interesting parallel--dominance in womens hoops and volleyball

[nwhoopfan]

I was looking at past Champions in volleyball, then basketball for comparison sake. While there is some difference in that there have been 2 dominant programs in hoops compared to 3 in vball, if you make a bit of a tweak it's exactly the same.

UConn, Tennessee and Baylor have won 15 of the last 20 Championships and 19 of the last 25.

Stanford, Penn St. and Nebraska likewise have won 15 of 20 and 19 of 25.

Penn St. has even matched UConn's 6 in 8 years run. Strange how closely the 2 sports have paralleled each other.

Of course nobody else has as large of a share as UConn's 11 in that time frame. Stanford and Penn St. both have 7 of those in vball.

 

[Shorty Dee]

I call Penn State "UConn" of volleyball. I love volleyball and basketball!!

 

[Beemer]

I've really gotten into volleyball the past 4 years, my niece plays for her HS team. These young women are as impressive athletically as their basketball playing counterparts. It is a great sport!

 

[Jingo]

I've really gotten into volleyball the past 4 years, my niece plays for her HS team. These young women are as impressive athletically as their basketball playing counterparts. It is a great sport!

There's a LOT more running in hoops, eh? [read better conditioning]

 

[HuskylnSC]

There's a LOT more running in hoops, eh? [read better conditioning]

VB has an emphasis on quickness over speed.

 

[Jingo]

VB has an emphasis on quickness over speed.

No...

 

[nwhoopfan]

No...

?

Watch much volleyball? Ever seen a long rally, with players flying all over the court? Some of the plays liberos make, fully laid out and somehow popping the ball up and into play, are nearly superhuman. Also, at the net there is probably more jumping in volleyball than there is in basketball.

 

[bballnut90]

I was looking at past Champions in volleyball, then basketball for comparison sake. While there is some difference in that there have been 2 dominant programs in hoops compared to 3 in vball, if you make a bit of a tweak it's exactly the same.

UConn, Tennessee and Baylor have won 15 of the last 20 Championships and 19 of the last 25.

Stanford, Penn St. and Nebraska likewise have won 15 of 20 and 19 of 25.

Penn St. has even matched UConn's 6 in 8 years run. Strange how closely the 2 sports have paralleled each other.

Of course nobody else has as large of a share as UConn's 11 in that time frame. Stanford and Penn St. both have 7 of those in vball.

Good post and some strong parallels there. I wouldn't put Baylor with Tennessee/UCONN though even though it statistically makes sense, they've won 3 titles but have only made 4 Final Fours in the last 25 years. WBB has really been a 2 head honcho WCVB has been a 3 team head honcho.

Overall I think volleyball has more parity over the past decade despite the champion usually being one of the Big 3. Most seasons the champion isn't the #1 overall team entering the tournament (only 6 of the past 18 since they switched to seeding the top 16) and there are usually a slew of teams at the top who have a strong chance to win it all. In the past decade, none of the Big 3's titles came as the #1 overall seed besides Stanford last year. Almost all of the titles were teams getting hot at the right time rather than being the clear top team in college volleyball.

Also, Penn State, Nebraska and Stanford have had longer lulls during the last 25 years in various seasons where in WBB, UCONN has been a dominant force every year besides 05-07 and 98-99. The consistency hasn't been there at the same level among volleyball elites.

Overall though I think lots of similarities between Penn State/UCONN and the sports in general. Hope to see more parity in both sports over the next 10 years.

 

[Reypl21]

I really like how the top college programs play each other during the out-of-conference portion of the season. There's so many huge matchups. I wish WCBB would follow suit

 

[nwhoopfan]

Good post and some strong parallels there.

Thanks. Agreed with all of your points.

edited to add--Wisconsin and Minnesota are probably guilty of underachieving a bit in post season in recent years; they've pretty much pulled even with Penn St. and Nebraska during the regular season the last 5 or so years

 

[nwhoopfan]

I really like how the top college programs play each other during the out-of-conference portion of the season. There's so many huge matchups. I wish WCBB would follow suit

Absolutely. Stanford had a monster schedule this year--Florida, Texas, Penn St., Minnesota, Nebraska and playing BYU right now.

 

[bballnut90]

Thanks. Agreed with all of your points.

edited to add--Wisconsin and Minnesota are probably guilty of underachieving a bit in post season in recent years; they've pretty much pulled even with Penn St. and Nebraska during the regular season the last 5 or so years

100%. Minnesota could not have asked for a better situation last year and blew a chance to play at home for a title. Also had a title caliber team in 2016 but couldn't finish.

Wisconsin has been sort of mixed bag. Sheffield turned around the program in a major way but they are badly underachieving this year and he's also been fortunate to have a setter like Carlini and a middle like Rettke. If he only gets 1 Final Four out of 8 years with those 2 (and all of their top 10 recruit teammates)...that is badly underachieving. Lots of season left to be played. Stanford looks like the front runner but they're much more beatable than I thought they'd be.

 

[DaBball]

Penn State lost to PITT yesterday. First time getting swept at home in the non-conference since 1986. One of the few sports you’ll see a number next to Pitt’s name.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Penn State lost to PITT yesterday. First time getting swept at home in the non-conference since 1986. One of the few sports you’ll see a number next to Pitt’s name.

Pitt had a good season last year but bowed out early in the post season. I didn't realize their top hitter got injured right at the end of the year. Apparently they have just about everybody back this year.

I'm admittedly a Pac 12 homer. With much chagrin I had to admit that the balance of power had shifted to the Big 10 in volleyball. But they are looking a bit shaky so far this season. The Pac hasn't been overwhelming outside of Stanford. LA schools are struggling big time.

Hawaii is having a bit of a resurgence.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I've really gotten into volleyball the past 4 years, my niece plays for her HS team. These young women are as impressive athletically as their basketball playing counterparts. It is a great sport!

It's attracting more growth and less decline than basketball because it is noncontact if you don't mean the net posts, the floor, etc etc and you see a lot more taped together broken fingers, huge incident of knee injuries, achilles tears. Then there's the old "kill to the face" concussion syndrome. I could go on, but I guess somebody else can join me or not.

 

[nwhoopfan]

huge incident of knee injuries

There can't be more knee injuries in volleyball than basketball. No way.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Stanford is in all kinds of trouble against BYU. Trailing 2 sets to 1 and down 4 well into the 4th set.

edit--wow, Stanford was down 24-20 but scored 5 straight. Tied at 27s. Crowd is loud.

edit again--BYU does it 31-29 in the 4th. I only watched bits and pieces but the end of the 4th was fantastic.

 

[bballnut90]

This season has had more games go to extra points or 5 sets than any I can think of. Massive win for BYU.

Not sure Stanford scheduling an insane out of conference was the right choice....theyll still be the team to beat come December, but they look a lot less intimidating and more unsure of themselves. Losing twice (almost 3x) means other teams will come in with a lot more confidence against the Card too. Surprisingly this season has had a ton of parity where I thought Stanford would trounce everyone.

 

[Jingo]

?

Watch much volleyball? Ever seen a long rally, with players flying all over the court? Some of the plays liberos make, fully laid out and somehow popping the ball up and into play, are nearly superhuman. Also, at the net there is probably more jumping in volleyball than there is in basketball.

My daughter played college volleyball and basketball .. basketball requires more skill and conditioning .. you don't have to run very far in v-ball and there is a lotta contact in b-ball, i.e. requires more strength

 

[nwhoopfan]

you don't have to run very far in v-ball

True, but a lot of running short distances, lots of start-stop. Like the poster said up thread, quickness is more important than speed.

Of course the sports are very different, with different demands. Volleyball does require conditioning though.

 

[DallasBUFan]

Watch out Baylor is about to have another squad in the top 3 rankings.

Someone should compare Softball vs Basketball.
UCLA has like 10 championships.

 

[bballtalk]

I watch both basketball and volleyball and the styles are somewhat similar also. Texas volleyball runs an offense somewhat comparable to Baylor basketball. A pretty slow offense, with taller players. Whereas other teams run a faster pace offense. For me no matter the sport, I enjoy seeing an explosive offense at work and in rhythm. One of my favorite matches last year was when Oregon and Minnesota played in the postseason. They played one of the Longest sets I’ve ever seen. It was back and forth.

 

[bballnut90]

Watch out Baylor is about to have another squad in the top 3 rankings.

Someone should compare Softball vs Basketball.
UCLA has like 10 championships.

Ended up #2....they should be #1.

Stanford has lost twice, and lost this past week while Baylor is undefeated with 5 dominant wins over ranked teams:
@#10 Marquette-won 3-0
@#13 Wisconsin-won 3-1
vs. #19 Missouri-won 3-0
vs. #11 Hawaii-won 3-0
@ #14 Creighton-won 3-0

Stanford has played a more loaded schedule but hasn't done as well:
@ #12 Florida-won 3-0
vs. #6 Texas, won 3-2
@ #5 Penn State, won 3-1
vs. #7 Minnesota, lost 1-3
@ #3 Nebraska, won 3-1
vs. #9 BYU, lost 1-3


Pressley has been unreal this season. Her vertical is nuts and she just murders the ball. Can't wait to see them play Texas.

 

[DallasBUFan]

Ended up #2....they should be #1.

Stanford has lost twice, and lost this past week while Baylor is undefeated with 5 dominant wins over ranked teams:
@#10 Marquette-won 3-0
@#13 Wisconsin-won 3-1
vs. #19 Missouri-won 3-0
vs. #11 Hawaii-won 3-0
@ #14 Creighton-won 3-0

Stanford has played a more loaded schedule but hasn't done as well:
@ #12 Florida-won 3-0
vs. #6 Texas, won 3-2
@ #5 Penn State, won 3-1
vs. #7 Minnesota, lost 1-3
@ #3 Nebraska, won 3-1
vs. #9 BYU, lost 1-3


Pressley has been unreal this season. Her vertical is nuts and she just murders the ball. Can't wait to see them play Texas.

I know they have only lost 2 sets all season!! Wisconsin was no 4 and they beat them at home that weekend. Pressley is an absolute beast of an athlete. I love the coach also. It's funny because he has a totally different demeanor than the basketball coach. (lol) He has really turned this program around.

 

[nwhoopfan]

The polls are...interesting. Oregon has a losing record but is still hanging in there. USC shouldn't be ranked but is. Wisconsin is 4-4, got beat by Washington twice last week including an absolute beat down in the 2nd match, but barely dropped in the latest poll. It's all kind of a joke at this point.