(VB) Ongoing Volleyball Thread

It is a spring sport.
And, Paige Hammons won a national championship in 2022.

2022 Women's Beach Volleyball Roster - USC Athletics

 

Marlie Monserez played for UCLA Beach in 2022 and 2023.
They lost in the championship finals to USC both years.
Marlie Monserez - Beach Volleyball - UCLA

 

beach volleyball is not in the normal season of indoor and would need a beach coach.. Mary wise would not be a good fit for coaching beach. As far as beach volleyball. It’s actually considered a separate sport all together. A lot of the premier colleges in volleyball will have some indoor players but there are players that specialize just on beach itself and the same thing goes for indoor. That’s not to say an indoor player couldn’t play beach because to an extent they can. The elite players can play both and are very successful. Misty may, Kerri Walsh Jennings… my ex in college won 2 national titles with the Wahine indoor team and went on to play on the AVP for years. As far as cost is concerned? It’s very minimal and allows the schools to meet the title 9 requirements of participation and the scholarship amounts are very small.
Over the last several years in Florida we have had an influx of premier hall of fame fivb coaches that have moved into Florida from Brazil so finding a coach wouldn’t be hard. Wasn’t long ago I spoke to Jose Loiola who was going to relocate but since he is working with the Trojans in LA that won’t happen but we still have so many talented coaches in the area that would jump if the job was available.

 

Monserez and Hammond are 2 prime examples as to why it’s so important to have a beach program. It’s literally a 20 minute ride from campus to the parking lot off marine street in Hermosa beach. When you walk off that parking lot and step on that sand you will literally see court after court after court of the who’s who.. you could be playing right next to the orange court and have Trevor Crabb or Tri Bourne serving right behind you and Pompilleo ( his coach) who has won over 89 fivb gold medals standing right there with him. Next to them you could see Metzger working with the USC team and next to them the USAV national beach team could be on another court while 4 year olds are playing the game at a 8th grade level.. it’s just a different animal out there. And if UF wants to compete with the best they need to put in the effort to emulate that any way they can. And right now I just don’t see any energy to chase that type of level of play.

 

Literally

 

We have had several ladies from our team that have grad transferred to Beach: Holly Carlton to LSU, Morgyn Greer to South Carolina, and Paige and Marlie as mentioned above. There are probably others that do not come to mind right now.

 

It will keep happening too! Especially with NIL.. it just gives them more opportunities to play and make money. There are plenty of beach clothing companies willing to spend money to sponsor players. Sinjan Smith just released the old Sideout brand again. Energy drinks, tanning lotion and for the pro players there’s liquors sponsorship available. If you really look at the indoor game we don’t have a women’s pro league like they do over seas so what is the progression? It’s beach. And training on the beach makes you a better indoor player.. before I stopped coaching my last national qualifying team were all beach players and I taught them the indoor game. They were quicker, verticle was higher, the IQ of the game was better because they were just so use to playing with a partner. Now you take 6 kids communicating and understanding angles and their anticipation was next level. And this is what the elite indoor players are looking for that want to pursue the next level .. AVP , Fivb, national team. There’s no doubt that these same players will take a stab at making the NORCECA teams but you are talking 1% and even then the pay isn’t much.

 

Yea I don’t know why I use it so much .. took a page out of Napiers book “RIGHT”?

 

Roll Call for whose coming to Fan Day on Sunday.
We play an exhibition match against Stetson at 2:30.
I am excited to see our team and the new players.

 

I’ll be there!

 

I went to Fan Day today, and the exhibition match with Stetson. There was a really good crowd.
UF won the first set 25-9. It was tied at 8, but then AC took over. At one point, she had 5 kills and 3 aces. But she surpassed that. Her serve was very hard to return.
The Gators won the second set 25-17. There were some miscues and sloppy play, but they have an upside.
Set 3 was 25-15, and we won the 4th set handily, but I cannot remember the score.
Three of the freshman are going to be a handful. Kennedy Martin, Madi Gravlee, and Kira Hutson all had solid matches. They are 6'6", 6'4", and 6'3", respectively, and seem to play taller than that.
Madi is the daughter of Julie Stanhope, who played for the Gators in the 93-96 seasons. She is Mary's first legacy. Julie spoke and was asked about how the game had changed. She said the power and the speed of the game had changed dramatically. She is 6'2" and said she would be a libero today.
Of note, Kennedy Muff is a really good setter. Of course, she is not replacing Alexis.
Graduate OH Anna Dunn is a player and will contribute.
Amaya Thomas was much more active today and had several kills.
Emily Cannan played libero for one set and acquitted herself well.
Elli, Nnedi, Gabby, Alexis, Trinity, and Sophia were their usual selves.
The only two who did not play were Emerson and freshman Gaby Cornier. Emerson is recovering from a dislocated kneecap but does not seem to be favoring it. I have no idea about Gaby.
The Gator Attack Club met in the Center Court Club for a BBQ dinner and to meet with the players and coaches and staff. The players sat at our tables for a speed date and then moved around.
Mary was asked by sandman70 about Beach Volleyball. She said we needed to talk to Scott about that. But she did say that there may be something in the works and had her fingers crossed.
Sorry for the length of the post, but it was a good afternoon.
If you are a Volleyball fan, I would encourage you to join the Gator Attack Club. It is very active and allows you to interact with the players, coaches, and staff several times per year. Associate Coach Dave Boos gives chalk talks before some matches. The dues are only $35/year which is a steal.
Our first two matches of the regular season are in Tampa. This Friday, August 25th we play #8 Penn State in the Amalie Center (home of the Tampa Bay Lightning) at 8 pm. And we will play USF at 8 pm next Saturday at the Yuengling Center on the USF campus. I hope to see you there.

 

Super summary Scrappy, and I agree 100% the Attack Club is a bargain and a great opportunity to interact with the coaches and team members.

 

Penn st. match on tv?

 

Espn+, starting in a minute or 2.

 

UF up 2-1 going to set 4

 

Were down pretty big in 4th set late, came back to win 26-24.......nice W to open up

 

that was a good win, after all the turmoil about the girls that left it looks like we have adequate replacements. I really enjoyed that group tonight, several people where I was watching thought we were going to get manhandled. They were wrong

 

Found it, ESPN didn’t make it easy. Way to right the ship after set 1. Really good win. Hopefully close the season with a win in that arena

 

Impressed with the freshmen Martin and Hurston - both silky smooth and with deceptive power. Good teams will take notice and try and focus more on them going forward. We will need someone to step up at MB to reach peak potential.