The Viral Volley Podcast

Episode 214: College Volleyball Weekly Men's Top 20, Week 9 Recap/Week 10 Preview, 3/4/24

This week didn't see a whole lot of shakeups around the nation, however we're discovering the MIVA is getting very interesting with Ball St., and Ohio St. sitting at the top. There was an LA rivalry matchup, GCU dominance, Long Beach St. on a winning streak and Hawaii rolling along, however the guys talk "chirping and chippiness" in the game. The guys chatter about few other things that have come up last minute like the "two-handed attack", or what Rob refers to as "The Shove." 

All that and our normal business on College Volleyball Weekly, Men's Top 20! 

Episode 213, College Volleyball Weekly, BEACH TOP 20, Week 1 Recap/Week 2 Preview, 2/27/24

While Alli of Florida St. tends to homework, Jaden Whitmarsh of UCLA, Kelly Belardi of Stanford and Kylie Wickley of Texas join Rob on recapping the Week 1 action of the NEW Collegiate Beach Volleyball season! We try our best to talk about the CollegeBeachVB.com Top 20 teams and top athletes. Contributor Kelly garnered Most Oustanding Pair (with Ashley Vincent) at the Duke Kahanamoku Classic, which then became the Pac-12 Pair of the Week, then the AVCA National Pair of the Week! Congrats, Kelly!

Along with the Hawaii Tournament action, there was the Third Coast Invite as well as the Tampa Invite that some some teams skyrocket in the polls and the national eye! We'll touch on some key performers and pick some duals/matchs to keep an eye on in Week 2!

Episode 212: College Volleyball Weekly Men's Top 20, Week 8 Recap/Week 9 Preview, 2/26/24

In Week 8 of the the NCAA Men's season we are still seeing intense parity as multiple teams visit "Splitsville"-- splitting their pairs of matches during the week. Along with that we're seeing changes in lineups, some intentional, some not. One thing is for sure-- the competitive levels REMAIN. 

As always, the guys discuss the results, pick their top players of the week, then dive into "Whatcha Watchin'" in Week 9. All that with some tangented discussion about "beard games," "Karate Kid" references and other salty remarks by the CVW Coaches' Panel. 

NOTE: We would have discussed the potential of a D2 Championship but we 1) ran out of time, and 2) Dan of Lewis had to leave the episode early. 

Episode 211, College Volleyball Weekly, BEACH TOP 20, Just Jaden Intro Show, 2/19/24

Continuation from Episode 209, CVW Beach Top 20 Intro show with the Beach Top 20's new Student-Athlete Contributors!

UCLA's Jaden Whitmarsh gets her own episode because of a schedule conflict with the Beach team when we recorded Episode 209 however, it works out perfectly so that we can find out about her Volleyball/Beach Volleyball career from WAVE Volleyball Club, Torrey Pines High School and now UCLA.

Jaden has always been Ms. Reliable in the clutch and lives for those big moments-- however as you'll see that she has is a great representative of NCAA Collegiate Beach Volleyball-- and hopefully as an AVP regular!

Listen and chime as we our final CVW Beach Top 20 contributor talks about how she got to where she is!

Episode 210, College Volleyball Weekly, Men’s Top 20, Week 7 Recap & Week 8 Preview, 2/19/24

The CVW panel dives quickly into the recap with "The Elephant in the Room" segment that features our Coaches' matches during week 7. Lindenwood got the better end of a match vs. Dan's Flyers, Brad and the Tritons were at the SIAC/Big West Invite in Long Beach, and we discuss Jay's and Theo's wins for the week as well. It was another solid week of action and there still remains one undefeated team at 11-0-- the Lopes of GCU.

 

We take a peek at some of the top series/matches during week 7, and although there weren't a bunch of surprises one thing does remain clear. If you're not careful anyone can beat anyone on any given night. From there we jump into an "Insights After 7 Weeks" as the coaches assess what we've seen almost at the halfway point of the 2024 season.

 

Stay listening to catch the "Whatcha Watchin'" segment as the panel selects some good matches to keep your eyes on!

Episode 209, College Volleyball Weekly, BEACH TOP 20, Intro Show, 2/18/24

Note: We recorded this episode pre-AVCA Beach Top 20 Poll and pre-CollegeBeachVB.com's poll and player/team awards.

 

The 2024 NCAA Collegiate Beach Volleyball Season is just days away! With that, we thought it would be a great idea to do an "Introduction Episode" for most of our contributors (Jaden Whitmarsh of UCLA had a team dinner) to find out their backgrounds and a little about them. Alli Hansen of Florida St., Kelly Belardi of Stanford, and Kylie Wickley of Texas.

 

Along with our breaking news (DM Alli or Kylie for context and/or explanation), we discuss the potential top teams and topy athletes to watch out for in 2024, then pick so of the top duals starting Thursday of this week.

 

Spread the word! The season is going to go quickly!!! Also, be sure to follow our athletes/contributors on Instagram (and their programs also)! 

Episode 208, College Volleyball Weekly, Men’s Top 20, Week 6 Recap & Week 7 Preview, 2/12/24

More lower AVCA-ranked-teams have taken down higher-ranked teams, but the pane all agree that these are not upsets! No. 1 Long Beach St. dueled No. 4 UCLA with a split leaving only one remaining undefeated team-- Grand Canyon! Strong performances by Grant Sloane of UCLA, Hilir Henno of UCI, Mason Briggs of Long Beach St. and Kevin Schuele of PFW to name a few take stage in our discussions!

As teams enter Week 7 most teams have started conference play-- except the Big West!

Stay listening to catch the "Whatcha Watchin'" segment as the panel selects some good matches to keep your eyes on-- like GCU taking on BYU in Provo!

Episode 207, College Volleyball Weekly, Men’s Top 20, Week 5 Recap & Week 6 Preview, 2/5/24

Episode 207, College Volleyball Weekly, Men’s Top 20, Week 5 Recap & Week 6 Preview, 2/5/24

 

With the play that transpired in Week 5 of the 2024 D1-2 Men's Volleyball season we have to call this "The Tumultuous Top 20!" There were many good battles discussed from this last week along with our Coaching Panel's insights. Too much to write in a description that's for sure! As always the panel picks their top performers of the week and we recognize some key milestones for Head Coach Alan Knipe of Long Beach St. and Sr. OH, Jacob Pasteur of Ohio St.

 

Stay listening to catch the "Whatcha Watchin'" segment as the MIVA and Conference Carolinas battle in conference play while UCLA & Long Beach St. look to assert themselve as the top dog in the NCAA!

 

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Episode 206, College Volleyball Weekly, Men's Top 20, Week 4 Recap/Week 5 Preview, 1/29/24

This last week brought more than a handful of upsets and a multitude of stellar play in the young 2024 NCAA Men's Volleyball season. From Penn St.'s TWO upsets of Ohio St., the remaining undefeated teams of GCU, Stanford and Long Beach St. it has been pure intensity and excitement from week to week. The share their thoughts on Week 4 action, their players of the week and give us insight of what to look for in our "Whatcha Watchin'" in Week 5 segment!

Episode 205, College Volleyball Weekly, Men’s Top 20, Week 3 Recap & Week 4 Preview, 1/22/24

It’s the Dan Friend Birthday Episode!

In this week’s episode Dan Friend shares some information on the recent approval of Division 2 Championships and how it could be implemented in the next few years. Obviously growth in the men’s game is being seen throughout D1 as well with the addition of Menlo College, Vanguard and now William Jessup University. We take a few moments to explore this growth before we go into our normal weekly routine.

When it comes to growth on the men’s side lots of credit has to go to the First Point Foundation, who just hosted the First Point Collegiate Challenge in Austin, TX last weekend where we saw big crowds and larger enthusiasm for the game thanks to Glen & Kathy Lietzke of Austin Juniors!