“Valley's Blair Brown Helps Penn State To Fourth National Title; Named Volleyball Honda Sports Award Finalist” plus 2 more |
- Valley's Blair Brown Helps Penn State To Fourth National Title; Named Volleyball Honda Sports Award Finalist
- Manhattan Beach Open volleyball tournament gets new sponsors
- Irvine finds balance
| Posted: 21 Feb 2011 05:53 AM PST Saturday night Purcellville resident Blair Brown managed to surpass even her most spectacular previous athletic accomplishments, helping her Penn State Nittany Lions teammates win an unprecedented four straight National Women's Volleyball Championship. The championship round is a best of five contest, but the Lions won three straight over California to gain the championship in Kansas City, MO. Playing for a team that is one of the most dominant women's volleyball forces ever, Brown herself is proving herself a dominant player nationwide. Brown has been named one of four finalists for the 2010-1011 Honda Sports Award, which determines the top woman collegiate athlete in volleyball. Her competitors include Texas' Juliann Faucette; USC's Alex Jupiter; and Cal's Carli Lloyd, all three of whom she knows well and against whom she has played often. The winner will be a candidate for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year award. A member of the 2010 National Championship All-Tournament Team, Brown is the 10th Nittany Lion to be named a finalist for the Honda Award for volleyball. The 6'5" tall Brown, who was a standout performer on the Loudoun Valley High School girls' volleyball team, helped the school win the Group AA State Volleyball Championship in 2004. In 2004 and 2005, she was named the Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year. She graduated from Valley in 2006. After being red-shirted her first year at Penn State because of an ankle injury, she returned to the court in 2007 and was named to the Big Ten on the all-freshmen team. Over the past three years, Brown increased her importance to the Penn State team. Her stats and honors are impressive. Earlier this season, she became the sixth straight Nittany Lion to be named the Big Ten Player of the Year. She is a three-time AVCA All American. A three-time All-Big Ten selection, she earned Second Team laurels in 2008 and First Team honors in 2009 and 2010. Brown has started all 37 matches this season and leads the Nittany Lions with 521 kills, averaging 4.24 kills per set on .320 hitting. She is second on the team with 281 digs and 113 total blocks. Her 4.24 kills per set ranks second in the Big Ten and 21st nationally, while her .323 attack percentage ranks ninth in the league. Her 4.72 points per set ranks 18th in the country. Brown earned conference player of the week laurels three times. She surpassed the 1,000 career kills milestone this season and closed out her career with 1,295 kills. Brown is the 22-year-old daughter of Sgt. Jeff Brown, supervisor of the Robbery/Homicide unit of Criminal Investigations in the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, and Jaima Brown. Her volleyball coach at Valley remembered his former player with affection. "She was a wonderful young lady, who never lost sight of her family and whom she came from," Laird Johnson said, calling her "gracious" in her approach to teammates and opponents alike. A popular member of the Valley volleyball team, nevertheless she was also "extremely competitive," he recalled. But it was a competitiveness that never got out of hand. "She kept everything in perspective," Johnson said-no easy feat considering her success. Much of the credit for Brown being so balanced Johnson attributed to her parents, who "have done everything physically and financially" to support her career as a player. "Early on they realized she was a very special player and athlete, and they supported her 100 percent. They traveled with her everywhere, gave all the support she needed," he said. So did her brother Tyler, a county deputy who played golf at Valley. And her family was in Kansas City, Jeff, Jaima and Tyler, to see the culmination of Brown's college career. "It's been a fun, fun ride," her father said Monday, hardly believing that Saturday night's championship win was not the only glittering honor facing his daughter. "It's a tremendous award (the Honda Sports Award) to be considered for," he said. Fierce competitors all year, the four finalists for the Honda Sports Award nevertheless are friends and hold each other in the highest regard, Jeff Brown said. One of the highlights the Brown family will take away from the championship occurred on the academic front. Having been injured her first year and red-shirted, Blair Brown is a fifth year senior. Her graduation was set to occur Dec. 18, the night of the finals. Penn State President Graham Spanier is "quite a volleyball fan," Jeff Brown said. When Spanier called Coach Russ Rose to say he would not be able to make the Nittany Lions' final games because of graduation ceremonies, he learned that Brown would not be able to make his graduation event either, as she had her other "graduation" to attend to. Providing a personal note that touched Brown, her family and her teammates, Spanier came to the team's final practice before boarding the plane to Kansas City wearing his full academic regalia and handing Brown a cap and gown for her graduation, which he performed on the spot at the end of the practice. "She put the cap and gown over her uniform. You could see her knee pads under the gown," her father said. "We were all totally shocked; she cried, and so did her teammates," he recalled. "I'm very proud of her, she's a great kid," he said. Right now Brown is being flooded with offers to play professionally, either in the U.S. or abroad, including Brazil and Puerto Rico. But, she's taking a break from it all, although she will make up her mind as to future career choices in a couple of months. "She's off on vacation, visiting her boyfriend in Switzerland," he said. Reader Comments The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of Leesburg Today. 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| Manhattan Beach Open volleyball tournament gets new sponsors Posted: 21 Feb 2011 05:35 PM PST The 2011 Manhattan Beach Open will feature a new pair of sponsors. The rights to the prestigious volleyball tournament have been awarded to USA Volleyball, the sport's national governing body, and IMG Action Sports, a multinational marketing firm. The organizations submitted a formal proposal to the city in January that called for $200,000 in player prize money. The sponsorship deal was approved by the City Council last week. Also vying for the tournament's sponsorship rights were Elevation Management LLC, a Cleveland-based marketing firm, and ION Sports, which streamed last year's tournament live on the Internet. USA Volleyball and IMG will reimburse the city for all costs related to hosting the tournament, which often reached $60,000 when it was run by the Association of Volleyball Professionals. The AVP tour abruptly folded in August. The 2010 tournament was put on by the city and scaled-back to two days. The Manhattan Beach Open has been held each summer for the last 50 years. The 2011 tournament is expected to be held in August. - Douglas Morino This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Posted: 21 Feb 2011 03:35 AM PST POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Feb 21, 2011  For a volleyball team with a .500 record overall and in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play, UC Irvine is experiencing an uneven season. "It's been a little more up and down," said UCI coach John Speraw, whose Anteaters host Hawaii tonight and tomorrow in Bren Events Center. Speraw was admittedly surprised when the Anteaters were No. 2 in the preseason rankings. "I thought that was way too high," Speraw said, a suspicion supported when the Anteaters lost the season opener to the NAIA's top-ranked team, California Baptist. What's more, a key injury impacted the Anteaters' ability to efficiently start their quick-to-the-pins offense. But libero Will Montgomery is back from an injury, and opposite attacker Carson Clark is back to above normal. "The process hasn't always been smooth," Speraw said, "but we're starting to play better volleyball." The Anteaters' improvement has coincided with a more active defense, which was boosted by Montgomery's return. "We weren't playing particularly polished defense," Speraw said. "Balls were dropping. People didn't know exactly what their roles were. (Montgomery has) made a difference for us. He's vocal. He's experienced. He's made the easy plays that weren't so easy for us. It's refreshing to see." Clark missed fall training while working out with the U.S. national team. There were greater expectations, many self-imposed, when he rejoined the Anteaters. "He learned to manage expectations," Speraw said, noting that as a national-team member "everyone expects you to be unstoppable. "That's not the case. There are good players in the MPSF who can put up good blocks. He's adjusted, and he's playing some good volleyball. When he's rolling, that's good for us, and he's starting to roll." Clark is averaging 4.54 kills per set. Left-side hitter Cory Yoder does not have a swing as powerful as Clark's, but manages to score points with a variety of shots. The Anteaters have five capable middles, and the best blocker — Austin D'Amore, a 6-foot-5 junior — recently received medical clearance. Speraw said he has not decided if D'Amore will be in tonight's lineup. D'Amore would force UCI to choose between Scott Kevorken, a 6-foot-9 freshman who has played in every match this season, and Kevin Wynne, who was named to the All-America second team in 2009, at the other middle position. For now, Speraw said, both teams consider this an important series. The Anteaters are 5-5 in the MPSF. The Warriors, who split with UCLA in the first half of this four-match road trip, have a 4-4 league record. "The MPSF is unforgiving, especially this year, when I think there are a lot of senior players, particularly at the setter position," Speraw said. "It's a pretty talented league. ... There are a lot of teams battling (for a playoff berth). It'll be a battle until the end." Subscribe to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser: Monday-Sunday
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