UCLA vs Wisconsin WVB 12-6-19 NCAA Round 2

Dear Readers~

On Friday, December 6, 2019 at 4pm Pacific Time in Madison, Wiscon, the UCLA Bruins took on the Wisconsin Badgers as part of the second round of the 2019 NCAA women's indoor volleyball national championship to see who would advance and who's season would end tonight at the conclusion of this game. Now it's time to see how the game went.

The first set ended at 25-18 with Wisconsin taking that first  set. The second set was a little closer at 25-21 with Wisconsin taking that set as well and up 2 sets to UCLA's no sets going into the third. The third set ended at 25-14 with Wisconsin taking that set and beating UCLA 3 sets to none in a sweep of the second round to move on. Wisconsin moves on while UCLA's 2019 season comes to an end there in Madison.

Now it's time to cover the top players. The leader in kills goes to UCLA's Mac May, with 15, while Molly Haggarty led Wisconsin with 14 kills of her own. The leader in digs goes to Mac May of UCLA, with 9, while Tiffany Clark led Wisconsin with 8 digs of her own. The leader in blocks was Wisconsin's Madison Duello, with 7, while Emily Ryan led UCLA with 3 blocks of her own. The leader in assists was Wisconsin's Sydney Hilley, with 38, while Devon Chang led UCLA with 19 assists of her own.

This is UCLA's game day post for the big event. Be sure to follow them on Instagram: @uclawomensvb

This is Wisconsin's game day post for the big event. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram for more: @badgervb

That concludes the game I chose to cover for the second round of play. With UCLA losing, their season is over while Wisconsin advances to take on Texas A&M  for the regional match up with the winner moving on to the regional finals. Until next time, Miller out

~J. Miller

UCF vs FSU WVB 12-5-19 NCAA Round 1

Dear Readers~

On Thursday, December 5, 2019 the first round of the 2019 women's NCAA indoor volleyball national championship happened. The game I chose to cover was the Florida State Seminoles taking on the University of Central Florida Knights. Now it's time to cover the game that took place in Gainesville, Florida, home of the University of Florida Gators, since they're hosting the first and second rounds of the tournament for that region. Now it's time to see how the game went.

The first set ended at 25-19 with UCF taking that set. The second set ended at 25-20 with FSU taking that set. The third set ended at 25-20 with FSU taking that set as well and now being up 2 sets to UCF's 1 set. The fourth set ended at 25-18 with UCF taking that set and causing a fifth set to happen. The fifth set ended at 15-8 with UCF taking that set and beating FSU 3 sets to 2.

Now it's time to cover the top athletes during the game. The athlete that led in kills was FSU's Payton Caffrey, with 25, while McKenna Melville led UCF with 20 kills of her own. The athlete that led in digs was FSU's Taylor Roberts, with 30, while McKenna Melville led UCF with 27 digs of her own. The leader in blocks was a tie at 6 with Taryn Knuth, from FSU, and Lache Harper, from UCF. The leader in assists was UCF's Amber Olson, with 29, while Adrian Ell led FSU with 24 assists of her own.

This is FSU's post for their game day. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram: @fsuvolleyball for their fun content

This is UCF's game day post they made. Don't forget to follow them for their fun content

With UCF coming out on top, they advance while FSU's season is over after the first round. UCF's next match was against the Florida Gators. That concludes the game between FSU and UCF in a game of women's indoor volleyball. Until next time, Miller out

~J. Miller

California @ Stanford WVB 11-29-19

Dear Readers~

On November 29, 2019 the University of California @ Berkeley's, which I'll just be calling Berkeley for short, volleyball team traveled to Stanford, California to play Stanford's volleyball team. With this being the last game of the regular season, steaks were high with Stanford sitting at 23-4 going into this match while California was sitting at 20-9. Stanford was having a win streak of 10 while Berkeley wasn't so lucky, since they had a losing streak of 5. Now it's time to cover the game.

The first set ended at 25-23 with Berkeley taking that set. The second set ended at 25-13 with Stanford taking that set. The third set ended at 25-19 with Stanford taking that set as well and being up 2 sets to Berkeley's 1 set. The fourth set ended at 25-21 with Stanford taking that set and winning the game 3 sets to Berkeley's 1 set. The last time these two played each other was earlier in the season and Stanford won 3 sets to 1 as well.

The leader in kills goes to Stanford's Auddriana Fitzmorris, with 16, while Preslie Anderson led Berkeley with 13 kills of her own. The leader in digs was Berkeley's Emma Smith, with 21, while Morgan Hentz led Stanford with 20 digs of her own. The leader in blocks was Stanford's Madeline Gates, with 7, while Preslie Anderson had 5 blocks of her own for Berkeley. The leader in assists was Stanford's Jenna Gray, with 46, while Isabel Potter had 23 assists of her own for Berkeley.

Berkeley is ready to take on Stanford. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram: @calvolleyball

With Stanford being last year's national champions, don't forget to follow them on Instagram to see if they can win it again: @stanfordwvb

That concludes the game between Berkeley and Stanford. With Stanford sitting at 24-4 and Berkeley sitting at 20-10, where do you think each team will fall come the 2019 NCAA selection show for women's indoor volleyball? Until next time, Miller out.

~J. Miller

Texas @ Baylor WVB 11-20-19

Dear Readers~


So on Wednesday, November 20, 2019 the University of Texas women's volleyball team traveled to Waco, Texas to take Baylor on in a game. The game started at 7 pm Central Time and was a tight game.

The first set ended at 25-23 with Baylor taking that set. The second set ended at 25-23 with Baylor taking that set as well. with Baylor already up 2 sets to none, Texas had to step it up for set 3. The third set ended at 25-21 with Texas taking that set, but still behind Baylor's 2 sets. The fourth set ended at 25-23 with Texas taking that set and leading to a 5th set. With each team having 2 sets, the fifth set was intense. In the end, the score was 15-9 with Baylor taking that set and getting revenge on Texas. Texas has a current record of 20-3 while Baylor has a record of 23-1.

Now it's time to cover the top athletes. The leader in kills was Baylor's Yossiana Pressley, with 31, while Logan Eggleston led Texas with 18 kills of her own. The leader in digs was Baylor's Yossiana Pressley, with 24, while Sydney Petersen led Texas with 19 digs of her own. The leader in blocks was Brionne Butler, of Texas, with 8 blocks, while Kora Mcghee led Baylor with 6 blocks of her own. The leader in assists was Baylor's Hannah Lockin with 53 while Jhenna Gabriel led Texas with 45 assists of her own.

 

This is Baylor's #5 Shelly Stafford back to serve. Be sure to follow Baylor over on Instagram: @baylorvball

 

This is #33 for Texas, Logan Eggleston. Be sure to follow Texas over on Instagram: @texasvolleyball

Baylor's next game is at West Virginia on Tuesday, November 26, 2019 at 5 pm Central Time. The next game for Texas is on Saturday, November 30, 2019 as they hit the road to take on Iowa State. The last time Baylor played West Virginia, Baylor won 3 sets to 1 and the last time Texas played Iowa State, Texas won 3 sets to 1. Baylor has 1 more game after they play West Virginia before it's time for the first and second rounds of the bracket for the 2019 NCAA national finals, so stay tuned when that comes out. To keep up with all things NCAA volleyball, give @ncaavolleyball a follow on Instagram. Until next time, Miller out.


~J. Miller

Baylor @ Texas WVB: 10-23-19

Dear Readers~


On October 23, 2019 the Baylor Bears traveled to Austin, Texas to play against the Texas Longhorns in a game of women's NCAA indoor volleyball. With Texas sitting at 12-2 while Baylor is sitting at 16-0, Texas wanted to be the first team to hand Baylor a loss of the season and Baylor wanted to stay as the only undefeated team this season. Now it's time to cover the game.

The first set ended at 25-19 with Texas taking that set. The second set ended at 25-10 with Texas taking that set as well and being up 2 sets to Baylor's none. The third set ended at 25-19 with Texas taking that set as well and not only handing Baylor it's first loss of the season, but also their first loss being a sweep.

Now it's time to cover the leaders in kills, digs, blocks, and assists. The leader in kills was Baylor's Yossiana Pressley, with 18, while Brionne Butler led Texas with 12 kills of her own. The leader in digs goes to Baylor's tara Wulf, with 11, while Micaya White led Texas with 9 digs of her own. The leader in blocks goes to Texas' Brionne Butler, with 8, while Shelly Stafford led Baylor with 3 blocks of her own. The leader in assists goes to Texas' Jhenna Gabriel, with 29, while Hannah Kockin led Baylor with 23 assists of her own.

Don't forget to follow Baylor on Instagram: @baylorvball

Don't forget to follow Texas on Instagram: @texasvolleyball

The next game these two teams play will be agaisnt each other on Wednesday, Novemnber 20th at Baylor. With both teams ranked in the top 5 of AVCA weekly poll, their match up on Wednesday with be a close one. That concludes my first blog of the 2019 NCAA women's indoor volleyball season. Until next time, Miller out.


~J. Miller

AVP Hawaii 2019: Semifinals and Finals

Dear Readers~


On September 22, 2019 the final AVP event of the 2019 season came to an end. after six matches making up the semifinals and finals, the AVP season came to an end on the shores of Waikiki Beach. The semifinals paired Alix Klineman with April Ross against Emily Day with Betsi Flint, Melissa Humana-Paredes with Sarah Pavan against Kelly Claes with Sarah Sponcil, Jeremy Casebeer with Chaim Schalk against Taylor Crabb with Jake Gibb, and Theo Brunner with John Hyden against Chase Budinger with Casey Patterson. Now it's time to cover the matches.

Up first is Klineman and Ross against Day and Flint. The first set ended at 21-16 with Day and Flint taking that set. The second set ended at 21-18 with Klineman and Ross taking that set and causing a third set to happen. That third set ended at 15-11 with Klineman and Ross taking that set and advancing to the finals.

Next was Pavan and Humana-Paredes against Claes and Sponcil. The first set ended at 21-19 with Pavan and Humana-Paredes taking that set. The second set ended at 21-17 with Pavan and Humana-Paredes taking that set and moving on to face Klineman and Ross in the finals.

Next was Crabb and Gibb against Casebeer and Schalk. The first set ended at 21-17 with Casebber and Schalk taking that set. The second set ended at 21-17 with Gibb and Crabb taking that set and causing a third set to happen. The third set ended at 17-15 with Crabb and Gibb taking that set and moving on to the finals.

The last semifinal was Brunner and Hyden against Budinger and Patterson. The first set ended at 25-23 with Brunner and Hyden taking that set. The second set ended at 21-18 with Brunner and Hyden taking that set as well and moving on to face Gibb and Crabb in the finals.

The women's final had Pavan and Humana-Paredes against Klineman and Ross. The first set ended at 21-19 with Pavan and Humana-Paredes taking that set. The second set ended at 21-17 with Pavan and Humana-Paredes taking that set as well and winning the 2019 AVP Hawaii Open.

Sarah (right) and Melissa (left) with their trophies after winning the 2019 AVP Hawaii Open. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram: @sarah_pavan and @melissahumanaparedes

The men's final had Crabb and Gibb against Brunner and Hyden. The first set ended at 21-18 with Brunner and Hyden taking that set. The second set ended at 22-20 with Crabb and Gibb taking that set and causing a third set to happen. The third set ended at 17-15 with Crabb and Gibb taking that set and winning the 2019 AVP Hawaii Open.

Jake Gibb (left) and Taylor Crabb (right) hold up their trophies after winning the stop in Hawaii. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram: @tcrabbs and @jakesgibb

That concludes all of the blogs covering the 2019 AVP season. Don't forget to check all of them out covering Huntington Beach, Austin, NYC, Seattle, Hermosa, Manhattan, and Chicago. Stay tuned for next time to see what gets covered then. Until next time, Miller out.


~J. Miller

AVP Hawaii 2019: Women's Tournament

Dear Readers~


From September 20-22, 2019 was the last stop of the 2019 AVP season taking place on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. In the previous blog, the men's side of the bracket was covered so it's time for the women's side of the bracket to be covered. The two teams I chose was the #3 team of Melissa Humana-Paredes with Sarah Pavan and the #9 ranked team of Caitlin Ledoux with Maria Salgado. Up first is Melissa and Sarah.

Melissa and Sarah played against the #14 ranked team of Kenzie Ponnet and Sheila Shaw to start their first Match in Hawaii. The first set ended at 21-16 with Melissa and Sarah taking that set. The second set ended at 21-13 with Melissa and Sarah taking that set as well and knocking Sheila and Kenzie into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #6 ranked team Karissa Cook and Jace Pardon. The first set ended at 21-12 with Melissa and Sarah taking that set. The second set ended at 21-12 as well with Melissa and Sarah taking that set as well and knocking another team into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #2 ranked team of Emily Day and Betsi Flint. The first set ended at 21-10 with Melissa and Sarah taking that set. The second set ended at 21-14 with Melissa and Sarah taking that set as well and knocking another team into the contender's bracket. Their next game was against the #4 ranked team of Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil. This game was a semifinal match so because of that, this match will be covered in the blog covering the semifinal and final games.

This is Sarah Pavan (left) and Melissa Humana-Paredes (right) holding up their plaques after winnng the 2019 AVP Manhattan Beach Open (that helped get them to Hawaii) Don't forget to follow the pair on Instagram: @sarah_pavan and @melissahumanaparedes

The other women's team I covred is the #9 ranked team of Caitlin and Maria. Their first match was against the #8 ranked team of Kelly Reeves and Terese Cannon. The first set ended at 22-20 with Terese and Kelly take that set. The second set ended at 21-15 with Caitlin and Maria taking that set and causing a third set. The third set ended at 15-6 with Kelly and Terese taking that set and knocking Caitlin and Maria into the contender's bracket. Their next match was against the #16 ranked team of Emily Hartong and Geena Urango. The first set ended at 21-19 with Emily and Geena taking that set. The second set ended at 21-16 with Geena and Emily taking that set and knocking Caitlin and Maria out of the tournament after only two games.

This is Maria (left) and Caitlin (right) after their time playing the previous AVP stop in Chicago. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram: @Caitlin_ledoux and @mariaclarasalgado

Stay tuned for my next blog covering the semifinals and finals of the 2019 AVP Hawaii Open as well as it being the last blog of the 2019 AVP Season so make sure to check that out. Until next time, Miller out.

For those wondering why I chose to have the #9 ranked team covered after only playing 2 games is because of some news that Caitlin shared on her Instagram. It's some news that no athlete likes to make and no fan wants to hear. The news is that AVP Hawaii was Caitlin's last professional beach volleyball tournament because she retired back in late September, a few days after the Hawaii stop. I sent her a message over on Instagram not long after seeing that post to see how true it was and it turns out that she is retired and no longer plays on the AVP or professional beach volleyball. If you'd like to see what her post beach volleyball life is like, give her a follow over on Instagram: @Caitlin_Ledoux

This was the instagram post with the sad news so check it out to get the full story

I hope you enjoyed the second to last post covering the 2019 AVP season. There's only 1 more blog until the end so be sure to check that out when it comes out next. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller