8/14/08  Cats ranked 14th in preseason AVCA poll Sports Information announced today that the K-State Cats are ranked #14 in the preseason AVCA poll, which you can see in its entirety right here. Our pals in the Big 12 weren't forgotten. Texas is #3. Nebraska is #7. Iowa State is #18. (Nothing like having Dawn Cady Sullivan on your staff, is there?) Now, this Iowa State ranking is quite a story. Since the Big 12 was formed in 1996, Iowa State is #11 out of 11 teams in the conference in terms of winning percentage, at 18.8%. As recently as 2004, ISU went 1-19 in Big 12 play. In fact, in the 12 years of the Big 12, Iowa State has seven seasons at either 0-20 or 1-19. It just shows how quickly fortunes can change with the right personnel in place. 8/14/08  Preseason Big 12 coaches' picks The experts' votes are in, and our K-State Cats are a strong pick for third place in the Big 12 this season. For the first time, K-State got a first-place vote. Texas and Nebraska pulled in a few more votes than K-State. What? Nebraska in second place? I guess that's what happens when Sarah Pavan graduates. Three seniors, Megan Farr, Nataly Korobkova and Rita Liliom, are Preseason All-Big 12. 7/29/08  Fall practice starts on August 9. Bring on the Cats! 7/12/08  NCAA Rule Changes for 2008 What is this... tennis?! The NCAA has changed the term game to set. They love to change things. Probably the most significant rule change is that sets one to four will go to 25 points (or two-point margin), down from 30 points. Game Set five will stay at 15 points (or two-point margin). Substitutions are now limited to 12 per set. There is a point of emphasis on the net fault rule, toward more leniency. Players may not contact the net while playing the ball (which is defined as jumping or landing). Moving sideways or turning away from the net is not considered playing the ball. If a player not playing the ball contacts the net, the referee must decide if this interfered with play. If so, that's a fault. The NCAA is moving toward publishing rules in all sports only every other year. This kicks in for women's volleyball in 2010. Coaches may not gang up on officials. Only one coach for a team may work over an official at a time. You can order the 2008 Women's Volleyball Rules and Interpretations for $7.80 plus shipping. 7/12/08  NCAA Ball Handling Directive for 2008 The NCAA is trying to move the game of volleyball toward continuation of play and fewer stoppages, as well as consistency in officiating. They are instructing officials toward more leniency in calls. The want fewer whistles; thus the following: Referees should only call faults that are actually seen. Outside influences such as player technique, spin, crowd reaction or coaches' expectations should be disregarded. Only the most obvious violations should be called. Referees should avoid being overly mechanical or technical in their judgments. Referees should be less severe when judging an athletic play by a player in a less-than-ideal position. On the other hand, a player who sets from good position should have a higher expectation to not make multiple contacts. 7/11/08  Volleyball season tickets on sale MANHATTAN, Kan. — Volleyball fans can renew their season tickets for the 2008 Kansas State season now via the online purchasing option at k-statesports.com or at the KSU Ticket Office. Current season ticket holders can renew their packages exclusively until tickets go on sale to the general public on Tuesday. Cost for an adult season ticket is $50. Senior citizens, youth, faculty and staff can purchase season tickets for $40. Family Packs are also available for $100. A Family Pack includes two adult season tickets and two youth season tickets. All tickets are general admission with no reserve seating at Ahearn Field House. Don't miss all the exciting action of Wildcat volleyball this season. The Wildcats open their home schedule September 8 against Cal State Bakersfield before hosting the annual Varney's Kansas State Invitational on September 12 and 13. Then the Wildcats open Big 12 Conference play against national power and rival Nebraska on September 17 to start the exciting slate of home matches. Renew your season tickets today at k-statesports.com or call the ticket office at 785-532-7606 or 1-800-221-CATS. 6/22/08  More 2008 schedule details in place The Schedule and Results section on this site has some more details filled in on match times, etc. It seems to be fairly stable and complete at this point. 6/15/08  Former Cat assistant Shawn Taylor to Valparaiso My friend Shawn Taylor has been announced as an assistant coach for Valparaiso University in Indiana. Shawn served for two years here as a volunteer grad assistant coach, then spent the past year as head coach at Kansas Wesleyan in Salina. Good luck to Shawn as he continues his career! 6/06/08  Suzie Fritz signs on through 2012 Athletics Director Bob Krause released the outstanding news today that head coach Suzie Fritz has a new five-year contract. Suzie's record over seven seasons is 147-71 (.674). She has led the Cats to the NCAA tournament in six of seven years. One of the records most important to me is the Cats' #3 standing in win-loss percentage in the powerhouse Big 12 conference. This is the best possible news our program could have. Hopefully we can keep the winning team of Suzie, Jeff Grove and Justin Ingram for a long time. 6/03/08  Next stop: China The Cats were to leave on May 26 for a series of matches in China. On May 22, the sponsoring company went bankrupt, leaving the team stuck right here in the good old United States of America. It's a big disappointment, but on the bright side, the Cats were granted several extra days of full-team practice. 4/19/08  Santa Clara Spring Invitational I've been unable to get much information about the California trip. The Cats lost the match with #11 Cal Poly 20-25, 14-25. 4/19/08  Sports Performance Collegiate Spring Tournament The Cats finished fourth in this tournament at the Great Lakes Center in Aurora, Ill. The Cats' day started with a win over Kent State, 25-23, 25-12, then they defeated North Carolina, 27-25, 25-19. In the quarterfinals, the Cats beat Northwestern, 25-14, 25-18, then lost a semifinal game to tournament champions Georgia Tech, 12-25, 25-22, 12-15. The Cats played LSU close in the third-place match, losing 23-25, 25-20, 13-15. 4/17/08  Cats' fall schedule announced The fall 2008 schedule has just been released. Many match times have not been completely announced, largely because of uncertainty with home football game times. See my Schedule and Results page for a first look at fall volleyball action. 4/12/08  Cats win two-of-four in Houston Our Cats had mixed results at the 3rd annual Texas Tornados College Spring Tournament in Houston. Matches were best of three games. The day opened at 9 A.M. with a win over Texas Christian, 21-25, 25-19, 15-9. Stephen F. Austin was up at 11 A.M., with the Cats victorious at 16-25, 28-26, 15-10. At 1 P.M. we played #3 USC close, with the score 26-24, 31-29. The day's competition ended at 3 P.M. with the national champions, #1 Penn State, defeating the Cats 25-10, 25-22. 4/05/08  A good day in Wichita The 2008 version of the Wildcats saw their first exhibition action at Wichita State today, with excellent results. Our Cats defeated Wichita State 25-19, 26-28, 25-19, 25-20, 15-11. Our favorite team then swept (demolished) the Oklahoma Sooners 25-14, 25-21, 25-18, 25-16, 15-9. This against an opponent who defeated K-State twice in 2007. A strong spring in 2007 ultimately led to a third-place Big 12 finish. Keep up the good work, Cats! Sports Information released this report on April 9. 3/31/08  Spring exhibition schedule announced K-State Sports Information has announced a preliminary schedule for spring invitationals. Some of the smaller invitationals are set, while others are in flux. The Cats will travel to Wichita, Houston, Chicago and Santa Clara. I'll do my best to keep up with all this, but since the games don't count, even getting final scores can be quite a task. Watch here and on my 2008 Schedule and Results page for whatever news I can get. 3/31/08  Cats to travel to China in May 2008 It has just now been officially announced that the Cats expect to play in China in May, leaving after final week. 3/17/08  Transition This site will gradually transition to a focus on the 2008 season, but the main page will pretty much look the same until August. 12/09/07  Soriana Pacheco AVCA Player of the Year The Cats' signee, 5' 10" setter Soriana Pacheco, comes in as the AVCA's junior college player of the year. Soriana will transfer from Western Nebraska Community College in 2008. Here's a story from the Scottsbluff, Nebraska Star Herald. She has been on the Venezuelan national team, and was a 2007 AVCA Two-Year College First Team All-American.