Volleyball Columns
Hawai’i's Kanani Danielson Has it All
With roots winding far back into Hawaiian culture, the traditional name Kanani means “the beautiful one.” University of Hawaii senior and 2011 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award winner for volleyball Kanani Danielson has her own roots dug deeply into the chain of islands, and has worked hard to make both the volleyball world, and her local community, proud.
Living up to her moniker, Danielson has not only worked hard and given an immense amount of physical and mental strength on the court… Continue Reading
The Left Coast’s top players - Danielson and Hill completing well rounded college experience
Great players. Even better people.
Hawaii’s Kanani Danielson and Pepperdine’s Kim Hill have much in common beyond success on the volleyball court. The two senior All-Americans bring new meaning to the term “time management” when managing to devote quality time in the community and in the classroom.
And it’s all done with a humility that is as rare as they are.
“She wears it well,” Pepperdine coach Nina Matthies said of Hill. “If…
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Mission trips open the eyes of Senior CLASS Award candidates
When Sarah Havel first traveled to Honduras in 2010, she had a simple goal.
“I went in expecting to bring a smile to people’s faces,” said Havel, a senior middle blocker at College of Charleston.
What she didn’t expect was for the experience to change the way she approached life as a student-athlete. Havel is one of many candidates for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award who have contributed to communities across the globe and taken the lessons back to their campus and their…
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Blankenship fits the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award mold to a T
There aren’t many Ellie Blankenships in the world. More’s the pity.
Blankenship, a senior libero from the University of Northern Iowa, is the inaugural Lowe’s Senior CLASS award winner for volleyball. Her performance on the court, in the classroom and in the community has made her a figure of respect in volleyball-crazy Cedar Falls, where the Panthers attract an average of more than 2,000 fans per game.
“Volleyball’s very popular in Iowa. We have so much respect for volleyball… Continue Reading
For volleyball setters, striking a balance on and off the court is important
It takes a different mentality to be a setter, particularly a successful one at a high-profile collegiate program.
It requires the right combination of intelligence and instinct, of passion and persistence, and all done with the unselfishness that goes beyond that assist total that shows up in the boxscore.
Setters are used to giving. But for Nebraska’s Sydney Anderson, Washington’s Jenna Hagglund and California’s Carli Lloyd, the giving is not just limited to the court. While…
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Feisty setters function as the engine that makes a volleyball team go
As a setter, Lexi Zimmerman watches counterparts at her position with a critical eye.
Many times, what Zimmerman sees looks very familiar. Even in warm-ups.
“In something as silly as pepper, you can see that setters are usually the ones on their team who are super feisty and super aggressive. They do everything to not let a ball hit the court,” Zimmerman said. “It’s kind of weird or odd, but I see that all the time.”
That competitiveness doesn’t just manifest itself… Continue Reading
