25-22, also in favor of Hawaii. UCI knew that they had one last chance in this third set. If they won a fourth set would happen but if they lost the game would end with Hawaii winning all 3 sets. The third set came to an end at 25-20 with Hawaii winning and beating UCI in 3 straight sets.

Now it' s time to cover the top athlete of each category: kills, aces, blocks, assists, and digs. The leader in kills goes to Hawaii's Rado Panapunov, with 16, while UCI's Aaron Koubi had 10 kills of his own. The leader in aces was a tie. Joe Worsley and Rado Panapunov, for Hawaii, and also Joel Schneidmiller, all had 2 aces each. The leader in blocks was Hawaii's Patrick Gasman, with 7, while Scott Stadick led UCI with 3 blocks of his own. The leader in assists goes to Hawaii's Joe Worsley, with 39, while UCI's Dante Chakravorti had 21 assists of his own. The leader in digs was Hawaii's Gage Worsley, with 6, while UCI's Alexandre Nsakanda had 3 digs of his own.

Hawaii's next game is on Thursday, March 7, 2019 at 7 pm Hawaii Time against King University at the Stan Sheriff Center there in Honolulu, Hawaii as part of the Outrigger Resorts and Hotels Invitational. UCI's next game is on Friday, March 8, 2019 at 6 pm Pacific Time as they travel to Provo, Utah to take on BYU at the Smith Fieldhouse. UCI is just playing a normal game so they won't be playing in a tournament like Hawaii is.

That concludes my latest blog consisting of Hawaii @ UCI for some men's NCAA indoor volleyball. Don't forget that the first AVP event is May 3-5, 2019 in Huntington Beach, California while the NCAA beach volleyball finals are that same weekend in Gulf Shores, Alabama and hosted by UAB, University of Alabama at Birmingham. The national championships for men's indoor volleyball happens at a similar time from May 2-4, 2019 in Long Beach, California hosted by Long Beach State. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller