As 2017 winds down, VolleyMob is taking a look back at the past year in volleyball with a month by month recap of the year that was. November brought several international and domestic announcements regarding newly formed league and 2018 slates, while the collegiate volleyball world was busy wrapping up the regular season and preparing for postseason play.
- The first awards of the season rolled out as the AVCA announced its High School All-America teams, including six players who had yet to commit to a college program. The organization’s High School Coaches of the Year also were released.
- Brazilian outside hitter Carlos ‘Kadu’ Silva had his WADA doping sentence shortened from two years to a year and three months due to his non-intentionality appeal. The 23 year old will be eligible to return to the court Aug. 2, 2018. In other doping news, fellow Brazilian Murilo Endres was cleared of intentional use of a banned substance and had his WADA suspension recalled, but still had to finish out the rest of his automatic suspension due to liability principles.
- In the SEC race, No. 4 Florida evened the score with No. 6 Kentucky, returning the favor and besting the Wildcats on their home court via sweep. Carli Snyder led the way with 15 kills as the Gators hit .327 as a team in the victory.
- The National Invitational Volleyball Championship postseason tournament sent out letters of interest to 110 schools ahead of its first selection process since 1995. The NIVC would eventually announce its field after the announcement of the 64 team NCAA selections.
- The FIVB Beach World Tour is getting richer. The league announced that prize money will double from its 2017 total of $3.3 million to more than $7 million in 2018. The FIVB Beach World Tour is upping its game in terms of number of events as well, nearly doubling the 2016-17 slate.
- Louisville’s three 20-dig performances vs. Duke sparked our look into the defense by committee trend and we found that there were just 36 all-time occurrences in the rally scoring era, including 13 in 2017. The 1,000 dig club also surged to nearly 200 members.
- No. 9 Washington handed No. 2 Stanford its first Pac-12 loss of the season. Kathryn Plummer paced the Cardinal with 26 kills and nine blocks.
- Florida State coach Chris Poole posted his 800th Division I victory as the Seminoles downed Syracuse, making him the fifth winningest active Division I coach.
- No. 12 USC rallied for a five-set win over No. 17 Colorado to give head coach Mick Haley his 1,300th career victory (at all levels).
- The last two spots in the 2018 FIVB Men’s Word Championship were decided in a four-team NORCECA qualification tournament, with Puerto Rico and Cuba edging Mexico on points average to claim the two berths. The final field for the September 2018 event was announced days later.
- The first 29 Division I conference regular season champions were crowned and conference tournament fields came together. With one week left before the NCAA Tournament, 21 teams secured their postseason berths with conference tournament victories, including two NCAA newcomers – Stony Brook of the America East and Kennesaw State of the Atlantic Sun. The 32 automatic berths were finally decided on Nov. 25. The final 64-team field was announced the following day.
- Baylor’s Katie Staiger suffered a foot injury which kept her out of four matches and allowed her to play in just one set in another. After initial reports that she was being rested for injury prevention, the true nature of her condition was revealed. The Bears’ lack of Staiger would eventually play into their NCAA Tournament performance.
- Three Romanian players were suspended by FIVB for allegedly betting against their own team in the 2017 CEV Cup. If convicted, the trio – Alexandru Muscina, Alexandru Cersemba and Andrei Ursache – could face a lifetime ban from the sport.
- The formation of the American National Volleyball Association professional league was announced. An official release regarding the eight teams which would compete in a Dec. 8-10 showcase in Las Vegas followed.
- CoSIDA honored 241 players across all divisions with Academic All-District selection.
- In an effort to cement its spot in the NCAA Tournament, Oregon State bested No. 8 Washington in five sets. Maddie Goings turned in a 14-kill, 24 dig double-double as the Beavers won despite trailing the Huskies in hitting percentage, digs, aces and blocks.
- The CEV Champions League announced its pools for the 2017-18 group stage.
- Serbia’s Tijana Boskovic and Russia’s Maxim Mikhailov were named CEV Male and Female Player of the Year.
- The Missouri Valley Conference celebrated the 25th anniversary of women’s sports in the league by introducing its 25-year anniversary volleyball team.
- Cal volleyball head coach Matt McShane was announced to be on a “leave of absence” for the remainder of the season after missing the team’s matches against USC and UCLA. Assistant coach Jennifer Dorr assumed the role of interim head coach.
- Claremont-Mudd-Scripps took the NCAA Division III title in the school’s first ever NCAA women’s championship game appearance, sweeping Wittenberg. Miami Dade won its second straight NJCAA national title.
- The newly formed Big West men’s volleyball conference announced its schedule, which features back to back matches against the same opponent each week throughout the league season for all teams.
- Five new members were inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame, including three players and a coach.
- Santa Clara posted a NCAA single-match scoring record in a 46-44 win over Saint Mary’s in West Coast Conference action.
- The NCAA’s early signing period from Nov. 8 to Nov. 15 saw a number of high school players officially commit to collegiate teams.
- Luz Chocano Rios, a 16-year old member of the Peruvian girls youth national team was found dead. An autopsy revealed she died from cerebral and pulmonary edemas.
- In the Russian Men’s Superleague, Zenit St. Petersburg snapped Russian powerhouse Zenit Kazan’s 65-match win streak, which spanned nearly two years.
- USA Volleyball revealed its plan to create the 2018 USA National Beach Tour, which will combine beach regional and national qualifiers to give more players the opportunity to earn bids to the USA Beach National Championships. There are expected to be six levels for men, women and co-ed as well as a juniors division.
- The AVP announced its 2018 tour schedule, including eight stops, three designated as gold events.
- April Ross picked Alix Klineman as her beach partner leading up to Tokyo 2020.
- Adidas signed 16 USA Volleyball Athletes and announces a new collection in conjunction with USAV.
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