Off the Block

Category: Division I-II

  • UC Irvine’s Clark leads USA to victory against Sweden at World Games

    UC Irvine outside attacker Carson Clark came through for the United States and helped the team avoid the dubious title of finishing in the bottom five at the World University Games.

    Clark had a match-high 16 kills as the United States defeated Sweden 25-21, 24-26, 25-10, 27-25 in the semifinals match for 13th place on Saturday in Shenzhen, China.

    With the victory, the United States (4-3) is guaranteed at least a 14th-place finish in the 21-team international tournament. The United States will play the winner of the semifinals match between Mexico and Norway in the consolation match for 13th place on Sunday.
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  • Tarantino, Caldwell power USA pass Egypt in marathon match at World Championship

    It took awhile — longer than any match at the tournament — but the U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team finally won its pool-play opener at the World Championship.

    In a match lasting almost three hours, No. 9 United States avoided blowing a two-game lead and defeated No. 10 Egypt 25-16, 25-21, 27-29, 34-36, 17-15 on Friday in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

    The two-hour-and-32-minute match was the longest match during the first day of the international tournament by more than 30 minutes. In addition, no other World Championship match had three games go into overtime, and the 70 combined points in the fourth game was the longest single-game so far in the tournament.
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  • USA loses to Japan, can finish no higher than 13th at World Games

    The nightmare at the World University Games for the United States just got a little bit worse.

    After failing to qualify for the quarterfinals, the United States lost its consolation bracket opener to Japan 25-20, 23-25, 28-30, 25-21, 15-11 on Friday in Shenzhen, China. The United States can now finish no better than 13th place at the 16-team international tournament.

    The United States entered the biannual tournament after winning the bronze medal at its last World University Games in 2007. However, the United States (3-3) lost two of its final three pool-play matches to fail to advance out of the preliminary round at this year’s tournament.
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  • No. 9 USA to play No. 10 Egypt today in opener at Youth World Championship

    Nine incoming freshmen men’s volleyball recruits will begin their attempt to win a gold medal for the United States at a prestigious international tournament.

    No. 9 United States will open the Boys’ Volleyball Youth World Championship with a pool-play match against No. 10 Egypt at 5 p.m. (EST) Friday in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

    The United States qualified for this 16-team tournament after reaching the championship match at the 2010 Youth NORCECA Championship before losing to Cuba to finish with the silver medal. The team also won the bronze medal at the Pan American Cup in June.
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  • Trojan duo bounced from World Games beach volleyball tournament

    Two USC players’ run at the World University Games beach volleyball tournament ended two matches short of a medal.

    The United States team of Trojans outside attacker Tony Ciarelli and setter Jeff Carlson lost two matches Wednesday in Shenzhen, China to be eliminated from the international tournament.

    Ciarelli and Carlson opened the day losing their fourth-round match to Poland’s Michal Kadziola and Jakub Szalankiewicz 26-24, 21-16. The loss dropped the U.S. pair into the consolation bracket, where they lost their next match to Russia’s Sergey Prokopyev and Yury Bogatov 21-19, 21-15 and finished the tournament tied for fifth place.
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  • Thailand knocks USA out of medal contention at World Games

    The United States hopes of winning the World University Games men’s volleyball gold medal have ended in the preliminary round.

    The United States lost to Thailand 25-15, 23-25, 25-19, 25-23 on Wednesday in Shenzhen, China in its pool-play finale and failed to qualify for the quarterfinals.

    The top two teams in each pool following the five-match pool-play round advanced to the quarterfinals of the international tournament.
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  • USA sweeps UAE, stays alive for berth to World Games quarterfinals

    It did not take long for the United States to regain any confidence it lost and remain alive for the gold medal at the World University Games.

    One day after losing its first match of the tournament, the United States swept the United Arab Emirates 25-21, 25-13, 25-20 on Tuesday in Shenzhen, China to stay in contention for a spot in the quarterfinals.

    The top two teams from each pool at the end of the five-match pool-play round will advance to the quarterfinals.
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  • Volleyball Hall of Fame announces 4-team tournament field for 2012 Morgan Classic

    For the first time in the history of the Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic, a team from the Conference Carolinas will compete in the non-conference tournament.

    The Volleyball Hall of Fame informed Off the Block during the weekend that Lees-McRae is one of the four teams selected to play in the 2012 Morgan Classic Invitational.

    Along with Lees-McRae, Springfield, UC Santa Cruz and the defending-tournament champions Cal Baptist will play in the Morgan Classic on Feb. 10-11, 2012, in Massachusetts.
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  • USA loses in 5 games to Czech Republic, drops to 3rd place in World Games pool

    The United States path to the gold medal at the World University Games just became a little more challenging.

    Entering the match tied for first place in its pool, the United States lost to the Czech Republic 23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-27, 15-13 on Monday in Shenzhen, China to drop into third place.

    The top two teams in each pool at the end of the five-match pool-play round will advance to the World University Games quarterfinals.
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  • Hawai’i promotes Podlewski to assistant coach for 2012 season

    Hawai’i hired from within its men’s volleyball program to fill its assistant coaching void.

    The Hawai’i athletics department announced Friday that Vernon Podlewski, a former Warrior and U.S. Men’s National Team member, has been promoted to an assistant coach for the upcoming season.

    Podlewski spent the previous season as a volunteer assistant coach and primarily worked with the players on their defense and passing skills.
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