Stetson junior Sunniva Helland-Hansen: "It feels amazing. It is just a joy to see that we're considered one of the top eight, which I think we really deserve. I just feel very grateful for the work we put in and everything that we sacrificed to get there. I feel this is an opportunity to enjoy the sport even more and show that we are there to compete."
Stetson head coach Kristina Hernandez: "I feel ecstatic, I am super excited for our team and our program. I know we've been waiting all day, all week for this. I know that there were a lot of good teams being considered, so I'm excited that we get to be there. Obviously the team is excited, but now we have to focus on the next part and get ready to compete when we are there."
Stetson and USC will be meeting for the second time this season. The Trojans defeated the Hatters 4-1 at USC's Merle Norman Stadium in Los Angeles on March 7. "We played them right after we had that Long Beach game, and we were on a emotional high/low kind of thing," said Stetson coach.
Last Edit: Apr 28, 2019 22:57:19 GMT -5 by sandball
"The Trojans nab the top seed for the second time ever, earning the No. 1 seed in 2017 when it won their second-straight crown. USC won the first-ever NCAA title in 2016. The second-seeded Bruins are the defending NCAA Champion, winning its first-ever national championship last season as the No. 1 overall seed."
Wow, will FIU be mad. Cal Poly ahead of them probably on the strength of their wins over Hawai'i. But Hawaii hasn't beaten anyone, I could not figure how they stayed high in polls, although I guess they had a good starting point being ranked high because of last year's play. Also I think I had assumed things about the selection that must not be right. I assumed that 3 from West, 3 from east made the top 6 and there were 2 at large bids. The 3 from the east were FSU, LSU and Stetson, but with Stetson going in as #8 that must be false.
Wow, will FIU be mad. Cal Poly ahead of them probably on the strength of their wins over Hawai'i. But Hawaii hasn't beaten anyone, I could not figure how they stayed high in polls, although I guess they had a good starting point being ranked high because of last year's play. Also I think I had assumed things about the selection that must not be right. I assumed that 3 from West, 3 from east made the top 6 and there were 2 at large bids. The 3 from the east were FSU, LSU and Stetson, but with Stetson going in as #8 that must be false.
Stetson is the 3rd regional bid for the East, and yeah, 3 teams get in from each region, but that does not secure their placement in the top 6. The two at-larges were Cal Poly and Hawaii, but I'm guessing that the committee thought their overall resume was better than Stetson's, which is why they designated the 8th seed to Stetson.
FIU might be mad at Stetson for taking their spot (winning the head-to-head and having a higher SOS), but they haven't beaten anyone in the tournament either. Don't think they could be mad at Cal Poly or Hawaii since Cal Poly beat Hawaii three times (their only wins against any team in the tournament), and Hawaii beat FIU earlier in the season.
USC head coach Anna Collier: "It’s pretty well balanced. I think the West Coast may still be slightly better, because we have the East Meets West, and usually the West wins, and we bring in the best from the East. But we’re not crushing like we used to. As far as the whole country is concerned, everyone is getting better. Everyone is playing a higher level of ball."
"When you look at the field, there’s only two teams that we haven’t beaten and five others that we have beaten. Pepperdine is one of those teams that we have beaten. It should be a really, really fun match," said LSU head coach Russell Brock. "To have it on ESPN again with maybe even more build up this year, it will be great platform for us to go out and put on a good show."
The Tigers have a 16-6 record against ranked competition and have earned wins over eight top-10 teams and are playing their best volleyball of the season right now, winning 22 of their last 24 matches. "If there’s one thing that has been shown this year is the increased parity in our sport and that’s a great thing. Every year it gets a lot more competitive. Every match is entertaining, particularly live and in-person," said coach.
Last Edit: Apr 29, 2019 10:39:30 GMT -5 by sandball
Any tips for attending ? I know there's this list which says what you can bring, etc. I know lodging may be challenging, so I may stay offsite a ways. Wondering about parking, or other things that might be good to know that a first timer might not know.
Any tips for attending ? I know there's this list which says what you can bring, etc. I know lodging may be challenging, so I may stay offsite a ways. Wondering about parking, or other things that might be good to know that a first timer might not know.
Last year, right after the team announcement show, there was a block of condos that popped up as being available - must have been saved by a team that did not make it. That helped us out last year. I found parking to be OK - The Hangout (the main restaurant by the tournament) parking fills up pretty quickly. Last year they charged $10 for parking, but it was credited towards food at The Hangout, which worked well. Not sure what they will do this year.
Remember, there is a Junior Tournament on Saturday & Sunday - big one - about a 100 teams in each U16 and U18, so parking may be harder on Saturday/Sunday - quite a few commits playing, with lots of coaches, from all over, scouting. I did notice that it was the most crowded during the Sunday Finals, which makes sense. I've been to amateur tournaments where most people leave before the Finals - it is not the case at the NCAAs. The energy from all the college students (especially from the East schools) is amazing, and I have really seen it affect opposing teams. I think FIU will be missed - they were awesome to watch last year, with all the different languages being spoken.
I was able to watch quite a bit of USC, UCLA and Pepperdine - very classy fans. Sometimes a little too quiet....until the team mates get in on the cheering when their games are done.
Any tips for attending ? I know there's this list which says what you can bring, etc. I know lodging may be challenging, so I may stay offsite a ways. Wondering about parking, or other things that might be good to know that a first timer might not know.
Buy gear/ souveniers first day as they run out. Big public lot In front of where the juniors tournament. It’s a close walk to the tournament . Don’t use a bike lane as a turn lane in your car you will get a ticket.lol
NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship coming to Gulf Shores this weekend
Video: FOX10 News - WALA
FOX10tv.com: "Site set-up began Monday, April 29, 2019 at Gulf Place Beach in front of The Hangout. (...) It costs $390,000 to host the tournament each year."