I had the opportunity to take in the EIVA semifinal match last night in Happy Valley.
Plenty of Nittany Legends were in the house. Stew Russell, Donny Tobin, Ron Smith, Bobby Faux, Shakes, Z, GT and probably one or two others that I missed.
Max Holt goes back to serve in game 1. First serve bounces in front of their Libero. 1-0. Next serve gets shanked off the arms of the passer into the face of the guy next to him, dislodging his contact lens. 2-0. Two more aces and it was essentially over before Mason got a chance to serve.
Saturday at 7, EIVA finals vs Juniata. If you are within driving distance, be there. The Booster Club is arranging a post-match gathering at Champs on Atherton Street. I'll be back to everyone on Sunday with thoughts about next week.
Calendar
Friday, May 1, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Watch the PSU-Ball State Match on April 17
The BSU – PSU match on Friday, April 17 is being televised over Indiana and the BSU website will have the feed in case any one wants to view it. The website address is:
http://ballstatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=67667&SPID=7635&DB_OEM_ID=14200&ATCLID=3719664
GO LIONS!
http://ballstatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=67667&SPID=7635&DB_OEM_ID=14200&ATCLID=3719664
GO LIONS!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Alumni Weekend 2009
The Alumni out-sing the Varsity; the Daily Collegian fails to herald triumph.
Despite The Daily Collegian's efforts to only document the Varsity's victory on the court at the 33rd annual Alumni match on January 18 (see article below), the Alumni can proudly claim the singing championship. Led by a "Yak" (Jim Wittler PSUMVB '75), and a harmonic Skids (Frank Agnew, PSUMVB '78), the Alums belted out their greatest rendition of Black Water (EVER!) to defeat the varsity by a 2 to 1 margin using Yak's impartial applause-o-meter. Not even close this year, folks.
Be sure to check out the photo gallery of the 2009 Alumni match, Ball Pull, and banquet, by clicking here or pasting http://gopsusports.cstv.com/view.gal?id=41105 into your web browser's address bar..
If you really must know more about the volleyball match, read on...
From the January 20 Daily Collegian
Volleyball team defeats alumni, ends two-year skid
By Michael Oplinger
Collegian Staff Writer
Even during the pre-game handshake, the Penn State men's volleyball alumni showed some signs of rust.
With the current varsity team awaiting them at the net, the alumni approached from the wrong side, making the greetings go less smoothly than planned and drawing heckles from the alumni coaching staff.
Even though the alumni had won the exhibition two straight years, their own rust and the youth of the varsity team was too much to overcome as the varsity squad won 3-0 (30-27, 30-25, 30-21) at Rec Hall Saturday afternoon.
"As defending national champions, we can't lose to them," senior middle hitter Max Holt said.
Coach Mark Pavlik joked he was worried about beating the alumni this year because the varsity team lost last year before going on to win the national championship.
The setter from the national championship team, Luke Murray, wasn't concerned about the current team's ability.
"When they beat you, you know the program's in good hands," Murray said. "We're happy they showed us something here."
Although play was expectedly sloppy at times, the alumni sometimes wowed the surprisingly large crowd with powerful kills and solid blocks.
With more than 30 players, the alumni used their depth to hang with the younger team.
Substituting freely, players often came to the bench saying, "I can't breathe."
The alumni bench tended to be rowdy and attempted to bully the officials, prompting the referee to jokingly issue a yellow card.
After the match, the varsity players watched the alumni play each other in a matchup of "Old" versus "Really Old," according to the scoreboard.
The "Old" team prevailed 30-23.
The weekend was more about having fun and reconnecting with old teammates, according to the alumni.
"I probably really couldn't remember any of the games that I played, but I remember the stories," 1987 graduate Duane Trumble said.
The stories were shared at the annual banquet on Saturday night, where traditions are explained and the current players realize that not much has changed since the alumni played, Trumble said.
"It's just great having the family back to make us all understand that this is so much bigger than any one person, any one team." Pavlik said.
Read this article at The Daily Collegian online at http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2009/01/20/volleyball_team_defeats_alumni.aspx
Despite The Daily Collegian's efforts to only document the Varsity's victory on the court at the 33rd annual Alumni match on January 18 (see article below), the Alumni can proudly claim the singing championship. Led by a "Yak" (Jim Wittler PSUMVB '75), and a harmonic Skids (Frank Agnew, PSUMVB '78), the Alums belted out their greatest rendition of Black Water (EVER!) to defeat the varsity by a 2 to 1 margin using Yak's impartial applause-o-meter. Not even close this year, folks.
Be sure to check out the photo gallery of the 2009 Alumni match, Ball Pull, and banquet, by clicking here or pasting http://gopsusports.cstv.com/view.gal?id=41105 into your web browser's address bar..
If you really must know more about the volleyball match, read on...
From the January 20 Daily Collegian
Volleyball team defeats alumni, ends two-year skid
By Michael Oplinger
Collegian Staff Writer
Even during the pre-game handshake, the Penn State men's volleyball alumni showed some signs of rust.
With the current varsity team awaiting them at the net, the alumni approached from the wrong side, making the greetings go less smoothly than planned and drawing heckles from the alumni coaching staff.
Even though the alumni had won the exhibition two straight years, their own rust and the youth of the varsity team was too much to overcome as the varsity squad won 3-0 (30-27, 30-25, 30-21) at Rec Hall Saturday afternoon.
"As defending national champions, we can't lose to them," senior middle hitter Max Holt said.
Coach Mark Pavlik joked he was worried about beating the alumni this year because the varsity team lost last year before going on to win the national championship.
The setter from the national championship team, Luke Murray, wasn't concerned about the current team's ability.
"When they beat you, you know the program's in good hands," Murray said. "We're happy they showed us something here."
Although play was expectedly sloppy at times, the alumni sometimes wowed the surprisingly large crowd with powerful kills and solid blocks.
With more than 30 players, the alumni used their depth to hang with the younger team.
Substituting freely, players often came to the bench saying, "I can't breathe."
The alumni bench tended to be rowdy and attempted to bully the officials, prompting the referee to jokingly issue a yellow card.
After the match, the varsity players watched the alumni play each other in a matchup of "Old" versus "Really Old," according to the scoreboard.
The "Old" team prevailed 30-23.
The weekend was more about having fun and reconnecting with old teammates, according to the alumni.
"I probably really couldn't remember any of the games that I played, but I remember the stories," 1987 graduate Duane Trumble said.
The stories were shared at the annual banquet on Saturday night, where traditions are explained and the current players realize that not much has changed since the alumni played, Trumble said.
"It's just great having the family back to make us all understand that this is so much bigger than any one person, any one team." Pavlik said.
Read this article at The Daily Collegian online at http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2009/01/20/volleyball_team_defeats_alumni.aspx
Kudos to the Varsity Squad
The Daily Collegian gives the Varsity props for their performance against the old guys.
From The Daily Collegian, January 18, 2009
Men's volleyball team handles alumni in exhibition
by Tom Kinslow
Collegian Staff Writer
With alumni from 30-plus years of the program's past in attendance and in action, the Penn State men's volleyball team bested the alumni 3-0 (30-27, 30-25, 30-21) at Rec Hall Saturday afternoon.
The alumni remained animated throughout the game, arguing calls and celebrating points scored on the varsity squad.
Following the Nittany Lions' victory, the alumni split into two squads, named on the scoreboard as "Old" and "Really Old," for what the alumni liked to call the "Legends Game." The match was won by the Old team, 30-23.
"It's just great having the family back," coach Mark Pavlik said of the weekend. "You see a lot of the young guys come back that I've had the pleasure of coaching for the past 15 years and the older guys are still coming back and having a great time. This is a very special day of the year for us."
To view the article, click here, or past the following URL into the address bar of your web browser:
http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2009/01/18/mens_volleyball_team_handles_a.aspx
NOTE: The Daily Collegian doesn't make any mention of the Alums defeating the varsity in the singing competition!
From The Daily Collegian, January 18, 2009
Men's volleyball team handles alumni in exhibition
by Tom Kinslow
Collegian Staff Writer
With alumni from 30-plus years of the program's past in attendance and in action, the Penn State men's volleyball team bested the alumni 3-0 (30-27, 30-25, 30-21) at Rec Hall Saturday afternoon.
The alumni remained animated throughout the game, arguing calls and celebrating points scored on the varsity squad.
Following the Nittany Lions' victory, the alumni split into two squads, named on the scoreboard as "Old" and "Really Old," for what the alumni liked to call the "Legends Game." The match was won by the Old team, 30-23.
"It's just great having the family back," coach Mark Pavlik said of the weekend. "You see a lot of the young guys come back that I've had the pleasure of coaching for the past 15 years and the older guys are still coming back and having a great time. This is a very special day of the year for us."
To view the article, click here, or past the following URL into the address bar of your web browser:
http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2009/01/18/mens_volleyball_team_handles_a.aspx
NOTE: The Daily Collegian doesn't make any mention of the Alums defeating the varsity in the singing competition!
Jan. 21, 2009 Daily Collegian Article on Coach Tait
From the January 21, 2009 Daily Collegian
By Michael Oplinger
Collegian Staff Writer
Ex-Coach Started Success
Forced to practice in Rec Hall after IM basketball ended or in the armory between two cannons, the club volleyball team struggled to gain respect from the athletic administration in its early years.
Forty years and 825 wins later, Penn State has established itself as one of the top volleyball programs in the country.
According to former players who returned for the annual Alumni match last weekend, Tom Tait is the reason for the program's development.
Read more, click here or paste the following into your web browser's address bar : http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2009/01/21/excoach_started_success.aspx
By Michael Oplinger
Collegian Staff Writer
Ex-Coach Started Success
Forced to practice in Rec Hall after IM basketball ended or in the armory between two cannons, the club volleyball team struggled to gain respect from the athletic administration in its early years.
Forty years and 825 wins later, Penn State has established itself as one of the top volleyball programs in the country.
According to former players who returned for the annual Alumni match last weekend, Tom Tait is the reason for the program's development.
Read more, click here or paste the following into your web browser's address bar : http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2009/01/21/excoach_started_success.aspx
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Team Photos
Check out our new gallery of Penn State Men's Volleyball Team Photos. We need to complete the gallery with team photos from before 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1988-1991, 1993-2001, 2003-2005, 2007 & 2008. If you have a team photo from one of these years, please send it along to John Hartranft (PSUMVB 1983-86).
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Calling all Alums! We are One Team on January 17, 2009!
Greetings to the Penn State Men's Volleyball Family:
I know that you're all in the midst of your holiday preparations, but please take a few minutes, put your feet up and read on.
Before you do, though, please forward this email to everyone and anyone that you would like to see at the Alumni Match. I don't have everyone's email addresses.
Yak and I had our annual pre-Alumni match planning session at the Pittsburgh Chop House a couple of weeks ago. A $200 bar tab later, we had come up with the magic formula to make the 33rd Annual Alumni Match our best ever.
You.
In thinking about alumni matches past, we realized that the very best alumni matches have been the ones where the most guys showed up and had fun together.
So we decided that this year is going to be all about participation. Our goal is to get as many former Nittany Lion volleyball alumni back as possible, so that we may celebrate together, as a team, our 2008 National Championship. We'll celebrate the Women's team's fantastic 2008 season. We'll celebrate national championships won in 1994, 1999 and 2007. We'll celebrate the 1981 team (first to participate in the Final Four), the 1982 team (first to make it to the National Championship finals), the 1983 team (first to survive four years of Harpo), the 1986 team (first to play in the Final Four at home), the 1988 team (best team ever?), the 1976 team (for winning the USVBA Collegiate Division at Nationals), the 1978 team (for beating Nyack both at home and on the road).
You get the picture.
We're celebrating. You. Us. Our team.
In preparation for this big event, which we promise will be bigger and better than ever, I "wrote" a speech. Yak bet me that you wouldn't "get it". Prove him wrong.
With apologies to our President-Elect, it begins like this:
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that this is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of Nosmo King, this is your answer. It's the answer spoken by hitter and setter, short and tall, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - those who sent a message to the world that we are not just a collection of individuals: we are, and always will be, a team. It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hand on the ball and pull, but not twist, toward the hope of a better day. It's been a long time coming, but because of what we did, change has come. Before I go any further, I want to thank my partner, a man from the hardscrabble courts of Penn Hills, the Yak. And I would not be here today without the unyielding support of my best friend, the rock of our program and the love of my life, Harpo. I love you so much, and you have earned a new puppy. And while he's no longer with us, I know Dave Evans is watching, along with everyone who played from 1984 to 1987. I miss them, and know that our debt to them is beyond measure. To our leader, Mark Pavlik, and the greatest team ever assembled in the history of Penn State volleyball - we are forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done. But above all, I will never forget who the championship banner truly belongs to - it belongs to the Alumni.
There is more. Much more. To hear it, and its stirring crescendo-like finale, you must attend the 33rd Annual Alumni Match and Banquet, January 17, 2009!
I don't know whether change has come to America. We'll see. What I would like, though, is for change to come to the Penn State Men's Volleyball Alumni. That would be a good start.
So here's what I'd like everyone to do.
1. Make your reservations, now, at the Atherton. Don't delay. 814-231-2100.
2. RSVP. On or before January 9, please.
3. Send me a check, for $50/person, for dinner. That will permit Yak and me to achieve our second goal, to break even on the event. My address is below. If you want to pay via PayPal, that's even better. fguadagnino@reedsmith.com
4. Come. Celebrate. Have fun.
I hope all of you have a safe and happy holiday season and look forward to seeing everyone in January.
Guad
I know that you're all in the midst of your holiday preparations, but please take a few minutes, put your feet up and read on.
Before you do, though, please forward this email to everyone and anyone that you would like to see at the Alumni Match. I don't have everyone's email addresses.
Yak and I had our annual pre-Alumni match planning session at the Pittsburgh Chop House a couple of weeks ago. A $200 bar tab later, we had come up with the magic formula to make the 33rd Annual Alumni Match our best ever.
You.
In thinking about alumni matches past, we realized that the very best alumni matches have been the ones where the most guys showed up and had fun together.
So we decided that this year is going to be all about participation. Our goal is to get as many former Nittany Lion volleyball alumni back as possible, so that we may celebrate together, as a team, our 2008 National Championship. We'll celebrate the Women's team's fantastic 2008 season. We'll celebrate national championships won in 1994, 1999 and 2007. We'll celebrate the 1981 team (first to participate in the Final Four), the 1982 team (first to make it to the National Championship finals), the 1983 team (first to survive four years of Harpo), the 1986 team (first to play in the Final Four at home), the 1988 team (best team ever?), the 1976 team (for winning the USVBA Collegiate Division at Nationals), the 1978 team (for beating Nyack both at home and on the road).
You get the picture.
We're celebrating. You. Us. Our team.
In preparation for this big event, which we promise will be bigger and better than ever, I "wrote" a speech. Yak bet me that you wouldn't "get it". Prove him wrong.
With apologies to our President-Elect, it begins like this:
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that this is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of Nosmo King, this is your answer. It's the answer spoken by hitter and setter, short and tall, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - those who sent a message to the world that we are not just a collection of individuals: we are, and always will be, a team. It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hand on the ball and pull, but not twist, toward the hope of a better day. It's been a long time coming, but because of what we did, change has come. Before I go any further, I want to thank my partner, a man from the hardscrabble courts of Penn Hills, the Yak. And I would not be here today without the unyielding support of my best friend, the rock of our program and the love of my life, Harpo. I love you so much, and you have earned a new puppy. And while he's no longer with us, I know Dave Evans is watching, along with everyone who played from 1984 to 1987. I miss them, and know that our debt to them is beyond measure. To our leader, Mark Pavlik, and the greatest team ever assembled in the history of Penn State volleyball - we are forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done. But above all, I will never forget who the championship banner truly belongs to - it belongs to the Alumni.
There is more. Much more. To hear it, and its stirring crescendo-like finale, you must attend the 33rd Annual Alumni Match and Banquet, January 17, 2009!
I don't know whether change has come to America. We'll see. What I would like, though, is for change to come to the Penn State Men's Volleyball Alumni. That would be a good start.
So here's what I'd like everyone to do.
1. Make your reservations, now, at the Atherton. Don't delay. 814-231-2100.
2. RSVP. On or before January 9, please.
3. Send me a check, for $50/person, for dinner. That will permit Yak and me to achieve our second goal, to break even on the event. My address is below. If you want to pay via PayPal, that's even better. fguadagnino@reedsmith.com
4. Come. Celebrate. Have fun.
I hope all of you have a safe and happy holiday season and look forward to seeing everyone in January.
Guad
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