2009 schedule

[SpanglerFan316]

WSU has almost everybody back from the 2008 30-2 team; among players who played much, only Angela Jakubov and HM AA Kelly Broussard are gone. Kelly will be replaced by Melissa Granville at Libero. Our setter, Mary Elizabeth Hooper, will be a sophomore, and we'll have great experience at every position.

This Shocker team should be playing a bunch of Top 25 teams. We don't play any Top 25 teams.

Let's compare our schedule with some others.

U. Denver plays #2 Stanford, #9 Oregon, #14 Minnesota http://www.denverpioneers.com/SportS...&Q_SEASON=2009

St. Louis University plays #1 Penn State, #4 Texas, #6 Cal, #7 Hawaii, #11 Illinois http://www.slubillikens.com/sports/w...ley-sched.html

Middle Tennessee State plays # 5 Washington, #21 St. Louis http://www.volleytalk.proboards.com/...y&thread=26956

Of course, I'm not listing Hawaii.

ADDED: Cal apparently was not the main culprit in the cancelation of the "Cal tourney." I am therefore removing criticism of Cal from my old posts. :D

[dregn]

I'm sure if you can call those schools up and get them to schedule us, Lamb would be more then willing and happy to play them. Our results against Nebraska in the spring may have hurt our scheduling as much as anything else.

[SpanglerFan316]

I'm sure if you can call those schools up and get them to schedule us, Lamb would be more then willing and happy to play them. Our results against Nebraska in the spring may have hurt our scheduling as much as anything else.

"Our results against Nebraska in the spring may have hurt our scheduling as much as anything else."

I would be inclined to accept this argument EXCEPT for the facts that (1) SLU has a great schedule and (2) http://www.avca.org/articles/index.c...=164&menuID=92.

Please explain why your idea applies to WSU and not to SLU.

[SpanglerFan316]

I'm sure if you can call those schools up and get them to schedule us, Lamb would be more then willing and happy to play them. Our results against Nebraska in the spring may have hurt our scheduling as much as anything else.

Would SLU also be unwilling to play WSU? They don't seem to be worried about playing tough teams.


ADDED: Cal apparently was not the main culprit in the cancelation of the "Cal tourney." I am therefore removing criticism of Cal from my old posts. :D

[dregn]

I honestly have no idea what it is. I just know Lamb is willing to play anyone in the top ranks he can get on the schedule. He has not shied away from playing top teams in the past. I think part of the problem is simliar to our bball program where he wants to play those games in a tourny format or get a home and home type contract. If you aren't invited to any tournaments with top teams it's doubtful you'll get those games on the schedule.

[SpanglerFan316]

I honestly have no idea what it is. I just know Lamb is willing to play anyone in the top ranks he can get on the schedule. He has not shied away from playing top teams in the past. I think part of the problem is simliar to our bball program where he wants to play those games in a tourny format or get a home and home type contract. If you aren't invited to any tournaments with top teams it's doubtful you'll get those games on the schedule.

WSU has probably its best WVB in Shocker history. This team needs to play top teams in 2009 even without a "home and home type contract" and even if it isn't in a tourney setting. If this is a WSU policy, I am unaware of it. Do you have any clue about any such policy?

I would love to sit down with Chris Lamb in a private meeting and learn what exactly is the problem. There is probably some poster or lurker on SN in a position to ask Eric Sexton or others tough questions if such a SN member KNEW what are the problems rather than having to guess. If a knowledgeable person posted on SN and said "The problem(s) is(are) ...", then such a person (e.g. C. Koch ;-) :lol: ) could do something.

What MIGHT be the problems?
1. Money
2. AD's policies
3. WSU policies
4. Chris Lamb's policies
5. everything else :D

If it is financial, the problem could be explained to the WSU community and a "travel fund for volleyball" campaign could be created to help improve volleyball in future years. If it is a policy matter (e.g. must have "home & home"), this could be discussed.

[SpanglerFan316]

Why does WSU have an athletic program? Is there a good reason to keep our athletic program?

I can see two principal benefits to having an athletic program and they are "national exposure" and "keeping our community happy." I'll explain what I mean below. Both of these benefits are enhanced when money and attention are devoted to a Top 20 ranked program which is Top 5 in attendance - for example, volleyball. Look at how volleyball has helped the University of Nebraska.

Some people in WSU athletics may think women's basketball will be the "next big thing" in WSU athletics. I think they are wrong. We can argue the merits of WBB but I simply suggest that you watch a WSU MBB game, a WSU WBB game and see if you think that WBB suffers greatly in comparison in terms of fundamental execution. Remember that old 1940s & 1950s "two-hand set shot"? Don't you wish Marshall's team used this for perimeter shots all the time? No? You don't want Shocker players eating the basketball when the defenders stuff it in our players' faces? You think it looks really old fashioned and unathletic? You think it isn't "good fundamental basketball"? I agree.

WSU doesn't make money from athletics. At best, WSU Athletics makes money from athletics. In fact, WSU students pay a lot of money per year to athletics. Over $2M per year if I correctly recall the figures I last saw. People contribute money to athletics (e.g. SASO) to the tune of $4M-$5M per year (OK, this is my guess.) What does WSU get for this?

1. National exposure. The baseball championship in 1989 is still helping WSU. The bowling championships bring us lots of exposure around the world (but are not part of WSU Athletics). The Sweet 16 run in 2006 was nice.

2. Students, alums, WSU employees and Wichita area residents might enjoy Shocker sports. I know I do. Sports is often expected as "part of the package" at a university.

What are the advantages to WSU of 1. & 2.? Student recruitment, alumni (& other) contributions to the academic side of WSU, student benefits (e.g. exposure of our athletic programs might help WSU grads get jobs easier), etc.

[SpanglerFan316]

I'm sure if you can call those schools up and get them to schedule us, Lamb would be more then willing and happy to play them. Our results against Nebraska in the spring may have hurt our scheduling as much as anything else.

http://www.centredaily.com/sports/story/1359799.html

The Penn State women’s volleyball schedule was posted last week, and despite being two-time defending national champions, the slate is hardly impressive.

The only non-conference teams that made last year’s NCAA tournament are Miami (Ohio), Saint Louis and Duke, and they are all on the road.
If you are disappointed in the schedule, you are not alone.

“I tried very hard to get a number of people to play, talked to a number of teams in the top 10, and there were some people that didn’t want to play us home or away,” head coach Russ Rose said. “And there were some that didn’t want to come and play us. Scheduling is not as easy as maybe people think it is.”

The trips for tournaments in Saint Louis (where they also will play Miami and Alabama) and at Duke (which also includes Loyola, Md., and College of Charleston) are both pay-back matches for each coming to State College in recent seasons. The trip to Durham is also for senior Megan Hodge and sophomore Katie Kabbes, who are from that area.

The reciprocity is a bit of a burning issue for Rose, who thought he had Nebraska on the home schedule this season.

“Circumstances led to that not coming to fruition,” Rose said, not elaborating other than saying, “they didn’t want to come.”

While he did not say it outright, his frustration is quite evident with the Cornhuskers, who were the only team to take a set off the Nittany Lions last season — in the NCAA semifinals. Penn State has played in Lincoln 12 times, with four other matches on neutral floors (if last year’s match in Omaha could have been considered neutral), and the Huskers have been to State College once.

So #1 Penn State will do "home & home" games. Imagine seeing PSU in Koch Arena in 2010 after WSU played at PSU in 2009. Too bad it won't happen.

[SpanglerFan316]

Just so you don't get the wrong idea, I think the Lambs and the other WSU WVB coaches are great; they have my complete support. I'm sure Chris does the best he can under whatever constraints he has.

PS I hate working on Sundays; glad I'm done now.

[The Mad Hatter]

The schedule is officially out:

http://www.goshockers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7500&ATCLID=204762626

[SpanglerFan316]

Thanks. Now we need to get more fans to CKA for volleyball matches. Let's get to #4 in average attendance for 2009!!!
:wsu_posters: :goshocks: :posterwu: :posterwsu:

[BearClause]

I'm sure if you can call those schools up and get them to schedule us, Lamb would be more then willing and happy to play them. Our results against Nebraska in the spring may have hurt our scheduling as much as anything else.

Would SLU also be unwilling to play WSU? They don't seem to be worried about playing tough teams.

PS I suspect Cal backed out on us because of the Nebraska loss when an excuse arose which allowed them to "skip town." However Penn State isn't playing any good teams except SLU in the OOC. If Chris had called Coach Rose and said "Can we come there and play you?", I suspect RR would have said "yes."

I am a Cal fan and information about the program sometimes trickles down to me. I don't know all the inner workings of the program, but this worked its way to me.

Cal isn't worried about playing tough teams or even lower ranked teams with the potential to upset. They have Texas, Hawaii, and SLU in their OOC schedule. They don't particularly care about what happens in Spring "competition". It really doesn't figure into their thinking.

I found out the deal with the previous Cal Molten Classic being canceled. Originally Cal had a four team tournament planned when one of the original teams backed out. The Cal staff then sent out feelers and WSU was the only team to respond. As far as I can tell, Chris Lamb wanted it badly although the Cal staff had a feeling that it might not sit too well with one of the remaining teams - having to face two top 25 teams in the same tournament. The Cal staff went ahead with inviting WSU (crossing their fingers) and sent out messages to the remaining teams. It seemed pretty good for a while, but two months later one of the remaining teams decided to drop out. They tried to get a replacement team, followed by asking other SF Bay Area teams if they might be able to host a match with WSU and/or the other remaining team. They spent a lot of time trying to get other teams to agree to either join the tournament or host. Apparently the requirement for both WSU and the other team was 3 total matches on their visit. Since they couldn't accommodate that requirement, the Cal staff decided to cancel their tournament.

http://volleytalk.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=27430

[SpanglerFan316]

Thanks for the information. Coach Lamb has occasional pregame talks and dinners where he discusses volleyball issues (plus a postseason awards dinner, etc.) Does UC Berkeley volleyball have something similar?

We always enjoy having fans of other schools join ShockerNet. Please visit and offer your comments on Cal volleyball, Pac Ten volleyball, WSU volleyball or anything else.

By the way, have you ever been to Wichita? Is it likely that you might come here and watch Shocker volleyball? (If you do, some of us will buy you a beer and dinner. (Right, '72?) :D )

[SpanglerFan316]

Here is an outlook article for WSU volleyball: http://www.goshockers.com/ViewArticl...CLID=204773100
I'm curious to hear any comments you might have.

I don't know any links to Cal sports message board(s) where volleyball is discussed. If you could provide one (or more), we would appreciate it.

One (or two) more question(s). The Pac Ten has two UC campuses, UC Berkeley and UCLA. Stanford is also in the Bay Area. Which is a bigger rival in sports? (Does the answer depend on the sport?) What about in academics? (Do UCB & UCLA "fight" one another for state funding? Of course, in Kansas, KU & KSU fight each year to increase WSU funding. :roll: :lol: )

[SpanglerFan316]

“We had to make some adjustments late with our tournament at Cal being cancelled, but I’m glad we were able to get Louisville on the schedule,” Lamb said. “Our tournament here features North Carolina and Oklahoma who should both be NCAA Tournament teams this season. This year’s schedule is a little more competitive than last year’s and I expect the Missouri Valley to be more competitive from top to bottom. The fact that we have the Italian National team coming is a wonderful opportunity for our team. It should be a lot of fun and we should be able to learn a lot about our team.”

http://www.goshockers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=61208&SPID=2838&DB_OEM_ID=7500&ATCLID=204773100

If OU is good enough to make the NCAA tourney, this would be great for us. They had some big wins last year but some bad losses too. Same for UNC.