NCAA men’s, beach: POWs, polls, news and notes

Nick Smalter of Fort Wayne is one of the MIVA's offensive POWs/Aaron Suozzi photo

Long Beach State and Springfield still top their respective NCAA men’s indoors polls and USC is still No. 1 in NCAA beach.

There are two Tuesday-night matches in the MPSF, with the EIVA’s Princeton at BYU and Cal Baptist playing at Limestone of the Conference Carolinas.

Another EIVA team, Charleston, goes out of conference at Bluefield.

And there are two more matches in ConfCarolinas as Belmont Abbey goes to Lees-McRae and King plays at Pfeiffer.

This is the weekly Tuesday NCAA notebook. All the polls follow — men’s Division I-II, men’s Division III and women’s beach — plus some analysis and the POWs and notes.

NCAA men

AVCA Division I-II Poll: There were just two moves in the 15 places and not very much at that. The top seven stayed exactly in order, from No. 1 Long Beach State to No. 7 Lewis. Pepperdine and Stanford switched spots at 8 and 9, while No. 10 through 15 was exactly the same.

Click here for the AVCA poll

AVCA Division III Poll: There are 15 spots, normally. This week there are 16, with the top 14 being exactly the same as last week. The extra team? Unranked Dominican pulling into a 15th-place tie with Juniata. Springfield, 21-1, remains No. 1 and got all 17 first-place votes.

Click here for the full AVCA Division III poll

National POWs

AVCA Division I-II POW: BYU senior outside hitter Jake Langlois. In sweeps over Hawai’i Langlois averaged 4.17 kills, 1.5 blocks, 1.17 digs and .50 aces while hitting .391.

AVCA Division III National POW: Eastern Mennonite University junior outside hitter William Ragland. Ragland hit .373 and averaged 1.8 digs and 1.1 aces per set in a 3-0 week. That included 18 kills, eight digs and six aces in four sets against Juniata.

Men’s D-I-II

EIVA

Offensive Player of the Week: NJIT senior outside Jabarry Goodridge for the second straight week. He averaged 4.54 kills in a 4-0 week. That included 24 in a four-set win at Coker.

Defensive Player of the Week: Saint Francis senior outside hitter Tony Nicotra. He had eight blocks  and five kills while hitting .364 in a win over Cal Baptist.

Key matches this week: Princeton has some tough road challenges, playing at BYU of the MPSF on Tuesday and Grand Canyon of the MIVA on Thursday. Non-conference matches on Friday include Penn State at Lewis of the MIVA and Saint Francis at the MIVA’s Loyola.

Last week’s key results: George Mason got swept at USC, while Harvard took the Trojans to five the next night.

Worth noting: Penn State leads in hitting percentage (.293) and blocks (2.46 per set), while Saint Francis leads in assists (11.86), opponent hitting percentage (.221), and kills (12.68).

Goodridge leads in hitting (.343), kills (4.48) and aces (0.52).

Click here for the EIVA standings

MIVA

Co-Offensive Players of the Week: Grand Canyon junior outside Cullen Mosher for the second straight week and Fort Wayne graduate-student outside hitter Nick Smalter. Mosher averaged 4.0 kills and hit .344 in two victories. Smalter averaged 3.88 kills and hit .383. That included 29 kills Saturday against Grand Canyon, most in the MIVA this season. In that same match, a five-set win for Gand Canyon, Mosher had 27 kills.

Defensive Player of the Week: Lewis freshman outside hitter Ryan Coenen. Coenen averaged 1.50 blocks and 1.13 digs per set.

Key matches this week: No. 11 Ball State plays at No. 2 Ohio State in a battle of ranked teams, but not what was expected before the season began since Ball State has fallen out of the race.

Last week’s key results: Ohio State beat both Chicago teams, Lewis and Loyola.

Worth noting: Wyatt Patterson of McKendree leads the league in hitting at .489. Miles Johnson leads in kills per set, 3.97, but teammate Nicolas Szerszen has one more total kill, 303.

Click here for the MIVA standings

MPSF

Player of the Week: See AVCA POW above.

Key matches this week: The big ones are first-place Long Beach State, one game up in the win column, going to second-place BYU  on Friday and Saturday. UC Irvine is at Pepperdine on Saturday.

Last week’s key results: BYU’s back-to-back sweeps of Hawai’i and Pepperdine’s wins over CSUN and Stanford.

Worth noting: UCLA set the league season-high for aces with 13 against Harvard … 10 of the 15 AVCA poll places are taken by MPSF teams, while there are nine of 15 in the NCAA RPI rankings … Josh Tuaniga of Long Beach leads in assists with 841 total and 11.36 per set. Teammate Bryce Yould is hitting an even .500 lead to the MPSF.

Click here for the MPSF standings

Conference Carolinas

Player of the Week: Barton sophomore outside hitter Aleksa Brkovic. Brkovic averaged 3.38 kills and hit .589 in two wins to go with six aces and five digs.

Key matches this week: An interesting matchup looms for Limestone, which plays host to the MPSF’s Cal Baptist on Tuesday. Barton goes to George Mason of the EIVA on Friday. In league matches, league-leader Mount Olive goes to North Greenville on Friday and Limestone on Saturday.

Last week’s key results: King swept Quincy of the MIVA and Mount Olive won twice in the league, beating Emmanuel and Erskine.

Worth noting: Barton is hitting .341 as a team. Next closest is King at .266. King leads with 115 aces, while Barton has 112 and Mount Olive 104.

Click here for the ConfCarolinas standings

NCAA Beach

There was action Monday as No. 5 Hawai’i beat visiting Nebraska 4-1. UH improved to 12-2. It’s only losses were to No. 1 USC and No. 4 Florida State. At No. 1, Hawai’i’s Mikayla Tucker and Morgan Martin beat two Nebraska players indoors fans know well, Justine Wong-Orantes and Andie Malloy.

Also Monday, No. 12 Grand Canyon went to Pacific and scored a 5-0 sweep to improve to 11-3.

AVCA Collegiate Beach Poll: Not much news here. The top eight remain the same with no major movement after that. Unbeaten USC, the defending national champion, is No. 1 again. Florida Atlantic jumped in at No. 14, its first appearance ever. Eight teams that aren’t ranked got votes.

Click here for the entire AVCA Beach poll

Pac-12 top pair: USC’s Jenna Belton and Jo Kremer, who won seven matches last week and lost just one set.

Big West top pair: Hawaii’s No. 3 pair in Emily Maglio and Laurel Weaver earned the honor after going 4-1 during the Outrigger Hawai‘i Invitational.

CCSA top pair: Florida State’s Victoria Paranagua and Macy Jerger went 4-0 to be honored by the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association.

ASUN top pair: Stetson’s Kaylee Anderson and Emily Carroll took the Atlantic Sun honors. They went 4-0 and didn’t lose a set.

On the beach this week: No. 6 Long Beach State is home Tuesday for Concordia and Colorado-Mesa before playing host on Saturday to No. 3 UCLA and No. 14 Cal. USC plays at home on Wednesday when it entertains Loyola Marymount and then goes to South Carolina this weekend where it plays the No. 9 Gamecocks, Florida State, No. 9 Georgia State and No. 13 Stetson. And No. 2 Pepperdine is home for Colorado-Mesa and CSUN on Wednesday before playing host Friday to CSU Bakersfield and Cal Poly.

Crohn’s a daily battle for Utah’s Launiere, NC State’s Hampton-Keith

Beth Launiere is preparing for her 28th season at Utah/Utah Athletics photo

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Utah coach Beth Launiere normally would just manage the pain.

But last month, after a long weekend of feeling like she was the host to most of the youth volleyball world, she couldn’t take it any more.

Launiere has Crohn’s disease, which, described by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, “belongs to a group of conditions known as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract.”

And it hurts. It hurts like hell. Eventually, Crohn’s patients end up having sections of their intestines removed because of scar tissue and blockage.

“I’ve never missed a match for this, no, but I’ve been sick a number of times during matches,” Launiere said from Salt Lake City. “There have been times I’ve been really sick and then got sicker after.”

Four weeks ago, Launiere had eight inches of the distal section of her small bowel taken out and has a six-inch scar on her belly to prove it.

“They opened me up pretty good,” she said. “This profession’s hard enough without having something like this.”

It’s a profession where you put in long, hard hours, travel extensively, stand on cement for entire days while recruiting club tournaments, and have the pressure of winning during your season.

“I don’t know if I have to do anything different,” Launiere said. “Just continue to be diligent with it all and hopefully, if the surgery didn’t form more scar tissue, it will be a good thing and it got a lot of the bad stuff out. The risk is that the surgery and sutures don’t form more scar tissues. But it can’t be worse than it was.”

Launiere says she’s often asked what causes Crohn’s, an illness most of the world doesn’t know about or understand.

“My lifestyle causes it,” she said. “But it’s like anything in life. You learn how to deal with it and do the best you can … Eating out on the road has been the biggest challenge. I’ve worked at it and I’ve kept attacks at bay for as long as I could, but I’ve certainly had my share of flare-ups over the years.”

Launiere, who has more than 500 victories and will coach her 28th season at Utah in 2017, was diagnosed during her junior year in high school.

This was the first major surgery she’d ever had.

“I’ve been fortunate as far as Crohn’s patients go,” Launiere said. “My issue has been the years of flare ups that have caused so much damage and ultimately so many blockages and obstructions. Any kind of flare up and I would get a blockage. Hydration is so critical for me. My players get so tired of me talking to them about hydration, but it’s so critical.”

Not coincidentally, the week before her surgery, Salt Lake City was the host for the Triple Crown Sports Invitational, a huge girls club tournament in mid-February that brought not only many of Launiere’s volleyball coaching friends to her city, but an inordinate number of top-level recruits to campus.

Eating right and resting were not on the agenda.

“I woke up sick on Sunday,” Launiere said, quick to credit the help she got that weekend from assistants JJ Van Niel and Malia Shoji.  “But I recruited all day Sunday and Monday and then did visits on campus on Monday. I went home and at 1:30 in the morning that Tuesday morning went to the ER.”

For nearly 30 years, including more than 10 emergency room visits, Launiere has fought episodes with pain medication, steroids and fluids. She’d go to the hospital and she would bust out in due time without medical clearance.

“It would take a day or two at home to relax and then I’d be back at it.

“But this time they said, ‘You’re not going anywhere. This is a complete obstruction.’ And I said OK and knew I had to do this right instead of blowing it off and that’s when they did the CAT scan and saw the blockage and adhered scar tissue.”

Surgery was in order and Launiere knew it.

“I can’t keep going on prednisone all the time, I can’t keep doing that,” she admitted. “Hopefully this was the answer.”

The truth is, of course, there is no permanent answer.

NC State coach Linda Hampton-Keith/NC State photo

No one knows that better than NC State coach Linda Hampton-Keith, who also has Crohn’s. She was diagnosed in 1999 at age 21. She had finished playing and was preparing to coach a high school team at the time.

“It was the day before my team was arriving and I was in the hospital tearing all things out of my arm and telling them I was leaving,” Hampton-Keith said with a laugh. “I was gonna show up for my first day of coaching.”

In 2011, she had major surgery, where about 16 inches of her large intestine was removed and more than an inch from the small intestine.

She laughed about how stress doesn’t help and how in the last two years she became a mom and a head college coach for the first time.

“Mine was a very high-risk pregnancy. I had to get on some medications, like prednisone, because early in the pregnancy I was having some flare ups. That was kind of terrifying, because you’re not sure what that means, and I’d already had a miscarriage.

“So the entire pregnancy it was all hands on deck and constantly planning for the worst and hoping for the best. And thank goodness we got the best.”

The best was Yaeli, her daughter who is now 2.

Hampton-Keith wasn’t so lucky herself. She was born with her intestines outside her body.

“I went through multiple surgeries (as a baby) and I don’t know if that led to the Crohn’s later in life.“

Hampton-Keith, who will start her second season in Raleigh, has undergone a major transformation in the way in which she treats her Crohn’s.

“Things changed and I don’t know if it’s from the pregnancy, but I changed medication. Now I go in for an infusion every six weeks. I sit there for a couple hours and get infused with a new medication I’m trying.

“Quite frankly, I had been injecting myself once a week with Humira for at least seven years. And this might sound odd but after seven years of injecting yourself I got really mentally fatigued. It would take me an hour to inject. It was getting to the point that even though I would do it, it was getting exhausting. I had to talk myself into it and I needed something different. I would rather go sit and have someone else poke me once every six weeks than inject myself every week.”

She laughed.

Yeah, it’s been quite the ride.”

Launiere had gotten to the point where she more or less knew when flare ups were coming.

“I could feel myself, when I would get really, really busy and I couldn’t eat as healthy as I should and I was on the road and the stresses were coming. I could feel when I wasn’t keeping up with the balance of the diet and the health part of it, and sure enough, inevitably, maybe it was a week later or two weeks later, I get some kind of flare up and it would be minor and I could catch it, but sometimes it would be full-blown and I would be in the emergency room.”

She figures she’s been to the ER somewhere between 10 and 15 times in those nearly 30 years she was diagnosed. A trip in 2011 while coaching a USA A2 team in Brno of the Czech Republic really sticks out. She was with Reid Sunahara, now the head coach at West Virginia, and Tim Kelly, the tour organizer for Bring It Promotions.

“I had a flare up in the night. I’m in the hotel room, I’m throwing up, I am sick,” Launiere recalled. She told them she probably needed to get to hospital.

“She felt miserable and she was in pain,” Sunahara said.

Kelly said he would try to get a doctor to her.

“He gets a doctor and they come in a little white car with a red cross on it,” Launiere said with a laugh. “The female doctor and her male assistant, they’re in their white outfits and they had little medical bags. We had a huge language barrier but basically I got them to understand I needed pain medicine to get me through the episode.

“They pulled out this huge needle and I’m sure it was morphine and it got me through the pain.”

Sunahara recalled the incident the same way.

“We knew a little. She didn’t make a big deal out of it, telling us it comes and goes, but at that point it was scary,” Sunahara said. “You never know what’s going to happen. And we didn’t really know what the disease was and come to find out it’s some serious stuff.”

Hampton-Keith missed one match because of Crohn’s when she was hospitalized. Launiere never has but should have.

Like three years ago, a day after playing at Stanford and before going to Cal, Launiere got really sick.

“I got my trainer and we took a taxi to the hospital,” she said. “The taxi had to pull over a number of times for me to get sick on the way to the hospital.”

After skipping the serve-and-pass and pre-match team meetings, Launiere still went to the match but felt sick again at the arena. Cal’s medical personnel helped her and let her rest in a quiet, dark room.

“And I came out right before and coached in the match,” she said.

Both coaches said they were glad to draw more attention to Crohn’s.

“I appreciate creating more awareness, not just for Crohn’s but anyone struggling with a chronic illness,” Hampton-Keith said. “You kind of deal with it behind the scenes and it’s an interesting dynamic, that’s for sure.”

For Launiere, her message is more about the coaching part of the equation.

“I’ve had to work at it, and I wasn’t always great at it, but worked at finding that balance of health, diet and stress level and exercise,” Launiere said. “I had to make that a priority, balancing it with this profession and I see so many young coaches that don’t do that.

“It just breaks my heart. I see so many young coaches who put weight on right away and just look so stressed and it’s brutal.”

The former president of the AVCA paused.

“Coaches need to take care of their health. “That’s the No. 1 thing that we don’t do,” Launiere said.

“I’ve seen this profession take a lot of people’s health. It’s so important for young coaches to understand how they really have to take time for themselves. Coaches give everything to their team and you can’t give everything to your team. You have to take care of yourself and your health, be it physically or mentally. I can’t stress that enough.”

For more information about Crohn’s: http://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/

NCAA: URI tabs Santonastaso to coach women, USC sweeps in beach

Rhode Island promoted Steve Santonastas/URI photo

Steve Santonastaso is the new women’s volleyball coach at Rhode Island, which competes in the Atlantic 10.

Santonastaso, on the Rams’ coaching staff for 12 seasons, becomes just the second head coach in Rhode Island history since women’s volleyball was recognized as a varsity sport by the NCAA in 1981.

He replaces Bob Schneck, who retired after 36 years and 618 victories. Last season Rhode Island was 17-10 overall, 12-2 in the A-10. Its season ended in five sets to Saint Louis in the A-10 tournament semifinals.

At least four Division I head-coaching jobs remain.

Illinois-Chicago (UIC) has yet to replace Katie Schumacher-Cawley, who left for Penn.

Clemson of the ACC announced it fired Hugh Hernseman on March 1. The Tigers finished 6-26 in 2016, 4-12 in the ACC.

Coppin State of the MEAC has not replaced Kyetta May. The team was 2-24 last season.

And St. Peters of the Metro Atlantic, 0-25 last year including 0-18 in the MAAC, still has an opening.

NCAA Division I-II men: Second-ranked Ohio State is back in MIVA action Thursday when the Buckeyes __play host to Fort Wayne.

It’s one of four MIVA matches on the schedule as No. 11 Ball State goes to McKendree, while Grand Canyon steps out of the league to entertain Princeton of the EIVA and Quincy goes to Culver-Stockton.

Both the MPSF and Conference Carolinas have full slates on Friday, but no matches scheduled Thursday.

Elizabethtown to add men’s volleyball: Continuing the trend of smaller colleges adding the sport, the Division III school in Pennsylvania will add the sport for the 2018-19 school year. Click here for the Elizabethtown news release.

NCAA beach: Top-ranked USC swept Loyola Marymount on Wednesday but the LMU pair of Savannah Slattery and Sarah Sponcil took a set off Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes, which, considering the latter’s 85-match winning streak, is significant. Ultimately Claes and Hughes won 18-21, 21-10, 15-3 as their team won its 42nd dual match in a row.

USC is 12-0, while LMU dropped to 6-7.

Thursday, No. 2 Pepperdine goes to Northridge to __play CSUN and Colorado Mesa, and No. 11 Arizona State plays host to Nebraska.

Dave Culpepper’s work behind the scenes makes beach volleyball happen

Dave Culpepper has been the go-to set-up guy for pro beach volleyball for over two decades, shown here at the FIVB World Series of Beach Volleyball in Long Beach in 2015/Ed Chan, VBshots.com

If you’re a fan of professional beach volleyball, you’ve seen the work of Dave Culpepper, who’s done pretty well for a “beach bum.”

Culpepper has been setting up sand courts at tournaments for more than two decades, working with the entire alphabet soup of organizations, including the AVP, AVCA, FIVB, IMG, NCAA, NVL, and USAV. Culpepper is now part of the Championship Courts team, specializing in building state of the art beach volleyball courts as well as indoor complexes.

Culpepper, 54, basically grew up on the Gulf Coast, mostly in Mississippi, but was on the beaches of Alabama and Florida, too. He was bitten by the volleyball bug in the late ‘80s, when his oldest brother Joel, who played on the All-Army team, started an indoor team and asked Dave to play.

But it wasn’t long before Culpepper was drawn to the beach. Another brother invited him to __play in a tournament in Gulf Shores, Ala., in 1990.

“I played the ‘A’ division, and got pretty beat up, but I got fell in love with it right there and then,” Culpepper recalled. “I loved the beach so much, I pretty much stopped playing indoor. Unfortunately, in those days nobody was teaching or training beach volleyball at that time, but I stuck to it.”

He became one of the top local players, but an accident destroyed his hopes of making it onto the pro tour.

“I was working on a sign one day and stepped out of it and fell 70 feet,” Culpepper said. “That messed up my legs, my back, my neck, and my shoulder. I was in a full body cast for a while, and then had a wheelchair for a while, and pretty much out of volleyball. That kind of killed the dream of making it to the big show.”

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t be involved in the sport.

“Although I couldn’t __play competitively any longer, I knew I could work on the tour and be a part of it, so I kind of went full time building courts and tournaments once I’d recovered. That’s what pushed me into taking care of beach volleyball instead of playing it, an accident.”

Dave Culpepper operating the heavy machinery/Ed Chan, VBshots.com

Culpepper credits a lot of his achievements to being personally inspired Karch Kiraly. Two quotes from Kiraly’s book “Karch Kiraly’s Championship Volleyball” in particular hit home:

“There’s only one ball you can’t get, and that’s the one you don’t go after,” and “If you find something that you love to do, make a career out of it, and that’s happiness.”

And that’s what Culpepper did.

He set up courts for the Bud Light tour in south Florida, setting up 60 courts to earn $300/week.

“It was never about the money, it was about the love of the sport, to see the sport grow, and to see that the players were taken care of first and foremost,” he said. “They were the show. If they had a good product to play on, the show would go on.”

Culpepper’s worked his first AVP event at the 1996 “King of the Beach” in Las Vegas, and started full-time with the AVP in 2000. This week, Culpepper is working at the AVP Next at Bulldog Beach in Navarra, Fla., the huge annual Fudpucker’s event in Alabama the last weekend of April and then he’ll be back in Gulf Shores for the NCAA Beach Championship the first week of May. And what’s really cool for him is his two oldest sons, Ryan and Joel, work with him now.

After more than 20 years on the job, Culpepper recalled the five tournaments that he will remember for the rest of his life:

— “The first one is Belmar, New Jersey, I would say 2004, maybe 2003. We got the whole site built, we went to lunch across the street at Nick’s Pizza, then the sirens went off and we went underground into the basement, then the tornado came through, and when we came back out there was nothing. It destroyed the whole site. Everything. The tournament was scattered all down the pier, in the ocean, everywhere. That was pretty entertaining.

— “The second was in Dallas, Texas, I think it was 2006 or 2007. Scott Moore and I were staying in a travel trailer on site. Sirens went off again, we didn’t know what to do. We got a call from the facility people at the stadium saying that a big tornado was coming, and that we needed to get over there and get into a shelter. So we jumped in the ATV and drove over to the stadium but everything was locked and we couldn’t get in.

“We could hear it, we knew it was coming, but we didn’t have any shelter, so we took a three-inch strap and wrapped it around the pole twice, stood up against the pole and strapped ourselves to the concrete pole and watched the tornado destroy the whole site.  Our idea was, ‘Well, if we’re going to go, we’ll go together.’ Of course, that means you have to get right back out there and put everything back together again in a very short period of time.

— “The very first FIVB Cincinnati, the city tried to help out, but they made the courts 40’ x 70’, and of course the minimum is 50’ x 85’, and that’s bare minimum, so basically it had to be taken apart, extended, and re-done.  I spent 32 straight hours on a tractor. Never got off.

“It was a fiasco. Not to mention the fact that it was the first event, so I had to build over 200 banners to cover the courts on top of getting everything ready. It was pretty eventful, and it was just me, Hans Stolfus, and Tyler Bidle.

— “For collegiate nationals (in Gulf Shores) two years ago, I think we had 28 inches of rain in eight hours. Center court was four feet deep in water. I have pictures of kids swimming on center court. They played there the next day. And that just wasn’t an accomplishment of mine, the city jumped in with big pumps, me and the boys were tilling the sand, getting everything put back together. I consider it a feat. I don’t know anybody that had four feet of water on their court one day and were able to play on it the next.

When Gulf Shores, Ala., received 28 inches of rain in 24 hours prior to the AVCA 2015 beach championships, center court was flooded with four feet of water.

— “In Chicago one year on Oak Street, during our breakdown, we would get hit by waves over 15 feet high. We were loading up pipe. I was in the truck, two people were handing me up pipe, and one person was watching the waves and yelling ‘Duck!’ when the waves came. The waves would crash over the seawall and over the top of the semi truck, and I would squat down, grab onto the railing, and wait for the waves to pass over me, and then load up the next pipe.

“Yeah, we had some good times.”

That’s why an AVP pro like Casey Jennings is a big fan of Culpepper, who in 2013 was inducted into the Emerald Coast (Florida) Volleyball hall of fame.

“Dave Culpepper has always watched over the players as if we were family,” Jennings said. “He will be a friend of ours for life.”

Culpepper’s passion for the game shines through when he talks about his profession.

“I tell people I didn’t make a lot of money, but I’m very rich when it comes to people and the relationships I have throughout the years. It’s priceless, to be able to have conversations with Olympians, and travel the world doing what I love to do.”

He said he made $300 a week on the Bud Light tour way back when.

“People in my Dad’s church would ask, ‘What do your kids do?’ He would reply, ‘My oldest son is a doctor, and my middle son, there, he’s a genius, a computer guru, and my daughter, she’s married, has a daughter, takes care of her kids and everything.’ And they would ask, ‘What’s your youngest son do? and Dad would reply, ‘He’s a beach bum.’

“Then years went by, and years went by, and I started working for the AVP, and traveling, and I remember someone asking the same question: ‘What does your youngest son do?’ And my Daddy said with pride, ‘He’s a professional beach bum now. He actually makes a living at it now.’ ”

In or out at Oregon? Paper reports coaches fired, agent says not

As of 10 a.m. local time Tuesday, head coach Jim Moore and his wife, assistant Stacy Metro, were still listed on the Oregon website, but it was reported by the university’s student newspaper the Daily Emerald that they’d been fired.

Moore, when reached by phone Tuesday morning, said, “I can’t say anything yet because we’re in the middle of negotiations.”

Moore’s agent, Nick Meeker, told VolleyballMag.com, “At this time, the only thing I can tell you is that yesterday’s reports stating that he and Stacy had been terminated are incorrect. They are both still employees at Oregon.”

On goducks.com, the Oregon athletic website, Moore is still listed as the head coach and Metro as his assistant. Metro is still listed as the head coach for beach volleyball.

Oregon finished 21-10 in 2016, 13-7 and in fourth place in the Pac-12, and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Michigan. Moore has a 12-year record at the school of 246-132. His wife has been his assistant coach the entire time.

The Daily Emerald story says, “Sources indicated that Moore and Metro, husband and wife, were fired for cause last week.”

The Oregon senior women’s administrator is Lisa Peterson, also the head of the NCAA Division I volleyball committee. Peterson said in a Monday-night email, “I have no comment.”

The Oregon volleyball sports information director replied to VBM in an email, “We have no comment or information to give at this time.”

Oregon’s roster is considered one of the better group of young players in the nation. VolleyballMag.com will have more on this story as it develops. Click here for the Daily Emerald story.

Moore, Metro officially out at Oregon, Ulmer interim head coach

Jim Moore huddles up with his Oregon team at the 2012 NCAA national semifinals/Ed Chan, VBshots.com

Jim Moore is officially no longer the head women’s volleyball coach at Oregon. Associate head coach Matt Ulmer has been named interim head coach.

The Oregon athletic department said in a news release Wednesday night:

“Coach Jim Moore is stepping down from his position as Head Women’s Volleyball Coach effective immediately and will be retiring from the UO as of May 15, 2017. 

“Coach Moore and the UO have come to realize that his coaching style is mismatched with the standards  of the University of Oregon athletic department. He has acknowledged that his coaching style may have been viewed negatively by some student-athletes and for that he is sorry.”

Moore, the head coach at Oregon the past 12 years, had an overall record of 246-132 at the school, 120-110 in the Pac-12. Last season, the Ducks finished 21-13 overall and tied for fourth in the league at 13-7 before losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He took the 2012 Oregon team to the national semifinals and was named the Volleyball magazine national coach of the year.

Stacy Metro

Moore’s wife, Stacy Metro, will no longer coach volleyball. Metro has been Moore’s assistant indoors for the 12 years they were there and was the head beach coach. She will remain an employee of the university.

Moore’s agent, Nick Meeker, said Wednesday night that neither he nor Moore would make any further statements. Moore confirmed that when contacted by phone.

The 58-year-old Moore, a 1980 graduate of Long Beach State, previously was the head coach at Northern Michigan (1989-94, 2003-04), Kansas State (1994-97), Texas (1997-00) and Chico State (2001-02). He leaves as Oregon’s all-time winningest coach.

The Oregon statement added that “During the next few months, Coach Moore will work remotely on a transition plan to ensure the success of the program going forward. Associate Head Coach Matt Ulmer has been named interim head coach. Coach Ulmer is an outstanding coach and mentor for our student-athletes. He has a great connection to our current student-athletes and is well-regarded in the volleyball community.”

Matt Ulmer

Ulmer, who was a D-III All-American at Carthage College in Wisconsin, was promoted from assistant coach to associate head coach after the 2015 season. Ulmer went to Oregon in 2014 after spending seven seasons at Long Beach State, five of which were served as a full-time assistant. He was also the sand volleyball program’s head coach and took Long Beach to the 2013 national championship.

Earlier this week the Oregon student newspaper the Daily Emerald reported that Moore and Metro had been fired. Moore saidTuesday morning, “I can’t say anything yet because we’re in the middle of negotiations.”

Meeker told VolleyballMag.com on Tuesday, “At this time, the only thing I can tell you is that yesterday’s reports stating that he and Stacy had been terminated are incorrect. They are both still employees at Oregon.”

Earlier Wednesday, the Eugene Register-Guard had a story by Chris Hansen that quoted a letter signed by a number of former Oregon players who came to Moore’s defense. The article included:

“ … in a copy of a letter written this week to university president Michael Schill and obtained by The Register-Guard, several former players suggest Moore is being unfairly forced to resign amid accusations of mentally abusive behavior toward his players — accusations they say don’t reflect the coach they know.

“His tenure has made me proud to refer to myself as an Oregon volleyball student and athlete,” wrote Kristen (Forristall) Rott, in a letter co-signed by 17 former players, including All-Americans Liz Brenner, Sonja Newcombe, Martenne Bettendorf and eight members of the 2012 team that played for the national championship.

Rott, whose senior season was 2008, described Moore as “an excellent coach, man of integrity, and educational leader.”

“(His) student-athletes learned discipline, accountability, leadership, respect, self- worth, confidence, and courage,” wrote Rott, now a teacher and volleyball coach at Wilsonville High School. “His character, his integrity, his work ethic, nor his intentions toward the University of Oregon have been called into question until now.”

At least one player from every year of Moore’s Oregon career signed the letter, with the exception of anyone from the 2016 team, which went 21-10 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament where it lost to No. 17 Michigan in four sets.

Rott suggested it is the current players who have rallied against Moore, and she was careful not to be dismissive of their complaints.

“The purpose of this letter is not to void their opinions,” she wrote. “The opinions they express are real to them. However, I would like to give you additional opinions from more than one cohort of athletes. The purpose is to more accurately describe his character.”

Houston area dominates VolleyballMag.com Fab 50

Lexi Sun of Santa Fe Christian tops the VolleyballMag.com Fab 50 list/Ed Chan, VBshots.com

The Lone Star State reigns supreme. And particularly the Houston area.

So says the 2017 VolleyballMag.com/Triple Crown Sports Girls Fab 50 list, which was revealed exclusively Sunday at the Triple Crown Sports Preseason National Invitational Tournament at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Some players were actually playing at the time and some could not attend the Triple Crown Sports NIT, but those on hand from the Fab 50 and 25 Underclassmen gathered for this photo/Ed Chan, VBshots.com

Known as the longest-running girls youth volleyball players’ rankings, with a lineage dating more than three decades, the Fab 50 showcases the top 50 senior girls’ players in the country each season. The Fab 50 list is voted on by a panel of NCAA Division I coaches.

This year’s list features eight players from Texas, including seven from the Houston area: Taylor Bannister, Brooke Botkin, Brionne Butler, Cami May, Jaden Newsome, Yossiana Pressley and Avery Skinner.

California ranked next with six players on the Fab 50 list, while Illinois had five and Minnesota and Iowa had four each. Twenty states are represented overall.

Sydney Hilley of Champlin, Minn., and MN Select

In terms of which colleges hauled in the most top recruits, the honor goes to Wisconsin with five (Danielle Hart, Sydney Hilley, Grace Loberg, Dana Rettke and Mariah Whalen).

Grace Loberg of Geneva, Ill., and Fusion

UCLA had four Fab 50s, while Minnesota, Texas, Kentucky, Maryland and Illinois have three each. We’ll break this aspect down further later this spring with the release of our annual women’s college top recruiting classes.

Mariah Whalen of Wausau, Wisc. and Wisconsin VBA

On the club level, suburban Chicago-based Sports Performance and Minnesota-based MN Select tied for the most players on the list with three each.

Lexi Sun leads an impressive top-five list/NORCECA photo

Our panel of Fab 50 voters also were asked to rank the top five players in the class of 2017. Coast VBC’s Lexi Sun, the 2016 VolleyballMag.com/Lucky Dog Volleyball Girls’ High School Player of the Year earned the top spot.

Ashley Shook of Plainfield, Ill., and Sports Performance

Sun garnered nearly 70 percent of the first-place votes for tops in the class. Sun’s soon-to-be college teammate Brionne Butler (an early enrollee at Texas) finished second, giving the Longhorns the top two recruits, in addition to Sports Performance setter Ashley Shook (who also received votes in the top-player ranking).

Madison Lilly of Overland Park, Kansas, and KC Power

Wisconsin signee Sydney Hilley was third, Minnesota recruit and Florida prep standout Stephanie Samedy was fourth and Kentucky signee Madison Lilley was fifth. A total of 15 players on the Fab 50 list received votes in the top-player ranking.

We also present our 25 Underclassmen to Watch list, which sheds a little light into the future. Our Fab 50 voters also were asked to vote on who they feel are players worthy of keeping an eye on in the junior and below classes. This list does not reflect necessarily who are the top underclass players in the country, rather players who warrant future attention.

With this list, Penn State has four players who have verbally committed, while Washington, Florida and Nebraska each have three.

An impressive 93 percent of junior-year players on the 2016 Underclassmen to Watch list graduated to this year’s Fab 50 list. Two others on the list, San Gabriel Elite’s Serena Gray and Lexington United’s Kaitlyn Hord, were on the 2016 Underclassmen to Watch list as sophomores and remain there for a second year as juniors.

These players from the list got together at their tournament in Dallas, from left, Taylor Bannister, Yossiana Pressley, Jada Gardner, Avery Skinner and Preslie Anderson..

VolleyballMag.com Fab 50

Name, Height, Position, High School, Club, College
Preslie Anderson, 6-3, MB-OH, Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), Aspire, Cal
Taylen Ballard, 6-3, OH, Clovis (Calif.), Tsunami, BYU
Taylor Bannister, 6-6, MB-OH, Fort Bend Christian (Sugar Land, Texas), Texas Premier, LSU
Dani Barton, 6-1 RS, Brighton (Cottonwood Heights, Utah), Club V, Utah
Brooke Botkin, 6-4, OH-S, Pearland (Texas), AVA Texas, USC
Brionne Butler, 6-4, MB, Boling (Texas), Houston Juniors, Texas
Jayme Cox, 5-4, Libero, St. Ursula Academy (Toledo, Ohio), Michigan Elite, Michigan State
Gabby Curry, 5-8, Libero, Buford (Georgia), A5, Kentucky
Samantha Drechsel, 6-3, OH, Cedar Park Christian (Woodinville, Wash.), WVBA, Maryland
Lauren Forte, 6-4, MB, Corona Del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.), Aspire, Cal
Jada Gardner, 6-1, OH-MB, Steele (Cibolo, Texas), Alamo, Maryland
Paige Hammons, 6-2, OH, Sacred Heart (Louisville, Ky.), KiVA, Florida
Sara Hamson, 6-7, RS, Pleasant Grove (Utah), Club Utah, BYU
Danielle Hart, 6-3, MB, Ocean Lakes (Virginia Beach, Va.), Coastal VA, Wisconsin
Sydney Hilley, 5-11, S, Champlin Park (Champlin, Minn.), MN Select, Wisconsin
Taryn Knuth, 6-4, MB, Johnston (Iowa),  IPVA, Florida State
Kylie Kuyava-DeBerg, 6-4, OH, Hudson (Iowa), CIA, Illinois
Alexis Light, 6-5, OH, Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove, Calif.), Five Starz, UCLA
Madison Lilley, 5-11, S, Blue Valley West (Overland Park, Kan.), KC Power, Kentucky
Grace Loberg, 6-2, OH, Geneva (Ill.), Fusion, Wisconsin
Kayla Lund, 6-0, OH, Flintridge-Sacred Heart (La Canada-Flintridge, Calif.),  San Gabriel, Pitt
Jasmyn Martin, 6-3, OH, Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.), MN Select, Minnesota
Piper Mauck, 6-1, S, Roosevelt (Des Moines, Iowa), IPVA, Iowa State
Cami May, 6-3, MB, Cinco Ranch (Katy, Texas), Houston Jrs., Penn State
Mackenzie May, 6-3, OH, Wahlert Catholic (Dubuque, Iowa), Adrenaline, UCLA
Chesney McClellan, 6-3, MB, Maryville (Tenn.), K2, Nebraska
Meghan McClure, 6-0, OH, Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.), Laguna Beach, Stanford
Jen Mosser, 5-11, OH, Lakeville (Minn.) South, MN Select, UCLA
Jaden Newsome, 6-0, S, Clear Brook (Houston, Texas), AVA Texas, Colorado
Sara Nielsen, 6-0, S, Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.), Sports Performance, Minnesota
Meredith Norris, 6-2, OH, Corunna (Mich.), Michigan Elite, Michigan State
Tyanna Omazic, 6-1, MB, Northwest (Olathe, Kan.), PVA, Illinois
Elizabeth Orf, 6-3, MB, Villa Duchesne (St. Louis, Mo.), Rockwood Thunder, Marquette
Brie Orr, 5-10, S-OH, Eagan (Minn.), Northern Lights, Iowa
Yossiana Pressley, 6-0, OH, Cypress Falls (Houston, Texas), Willowbrook, Baylor
Erika Pritchard, 6-2, OH, Middletown (Md.), Metro, Maryland
Dana Rettke, 6-8, MB, Riverside-Brookfield (Brookfield, Ill.),  1^st Alliance, Wisconsin
Mikayla Robinson, 6-2, MB, Harvest Christian (Elgin, Ill.), Sky High, South Carolina
Emily Ryan, 6-4, MB, Academy of the Holy Cross (Kensington, Md.), Metro, UCLA
Stephanie Samedy, 6-2, RS, East Ridge (Clermont, Fla.), Top Select, Minnesota
Lauren Sanders, 6-5, MB, Glacier Park (Snohomish, Wash.), WVBA, Washington
Ashley Shook, 6-2, S, Plainfield (Ill.) Central, Sports Performance, Texas
Avery Skinner, 6-2, OH-MB, HSCYA (Houston, Texas), Houston Skyline, Kentucky
Katie Smoot, 6-1, OH, Notre Dame (Belmont, Calif.), Encore, Arizona
Lexi Sun, 6-2, OH, Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach, Calif.), Coast, Texas
Jazz Sweet, 6-3, RS, Shawnee Heights (Tecumseh, Kan.), Topeka Impact, Nebraska
Marijke Van Dyke, 6-1, OH, Munster (Ind.), Sports Performance, Illinois
Mariah Whalen, 6-0, OH, Newman Catholic (Wausau, Wis.), Wisconsin VBA, Wisconsin
Deja Williams, 6-1, MB, Peachtree Ridge (Suwanee, Ga.), A5, Florida State
Lauren Witte, 6-3, MB, Lake Catholic (Mentor Ohio), Eastside Cleveland, Ohio State

Top 5 Players In the Class
1. Lexi Sun (Texas)
2. Brionne Butler (Texas)
3. Sydney Hilley (Wisconsin)
4. Stephanie Samedy (Minnesota)
5. Madison Lilley (Kentucky)

Serena Gray of Temple City, Calif.

25 Underclassmen to Watch

Name, Height, Position, Year, High, School, Club, College commit
Karson Bacon, 6-4, MB, Jr., Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.), Tstreet, Oregon
Gabby Blossom, 5-9, S, Jr.,  St. Joseph’s (St. Louis, Mo.), Rockwood Thunder, Penn State
Diana Brown, 6-1, S, Jr., St. Francis de Sales (Columbus, Ohio), Mintonette, Illinois
Shannon Crenshaw, 6-2, OH, Jr., Bishop Moore (Orlando, Fla.),  Top Select, Washington
Logan Eggleston, 6-2, OH, Soph., Brentwood (Tenn.),  Alliance, Texas
Serena Gray, 6-2, MB, Jr.,  Temple City (Calif.),  San Gabriel, Penn State
Marin Grote, 6-4, MB, Jr.,  Burroughs (Burbank, Calif.), San Gabriel, Washington
Mia Grunze, 6-2, OH, Jr., Waterford (Wis.),  Milwaukee Sting, Ohio State
Thayer Hall, 6-3, OH, Jr., Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.), Upward Stars, Florida
Nicklin Hames, 5-11, S, Jr., Webb School Knoxville (Tenn.), K2, Nebraska
Jenna Hampton, 5-6,  Libero, Jr., Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.), OVA, Penn State
Kaitlyn Hord, 6-4, MB, Jr., Henry Clay (Lexington, Ky.),  Lexington United, Penn State
CC McGraw, 5-9, Libero, Jr., Prior Lake (Savage, Minn.),  MN Select, Minnesota
Megan Miller, 5-5, Libero, Jr., Alexandria (Ind.)-Monroe, Munciana, Nebraska
Marlie Monserez, 5-11, S, Jr., Bishop Moore (Orlando, Fla.), OVA, Florida
Brooke Nuneviller, 5-11, Libero, Jr., Corona del Sol (Ariz.), Aspire, Unknown
Erin O’Leary, 5-10, S, Jr.,  Novi (Michigan), Legacy, Michigan
Asjia O’Neal, 6-3, MB, Jr., Carroll (Southlake, Texas), TAV, Texas
Jonni Parker, 6-1, S, Jr., Miami East (Casstown, Ohio), Munciana, Ohio State
Ella May Powell, 6-0, S, Jr., Fayetteville (Ark.),  Ozark Juniors, Washington
Kylie Robinson, 5-9, S, Jr., Claremont (Calif.), San Gabriel, Oregon
Adanna Rollins, 6-0, OH, Jr., Hebron (Carrollton, Texas), TAV, Minnesota
Callie Schwarzenbach, 6-4, MB, Jr., Kearney (Mo.), KC Power, Nebraska
Brooklyn Schirmer, 6-1, OH, Jr., Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Long Beach, USC
Haley Warner, 6-2, RS, Jr., Fayetteville (Ark.),  Ozark Juniors, Florida

“Impossible to overstate George Stepanof’s importance to beach volleyball”

George Stepanof awards the 1981 Ocean Beach Open trophies to Sinjin Smith and Karch Kiraly, with Queen JoAnn Janc presiding.

It’s hard to imagine beach volleyball in San Diego without California Beach Volleyball Association tournament director George Stepanof, who retired in December at 80.

Stepanof, who not only ran tournaments for more than half a century, created the rulebook and the ratings system that are still used today, and was one of the organizers of the Mexico Classic, at one time believed to be the largest volleyball tournament in the world.

George Stepanof announces the playoff pairings for the 2015 Mexico Classic/Ed Chan, VBshots.com

Stepanof wants to spend more time with Arlene, his wife of 60 years, who helped him take registrations at tournaments in the early years.

“Volleyball kind of gets under your skin,” Stepanof said. “You get so interested in it, you want to __play it.  It’s such a great sport to __play on the beach, you don’t usually get hurt on the beach. On that hard surface, you sometimes sprain ankles, and you bang up your knees, but on the sand, it’s great. It’s great exercise, and it keeps you healthy.”

Stepanof began playing in 1955 at a pickup game at the beach. Shortly thereafter, he assisted Bob Mann in his tournaments in San Diego’s Mission Beach, and soon began organizing tournaments at San Diego’s Ocean Beach. He served as chairman of the rules committee since the late 1960s.

In 1973, Jack Elliott started having a small draw tournament for friends, and invited Stepanof. Stepanof and founder Mike Brown grew the tournament into the Mexico Classic, a draw tournament where individuals are assigned partners by the tournament organizers. The tournament grew rapidly, and at its peak was believed to be the biggest tournament in the world at that time with 839 teams.

George Stepanof ran the 1983 Jose Cuervo Open in Ocean Beach, San Diego.

“It’s impossible to overstate George Stepanof’s importance to the CBVA and the sport of beach volleyball,” CBVA president Chris Brown said. “ He was one of the founding fathers of the CBVA, along with other titans of the game like Charlie Saikley, Gene Popko and Mike Cook.

“Among his litany of contributions to the sport, George literally wrote beach volleyball’s first rule book and was instrumental in creating the CBVA rating system (AAA, AA, etc.) which has been adopted by most other beach volleyball organizations.

“He has run tournaments in San Diego since the 1950s and has never missed a tournament. On a personal note, I feel very lucky to call George a mentor and friend. Our sport has benefited tremendously from his steady hand and he will be sorely missed.”

CBVA tournament director George Stepanof at his CBVA Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1992.

Stepanof was also the chairman of the CBVA Hall of Fame, and was inducted in 1992 to recognize his lifetime of contributions.

“I love the guy, just a humble guy.” said Kevin Cleary, a former president of the AVP, CBVA tournament director, and member of the CBVA Board of Directors. “I can’t think of too many guys that have been around the volleyball scene as long as George has. He ran one of the very first open events ever, and everyone else that was running tournaments at that time has been gone for a while.

“He is our sounding board whenever we need a historical perspective on any rule or procedural changes. He is an invaluable source to the CBVA. We’re going to miss him.”

Stepanof, also a retired battalion chief for the fire department,  retired to make way for Steve Upp, who has been assisting Stepanof for more than 40 years. Stepanof once joked at a CBVA board meeting that Upp “has been helping me for over 40 years, a couple more and he’ll have it down pat.”

George Stepanof awards the 1984 San Diego Open trophies to Andrew Smith (right) and Dane Selznick (left).

Stepanof’s legacy lives on in two additional generations of players: his sons Scott, a AAA-rated player who earned MVP honors when he played in the high school county playoffs; Tom, who was awarded a volleyball scholarship at USIU; and Rick, who competed for Puerto Rico in FIVB competition. His 16-year-old granddaughter Camille was the team captain at Bishop HS, earned her AAA at 16, and is now a member of the Cal Berkeley beach team.

Stepanof said he will likely stay involved with the sport.

“I have grandsons playing now at Point Loma High,” he said. “I’ll probably watch them and Camille. I may still help Steve (Upp) occasionally and make trophies. Will probably still help with the Polar Bear tournament.”

VBM Supplier Spotlight: The 2017 indoor and outdoor volleyballs

VolleyballMag.com continues its long-standing tradition of bringing you the latest in volleyball-related equipment, gear and apparel. We kick off our new-and-improved Supplier Spotlight section with a look at the latest in indoor and outdoor volleyballs. Please visit the supplier websites for further information.

Indoors

Molten setter’s volleyball
The Molten setter training volleyball (model V5M9000-M) is designed for the athlete committed to reaching a higher level of competition. At 14.1 ounces, the V5M9000-M promotes strength and quickness to bring out each setter’s peak performance on the court, Molten notes. Slightly lighter than a typical setter’s ball, it is intended to be used in game-like situations and drills and is ideal for high-repetition setting practice. The unique panel shape, modeled after Molten’s elite FLISTATEC volleyballs, dramatically increases the ball’s visibility in flight, the company adds. Features a micro-fiber composite cover and is nylon-wound.
www.moltenusa.com

Wilson i-Cor HP volleyball
Wilson’s i-Cor high-performance volleyball offers the ultimate combination of control durability and power, the company states. Covered in Japanese full-grain leather and built with latex power lining and proprietary i-Cor construction, the ball provides a premium touch and feel on every shot, Wilson adds. The i-Cor has an inner structural layer that provides a strong foundation to the ball, while the outer structural layer allows for better control and durability.
www.wilson.com

Baden Perfection leather volleyball
The Baden Perfection leather volleyball is a top-of-the-line volleyball for all aspects of the game and for all levels of play, the company notes. Baden’s innovative tanning process softens the feel of its leather to battle the sting on touch blocks or digs. The blended cotton wrap ensures shape and air retention for reinforced strength and durability. A butyl bladder provides the optimal weight for velocity and performance hit after hit. Baden adds.
www.badensports.com

Mikasa MVA200
The new Mikasa MVA200 indoor volleyball has a unique 8-panel design and aerodynamic dimpling that offers better stability and ball control, the company notes. With Mikasa’s exclusive Micro-Fibre cover, the touch and feel of this ball has brought praise from players and coaches worldwide and has become the indoor ball of choice for all nations,” Mikasa says. The MVA200 is the official FIVB game ball.
www.mikasasports.com

Tachikara 5W-PRIME
Tachikara’s 5W-PRIME elite competition volleyball is the company’s latest innovation in Tactile Technology. Featuring a new T-TEC Micro-Leather that is specifically engineered to provide an enhanced tactile playing experience with increased ball control, Tachikara notes. The ball is NFS approved and ships inflated and ready for play.
www.tachikara.com

Outdoors/All-Around

Spalding/KOB tour and replica balls
Partners Spalding and King of the Beach and Queen of the Beach recently released their official 2017 tour balls and replica ball of the 2017 Spalding King of the Beach and Queen of the Beach Tour. The premium composite leather construction on the tour ball is unmatched and is a favorite ball of players on tour, the companies note. The re-design includes a gold foil for the King of the Beach logo, and the white Queen of the Beach logo ball allows players to color in their favorite design. The balls are available nationwide at select sporting goods retailers including Sports Authority, Target, Walmart, Big Five, Dicks Sporting Goods, Academy Sports, Dunhams, Hibbets, VolleyballUSA.com and Kohls.com, as well as on the websites www.kingofthebeach.com and www.spalding.com. KOB, which features brand ambassadors Karch Kiraly and Sinjin Smith, has more than 1,500 tournaments scheduled nationwide in 2017 with 52 tour locations.
www.spalding.com
www.kingofthebeach.com

Mikasa VLS300
The Mikasa VLS300 is the outdoor ball used by all national teams as well as in all FIVB competitions worldwide, including the past 2012 London Olympics, the recent 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The VLS300 model features a unique 10-panel design and the blue/yellow/white curved-panel design enables players to pick up on the movement or rotation of the ball with ease, while improving control when passing or hitting. The cover material is a “Super Composite,” which is high-grade supple material that is extremely durable yet flexible and resistant to water, which is extremely important when playing in inclement or humid conditions, Mikasa explains. The VLS300 is made from patented lock-stich construction that enables the ball to maintain its true spherical shape.
www.mikasausa.com

New AVP game volleyball
The new Wilson AVP volleyball is a collaborative effort where player feedback directed the design of the ball. The ball offers premium graphics for better spin detection, as well as a microfiber composite leather cover that provides superior touch, Wilson states. The pebbled TPE cover allows for enhanced durability and control during play. The 18-panel machine-sewn construction reinforces optimal shape retention. Made with a butyl rubber bladder for extended air retention.
www.wilson.com

Molten Light Touch volleyball
USA Volleyball approved, Molten’s Light Touch volleyball is a lightweight indoor/outdoor volleyball designed for athletes ages 12 and under. The ultra-soft-cushioned polyurethane cover provides a soft touch, allowing young athletes to __play comfortably while providing the durability needed to withstand __play in any environment. The ball is machine stitched.
www.moltenusa.com

 

Baden Sandshark sand volleyball
The Baden Sandshark is a premier sand volleyball used by the USC beach volleyball team. The hand-sewn microfiber cover endures the elements of outdoor sun, sand and sweat. The butyl bladder provides the optimal weight for velocity and performance hit after hit, Baden notes.
www.badensports.com

Tachikara PARTY SofTec volleyball
The new Tachikara SofTec PARTY volleyball is made with a soft foam-back composite for virtually no sting during play, the company notes. The fun starburst patterns and colors make it a great all-around volleyball for all levels.
www.tachikara.com

Doug Beal Q&A: Retired CEO reflects on USA Volleyball career

USA men's coach John Speraw. left, and retired USA Volleyball CEO Doug Beal walk off the court after a victory during the Rio Olympics last summer/FIVB photo

Doug Beal joked about having to deal with new things, like Social Security and health insurance and staying out of his wife’s way. After spending most of his adult life with USA Volleyball, the last 12 as CEO, he’s now three weeks from his 70th birthday and retired.

Beal was a standout player and coached the 1984 USA men’s team to the Olympic gold medal. His impact on the game was immeasurable.

In this lengthy interview, his first since retiring, Beal spoke openly about USA Volleyball then and now from his home in Colorado Springs.

VBM: When we last saw you it was in Columbus for the NCAA Championships when you got to see your daughter and her Minnesota team play. That must have been fun.

Beal: It’s been really fun to follow her and the program is pretty special. We’re happy our daughter is having a great experience and they’ve obviously had a couple of terrific years making the final four both years. Even though they’ve not had the greatest success at the tournament it’s been a pretty significant part of my daughter’s college experience.

VBM: It’s got to be cool that she plays for Hugh McCutcheon, who played pretty significant part of your experience.

Beal: Maddie grew up during her adolescence being around Hugh a lot. She would come to practice quite bit, so she’s pretty comfortable with Hugh. He’s obviously a terrific coach and a wonderful human being so it’s great for her to be able to __play for him in a place that really supports the program. It’s fun for an athlete at any level to __play in front of big crowds where they really support you. Playing for Hugh is maybe like playing for her uncle or older brother or something like that (laughs) and we try to tell her regularly that he’s your coach and treat him like your coach. Like everybody else would. She’s having a great experience and we’re very appreciative of that.

VBM: In the last year, at events like the International Hall of Fame inductions when you were honored, to the Olympics and so many other places like the AVCA Convention and NCAA final four, it kind of seemed like the Doug Beal farewell tour around the world. Did it kind of feel like that to you?

Doug Beal at the 2008 Olympics with coaches Hugh McCutcheon and Marv Dunphy/USA Volleyball photo

Beal: It got a little embarrassing, frankly. I’m not terribly comfortable with that kind of stuff. I never thought of myself as that impactful or significant. I’ve been fortunate to be in the right place at the right times, I think, and work and learn from some really talented, insightful people.

I think I’ve said lots of times I’ve been extraordinarily fortunate in my life to have found volleyball and be influenced by a lot of people who directed me and influenced me in a good way. At least I think so. Literally from the time I got introduced to the sport, I was 10 years old in elementary school in a small public school in Cleveland, Ohio, through an early club experience to play with some people molded me or influenced me in a great way and I just got attracted to the sport and loved it.

I got introduced to people like Jim Coleman and Carl McGown and Al Scates and Harlan Cohen. The list could go on and on, Al Monaco and Harry Wilson and people lots of the readers won’t remember. Leonard Gibson, Will Peck, Bill Baird. I got to know these people and one of my closest friends now was one of my first coaches in the sport, Mark Watson. The way I was introduced to sport and the people I’ve been connected to has guided me. They helped shape our sport and helped shape me.

Doug Beal coaching the USA men/USA Volleyball photo

VBM: Through all the time you were a player and a coach (the last time in 2004 at the Athens Olympics) when did it cross your mind that you might take over and run USA Volleyball?

Beal: I had been interested in that previously. I applied, honestly, a couple of times earlier. I think there are some things I’m good at and one of them is having a broad vision for the sport and the role USA Volleyball can play in the sport. I’ve always been attracted to people who have ambitious goals, broad visions, seeing the big picture. A lot about the success of the leadership positions of USA Volleyball, whether it’s the executive director or CEO, whatever it’s called, is having a very broad vision of where the sport should go. How we’re going to grow the sport. I think I’m OK at that. I think I can articulate that. I don’t have some other skills that would be great to have in a position like that, whether they’re financial or marketing or in sponsorship, or a specific legal background, which would also be very valuable. But I have experienced a lot of very different roles, playing, coaching, connecting to regions, NCAA, etcetera, so I can articulate and understand where the sport is, what it’s background is, how USA Volleyball grew from when it was USVBA.

VBM: I know the good things we can list, especially the growth of volleyball and of USA Volleyball. But what are some of the things you wish you would have accomplished in your time as CEO but didn’t?

Beal: One of the things I wish we had done and USA Volleyball is going to do is we’re going to select our beach Olympians through a trials process. I think that’s going to significantly heighten the profile of the sport. I think it’s going to be a financial plus for USA Volleyball, I think it’s going to help the AVP, I think it’s going to be an impetus for further growth of collegiate beach volleyball. I think it’s going to be an enormously popular commercial success and I’m quite confident it’s going to happen, probably in time for the 2020 Games.

I kind of wish we had done that earlier. It’s going to be a big change for the athletes. There are clearly different opinions about whether it’s the right way or not the right way. There is no perfect way to select Olympic teams, whether they’re team sports, individual sports, pair sports or not. That’s one of the things I have a little bit of regret about.

I wish I had focused more on changing the relationship that exists between USA Volleyball’s national office and the regional structure. I think that needs to be, I guess the best term, is modernized. What of the best things about USA Volleyball is the regional structure. I also think it’s one of the things that needs the most attention.

I think collectively the recent (regional) commissioners are among the most passionate, committed, engaged people in our sport. USA Volleyball nationally could do much more to support their business operations, their consistency across regions, program offerings, membership opportunities. There are lots of ways to help. The compliance of the regions needs to be re-worked so it’s much more consistent and much more complete in terms of meeting the needs of the various constituent populations within our sport.

VBM: That begs the question, then, why didn’t we have a qualification process for the beach and why didn’t you do the things you’re talking about with the juniors? Were you hamstrung? Too many other things to deal with?

Beal: It’s all of the above. You wind up picking and choosing where you spend your time, how you apply your resources. One of the big challenges for me during the 12 years was simply managing and understanding the challenges of the rapid growth of USA Volleyball. We went from a company that was generating, I don’t know, eight-and-a-half million dollars in gross revenue to a company that was generating 31 or 32 million dollars in gross revenue. We went from a company that was renting office space for a staff of 30 or 35 people to a company that owned its own office building and had three satellite offices and a staff of about 90. The programming and the growth of the organization is a challenge to manage.

We changed our governance structure. We dramatically changed our board of directors and all of the substructure of our governance. We created a beach department from nothing and invested heavily in our support of beach volleyball from the top to the bottom. International athletes, youth, junior, grass roots, events, etcetera. We went through a period where the AVP went out of business and we replaced it with significant professional events.

There are lots of reasons why you can’t do everything you want to do. Which is no excuse, so maybe other people in a leadership position might have prioritized efforts in a different direction. I’m extraordinarily proud of the past 12 years and I think the thing I’m actually most proud of is I’ve left USA Volleyball in a position where the level of growth, the level of broad-based programming and success will allow the new CEO, the organization and the sport to be in a position to take advantage of continuing this growth and having equal or greater success in the future. The financial position of USA Volleyball is just dramatically different than it was when I started.

The positioning of where the sport is, the exposure it’s getting now on television and in the media, the NCAA adopting women’s beach volleyball as a championship sport. The NCAA spinning off a men’s Division III collegiate championship. The rise of all the conference television networks and the amount of exposure volleyball is getting, men, women, indoor, beach, the success we’ve had at the Olympic Games and other international competition. The events that we’ve hosted. All of that has positioned the sport and USA Volleyball to have an opportunity for even greater growth and success in the next four to eight years.

VBM: For example?

Beal: I’m proudest and most pleased to leave the organization in that kind of a positioning where they have an opportunity to get to another level. Whether it’s pro leagues or hosting and increasing events, continuing to expand membership and opportunities in what is becoming one of the most popular sports in the country, at virtually every level. Getting more sponsorship, continuing to grow the staff and regions, I just don’t think there is any area not available to our sport. The future is just as bright as it can possibly be. USA Volleyball is in a position to take advantage of that. There’s so much good going on in our sport and USA Volleyball is in the forefront of that.

VBM: What do you think of the hire of Jamie Davis and have you had any communication with him?

Beal: I think the last time I communicated to our board and the selection committee of the board I suggested that someone with his background would probably be my preference. We always used the caveat of “all things being equal,” I would prefer someone who had a very different background than I had to take advantage of the world that’s out there that I previously explained.

We say all things being equal but all things are never equal. It all comes down to the skills and personality of who’s in that position. I don’t know Jamie and haven’t had an opportunity to meet with him but I think his resume is terrific and I think he has the background that I suggested as something I would favor. I’m optimistic that he’s the right person at the right time to continue the growth and be a very successful CEO for USA Volleyball and I’m rooting for him.

VBM: I would expect nothing less.

Beal: Managing a national-governing body is a pretty unique environment and pretty unique world that we operate in. Part of what makes it so unique and I’m not sure any of us really realize it until we’re working in it and embedded in that position, but the balancing of essentially being three different organizations is quite a challenge.

We call ourselves USA Volleyball and we are a national governing body under the auspices of the U.S. Olympic Committee. To be very succinct and direct about it, really about the only thing the U.S. Olympic Committee is particularly concerned about is are you going to win gold medals? Are you going to win gold medals? So that becomes a really important issue. And you have to pay attention to that because you’re operating under a federal mandate and the by-laws of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Amateur Sport Act. That’s a hard thing to communicate to the broad membership. It’s even a hard thing to communicate, frankly, and articulate in a meaningful way to your own board of directors and it takes a while for most of them to understand and be comfortable with that.

The second part of who USA Volleyball is that you’re a national federation. You’re one of like 210 national federations affiliated with our international federation, which is the FIVB. And what they really care about is are you hosting events, can our sport gain commercial traction in your country, do you bring sponsors and television broadcasters to the sport so the FIVB can grow around the world. That’s important. They certainly like the fact that USA Volleyball is successful and we have great teams and we win medals, but they’re OK if you don’t as long you provide some commercial viability and the sport has traction in your country.

And thirdly, and the most obvious to most people, is that we’re a national sporting organization. So we govern our sport at some level across the country through our 40 regions and the regional assembly and the junior assembly and the officials assembly and the beach assembly and all the sub-structures of what is USA Volleyball. The 350,000 members and all the championship events we run and the regional events and the thousands and thousands of events that are organized by our regions. The challenge, the difficult part, and it’s not unique to volleyball and is a challenge for most of the NGBs, is how do you balance the resources you have to those three frequently competing priorities? Or competing objectives that you have to meet? You have obligations to the U.S. Olympic Committee, you have obligations to the FIVB, you have obligations to the membership and the region. And you have limited dollars, limited resources, limited time. So that’s a constant balancing act. It’s important to articulate it and for the different organizations you’re responsible to to understand that as best they can. It’s a challenge, a never-ending challenge.

It was always interesting to explain to the FIVB how the governance of USA Volleyball works. It’s always interesting to try to explain to the regions and substructures why our national teams are not available to them to play matches in every region and why our international athletes and Olympians are not available to them all the time. It’s interesting to explain to the U.S. Olympic Committee about junior and youth programs and we need them to help us produce events. At some level all those organizations get it and at some level it’s simply outside their day-to-day world.

Doug Beal at the World League/USA Volleyball photo

VBM: You turn 70 very soon but you have the energy and physicality of someone much younger.

Beal: Is that a question? (laughs).

VBM: I guess. You’re a young 70. Thoughts about that?

Beal: I hope that’s the case for a while. I don’t know. I lost my mother in the middle of last year. My wife lost her father at the end of last year. Sadly, our sport and lots of us individually just lost Carl McGown. I certainly understand the frailty of life. I think keeping active and engaged in things you’re passionate about is a big part of staying young, I guess.

I’ve tried to use this line, I’ve retired from USA Volleyball but I’m certainly not retiring from life. There are some projects that I’m passionate about and committed to. Some are connected to initiatives that I started with USA Volleyball that I’ll have more time to work on, some are outside of USA Volleyball, but most are connected to sport, broadly. I have great interest in those projects and collaborating with a lot of people who I’ve been fortunate to know over the years. I just keep coming back to that I’ve been fortunate to meet a lot of people and be at a lot of special events, so I’m hoping to stay connected.

VBM: I assume that would be with the national teams?

Beal: I couldn’t be prouder of the national-team programs we’ve put together with some really terrific leadership over the years. From Hugh to Jenny Lang Ping to Alan Knipe to our current coaches. I think John (Speraw) and Karch (Kiraly) are as good as it gets. The structure that we put together in Anaheim and in Torrance for the beach is outstanding. I think John Ruger and Sean (Scott) are really terrific and that’s a big part of what I’m proud of and hopefully I’ll stay in some level connected to our national-team programs.

We’ve built a really solid pipeline. I want to say that I’m enormously proud of our High Performance program, both beach and indoors. We exposed a lot of kids to a quality experience and got them excited about the national teams, certainly playing internationally but as a sport for a lifetime.

Doug Beal and VBM’s Lee Feinswog at the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in October 2016