Volleyball in 2014
2014 is just getting started, but the calendar is already full for volleyball fans. Here’s an overview of what’s on the docket for the sport this year in both indoor and beach at the international and collegiate levels.
Men’s Indoor
First up is men’s indoor volleyball. The pre-season has already begun and the rankings are out. There were huge changes as usual between the pre-season rankings and the Week 1 rankings.
The first month of the season should show us who’s got the goods for 2014.
UCI will be attempting to win its third straight championship, which has not been done on the men’s side since UCLA won four in a row between 1981 and 1984. BYU will discover what life is like without their young superstar Ben Patch, who is off on his two year mission trip.
Some new names are gracing the poll in Week 1 including IPFW who hasn't been ranked since 2008. And after Harvard’s break out season last year in which they surprised some teams, they’ve now made the Top 15 and should be on everyone’s radar. It is all heading towards the playoffs which will be taking place with a new and different format this year with an added Play-In match. And the action concludes with the Final Four, held in Illinois on the campus of Loyola-Chicago May 1st and 3rd.
Beach Volleyball
No word yet on the domestic schedules so check back for those, but the FIVB released its calendar for 2014. Once again, the season starts early and ends late as the seasons continue to get longer and longer for international beach players.
It all begins with an Open in Fuzhou, China in late April and doesn’t end until late October. This season will show us which American teams take the lead in early running for the two Olympic spots in Rio de Janeiro.
With last summer’s emergence of Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson as the top men’s team and Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross teaming up toward the end of last summer, we’ll see if these two can continue lead the way in 2014. We’ll also find out if Sean Rosenthal and Phil Dalhausser can stay healthy and mesh as a team. Their summer featured far fewer finals than fans expected but when you've got Dalhausser, the FIVB's Most Outstanding Player leading the way, we should expect these two to figure things out this season.
Meanwhile we should keep an eye on the up and comers - Summer Ross and Emily Day were surprisingly successful in 2013 and we saw newcomer Tri Bourne find his way to two men’s finals at the end of the summer as well. It looks like international beach volleyball will return to Long Beach once again in 2014 as the World Series of Beach Volleyball is scheduled for July 22nd-27th.
International Men’s and Women's Indoor
As the U.S. National Teams continue to develop young talent and find their new identities for the 2016 quad, there will be lots of chances to catch them domestically and internationally. The men’s and women’s team will host scrimmages throughout the year and I will post information about those as it becomes available.
The two staples of summer international volleyball are as usual World League for the men and Grand Prix for the women. Both tournaments will expand this year with World League adding 10 more teams and Grand Prix adding eight. That means competition will span a longer period of time and the format has changed. In 2014, World League will run from May 23rd - July 20th. Grand Prix will take place July 25th - August 24th.
2014 is also a World Championship year. Held every 2 years, the World Championships features the top 24 teams in the world. Qualification continues through June of this year. On the men's side, four Asian teams, three African teams, nine European teams, three South American teams and five teams from North, South and Central America (NORCECA) will qualify for the tournament along with Poland, the host country. The men's event will take place Sept. 3-21. For the women, competition runs from Sept. 23-October 12th in Italy. The field will consist of four Asian teams, two African teams, ten European teams, two South American teams and six teams from NORCECA.
NCAA Women’s Sand Volleyball
The third official women’s sand volleyball season will commence in March. Defending champs Long Beach State will try to repeat at the Final Tournament that will he held in Gulf Shores, Alabama on May 2nd-4th. The championship tournament will be held at this location through 2015. The sport continues to grow as just last week TCU announced it would add a program beginning next season.
Women’s Indoor Volleyball
Closing out 2014 is women’s indoor volleyball. Penn State, the defending champs, will have to attempt a second championship without the services of key players Deja McClendon, Ariel Scott and Katie Slay. Hopefully we’ll see them among the national team ranks this summer along with Texas outside hitter Bailey Webster. The best recruiting classes according to PrepVolleyball.com went to Nebraska, USC and Minnesota in that order. So get ready to watch some new young freshman try to make an impact for their teams. The FInal Four will be held in Oklahoma City in 2014 on December 18th and 20th.
Men’s Indoor
First up is men’s indoor volleyball. The pre-season has already begun and the rankings are out. There were huge changes as usual between the pre-season rankings and the Week 1 rankings.
The first month of the season should show us who’s got the goods for 2014.
UCI will be attempting to win its third straight championship, which has not been done on the men’s side since UCLA won four in a row between 1981 and 1984. BYU will discover what life is like without their young superstar Ben Patch, who is off on his two year mission trip.
Some new names are gracing the poll in Week 1 including IPFW who hasn't been ranked since 2008. And after Harvard’s break out season last year in which they surprised some teams, they’ve now made the Top 15 and should be on everyone’s radar. It is all heading towards the playoffs which will be taking place with a new and different format this year with an added Play-In match. And the action concludes with the Final Four, held in Illinois on the campus of Loyola-Chicago May 1st and 3rd.
Beach Volleyball
No word yet on the domestic schedules so check back for those, but the FIVB released its calendar for 2014. Once again, the season starts early and ends late as the seasons continue to get longer and longer for international beach players.
It all begins with an Open in Fuzhou, China in late April and doesn’t end until late October. This season will show us which American teams take the lead in early running for the two Olympic spots in Rio de Janeiro.
With last summer’s emergence of Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson as the top men’s team and Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross teaming up toward the end of last summer, we’ll see if these two can continue lead the way in 2014. We’ll also find out if Sean Rosenthal and Phil Dalhausser can stay healthy and mesh as a team. Their summer featured far fewer finals than fans expected but when you've got Dalhausser, the FIVB's Most Outstanding Player leading the way, we should expect these two to figure things out this season.
Meanwhile we should keep an eye on the up and comers - Summer Ross and Emily Day were surprisingly successful in 2013 and we saw newcomer Tri Bourne find his way to two men’s finals at the end of the summer as well. It looks like international beach volleyball will return to Long Beach once again in 2014 as the World Series of Beach Volleyball is scheduled for July 22nd-27th.
International Men’s and Women's Indoor
As the U.S. National Teams continue to develop young talent and find their new identities for the 2016 quad, there will be lots of chances to catch them domestically and internationally. The men’s and women’s team will host scrimmages throughout the year and I will post information about those as it becomes available.
The two staples of summer international volleyball are as usual World League for the men and Grand Prix for the women. Both tournaments will expand this year with World League adding 10 more teams and Grand Prix adding eight. That means competition will span a longer period of time and the format has changed. In 2014, World League will run from May 23rd - July 20th. Grand Prix will take place July 25th - August 24th.
2014 is also a World Championship year. Held every 2 years, the World Championships features the top 24 teams in the world. Qualification continues through June of this year. On the men's side, four Asian teams, three African teams, nine European teams, three South American teams and five teams from North, South and Central America (NORCECA) will qualify for the tournament along with Poland, the host country. The men's event will take place Sept. 3-21. For the women, competition runs from Sept. 23-October 12th in Italy. The field will consist of four Asian teams, two African teams, ten European teams, two South American teams and six teams from NORCECA.
NCAA Women’s Sand Volleyball
The third official women’s sand volleyball season will commence in March. Defending champs Long Beach State will try to repeat at the Final Tournament that will he held in Gulf Shores, Alabama on May 2nd-4th. The championship tournament will be held at this location through 2015. The sport continues to grow as just last week TCU announced it would add a program beginning next season.
Women’s Indoor Volleyball
Closing out 2014 is women’s indoor volleyball. Penn State, the defending champs, will have to attempt a second championship without the services of key players Deja McClendon, Ariel Scott and Katie Slay. Hopefully we’ll see them among the national team ranks this summer along with Texas outside hitter Bailey Webster. The best recruiting classes according to PrepVolleyball.com went to Nebraska, USC and Minnesota in that order. So get ready to watch some new young freshman try to make an impact for their teams. The FInal Four will be held in Oklahoma City in 2014 on December 18th and 20th.
Source...