|
|
Post by vball710 on Apr 13, 2004 19:25:20 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by halesvb11 on Apr 13, 2004 22:02:15 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by planetasia01 on Apr 13, 2004 22:21:28 GMT -5
The two teams in the finals, whom I've both played against at Far Westerns and in the NCCVL, were obviously at a higher level than every other team in the nation. It was a great match-up, Fresno State and MATC, complete with great hitters, great blocking, serving, and an electric atmosphere complete with lots of drunk college students and the "traditional" streaker running through the areana naked in the middle of the match! I was surprise #17 from Fresno (Will Nelson) tanked that bad in the 2nd set. He made around 5 hitting errors in the last 10 points of the match. What surprised me the most is the Stempel from MATC didnt make tournament MVP. He made momentum changing plays althroughout the tournament. It went to MATC's flashy outside hitter (Kellum is his name). Almost as surprising is that their 2nd outside hitter (Plochoksi or sumthing...) didnt make any of the All-tournament teams. He was overall more consistant than Kellum, but i guess big hitting gets noticed over consistant hitting and passing. UC San Diego making the final 4 was also very surprising to me. The whole Nationals experience was amazing. All the California teams, who are usually bitter rivals, cheering for each other while playing against midwest and east-coast teams. (This was most obvious during the finals). Lots of good volleyball to watch and play against, lots of girls to watch  , and an overall great experience. Good quote from my coach who isn't coaching next year (while watching the finals): "Remind me why im giving this up?!?" |
|
|
|
Post by BarcelonaBob on Apr 13, 2004 22:21:48 GMT -5
Frankly, I am appalled. It's a NIRSA commandment that Arizona wins every year, isn't it?
All kidding aside, it's good to see someone else won this season. I've reffed some NCCVL matches through the years, and the level of play has always been good.
The UCSB Invitational Tournament used to be a great place to see men's club teams stack up against D1 programs. I can remember when Sac State (with Dave Profitt and company) were runners-up to UCSB in the Finals, and when Arizona beat USC for 3rd place.
|
|
|
|
Post by midwestfan on Apr 13, 2004 22:36:22 GMT -5
If I'm not mistaken, Dan Kellum graduated from Loyola - Chicago last year.
|
|
|
|
Post by BarcelonaBob on Apr 14, 2004 0:57:01 GMT -5
The whole Nationals experience was amazing. All the California teams, who are usually bitter rivals, cheering for each other while playing against midwest and east-coast teams. (This was most obvious during the finals). Lots of good volleyball to watch and play against, lots of girls to watch , and an overall great experience. One of the most heated, intense, trash-talking, but highly entertaining matches I ever saw was between Sac State and UC-Davis, quite a few years ago at the UCSB tournament. Bitter rivals would have been an understatement for that match. Hehe. |
|
|
|
Post by hwy101 on Apr 14, 2004 1:03:44 GMT -5
The UCSB tournament is not open to club teams anymore, right? or do they have a separate division for club teams?
|
|
|
|
Post by BarcelonaBob on Apr 14, 2004 1:18:14 GMT -5
No idea. It went from being the premiere pre-season tournament (I remember years when they had all the MPSF teams + about 15-20 club teams) to a second-tier tournament (LBSU and Pepp ran 4-team tournaments in early January - taking alot of teams away from the UCSB tournament).
Haven't been to the UCSB tournament since '99, I think. It used to be really good, especially in the mid-90's. The 3rd place and championship matches were always played on Saturday night, and they were good matches, considering how early in the men's season it was.
|
|
|
|
Post by Rocky on Apr 14, 2004 2:21:35 GMT -5
The UCSB tournament the last few years has included only MPSF teams. This year the teams attending were
UCLA
Northridge
Long Beach
UC Irvine
Stanford
Pacific
USC
UC Santa Barbara
It starts on Friday night. All the teams play first thing Saturday morning. Then everything is moved to the small gym (Rob Gym) and they play all the rest staggered throughout the day. The finals are usually scheduled to start at 7pm.
Even though Pepperdine is not playing in the tournament, they are usually there scouting. Most of the coaches from the various schools are charting all the other teams. It gives them a chance to see what everyone has with the start of the season only about a week later.
|
|
|
|
Post by Smooth "954" Mike on Apr 14, 2004 8:16:47 GMT -5
Yeah Kellum played for Loyola. I believe he also played a little libero for the Ramblers as well.
|
|
|
|
Post by fightingminime on Apr 14, 2004 12:05:19 GMT -5
i think the finals were awesome even tho MATC won. must be nice to have ex varsity guys and guys who work and live in chicago playing for your team who's coached by an ex olympian. i think we got screwed in our match on friday morning too. 17-17 in the third, and we lost on an over-rule and a hands call to send us to silver. who does that, honestly. and to make my wounds even more painful, the team that was handed taht match finished third.............   So you play for . . . Virginia Tech? Because UCSD's challenge round match wasn't that close . . . |
|
|
|
Post by planetasia01 on Apr 14, 2004 15:58:04 GMT -5
So why don't they invite club teams anymore? Not good enough or something? I think it would be better for volleyball all around if NCAA teams played against other teams besides NCAA (NAIA, NIRSA). The prospect of playing against the top players in the country, and seeing how you compare to them personally, would attract more people to playing these higher levels of volleyball. Im cheering for the underdogs here  |
|
|
|
Post by halesvb11 on Apr 14, 2004 16:22:45 GMT -5
yeah i play for virginia tech. i ended up playing libero for the whole tournament......... after starting teh past 2 years at outside. its whatever tho, libero is fun. ucsd played fresno state in the semis right??
|
|
|
|
Post by BarcelonaBob on Apr 14, 2004 17:26:50 GMT -5
So why don't they invite club teams anymore? Not good enough or something? I think it would be better for volleyball all around if NCAA teams played against other teams besides NCAA (NAIA, NIRSA). The prospect of playing against the top players in the country, and seeing how you compare to them personally, would attract more people to playing these higher levels of volleyball. Im cheering for the underdogs here I'm guessing it's a monetary issue, on both sides of the equation. Club teams operate on tight budgets and it takes alot of money to get to Goleta for a 2-day tournament (travel, lodging, meals). Also, I don't think the Elephant Bar sponsors the tournament anymore like they did in it's mid-90's heyday, which means Preston doesn't have as much money to pay for officials, facilities, etc. |
|
|
|
Post by fightingminime on Apr 14, 2004 18:32:33 GMT -5
yeah i play for virginia tech. i ended up playing libero for the whole tournament......... after starting teh past 2 years at outside. its whatever tho, libero is fun. ucsd played fresno state in the semis right?? I don't know . . . I think so . . . I wasnt there this year, but kept up to date on the info. I am a fan/former player for the school that was "handed the match" ;D Don't worry, I don't hold a grudge. |
|
, and an overall great experience. 
