By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2008 TexSport Publications
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA (March 7, 2008) The NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Committee announced today that The University of Texas at Austin will be one of the four regional sites for the 2008 Division I Women’s Volleyball Championships.
The tournament will be held in historic Gergory Gymnasium on the UT campus. Gerogry Gym has a notable history as a sporting facility.
Gregory Gymnasium, built in 1930 at an approximate cost of $500,000, was at its onset one of the pioneering projects for the advancement of The University of Texas campus. The proposal for a new modern gymnasium came about in 1907 by Thomas Watt Gregory, the first ex-student appointed to the Board of Regents. Called upon to raise $50,000 by University President David Franklin Houston, Gregory waged a one-man fund-raising campaign with a goal of raising $75,000. In one year alone, he collected an estimated $29,000. Gregory continued his efforts until 1914, when he was appointed Attorney General of the United States under President Woodrow Wilson. In the interim, two individuals – H. Y. Benedict and John A. Lomax, Secretary of the Ex-Students' Association - took over and invested the funds raised thus far. By the time Gregory returned to Texas, the sum had grown to $75,000.
The three other 2008 regional sites include: Moby Arena on the campus of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado; Rec Hall at Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania; and Bank of America Arena at the University of Washington in Seattle. All competition will be played December 12-13.
In 2009, the four regional sites will be the Stephen C. O’Connell Center at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida; Sports Pavilion at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in Minneapolis; Qwest Center Omaha with the University of Nebraska, Lincoln serving as host; and Maples Pavilion at Stanford University in Stanford, California. All competition will be played December 11-12.
“When we were selecting these sites we really wanted to focus on attendance history and attendance potential,” said Marie Robbins, the chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Committee. “We believe these sites provide a regional balance that can also draw great crowds. They have proven to be great hosts in the past, and we know they will step up to the plate in hosting these regionals so we can continue to grow this championship.”
Previously announced, the finals site for the Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship in 2008 is the Qwest Center Omaha on December 18 and 20, and in 2009 the competition will be held at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla. on December 17 and 19.
Showing posts with label USA Volleyball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA Volleyball. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
USA Mens Volleyball One Win Away from Trip to Beijing
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA (January 10, 2008) The U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team will have to defeat Puerto Rico one more time to earn a trip to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
The U.S. Men (4-0) advanced to the championship match of the 2008 NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualifying Championship by defeating Cuba (25-22, 27-25, 25-18) on Thursday at Hector Sola Bezares Coliseum the in Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico (4-1) then defeated Canada (41-39, 25-21, 25-19) to advance to the final.
The two teams will square off on Friday at 4 p.m. PST. The match will be streamed live on the Internet at www.mediasports.tv/.
“This was not the best of our matches and hopefully we have reserved our best for the last day,” said Tom Hoff (Park Ridge, Ill.), the U.S. team captain. “Today we served well and controlled the ball better.”
“We played well for the first two sets, but could not make the plays at the end, which USA did,” said Cuba’s captain Roberlandy Simon. “In the third set, the Americans served, blocked and defended better than us.”
Cuba out-killed the U.S. Men 43-39 and out-blocked them 7-5. However Team USA finished with five aces while Cuba had none and was hurt by 17 service errors.
Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawai’i) led the U.S. effort Thursday with 12 points on nine kills and three aces. Riley Salmon (League City, Texas) scored eight points on six kills, one block and one ace. Sean Rooney (Wheaton, Ill.) added eight points on eight kills. Ryan Millar (Palmdale, Calif.) scored eight points on six kills and two blocks.
David Lee (Alpine, Calif.) scored six points on six kills and Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.) had five points on four kills and one block.
Setter Lloy Ball (Woodburn, Ind.) scored one point on an ace and was also credited with 21 assists. Libero Rich Lambourne (Tustin, Calif.) was credited with four digs and seven receptions.
Raydel Corrales led Cuba with 12 points on 12 kills and two blocks. Simon added 10 points on nine kills and one block.
Stanley’s serving proved to be the difference in the first set, combined with Cuba’s service errors.
Cuba missed two chances to win the second set when Corrales and Odelvis Dominico had service errors. Team USA won its first chance when Hoff’s block was followed by Rooney’s kill.
Stanley scored the final two points for the United States in the third set with his third ace and closed with a laser shot from the right side.
Friday's match between the United States and Puerto Rico will be the fifth meeting of the teams in the past five months.
In September, the United States won the NORCECA Men's Continental Championship by defeating Puerto Rico in pool play (25-19, 27-25, 25-18) and again in the championship match (25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23). However, Puerto Rico came back to defeat the United States in the second match of the World Cup (25-21, 20-25, 25-17, 25-22) bringing Team USA back down to Earth after it had defeated Brazil the day before.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Men defeated Puerto Rico (25-21, 25-23, 25-22) in pool play at the NORCECA Olympic Qualifier.
The U.S. Men (4-0) advanced to the championship match of the 2008 NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualifying Championship by defeating Cuba (25-22, 27-25, 25-18) on Thursday at Hector Sola Bezares Coliseum the in Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico (4-1) then defeated Canada (41-39, 25-21, 25-19) to advance to the final.
The two teams will square off on Friday at 4 p.m. PST. The match will be streamed live on the Internet at www.mediasports.tv/.
“This was not the best of our matches and hopefully we have reserved our best for the last day,” said Tom Hoff (Park Ridge, Ill.), the U.S. team captain. “Today we served well and controlled the ball better.”
“We played well for the first two sets, but could not make the plays at the end, which USA did,” said Cuba’s captain Roberlandy Simon. “In the third set, the Americans served, blocked and defended better than us.”
Cuba out-killed the U.S. Men 43-39 and out-blocked them 7-5. However Team USA finished with five aces while Cuba had none and was hurt by 17 service errors.
Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawai’i) led the U.S. effort Thursday with 12 points on nine kills and three aces. Riley Salmon (League City, Texas) scored eight points on six kills, one block and one ace. Sean Rooney (Wheaton, Ill.) added eight points on eight kills. Ryan Millar (Palmdale, Calif.) scored eight points on six kills and two blocks.
David Lee (Alpine, Calif.) scored six points on six kills and Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.) had five points on four kills and one block.
Setter Lloy Ball (Woodburn, Ind.) scored one point on an ace and was also credited with 21 assists. Libero Rich Lambourne (Tustin, Calif.) was credited with four digs and seven receptions.
Raydel Corrales led Cuba with 12 points on 12 kills and two blocks. Simon added 10 points on nine kills and one block.
Stanley’s serving proved to be the difference in the first set, combined with Cuba’s service errors.
Cuba missed two chances to win the second set when Corrales and Odelvis Dominico had service errors. Team USA won its first chance when Hoff’s block was followed by Rooney’s kill.
Stanley scored the final two points for the United States in the third set with his third ace and closed with a laser shot from the right side.
Friday's match between the United States and Puerto Rico will be the fifth meeting of the teams in the past five months.
In September, the United States won the NORCECA Men's Continental Championship by defeating Puerto Rico in pool play (25-19, 27-25, 25-18) and again in the championship match (25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23). However, Puerto Rico came back to defeat the United States in the second match of the World Cup (25-21, 20-25, 25-17, 25-22) bringing Team USA back down to Earth after it had defeated Brazil the day before.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Men defeated Puerto Rico (25-21, 25-23, 25-22) in pool play at the NORCECA Olympic Qualifier.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Salmon Leads USA Volleyball Over Puerto Rico
ANAHEIM, CA (January 8, 2008) Riley Salmon of League City, Texas, scored nine points on seven kills and two blocks to lead the U.S. Men’s National Team over Puerto Rico in straight sets (25-21, 25-23, 25-22) on Tuesday to win its pool and advance to the semifinals of the NORCECA Men’s Continental Olympic Qualification Championship at Hector Sola Bezares Coliseum in Caguas, Puerto Rico.
Team USA (3-0) will get to rest on Wednesday while Puerto Rico (2-1) will play Mexico (1-2) and Cuba (2-1) will play Dominican Republic (1-2) in the quarterfinals.
On Thursday, the U.S. Men and Canada will play the winners of each of the quarterfinals in the semifinals.
The tournament winner will qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The United States came close to qualifying for Beijing at the 2007 FIVB World Cup. However, Puerto Rico upset Team USA and the United States went on to finish fourth.
On Tuesday, Puerto Rico put up another fight, taking the lead in all three sets. But the U.S. Men were determined to win and found a way to come back every time they needed to. Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawai’i) led the U.S. scorers with 14 points on 10 kills and a match-high four blocks. Ryan Millar (Palmdale, Calif.) added 12 points 11 kills and one block.
Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.) added eight points on seven kills and one ace and David Lee (Alpine, Calif.) tallied eight points on six kills and two blocks.
Setter Lloy Ball (Woodburn, Ind.) totaled one point on an ace and set the U.S. Men to a kill percentage of 56. Libero Rich Lambourne (Tustin, Calif.) was credited with four digs and 12 receptions with an “excellent” percentage of 67.
Hector Soto led Puerto Rico with 14 points on 11 kills, two blocks and one ace. Jose Rivera and Luis Rodriguez each scored nine points.
The U.S. Men out-blocked Puerto Rico 9-5 and Puerto Rico struggled with eight attack errors as opposed to four for the United States.
“Now it is time to think about the next phase,” said U.S. Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand). “We played well in some significant moments and we are happy with the win.”
Puerto Rico took an 8-7 lead into the first technical timeout of the first set. The two teams battled back and forth and Puerto Rico entered the second technical timeout with a 16-14 advantage. Kills from Salmon and Victor Rivera made the score 17-15. But Team USA went on a 5-0 run, including an attack and a block from Stanley, for a 20-17 lead and Puerto Rico could not recover.
Team USA held the 8-7 lead at the first TTO of the second set thanks in part to two kills and a block from Stanley along with kills from Millar and Salmon. Again the two teams battled back and forth and it was Puerto Rico who took the 16-15 lead into the second TTO on a kill by Soto, his sixth point of the set.
Later, with the scored tied at 19-19, Team USA scored two straight points on two straight Puerto Rico errors for a 21-19 lead. A kill by Rodriguez cut the U.S. lead to one, but Team USA managed to hold the one-point lead, thanks in part to three kills by Millar, to take the 25-23 set win.
Things looked better for Puerto Rico in the third set as it held an 8-7 lead at the first technical timeout and by the second had increased it to two points at 16-14. A kill by Jose Rivera made it 17-14 before a kill by Lee and a block from Stanley made it 17-16.
Later, with the scored tied at 22-22, Team USA scored on a Priddy kill. Puerto Rico Head Coach Carlos Cardona called timeout, but Puerto Rico came back with an attack error to reach the U.S. match point. Lee blocked Soto for the final U.S. point and the match victory.
Team USA (3-0) will get to rest on Wednesday while Puerto Rico (2-1) will play Mexico (1-2) and Cuba (2-1) will play Dominican Republic (1-2) in the quarterfinals.
On Thursday, the U.S. Men and Canada will play the winners of each of the quarterfinals in the semifinals.
The tournament winner will qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The United States came close to qualifying for Beijing at the 2007 FIVB World Cup. However, Puerto Rico upset Team USA and the United States went on to finish fourth.
On Tuesday, Puerto Rico put up another fight, taking the lead in all three sets. But the U.S. Men were determined to win and found a way to come back every time they needed to. Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawai’i) led the U.S. scorers with 14 points on 10 kills and a match-high four blocks. Ryan Millar (Palmdale, Calif.) added 12 points 11 kills and one block.
Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.) added eight points on seven kills and one ace and David Lee (Alpine, Calif.) tallied eight points on six kills and two blocks.
Setter Lloy Ball (Woodburn, Ind.) totaled one point on an ace and set the U.S. Men to a kill percentage of 56. Libero Rich Lambourne (Tustin, Calif.) was credited with four digs and 12 receptions with an “excellent” percentage of 67.
Hector Soto led Puerto Rico with 14 points on 11 kills, two blocks and one ace. Jose Rivera and Luis Rodriguez each scored nine points.
The U.S. Men out-blocked Puerto Rico 9-5 and Puerto Rico struggled with eight attack errors as opposed to four for the United States.
“Now it is time to think about the next phase,” said U.S. Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand). “We played well in some significant moments and we are happy with the win.”
Puerto Rico took an 8-7 lead into the first technical timeout of the first set. The two teams battled back and forth and Puerto Rico entered the second technical timeout with a 16-14 advantage. Kills from Salmon and Victor Rivera made the score 17-15. But Team USA went on a 5-0 run, including an attack and a block from Stanley, for a 20-17 lead and Puerto Rico could not recover.
Team USA held the 8-7 lead at the first TTO of the second set thanks in part to two kills and a block from Stanley along with kills from Millar and Salmon. Again the two teams battled back and forth and it was Puerto Rico who took the 16-15 lead into the second TTO on a kill by Soto, his sixth point of the set.
Later, with the scored tied at 19-19, Team USA scored two straight points on two straight Puerto Rico errors for a 21-19 lead. A kill by Rodriguez cut the U.S. lead to one, but Team USA managed to hold the one-point lead, thanks in part to three kills by Millar, to take the 25-23 set win.
Things looked better for Puerto Rico in the third set as it held an 8-7 lead at the first technical timeout and by the second had increased it to two points at 16-14. A kill by Jose Rivera made it 17-14 before a kill by Lee and a block from Stanley made it 17-16.
Later, with the scored tied at 22-22, Team USA scored on a Priddy kill. Puerto Rico Head Coach Carlos Cardona called timeout, but Puerto Rico came back with an attack error to reach the U.S. match point. Lee blocked Soto for the final U.S. point and the match victory.
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