Greetings from Orange, California, USA!
Photo taken on Monday, April 28, 2008.
Photo taken on Monday, April 28, 2008.
What topic deserved a momentary change to my weekly email format as mentioned in my last message? First here’s a bit more suspense with a quick detour. The weekly photo is a shot of the walkway leading to the movie theatre at the Block of Orange shopping center where I had a cheap dinner with friends. Okay, enough suspense. The topic is Men’s College Volleyball. After recounting matches since January, how could I not write about the regional and national championships? At least I am combining the competitions in one email instead of spreading them over two. Count your blessings.
In Week 1 the regional championships were held at the Walter Pyramid on the nearby California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach State) campus. I passed on attending and simply checked the web for Thursday’s semifinals results and watched Saturday’s finals via internet video.
The 2nd-seated Cougars of Brigham Young University (BYU) did a 3-0 sweep of the 3rd-seated Matadors of California State University, Northridge. In the other semifinals match, 5th-seated Waves of Pepperdine University, having already defeated 4th-seated UCLA in the quarterfinals, rebounded from a two-game deficit, winning 3-2 over the 1st-seated 49ers of Long Beach State. Against BYU in the finals, Pepperdine continued its victory streak, winning 3-2 games (28-30, 28-30, 32-30, 30-27, 15-8). Perhaps the Waves should be renamed the Tsunamis.
In Week 2 the national championships were held at the Bren Event Center on the UC Irvine campus. The three regional champions - the Mountain/Pacific’s Pepperdine Waves, the Midwest’s Ohio State Buckeyes and Eastern’s Penn State Nittany Lions were joined by the Long Beach State 49ers, the “at-large” competitor, typically the highest ranking team not already competing.
With the Anteaters hosting but not competing in the competition, I was on the fence on attending. My indecision was resolved by a friend’s free ticket to Thursday’s semifinals. Just a week after their last face off in the regionals, the Waves repeated victory over the 49ers with a 3-0 sweep. Meanwhile Penn State triumphed 3-1 over Ohio State. ESPN2 broadcasted Saturday’s final and I watched the Waves winning streak end with a 1-3 loss (30-27, 31-33, 25-30, 23-30). In Men’s College Volleyball National Championships’ 38 years, Mountain/Pacific region teams have won all but two titles, both times by Penn State. Congrats to the Nittany Lions.
No more volleyball talk until January except for the Olympics in August. But that lasts only two weeks. Count your blessings (again).
Angelo
In Week 1 the regional championships were held at the Walter Pyramid on the nearby California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach State) campus. I passed on attending and simply checked the web for Thursday’s semifinals results and watched Saturday’s finals via internet video.
The 2nd-seated Cougars of Brigham Young University (BYU) did a 3-0 sweep of the 3rd-seated Matadors of California State University, Northridge. In the other semifinals match, 5th-seated Waves of Pepperdine University, having already defeated 4th-seated UCLA in the quarterfinals, rebounded from a two-game deficit, winning 3-2 over the 1st-seated 49ers of Long Beach State. Against BYU in the finals, Pepperdine continued its victory streak, winning 3-2 games (28-30, 28-30, 32-30, 30-27, 15-8). Perhaps the Waves should be renamed the Tsunamis.
In Week 2 the national championships were held at the Bren Event Center on the UC Irvine campus. The three regional champions - the Mountain/Pacific’s Pepperdine Waves, the Midwest’s Ohio State Buckeyes and Eastern’s Penn State Nittany Lions were joined by the Long Beach State 49ers, the “at-large” competitor, typically the highest ranking team not already competing.
With the Anteaters hosting but not competing in the competition, I was on the fence on attending. My indecision was resolved by a friend’s free ticket to Thursday’s semifinals. Just a week after their last face off in the regionals, the Waves repeated victory over the 49ers with a 3-0 sweep. Meanwhile Penn State triumphed 3-1 over Ohio State. ESPN2 broadcasted Saturday’s final and I watched the Waves winning streak end with a 1-3 loss (30-27, 31-33, 25-30, 23-30). In Men’s College Volleyball National Championships’ 38 years, Mountain/Pacific region teams have won all but two titles, both times by Penn State. Congrats to the Nittany Lions.
No more volleyball talk until January except for the Olympics in August. But that lasts only two weeks. Count your blessings (again).
Angelo
