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I'm a little surprised that the coaches picked WMU just because of how good Ohio and Miami are again. There are some great MAC volleyball teams this season. I'd argue that it might be the conference's best sport right now.

http://themacdaily.com/index.php?news&nid=127
(08-26-2009 07:57 AM)psc2009 Wrote: [ -> ]I'm a little surprised that the coaches picked WMU just because of how good Ohio and Miami are again. There are some great MAC volleyball teams this season. I'd argue that it might be the conference's best sport right now.

http://themacdaily.com/index.php?news&nid=127

i would agree with you about it being the conference's best sport right now. i mean, just the fact that we got three teams in the NCAA tournament last year speaks volumes and BG and CMU garnered some consideration, too. it should be another GREAT year as Ohio, WMU, and Miami are again loaded. i'm excited about it!
I've played vball for a number of years (well not so much lately, but anyway) and in general I'm not impressed w/ collegiate women's vball.

I watched UGa play S Carolina back in the mid 90s. UGa was ranked 23, and S Car might have been #25. Nevertheless it was a pretty weak showing by both. One of UGa's "stars" was constantly out of position, and the play was poor overall poor.

That's not to say that olympic calibre vball isn't great (it is!) and yes, PSU and UNL looked good in the championships. But, the quality in the college ranks goes down fast. I firmly believe that if any team took 8 dedicated women, emphasized hard work and fundamentals, you could go very far.
Well, the Bronco women did merit a nice mention in a column on women's vball.

Quote:5. Which unranked team could move up quickly?
Western Michigan returns all six starters and its libero from the team that posted a 28-7 record and was knocked out of the NCAA tournament by Penn State in the regional semifinal.

The Broncos open the season Saturday with matches against No. 7 Hawaii, No. 9 UCLA and No. 25 Santa Clara at the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Honolulu.

WMU was a fixture in the postseason from 1982 to 1989 but has made just two appearances since then. Not only would a victory over either Hawaii or UCLA help the Broncos jump into the top 25 for the first time since 1998, it would bolster WMU's case when the tournament selections are made in December.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=4423196
(08-26-2009 10:38 AM)DrTorch Wrote: [ -> ]I've played vball for a number of years (well not so much lately, but anyway) and in general I'm not impressed w/ collegiate women's vball.

I watched UGa play S Carolina back in the mid 90s. UGa was ranked 23, and S Car might have been #25. Nevertheless it was a pretty weak showing by both. One of UGa's "stars" was constantly out of position, and the play was poor overall poor.

That's not to say that olympic calibre vball isn't great (it is!) and yes, PSU and UNL looked good in the championships. But, the quality in the college ranks goes down fast. I firmly believe that if any team took 8 dedicated women, emphasized hard work and fundamentals, you could go very far.

You are talking almost 20 years ago there. More girls today are raised to be competitive in sports than ever before.

Look at how much women's basketball has advanced since the early 80's? It was pretty much just the University of Tennesse as a prominent school everyone else was 2nd rate. Now there is a lot more competition out there.

With the price of college and more women in school than ever parents are really pushing the athletics hard.
one could argue that volleyball is the marquee women's sport in the NCAA.. Even more so than basketball because they compete for attention with the men.
(08-27-2009 03:57 PM)BullBoy Wrote: [ -> ]one could argue that volleyball is the marquee women's sport in the NCAA.. Even more so than basketball because they compete for attention with the men.

Unfortunately, the early returns have not been good today. Losses to the top two preseason teams in the Summit League. Bleh.

http://themacdaily.com/index.php?news&nid=130
Calling any women's sport a "marquee" sport nationally, is probably a bit of overstatement, but women's hoops gets a ton more coverage and TV time than v-ball.
It's hard to not pick the team that won last season's regular season title, made the Sweet 16, and returned EVERYONE. Plus, the Broncos get Ohio at home this year.

Ohio, Miami, and WMU play later today. Western serves it up at 1 AM!
Buffalo opens the season with 3-0 win over Boston College
(08-28-2009 08:37 PM)BullBoy Wrote: [ -> ]Buffalo opens the season with 3-0 win over Boston College

Miami opens the season losing in straight sets to two time defending National Champion Penn State. We did get 15 in the first set.
(08-28-2009 09:02 PM)DICK Wrote: [ -> ]
(08-28-2009 08:37 PM)BullBoy Wrote: [ -> ]Buffalo opens the season with 3-0 win over Boston College

Miami opens the season losing in straight sets to two time defending National Champion Penn State. We did get 15 in the first set.
We play Penn State next Friday.. Buffalo will soon know how you feel.
I don't mean this as a knock to any of our MAC teams, but Penn State could probably beat any MAC team if they were forced to play 6 on 3. They're just loaded.
Akron started out 2-0, with a 3-1 win over SIU-Edwardsville and a 4-1 win over Indiana State in day 1 of a tournament at ISU.
Ohio won the InnTowner Invitational championship beating South Daktoa (3-0), Duke (3-0) and Wisconsin (3-1) in Madison. Both Duke and Wisconsin sat just outside the Top 25 in the preseason coaches poll at 27th and 29th respectivly.

Western Michigan was 30th and Ohio 36th in the same poll.
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