This week we bring you a blog from senior outside hitter Kevin Smith of Esperanza (Anaheim, Calif.) who gives us the bird's eye view on what guy volleyball players really talk about.

	Courtesy Smith family
	Senior outside hitter Kevin Smith of Esperanza (Anaheim, Calif.) hitting

 

There comes a time in every volleyball player's life when he realizes that being a 6' 7” Karch Kiraly prodigy isn't all what it's cut out to be. Being tall and lanky loses its appeal. Countless college offers destroys any ounce of satisfaction gained from the sport. So here it is folks: the top five reasons being a volleyball god could come back to bite you in the (non-existent) butt.

 

5. Do you play basketball?

Yes, the social stigma attributed to being an emerging skyscraper is that you are magically the next Kobe Bryant. Everyone, everywhere also questions your sports allegiance when you utter, "No, I play volleyball.” All their hopes and dreams diminish and falter because, well, you won't be the next Kobe Bryant. But to assuage their hopes, you exclaim, "Don't worry, I'm the next Clay Stanley.” Their response, "Who…?”

 

4. Love

There remains nothing more magical and romantic than a man getting down on his knees, passionately gazing into the eyes of his significant other, just to give her a simple kiss. Being outrageously tall puts quite a damper on romance. But really, what kind of a teenage guy wants any part of girls anyway? Gorgeous hair and eyes could throw off a guy's perception.

 

3. Floor Burn

With volleyball comes the necessity to dive all over the court to dig a ball, occasionally resulting in the most excruciating pain ever known to mankind: the floor burn. Nothing quite like this surging wound can take a relaxing shower and turn it into a game of hot potato. And by potato, I mean water of death. Nothing else can make the experience more agonizing like the dubious leech of dirt: soap. "But son, it will reduce your chance of infection.” When they stop making soap out of prison shanks and the tears of babies, maybe the lack of infection will outweigh the pain. Until then… I dodge water.

 

2. Shotgun

As childlike as it may be, nothing reaffirms one's sole ownership to the passenger seat of a car like the word "Shotgun.” Being a skilled expert at this game is a necessity to survival if you're a volleyball giant. On the rare occasion of a mental lapse and the loss of the front seat of the car, the image of a daddy longlegs spider crammed into a car the size of peanut starts to rattle through your brain. But hey, why not be nice and let your 5' 3” friend ride comfortably in the front seat with 3 feet of unused legroom? It's not like you wanted it anyway…

1. Snipers

On the off chance that every volleyball organization was transferred into the Middle East battle grounds in Afghanistan, being tall would severely increase your chances of being killed by a sniper. Honestly, why wouldn't you pick out the target with the greatest amount of surface area? Simple logistics say that the taller you are, the deader you are. And let's face it, who one can play volleyball while wearing a bulletproof vest? The only option is to sadly turn to reason #1…

 

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ESPN RISE Volleyball.com is proud to introduce college freshman outside hitter Taylor Martin of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. Taylor is here to give us the low down on what life in college is like your freshman year.

 

Hi, my name is Taylor Martin and I am a freshman at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.  I have been playing volleyball for almost 10 years now, but nothing compares to what my first season as a college volleyball player has been like.

	Photo Courtesy of Embry-Riddle Athletics
	Freshman outside hitter Taylor Martin of Embry-Riddle University.

Going into my first preseason I had no idea what to expect.  I had heard that it was extremely difficult and exhausting, so you can imagine the anticipation.  Preseason was very hard and I spent a lot of time in the ice tub after workouts, but it definitely made me better in the long run.

  

Our first game of the season was against Northwood University.  We took a four-day trip down to South Florida.  Each day we played a different conference game.  I got to play in our first game of the season.  I was so nervous on the court that I couldn't stop shaking. We knocked out 4 conference games in one trip.  People said we were crazy to start our season off with 4 conference games all in a row, but our coach and our team was confident.  We returned to Daytona at the end of the trip with a 4-0 record.  Not a bad way to start off the season.  

We finished our season going undefeated in conference (18-0) and an overall record of 24-7.  I had such a great time in my first season of college volleyball. It was everything I expected and more.  The home games were crazy!  We had so many dedicated fans come to the games.  I have never played in front of this many people in my life.  Feeding off the energy of the crowd just made me play even better. 

The week before a big home game there were huge posters all around the school advertising our games. I remember the first time I saw a solo picture of me hitting on one of the posters.  I was shocked.  I walked into the main café area where everyone eats and I see a big poster of me hanging on the wall. 

Being a college athlete has a lot of advantages.  People around school, who I didn't even know, knew who I was and that I played on volleyball team.  It is great to have all that support. 

One week on a Wednesday, we had a huge game against Flagler College, who was a big rival.  Not only was it a big rival game, but it was also "Dig Pink" Cancer Fundraiser night.  We had close to 600 people at the game.  It was the biggest crowd we had ever had, and it is definitely a night that I will never forget.  

So far, my first year has turned out great.  I LOVE my teammates and my coaches.  This is the first team that I have been on where I really feel like everyone on the team truly loves volleyball as much as I do and wants to work just as hard to get to the top.  It is a great program.  We are starting our spring season and I am really looking forward to playing some more. 

 

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Every week ESPN RISE Volleyball will voice high school bloggers from across the nation. This week we would like to introduce junior outside hitter Noelle Gipson of FAB 50 No. 23 Elkhart Memorial of Elkhart, Indiana.

My name is Noelle Gipson. I am currently a junior at Elkhart Memorial (Ind.) High where I play volleyball and run track, as well as many other things. I would like to share with you my volleyball experiences. They are action filled, sometimes tense, but always a GREAT time.

	Courtesy Gipson Family
	Noelle Gipson of Elkhart Memorial

This past weekend my travel team played in our first tournament of the season. We didn't know how well we would perform, but we all knew what we were capable of doing individually. Now we just had to put that all together. Our first match went fairly well, we played our toughest competition and beat them 25-12 both sets. Although the score doesn't show it, we knew we would see this team in the championship.

The other three matches went okay we came out victorious. On my team we have really tough servers so I think that is what gave us an extra edge over the rest of the teams, as well as how fast we played the game. I think my entire team was in shock at how well we all played and came together. In practice we rarely ever just played, practice is mostly drills. Our serve receive was a little up and down all day at the tournament. But at the end of the day, our coach told us that she was happy with our over all play of the day. Of course there are things we can still work on and will continue to work on throughout our season.

The Championship match was pretty tough and we ended up seeing our very first opponent of the day there. This team played tougher than they had in the first match. They were truly our toughest competition now in the final. The first set went to the opposing team, 25-18.

The second set, my team fought hard to win, 25-20. The third set, usually to fifteen, was the toughest set of the entire tournament. Although we were the first to fifteen our opponents were not too far behind at fourteen. We had to win by two. So both teams went back and forth, forth and back, trying to get two points ahead of the other. In the end, my team did not stay ahead. The final score 23-21, the other team won.

All in all, the tournament was very fun, and being our first, brought my team closer together!

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Boys season is almost here! This is the second installment in our series in which we present team-by-team previews for the upcoming boys volleyball season. This series will lead into the release of our annual preseason FAB 50 Boys National Volleyball Rankings.

Team Name: Palos Verdes (Calif.)
Head Coach: Patrick Lynch (91-52)
Last Year's Records: 21-7 overall, 15-8 for JV
Key Players: Ryan Marcill (6-7, OP, Jr.), Grant Delgado (5-9, L, Sr.), Kyle Stevenson (6-4, OH, Sr.), Kyle Rehkemper (6-5, MB, Sr.), Jackson Belcher (6-8, S, Sr.), Clay Paullin (6-8, OP, Sr.)
Notes: According to Sea Kings' coach Patrick Lynch, Palos Verdes can compete with the best. Their strengths will be size and exeperience.  Weaknesses for Palos Verdes will be replacing Eric Feldman, who graduated last year.  They have some big games on their schedule this year and the one the Sea Kings may have circled early on is a date with last year's No. 1 Loyola.  Additionally, Delgado is off to Stanford, Rehkemper is going to Harvard, Stevenson is going to CS-Northridge, Belcher to UCLA, Paullin to BYU and Sean Heitzler (6-2, S, Sr.) is off to Southern Cal.

***Check out video from Kyle Stevenson last summer on the beach!

VIDEO: Kyle Stevenson

 
Team Name: Wheaton Warrenville South (Wheaton, Ill.)
Head Coach: Bill Schreier (374-60)
Last Year's Records: 38-4 overall, 29-6 for JV
Key Players: Eric Wilkins (6-2, S), Eric Luhrsen (6-5, OH), Bodie Ebergeny (6-3, OH), Matt Wilkins (6-3, OP)
Notes: Six times have the boys from Wheaton, Ill., won the state title and they have also won the last three, the first time in state history to accomplish that.  In the 2009 final FAB 50 National Rankings, the Tigers finished No. 4. According to coach Schreier, they lost a few of the players from last year's title team. The Tigers will square off twice against Glenbard East, who finished No. 12 in the final 2009 rankings.

Team Name: Las Vegas (Nev.)
Head Coach: Sue Thurman (96-21)
Last Year's Records: 18-6 overall, 17-3 for JV
Key Players: Braeden Wilson (6-2, OH, Sr.), Trevor Hardy (6-4, RS, Sr.), Chris Gbelay (6-4, MH, Sr.), Luke Hansen (5-11, S, Jr.).
Notes: This team will have a lot of experience going into the 2010 season. Of its 12-man roster eight are seniors and the remaining four are juniors. Experience and ball control will be the team's strength, that according to coach Thurman.  There were only two teams from Nevada in last year's final ranking, No. 47 Palo Verde (Las Vegas, Nev.)  and No. 49 Shadow Ridge (Las Vegas, Nev.). Las Vegas will face Palo Verde twice this year, once in March and the last game of the year in May. 
 

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by ESPN RISE Volleyball

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. -Kansas State volleyball coach Suzie Fritz welcomed three freshman for the spring semester to make the transition early into college. Tristan McCarty of Millennium (Kan.), Kaitlynn Pelger of Olathe South (Oathe, Kan.) and Erin Truet of Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.) graduated high school early and enrolled in classes at K-State for the spring semester.

The growing trend of enrolling early into colleges is giving girls extra time to workout with the team during spring practices and get a jump start on college life.

To read more click here... Kansas State Signees

 

by Kirstin Olsen/ESPN RISE

 

On Martin Luther King Day, over 150 eager young athletes attended the tryouts for the USA Volleyball High Performance Program. Tryouts were for the Men's Junior (men born in 1991 or 1992); Boys' Youth (boys born in 1993 or 1994); and Boys' Select (boys born in 1995 or later) National Teams at the American Sports Center in Anaheim.

	Photo Kirstin Olsen/ESPN RISE
	US National Team Coach Alan Knipe spoke to athletes

 

This was the third tryout of the 17 nationwide tryouts that will be held in January and February. Final team selection will be announced March 18-28. 

 

A select twelve of the MJNT- 2010 U-21 will compete in the Continental Championship in Quebec, Canada July 31- August 8, and twelve of the BYNT- 2010 U-19 will compete in the Continental Championship in Mexico April 3-11. 

 

It was a long weekend after a the SCVA Junior Boys Invitational three day tournament at the American Sports Center, but some up and coming talent shined.

 

US Men's National Team Coach Alan Knipe was there to greet the athletes. Head USC coach Bill Ferguson and Olympians Jeff Stork and Gary and Eric Sato also evaluated players. 

 

The tryout consisted of a warm up; run, stretch, pepper, hit, followed by 4 on 4 and 6 on 6 wash drills. 

 

Long Beach State Assistant Coach and Junior National Team coach John Hawks was optimistic about the turnout.

 

"The future of USA Volleyball sure looks bright!  I was very impressed with the turnout and the level of play considering the boys just finished playing a 3-day tournament,” Hawks said.  "The kids are getting more and more physical each year.  We are going to find a group of guys that will represent our country well…this is the fun part for our staff…putting all the pieces together to form the best team.”

 

Here are notes on some standout players.

 

Josh Taylor (2011) 6-8 OH Ku'ikahi Volleyball Club/Punahou (Honolulu, HI)

He is lean and mean, has huge feet (still growing) AND is only a junior.

He hits the ball high and hard and plays good D in the back row. It will be a fight to see who gets this kid….one of the top underclassmen in the nation.

 

Andrew Sato (2011) 5-8 S/L Agoura High School/SMBC 17Black. Sato (son of Gary) stood out in the libero position. 

 

Matt West (2011) 6-5 S from Space Needle Volleyball Foundation and Shorewood (Wash.) West was one of the most talented setters at the tryout.

 

Cody Caldwell (2011) 6-5 OH Newport Harbor/Balboa Bay. Caldwell looks solid and to be following in his brother Kyle's footsteps but with his right and in the OH position.

 

Other notable players were…

 

Jack Reed (2011) MB Balboa Bay VBC

 

Jonathan Tuttle (2011) RS Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills, calif.) Northern California VC

 

Rusty Sary (2011) 6-4 OH Newport Harbor (Newport Beach, Calif.) Balboa Bay VBC

 

Jace Olsen (2010) 6-7 MB Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) SCVC

 

Eric Mochalski (2010) 6-5 OH Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) SCVC

 

Joby Ramos (2010) 6-0 L Roosevelt (Honolulu, Hawaii) Ku'ikahi VBC

 

Ryan Leung (2010) 6-4 OH Hawaii Baptist (Honolulu, Hawaii) Ku'ikahi VBC 

 

Spencer Rowe (2010) 6-7 MB Mission Viejo (Calif.) OCVC 

 

Logann Molina (2010) L Assets (Honolulu, Hawaii) Ku'ikahi VBC

 

Kyle Russell (2011) OH Del Oro (Loomis, Calif.)  Northern Cailfornia VC

 

 

For more information on USA Volleyball and High Performance Programs go to…

 

USA Volleyball High Performance Indoor

 

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Boys season is almost here! This is the first installment in our series in which we present team-by-team previews for the upcoming boys volleyball season. This series will lead into the release of our annual preseason FAB 50 Boys National Volleyball Rankings. 

 
Team Name: Carl Sandburg (Orland Park, Ill.)
Head Coach: David Vales (211-60)
Last Year's Records: 31-7 overall, 33-0 for JV
Key Players: Bill Siroky (6-5, MH, Jr.), Andrew Muys (6-5, OH, Jr.), Tom Carmody (6-8, MH, Jr.) and Kevin Groeper (6-2, RS, Jr.).
Notes: "Look to be strong offensively and defensively.  We have quite a few 'volleyball only' players.” That according to coach Vales.
 
 
Team Name: Elder (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Head Coach: Sean Tierney (122-42)
Last Year's Records: 20-7 overall, 19-4 for JV
Key Players: Matt Harpenau (6-8, MH, Sr.), CJ Zureick (6-7, OH, Sr.), Steven Kent (5-10, S, Sr.), John Lucas (6-7, OPP, Sr.) and Matt Moehring (6-4, OH, Jr.).
Notes: Elder made a run to the Ohio state title, but fell short in the finals.  According to coach Tierney they should have a deep team, as they return four starters and should have depth.  Harpenau was third on the team in kills (163), second in blocks (104) and first in service aces (38).  Kent led the way with 547 assists and Zureick added 151 kills and 39 blocks.  Last year, Elder finished No. 19 in the final ESPN RISE FAB 50 National Rankings, a few spots behind Moeller of Cincinnati, who came in at No. 16. Elder was the second highest ranked team from Ohio in the rankings.  
 
Team Name: Hinsdale Central (Ill.)
Head Coach: Len Stewart (201-159-7)
Last Year's Record: 32-5 overall
Key Players: Graham McIlvaine (6-5, OP/S, Sr.), Ryan Vozenilik (6-4, OP, Sr.), Cole Chana (6-5, M, Sr.), Woody Heidler (6-3, OS, Sr.), Franklin Chan (6-0, DS, Sr.), Bob Lenderman (5-10, L, Jr.).
Notes: Accodring to coach Stewart the strength this year will be size, experience and defense. Last year's team was the third straight team to compile a 30 plus win season and will have six returners off last year's team.  The one area Stewart said could be a weakness is the holes left by players who graduated last year.  Heidler signed with Endicott and McIlvaine signed with Ball State. Vozenilik has not signed yet, but according to Stewart it looks like either Grand Canyon or Hawaii are the possibilities.  

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Posted by Andrew Drennen, ESPN RISE Volleyball

Boys high school season is right around the corner! Check out Edison senior Torey Darin's exclusive interview with ESPNRISE.com...

Name: Torey Darin
Grad Year: 2010
Height: 6-5
High School: Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.) High School
Club: Balboa Bay Volleyball Club
Years playing volleyball: 5
Position: Opposite

	Courtesy Darin Family
	#28 Torey Darin of Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.)

ESPNRISE.com: When did you first start playing volleyball?
Torey Darin: I first started playing competitive volleyball in 8th grade at Balboa Bay.

ER.com: How did you get introduced to the game?
TD: I was introduced to the game from by brother (Phil) who made it pretty big in volleyball. I really wanted to be like him, so I joined Balboa.

ER.com: Are your parents athletes?
TD: Not really

ER.com: Do you have any brothers and sisters, and are they athletes?
TD: Phillip Darin my brother. He played at Edison, Balboa, and now at UCLA.

ER.com: You made the Best of the West All Tournament Team last year. How did you all feel you measured up in the tough field of teams?
TD: I thought we played up to our expectations and to the Edison standard. We had some trouble closing out the Best of the West Tournament, but we were really happy to have gotten so far with only a short period of training.(Read full post)

by Kirstin Olsen/ESPN RISE  

 

Morgan Broekhuis of ESPN RISE Volleyball FAB 50 Ranked No. 37 Colorado Springs Christian (Colorado Springs, Colo.) has been named ESPN RISE Volleyball Player of the Year. The senior setter/hitter lead her team with 465 kills, 411 assists, 40 blocks, 167 digs, and 30 aces.

	Courtesy Broekhuis family
	ESPN RISE Player of the Year Morgan Broekhuis of Colorado Springs Christian

The 6-foot-5 setter is breaking the mold and changing the game with her physique and skills. Broekhuis, just this week, left her 3A high school with an untarnished 30-0 record and is off to the Cornhusker State to enroll early at Nebraska. 

 

She helped the Lions win their fifth consecutive state title after a win in the championship match over Valley (Gilcrest, Colo.), but her most memorable victory of the year was a five set comeback win over 5A powerhouse Doherty (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

 

Broekhuis chose Nebraska out of a sea of suitors last January. She started to receive letters her freshman year and chose Nebraska over Texas and Washington.

 

When asked why she chose Nebraska, she stated, "The support they have for their student-athletes is amazing and also the tradition and success of the volleyball program.” 

 

The setting phenom started playing volleyball in fifth grade after her parents introduced her to the sport. Both college athletes, her mom was a volleyball player and dad a basketball player, and both stand over six feet. 

 

Her freshman year she hit, but had already started setting in club. A dual sport athlete (basketball and volleyball), she never set foot on the JV teams. Her senior year, she decided to focus just on volleyball.

 

Morgan's dad and high school volleyball coach Mike watched Morgan evolve into a dual threat player.

 

"Morgan's awareness on the court and her mentality on the court is one of a setter. She liked being involved and in charge of running the offense,” [Mike] Broekhuis commented. "She also has very good hands and picked up on setting techniques very quickly. She never stopped hitting, just added setting to her skill set. Systems were developed to allow her to do both during club and high school ball.”

 

When asked if she would rather set or hit, she's stumped.

 

"I can't choose one over the other because I enjoy doing a combination of both. If I chose setting, I'd miss hitting too much, and if I chose hitting I'd miss setting too much.”

 

Morgan appreciates a higher tighter pass from her teammates, but hasn't had to modify her game much. 

 

"The combination of her setting and hitting allowed us to be creative in our offense. We had special plays set up for her to attack off of the second ball. Her big block on the right side also allowed us to set up our defense differently against certain hitters,” [Mike] Broekhuis added.  "It was really the opposing team that had to modify their game in so many ways to try to stop her. There were times we had her blocking and hitting out of all three front row positions.”

 

Among many other accolades in her high school career, Broekhuis was recently honored as the Gatorade State Volleyball Player of the Year for the second straight year and an Under Armour All-American. 

 

In 2008 she was named to the U.S. Women's National Training Team and in 2009 she was selected to the U.S. Women's Junior National Team. 

 

"The Junior National Team was a great experience, Morgan added, "It opened my eyes to a new volleyball world and I gained some good training.”

 

She decided to leave high school early and enroll in spring semester to practice with her new team. Broekhuis will have the opportunity to get the hang of college and be able to train and practice with the team a whole half a year early before the 2010 season.

 

Cornhuskers beware of the dual threat setter/hitter, when Broekhuis steps on the court she likes her passes high and tight so she can decide whether to bomb away or dish it out.

 

Boys high school season is right around the corner...come back soon for team profiles! 

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Every week ESPN RISE Volleyball will voice high school bloggers from across the nation. This week we would like to introduce junior outside hitter Noelle Gipson of FAB 50 No. 23 Elkhart Memorial of Elkhart, Indiana.

 

My name is Noelle Gipson. I am currently a junior at Elkhart Memorial (Ind.) High where I play volleyball and run track, as well as many other things. I would like to share with you my volleyball experiences. They are action filled, sometimes tense, but always a GREAT time.

	Courtesy Gipson Family
	Noelle Gipson of Elkhart Memorial

Practice has been going pretty well so far, minus the double-suicides for dropped balls.  Running is just another way to teach us to be more disciplined and make sure we hit the floor for every ball. 

 

Our first few practices was mostly defense. I loved it as I do every practice. We did run through's from every which way of the court, after we completed the pass we of course had to do foot movement: karaoke, back peddle, and sprints. After chasing down the ball, we forgot what we were supposed to do. My feet just did their own thing until I realized I wasn't doing the correct movement when I got back to the end of the line! 

 

We started working on offense this week, which means JUMPING. Hitting showed us just how fatigued or out of shape we were. Our verticals are probably in the negatives right now. But we have some pretty big hitters on the team, so I'm sure getting whipped back in shape will be no problem for us. Alli Sailor and Sarah Dikos are both pretty good hitters out on the outside, and Lisa Parsons just keeps getting faster in the middle, and myself on the right side, yeah, we'll be back on top in a few more practices. 

 

With our first tournament approaching quickly, working hard is a must and that's all we've been doing from the start. Even if working hard leaves us breathless, and craving for an inhaler, (even though I'm the only one with asthma on the team) we'll do it. Our team is funny like that, but serious about our sport, it's our way of life.

 

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Posted by Chad Konecky

 

For all those still hanging around the mostly empty main gym at ESPN RISE Volleyball No. 8 ranked Shakopee High (Shakopee, MN) it was surreal to watch two-time Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor hitch up her dress slacks and start manically peppering a volleyball. But it was a particularly out-of-body experience for the recently named Gatorade National Girls Volleyball Player of the Year Ashley Wittman, who was actually bumping the ball with the sport's most decorated beach player of all time.

	Kirstin Olsen/ESPN RISE
	#1 Ashley Wittman was also on the winning Under Armour All-America Team Red was also on the winning

 

"That was so fun,” said Wittman, who was honored by Gatorade in conjunction with ESPN RISE just before the holidays. "She was like, 'Don't hit 'em so low, I can't squat down in these pants.'”

 

With a limo standing by to whisk her out of town for a flight back to her home state of Florida for the holidays, Misty stayed long enough to break a sweat, then gave Wittman a long hug along with her personal e-mail. It was a touching end to a remarkable day for Wittman, who was first surprised with the good news during class by the fun-loving, whimsical volleyball pro, then officially presented the award during a press conference with a wildly cheering student body looking on.

 

Misty never won the Gatorade Award-she graduated high school before volleyball joined the awards program's sports roster. But she did with three FIVB world championships and a mountain of matches with Gatorade's first-ever National Volleyball Player of the Year, Kerri Walsh, as her partner.

 

"I think the fact that Kerri won this award says a lot about the award and says a lot about Ashley,” said May-Treanor, who embraced her role as presenter with unbridled enthusiasm, mugging with Wittman's teammates, signing scores of autographs and posing for hundreds of pictures. "I also think it's great that she's a local kid who's staying home to play her college volleyball (at Minnesota). I think the sky is really the limit for her.”

 

Misty was a genuine, delightful and electric presence during every moment she spent on the Shakopee campus late last month-a sharp contrast to Wittman's understated, low-key style. After a few minutes of being stupefied, Wittman gradually emerged from her shell. She made gracious acceptance speech and managed to kid a few folks along the way, even thanking her sixth-grade brother, John, for allowing himself to be dragged to so many hundreds of sets of volleyball.

 

Talk to her long enough and you get a good glimpse inside what makes Wittman tick as a competitive athlete. She demands much of her teammates, more of herself and is never comfortable unless she's improving. Neither is she a big fan of fanfare. 

 

"I love everything that comes to me,” said Wittman, who as of today has a dozen days of high school remaining before she graduates early to begin classes at U of M. "I just don't like having those accomplishments shown to everyone in a format that's like, 'Look at me. Look at all the hardware I've got.' I take pride in my achievements, but I don't need to shout it out. I have to say, this Gatorade honor is so huge, though, I'm really making sure to take it all in.”

 

Ashley Wittman was also recently named to the ESPN RISE Volleyball All-America Team

 

Come back soon for the announcement of the ESPN RISE Volleyball Senior of the Year!

 

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ESPN RISE Volleyball would like to proudly announce it's 2010 All-America Team 

ESPN RISE Volleyball All-America First Team

Name  Height  Position School College Commitment

Taylor Unroe 5-7 L Muncie Burris (Muncie, IN) Florida  

Jennifer Bonilla 5-9 L Marymount (Los Angeles, CA) Illinois  

Carly Wopat 6-2 MB Dos Pueblos (Goleta, CA) Stanford  

Tori Dixon 6-3 MB Burnsville (Burnsville, MN) Minnesota  

Kathleen Slay 6-6 MB Wakefield (Raleigh, NC) Penn State  

Maddie Martin 6-2 OH Plant (Tampa, FL) Penn State  

Sara Shaw 6-2 OH Westlake (Austin, TX) USC  

Rachel Williams 5-11 OH Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, CA) Stanford  

Ashley Wittman 6-1 OH Shakopee (Shakopee, MN) Minnesota  

Hannah Allison 5-11 S Siloam Springs (Siloam Springs, AR) Texas  

Morgan Broekhuis 6-5 S/Opp Colorado Springs Christian (Colorado Springs, CO) Nebraska 

Mikinzie Moydell 6-0 S/Opp Chaparral (Parker, CO) Penn State 

 

ESPN RISE Volleyball All-America Second Team

Name  Height  Position School College Commitment

Natalie Hagglund 5-8 L La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad ,CA) USC  

Erica Denney 6-5 MB Grandview (Aurora, CO) Penn State  

Adrienne Gehan 6-3 MB Episcopal School of Dallas (Dallas, TX) Cal  

Alexis Olgard 6-6 MB Mead (Spokane, WA) USC  

Elise Walch 6-5 OH Martin County (Stuart, FL) Wisconsin  

Kelly Reeves 6-1 OH Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, CA) UCLA  

Falyn Fonoimoana 6-4 OH Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach, CA) USC  

Sam Wopat 6-1 OH Dos Pueblos (Goleta, CA) Stanford  

Sara Palmer 5-11 OH/L Hawaii Baptist (Honolulu, HI) Texas  

Dani Reinert 5-10 S Ursuline Academy (Cincinnati, OH) Buffalo  

Carly Thomas 5-11 S Althoff Catholic (Belleville, IL) Missouri State

Kylann Scheidt 6-1 S/Opp Farragut (Knoxville, TN) Tenessee 

Come back soon for the announcement of the ESPN RISE Volleyball Senior of the Year!

 

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by Kirstin Olsen/ESPN RISE 

 

Katie Messing of The Woodlands (Texas) has been named ESPN RISE Volleyball Junior of the Year. The outside hitter had a stellar season with 560 kills, 153 digs and 105 blocks.

	Photo courtesy of THe Woodlands Athletics
	ESPN RISE Volleyball Junior of the Year Katie Messing.

The 6-foot-4 Messing, in late September, verbally committed to Pepperdine after visiting Nebraska, Stanford, UCLA, Arkansas, Cal, Virginia and Arizona. 

 

The native Texan, born on Halloween, got started early when she was eight playing at the YMCA and started club at age 11. Messing and her older sister Michelle would play in the driveway when they were little. [Michelle] Messing is the only other volleyer in the family and plays at University of Louisiana-Monroe.

 

It has been no easy feat for the junior, who's never played JV, to last an entire season of almost 50 matches in easily one of the toughest 5A divisions in the country.

 

"There are a ton of great players in Texas. We know there will be tough competition no matter what tournaments we go to, so it keeps us on our toes to get ready for the bigger national tournaments.”

 

A highlight of the year for Katie came in a win over Cy-Woods in four games in the second round of playoffs, avenging a disappointing loss to early in the preseason.

 

Texas and California have the most teams in the ESPN RISE FAB 50 Ranking with seven each. In The Woodlands 5A division alone includes powerhouses ESPN RISE FAB 50 No. 4 Amarillo, No. 27 Westlake, No. 29 O'Connor, No. 31 Reagan, and No. 46 Westwood. The Highlanders finished the season 40-7 with a tough four game loss to Georgetown in the 5A Region 2 Quarterfinals, 23-25, 26-24, 25-23, 27-25.

 

Leslie Madison has been Katie's varsity coach for all three years at The Woodlands where she has been their "go to" player.

 

"Katie was the MVP of our team.  Not only because of her ability but her

consistency as well.  She is not a loud leader but one that leads by her

actions.  Other players look to her as a leader on the court. " Madison stated.

 

After the long season and over 1000 swings later, Messing is licking her wounds and ready to play with her club Asics Willowbrook. 

 

"I'd love to say I'm not [burnt out]. But it was a long season that leads straight into club season; I think we had four days off in between. I've been struggling with an overused and loose hitting shoulder since I got home from training and Thailand, but some physical therapy has helped and I'm ready and excited for the long stretch of club season.”

 

Messing also had the opportunity to play with the USA Youth National Team. In 2007 she was chosen to play for the USA Volleyball High Performance Select Team. In 2008 she was named to the U.S. Girls ' Youth National A2 Team. In 2009 she was named to the U.S. Girls' Youth National Training Team and competed at the Girls' Youth FIVB World Championships in Nakhonratchasima, Thailand in July. 

 

"Playing for the YNT toughened me mentally. The coaches were tough on us, and I'm thankful they were. They're some of the most well-known and knowledgeable coaches around, so getting the chance to work with them was an honor. I saw a whole different dimension of the game that I had never experienced before,” Messing commented.

 

"Just playing at such a high level was very rewarding, and it helped my game a lot. I improved at passing and defense tremendously. Their mentality was that they didn't care if you were tall and a hitter, you were still expected to pass just as well and fight for the defensive spots just like everyone else. That was one of the most influential experiences of my life as a person and a player.”

 

The self proclaimed juggling water skier (not at the same time) has a laundry list of accolades: Tournament MVP/Best Offensive Player: Kingwood Tournament, All-tournament: Pearland Tournament, 1st team- District 14-5A

Montgomery County Co-Offensive Player of the Year, 1st team- All greater Houston, All-state- Texas Girls Coaches Association, 2nd team All-State- Texas Sports Writers. 

 

Now she can add the ESPN RISE Volleyball Junior of the Year to her accomplishments and start the New Year with a bang.

 

Come back soon for the 2010 ESPN RISE Volleyball All-America Team and Senior of the Year!

 

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courtesy of USA Volleyball 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 1, 2010) – The USA Volleyball High Performance Indoor Program named its 12-player U.S. Girls' Youth National Team (Under-18) roster for 2010, according to U.S. Girls' Youth National Team Head Coach Jim Stone. 

For more info on the team click below...

USAV Names 2010 U.S. Girls' Youth National Team