2017 SEC Vs. ACC Challenge At The Puerto Rico ClassicAug 29, 2017 by Megan Kaplon
Five Takeaways From NCAA Volleyball's Opening Weekend
Five Takeaways From NCAA Volleyball's Opening Weekend
So much happened this weekend, we had to take a couple days to process all that went down. Now that we've had a chance to mentally sift through the action, here are our top takeaways from the opening weekend of the 2017 NCAA Division I women's volleyball
So much happened this weekend, we had to take a couple days to process all that went down. Now that we've had a chance to mentally sift through the action, here are our top takeaways from the opening weekend of the 2017 NCAA Division I women's volleyball season.
Yep, the Gators came out swinging at the start of the 2017 season. They took down preseason No. 1 Texas 25-16, 25-23, 18-25, 25-21 and a night later kept it rolling with a 19-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-18, 15-11 victory over No. 8 Nebraska.
That performance earned Florida the No. 1 spot in our top-20 ranking this week, but of course it's very early in the season and the Gators were playing at home in Gainesville inside their newly renovated O'Connell Center. So how much do these two victories really mean and how good is Florida really? The answer: pretty darn good.
USA Today Sports
Let's talk about depth. Senior outside hitter Carli Snyder led the match with 14 kills versus Texas, sophomore Rachael Kramer contributed 11, Shainah Joseph had nine, and redshirt freshman Mia Sokolowski scored eight.
The next night Kramer caught fire, leading with 20 kills. Joseph came in second with 11. Snyder and Alhassan were uncharacteristically quiet offensively against Nebraska, but Alhassan added eights blocks to the Gator effort and Snyder set a new career high with 27 digs.
Florida put on this incredible display of talent even while figuring out if Sokolowski or true freshman Paige Hammons would earn the starting OH2 spot and deciding if Allie Monserez would run a 5-1 or split time with Cheyenne Huskey in a 6-2.
This weekend, we'll find out if Florida is just as good on the road, as the Gators travel to Puerto Rico for the SEC vs. ACC Challenge, where they'll face No. 15 North Carolina and NC State, which almost knocked off No. 13 Kansas last weekend.
Watch the SEC vs. ACC Challenge LIVE, right here on FloVolleyball.
UNC was highly-touted heading into 2017 -- ranked No. 12 and unanimously picked by the ACC's coaches to win the conference -- but then the Tar Heels kicked off the season with a 0-3 loss to Minnesota, the first three-set loss for UNC since 2015. The next night, North Carolina got swept again, this time at the hands of Wisconsin.
Scoring points was the biggest issue for Carolina versus Minnesota, as the Tar Heels hit a dismal .009, but the next night it was the defensive effort that came up short as Wisconsin hit .361, and the Badgers out-blocked the Tar Heels 7 to 4.5 and out-dug them 45 to 25.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/UNCVolleyball/status/901195753821007872" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Carolina has a few new players in key positions who are clearly still trying to get in the groove. That includes 6-foot-7 redshirt freshman setter Holly Carlton and sophomore Mia Fradenburg, who earned the start at libero for the first time in her career over the weekend.
Against Minnesota, Carlton ran a 5-1, but the next night Georgia Southern Kendra Koetter saw the floor as the second half of a 6-2.
Starting the season losing in three sets two nights in a row certainly doesn't look or feel good, but Carolina's still got plenty of talent with reigning ACC Player of the Year Taylor Leath and ACC Freshman of the Year Julia Scoles swinging at the pins. Once the team gets the first and second contact under control, we'll see this team living up to the hype.
Last year, the Big Ten was absolutely the top volleyball conference in the country, but if opening weekend's results were any indication it may be in danger of losing that title. Nebraska kicked off the season 0-2 with losses to the Florida and Oregon, Michigan lost to previously unranked Southern California, Ohio State fell to BYU, and Georgia Tech upset Michigan State.
USA Today Sports
Yes, Penn State, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are ranked in the top 10, but we're continuing to see parity increase across the board.
In the offseason, Sarah Sponcil transferred from LMU to UCLA. The senior led her LMU squad in kills as an outside hitter last fall and played on the beach volleyball team's No. 1 pair in the spring.
Now, she's the Bruins' starting setter, directing her team to a 3-0 start to the season. The Phoenix, Arizona, native hadn't set since high school, but in three matches she tallied 136 assists and helped the team hit .273, in addition to contributing 11 blocks and 30 digs.
Just a handful of unranked teams pulled off upsets over opening weekend. Georgia Tech's four-set victory over preseason No. 17 Michigan State was perhaps the most surprising, but USC also made a big statement with 3-1 defeat of preseason No. 20 Michigan (No. 16 in the AVCA preseason poll).
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/uscwomensvolley/status/901341737955729408" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Northern Iowa and Austin Peay took advantage of No. 19 Missouri playing without its star outside hitter Melanie Crow, with both teams downing the Tigers in five sets. Crow played a big role in Mizzou's season-opening victories over Marshall and Middle Tennessee before being relegated to the bench due to an undisclosed injury.
The AVCA's preseason No. 20 Hawaii lost to preseason No. 10 UCLA and unranked Marquette and San Diego, marking the first time since 1980 that the Wahine have started a season 0-3.
Another unranked team making some noise was Nashville's Lipscomb. The Bison lost to Wichita State in the second match of their opening-weekend tournament, but the next night, with 25 kills from junior outside hitter Carlyle Nusbaum, they knocked off the AVCA's preseason No. 24-ranked Arizona Wildcats, earning votes in this week's coaches' poll.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/ASUNVolleyball/status/901636566514323456" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
The Wolverine Invitational hosted by Utah Valley will feature Kansas, Long Beach State, and Montana on August 31- September 2. Watch live here.
The Boise State Invitational on August 31- September 2 features hosts Boise State, BYU, Mizzou, and Sacramento State. Watch live here.
Watch Episode One here.
Watch Episode One here.
1. Florida: your new No. 1.
Yep, the Gators came out swinging at the start of the 2017 season. They took down preseason No. 1 Texas 25-16, 25-23, 18-25, 25-21 and a night later kept it rolling with a 19-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-18, 15-11 victory over No. 8 Nebraska.
That performance earned Florida the No. 1 spot in our top-20 ranking this week, but of course it's very early in the season and the Gators were playing at home in Gainesville inside their newly renovated O'Connell Center. So how much do these two victories really mean and how good is Florida really? The answer: pretty darn good.
USA Today Sports
Let's talk about depth. Senior outside hitter Carli Snyder led the match with 14 kills versus Texas, sophomore Rachael Kramer contributed 11, Shainah Joseph had nine, and redshirt freshman Mia Sokolowski scored eight.
The next night Kramer caught fire, leading with 20 kills. Joseph came in second with 11. Snyder and Alhassan were uncharacteristically quiet offensively against Nebraska, but Alhassan added eights blocks to the Gator effort and Snyder set a new career high with 27 digs.
Florida put on this incredible display of talent even while figuring out if Sokolowski or true freshman Paige Hammons would earn the starting OH2 spot and deciding if Allie Monserez would run a 5-1 or split time with Cheyenne Huskey in a 6-2.
This weekend, we'll find out if Florida is just as good on the road, as the Gators travel to Puerto Rico for the SEC vs. ACC Challenge, where they'll face No. 15 North Carolina and NC State, which almost knocked off No. 13 Kansas last weekend.
Watch the SEC vs. ACC Challenge LIVE, right here on FloVolleyball.
2. Speaking of North Carolina . . .
UNC was highly-touted heading into 2017 -- ranked No. 12 and unanimously picked by the ACC's coaches to win the conference -- but then the Tar Heels kicked off the season with a 0-3 loss to Minnesota, the first three-set loss for UNC since 2015. The next night, North Carolina got swept again, this time at the hands of Wisconsin.
Scoring points was the biggest issue for Carolina versus Minnesota, as the Tar Heels hit a dismal .009, but the next night it was the defensive effort that came up short as Wisconsin hit .361, and the Badgers out-blocked the Tar Heels 7 to 4.5 and out-dug them 45 to 25.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/UNCVolleyball/status/901195753821007872" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Carolina has a few new players in key positions who are clearly still trying to get in the groove. That includes 6-foot-7 redshirt freshman setter Holly Carlton and sophomore Mia Fradenburg, who earned the start at libero for the first time in her career over the weekend.
Against Minnesota, Carlton ran a 5-1, but the next night Georgia Southern Kendra Koetter saw the floor as the second half of a 6-2.
Starting the season losing in three sets two nights in a row certainly doesn't look or feel good, but Carolina's still got plenty of talent with reigning ACC Player of the Year Taylor Leath and ACC Freshman of the Year Julia Scoles swinging at the pins. Once the team gets the first and second contact under control, we'll see this team living up to the hype.
3. The Big Ten may not be quite as dominant this fall.
Last year, the Big Ten was absolutely the top volleyball conference in the country, but if opening weekend's results were any indication it may be in danger of losing that title. Nebraska kicked off the season 0-2 with losses to the Florida and Oregon, Michigan lost to previously unranked Southern California, Ohio State fell to BYU, and Georgia Tech upset Michigan State.
USA Today Sports
Yes, Penn State, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are ranked in the top 10, but we're continuing to see parity increase across the board.
4. What can't Sarah Sponcil do?
In the offseason, Sarah Sponcil transferred from LMU to UCLA. The senior led her LMU squad in kills as an outside hitter last fall and played on the beach volleyball team's No. 1 pair in the spring.
Now, she's the Bruins' starting setter, directing her team to a 3-0 start to the season. The Phoenix, Arizona, native hadn't set since high school, but in three matches she tallied 136 assists and helped the team hit .273, in addition to contributing 11 blocks and 30 digs.
5. Preseason unranked teams making a name for themselves.
Just a handful of unranked teams pulled off upsets over opening weekend. Georgia Tech's four-set victory over preseason No. 17 Michigan State was perhaps the most surprising, but USC also made a big statement with 3-1 defeat of preseason No. 20 Michigan (No. 16 in the AVCA preseason poll).
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/uscwomensvolley/status/901341737955729408" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Northern Iowa and Austin Peay took advantage of No. 19 Missouri playing without its star outside hitter Melanie Crow, with both teams downing the Tigers in five sets. Crow played a big role in Mizzou's season-opening victories over Marshall and Middle Tennessee before being relegated to the bench due to an undisclosed injury.
The AVCA's preseason No. 20 Hawaii lost to preseason No. 10 UCLA and unranked Marquette and San Diego, marking the first time since 1980 that the Wahine have started a season 0-3.
Another unranked team making some noise was Nashville's Lipscomb. The Bison lost to Wichita State in the second match of their opening-weekend tournament, but the next night, with 25 kills from junior outside hitter Carlyle Nusbaum, they knocked off the AVCA's preseason No. 24-ranked Arizona Wildcats, earning votes in this week's coaches' poll.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/ASUNVolleyball/status/901636566514323456" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Watch NCAA Action This Weekend
The Wolverine Invitational hosted by Utah Valley will feature Kansas, Long Beach State, and Montana on August 31- September 2. Watch live here.
The Boise State Invitational on August 31- September 2 features hosts Boise State, BYU, Mizzou, and Sacramento State. Watch live here.
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