Long Beach State Returns Five Starters For 2017 Season
The Long Beach State men’s volleyball team was selected as the #4 team in the nation to open the 2017 season.
Last season the squad posted a 25-8 record, making it to the NCAA Final Four where the team lost to the runner-ups BYU 3-1. The squad will open up their 2017 campaign with two matches to Manitboa at home on January 4 and 5. MPSF conference play opens up for the Beach at USC on January 11.
The Beach returns 19 players, including five starters, as they are looking to return to the NCAA Championships. Long Beach State will bring in four junior college transfers and will have only one freshman on their roster.
Top Returners
TJ DeFalco, sophomore
Outside Hitter
2016 season awards
AVCA Newcomer of the Year, MPSF Freshman of the Year, AVCA All-America First Team, All-MPSF First Team, MPSF All-Freshman Team, Off The Block Freshman All-American
Ranked sixth in the nation with 4.32 kills per set, accumulating 510 kills – the most by a Long Beach State freshman since 1990
Recorded a team-best 238 digs and 40 service aces
Josh Tuaniga, sophomore
Setter
2016 season awards
AVCA All-America Second Team, All-MPSF Second Team, MPSF All-Freshman Squad, Off The Block Freshman All-American
Ranked third in the nation with 11.18 assists per set
Has 725 career digs, ranking seventh in program history
Newcomers
Nick Amado, Junior
Middle Blocker
Transfers in from Orange Coast College after two seasons
Earned first team All-Pacific Coast Conference honors
Averaged 3.44 kills per set on .457 hitting percentage, also adding 1.44 blocks per set
Jordan Molilna, sophomore
Libero
Transfers in from Long Beach City College after one season
Named CCCAA Men’s Volleyball State Championship MVP
Averaged 2.48 digs per set
Vincent Pizzuti, sophomore
Outside Hitter
Transfers in from Golden West College after one season
Totaled 247 kills, 144 digs and 26 aces
Finished season with 11 double-doubles
Andrew TenBrink, junior
Outside Hitter
Transfers in from Golden West College after one season
Averaged 3.24 kills per set and 1..62 digs per set
Finished season with 15 double-doubles
Kysen Olsen, freshman
Opposite
Two-time All-CIF, First Team All-County
Who they lost
The Beach lost six seniors – John La Rusch, Dan Glamack, Edgar Palos, Taylor Gregory, Cody Martin and John Henry.
Taylor Gregory
Recorded 207 kills on the season with a .506 hitting percentage
Added 99 blocks for 0.87 blocks per set
The Pepperdine men’s volleyball squad picks up the 5th place ranking to start off the 2017 campaign after ending last season at #7.
The Waves went 13-11 overall and 12-10 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The team went 7-5 at home and 6-6 on the road, picking up an 8-10 record on nationally ranked opponents. Pepperdine picked up a season highlighting match to then top-ranked BYU in four, while sweeping then #3 ranked Stanford towards the end of their season.
Pepperdine opens up their season with a match against McKendree, before hosting Canada’s McMaster on January 5 and 6. McMaster is currently ranked #3 in the Canadian CIS league.
MPSF league play will begin on January 20 with Pepperdine taking on #9 Stanford at home.
Top Returners
David Wieczorek, redshirt sophomore
Outside Hitter
2016 season awards
All-MPSF second team, MPSF All-Freshman Team, MPSF All-Academic, Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Fan Choice National Player of the Year
Started in all 24 matches last season
Recorded 259 kills on a .344 hitting percentage
Colby Harriman
Outside Hitter
Posted 219 kills on the season
Recorded 0.69 blocks per set
Newcomers
Alex Harthaller, junior
Outside Hitter
Transfer from Indiana University
Led Indiana with 326 kills and 40 aces on the season
Finished in the top-10 for most kills and aces in the MIVA
Owen Yoshimoto, redshirt junior
Outside Hitter
Transfer from Santa Barbara CC/Moorpark College
While with Santa Barbara CC he recorded 2.26 kills per set
Noah Dyer, freshman
Outside Hitter, Opposite, Setter
Named All-Orange County First Team (two times), San Joaquin League Male Athlete of the Year
Robert Mullahey, freshman
Setter
Earned All-Bay League first Team, Daily Breeze First Team
Played on the Karch Kiraly Tournament of Champions All-Tournament Team
Sam Bradley, freshman
Middle Blocker
Finished his senior season with the most blocks in the state (Hawaii)
Helped his high school to three consecutive state titles
Kyle Suppes, senior
Middle Blocker
Has not seen any action on the court since 2013 season
Did not play in 2014 and 2015 and was not a member of the squad in 2016
Who they lost
Matt Tarantino, redshirt senior
2016 season awards
AVCA All-America second team, All-MPSF First Team
Put down a team-best 349 kills on a .309 hitting percentage
Posted 0.81 blocks per set
Tommy Carmody, senior
2016 season awards
AVCA All-America honorable mention, All-MPSF Second Team, Off The Block/Springbak, Inc. National Blocker of the Year
Ranked second in the nation with 1.45 blocks per set
Phil Dalhausser, the 2008 Beach Volleyball Olympic Gold Medalist is considering competing in his fourth Olympic Games, not ruling out playing in Tokyo in 2020.
“I’m just taking it year by year but if I keep winning tournaments and I’m still winning in 2019 then the chances are I’ll play 2020,” said Dalhausser.
The 2016 Rio Olympic Games were a disappointing trip for Dalhausser and partner Nick Lucena when they were eliminated by Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt in the quarterfinals. Not dwelling on the loss, Dalhausser looks to continue with the 2017 season and his 12th season with at least one title on the FIVB World Tour. He is on a tough workout regimen to get ready for the 2017 beach season
Recently, Dalhausser has partnered with LA Tourism to promote LA’s beaches in conjunction with Red Bull.
Pennsylvania crowned four high schools as state champions this past month.
The tournament concluded on November 19 with Greensburg Central Catholic, Corry, Allentown Central Catholic, Garnet Valley.
PIAA A
Greensburg Central Catholic defeated Marian Catholic in a championship sweep, 25-13, 25-11, 25-19.
This is Greenburg’s second championship in three seasons, with Mikayla Bisignani leading the way with 18 kills.
Despite having a great regular season, Marion couldn’t handle the strong steady offense of Greensburg. Marion’s highest scorer of the match was Jasmine Mooney with 16 kills.
PIAA 2A
Corry battled to the end to take the state title over North Star in three sets, 25-19, 25-16, 26-24.
Corry had 13 aces in the championship match, Haley Kurelowech led the offense with 12 kills and two aces.
Jackie Stanko led all players with 19 kills for North Star.
PIAA 3A
Allentown Central Catholic went four with Somerset to take the state title, 25-23, 20-25, 25-20, 25-10.
For Allentown, Dana Roberts t down 15 kills, Grace Barr added 11 and Rachel Hess hammered down 10.
PIAA 4A
The 4A title went to Garnet Valley over Parkland in a five set showdown, 25-19, 27-29, 19-25, 25-20, 15-8.
Garnet Valley fell behind 1-2, but fought back to take the state title in five. Erin Patterson put down 12 kills.
Despite the strong offence for Parkland, they were not able to finish the match. Sam Graver hammered down 26 kills, while Grace Steurer added 21 in the loss.
At the 2016 AVCA Convention held in the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio on Dec. 14-18, a record-number of coaches and vendors attended.
Over 2,300 volleyball coaches and more than 400 vendors attended the convention. The convention held the NCAA Division I Championship, Josten’s Coaches Honors Luncheon, the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet and the Under Armour All-America Volleyball Match and Skills Competition.
Many classes were held at the convention, so coaches could share their unique forms of coaching their teams.
Many of the speakers were held with the Pre-Convention goers, such as USA Volleyball Men’s Head Coach John Speraw and USAV Women’s Assistant Coach Tom Black. Speraw and Black sat down and talked with the attendees about how their experiences at the Olympic Games could help them with their programs.
Later on, the Netherland Head Women’s Volleyball Coach Giovanni Guidetti talked with the Pre-Convention attendees with a Q&A. Guidetti’s later topics consisted of a demonstration of blocking and defense and the why behind his love for coaching.
On top of the record number of attendees, the AVCA Marketplace was represented by over 400 exhibitors and 100 businesses. In the volleyball world, this annual exhibit is the largest business-to-business exchange between coaches, product and service providers.
Japan’s top league collaborating organization are in the talks of whether to build Ariake Arena for volleyball, basketball, wheelchair basketball, handball, football (futsal) and badminton for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Ariaki arena is being challenged, as some organization members argue that there are plenty of facilities in the Tokyo that can accommodate the sports.
“We are convinced that it is necessary to create an arena with equipment that is proud of the world with the Tokyo Olympic Games in the activities of sports and cultural organizations in Japan,” said Mr. Saburo Kawabuchi, the organization’s chairman commented.
Kawabuchi also pointed out that the five larger arenas in Tokyo are consistently used and is concerned with securing the venues for the Olympics, as they are in constant high-demand.
Just over 50 years ago, the Olympics recognized volleyball for the first time in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. With the return of the Olympics to Tokyo, there is a much higher-demand for larger venues. The Komazawa gymnasium used in the 1964 Games held 2,300, but with the growing popularity of sports, they are now in need of a venue with over 15,000 seats, which is an international standard for volleyball.
The Minnesota high school girl’s volleyball state tournament has commenced, crowing champions.
The state tournament took place from November 10-12 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
Class A
Mayer Lutheran took the class A crown over Caledonia 3-1 (20-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-20).
Mayer Lutheran dropped the first set, but that loss woke them up as they took the next three sets to win the state title. Setter Madison Huckly posted a triple-double in the match, with 15 kills on a .333 hitting percentage, 24 assists and 14 digs. Teammate Olivia Tjernagel added 13 kills, while Mya Chmielewski picked up 18 digs.
For Caledonia, Madison Heaney and Mariah Schroeder each recorded double-doubles in the loss. Heaney put down 17 kills and 15 digs, while Schroeder added 12 kills and 16 digs. Three other players picked up double-digit digs. Isabel Allen picked up 13 digs, Sam Schroeder and Katelyn Stemper each added 10 digs.
Class AA
Maple Lake took the state title over Concordia Academy 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-19).
Linsey Rachel recorded a double-double for Maple Lake with 21 kills on a .486 hitting percentage and 10 digs, while Mollie Scheiber and Morgan Scheiber each picked up 13 digs.
For Concordia Academy Erin Fallert led the offense with nine kills, while Rachel Terhaar picked up 13 digs and Kira Fallert added 12 kills.
Class AAA
Eagan fought their way to victory over Champlin for the Class AAA title 3-1 (25-20, 17-25, 25-21, 25-21).
The champions had two players record triple-doubles in the title match. Brie Orr put down 18 kills, dished out 19 assists and 10 digs, while Kennedi Orr added 12 kills, 18 assists and 12 digs. Recording a double-double was McKenna Melville with 11 kills and 23 digs, while Taylor Olstad picked up 36 digs and Anne Wong added another 16.
Three players for Champlin recorded double-doubles. Sydney Hilley put down 27 kills and 18 digs, Emma Schmidt added 13 kills and 25 digs, while setter Izzy Ashburn dished out 46 assists and 11 digs. Two other player picked up double-digit digs, Bryanna Goar with 20 and Kaitlyn Weimerskirch with 18.
Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul, the reigning women’s world champions, look to claim their ticket to the 2017 FIVB Club World Championship.
The three Turkish squads in the word champions dominated their matches in the first round of the tournament.
VitrA Istanbul rolled past German champions Dresdner SC 3-0 (25-17, 25-11, 25-21) in Dresden. USA’s Rachel Adams (15 points) and Jordan Larson (13) each with four aces a piece dominated for VitrA. Also scoring double-digits for VitrA were Russia’s Tatiana Kosheleva (11) and Brazil’s Thaisa Menees (11, with five being stuffs).
VakifBank opened the Champions League with a 3-1 (18-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-13) over Russia’s Uralochka NTMK Ekaterinburg. Serbia’s Milena Rasic put down eight blocks on the match, while China’s Zhu Ting added six, also scoring a match-best 28 points for VakifBank.
To complete the Turkish sweep, And Fenerbahce Istanbul took down French champions St.Raphael Var 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-19). The Turkish squad won despite being out-blocked 10-2. Brazil’s Natalia Pereira helped And Fenerbahce to victory by putting down 14 points in the match.
Liu Jo Nordmeccannica won 3-1 over Chemk Police (25-21, 29-27, 21-25, 25-13), with Turkey’s Neriman Ozsoy leading the team with 18 points in the match.
Mexico’s Samantha Brico scored 16 points as Imoco Volley Conegliano swept Azerbaijan’s Telekom Baku 3-0 (31-29, 25-14, 25-22).
The defending European champions and FIVB Club World Chamionship silver medalists Pomi Casalmaggiore are taking place in the second-tier CEV Cup this season.
The Champions League winners get an automatic bid to the 2017 FIVB Club World Championship in Kobe on May 8-14, as well as the South American champions.
The winner will join Hisamitsu Springs and the 2016 Asian champions NEC Red Rockets, plus four wild cards.
Volleyball Australia appointed Nam Pham to their newly created position of National Pathways Director.
Pham has more than 20 year of experience with volleyball, as a coach, a manager and an administrator within volleyball. Most recently Pham has been General Manager of State Volleyball NSW and head coach of the Australian Junior Women’s Volleyball Development Program.
Additionally, Pham also holds the positions of mentor coach for State Volleyball NSW, and the head coach of the UTSSU men’s AVL team and the UTS women’s honours team.
“I look forward to working together with the community and stakeholders, and hope my experience and passion will continue the development of the sport,” said Pham.
In his role as Pathways Director he will work to maximize opportunities for athletes, coaches and officials throughout the Volleyball Australia system. Pham will also work closely with the Director of Sport Participation and the High Performance Director to focus on Volleyball Australia’s Centres of Excellence and the Australian beach volleyball network.
“It is an exciting time for both beach and indoor volleyball is Australia, so it’s important we have the best possible team in place to steer us into the future. Nam Pham is a perfect fit,” said Volleyball Australia CEO Mathieu Meriaux.
Volleyball Australia will work closely with Volleyball NSW through the transition period with Pham, as he will not begin with VA until the NSW finds a replacement for him.
With the 2017 beach season rapidly approaching, the Fort Lauderdale Major Series event is hoping to bring in some volunteers.
The Fort Lauderdale Major Series is the first five-star event of the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar that will run from February 7-12. The venue hosted the 2015 Swatch FIVB World Tour Finals.
Volunteers are needed for a variety of roles over the six day tournament. Along with being at the beach for six days you will receive free lunch, drinks, clothing items, accommodation if required, the chance to work close to some of the worlds greatest beach volleyball players.
