Jayson Jablonsky ’07: Greece 2010 October 26, 2010
Posted by Robert Espero in Alumni.add a comment
Former ‘Eater, Jayson Jablonsky is playing in the Greek A1 League for Olympiakos. Here is the main Greek Volleyball website. You’ll have to run it through Babel on Yahoo, but there is good info and multimedia for you to view.
GREEK A1 VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE INFO
2010 UC Irvine International Volleyball Tournament: Synopsis October 25, 2010
Posted by Robert Espero in Uncategorized.add a comment
On Monday, October 11th, after all tournament play concluded, the guys at The Net Live gave me the opportunity to chime into the high action tourney put together by UC Irvine Men’s Volleyball Assistant Coach, David Kniffin. Here’s the audio.
Concord, NC – FIVB World League: Egypt vs. USA June 16, 2010
Posted by Robert Espero in USAV.add a comment
After a full day of travel from SNA (Orange County) to PHX (Phoenix), then finally to CLT (Charlotte), here I sit in the Embassy Suites, Concord with my roomate and fellow Big West counterpart from Cal Poly, Nate Ngo, as we update our Facebooks, blogs, etc.
Today, SNA had some big construction fire (news helicopters all over the place), PHX was as hot as Hades, and as I arrived in CLT, a Volvo caught fire outside of baggage claim.
As we journeyed to the bar for the only open food in the area, we had to opportunity to meet Sean Rooney’s parents (and Sean– who should have been in for lights out). Also saw Head Coach, Al Knipe, Asst. Gary Sato, Tech. Coord. Chris Jackson, Asst. Mike Sealy and Trainer Aaron Brock as they cruised by our table. Cindy Nyhoff, Monica Paul, Nate and myself (USAV staff) were being ridiculous. Personally, I learned a few new terms and words for which I’ll document below:
riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight – according to Monica Paul, it’s an East Texas term for affirming that something is okay, or correct.
wrecked – Texas term for a driver crashing their car. (Ex. That NASCAR driver wrecked.)
Conversation of the night: Nate to Rob…
Nate: “How long have you been announcing for?”
Rob: “Since 1987.”
Nate: “Wow. I was like -1 years old then.”
Rob: “Ouch.”
Maybe I’ll share some more tomorrow if I’m not still hurting.
Jablonsky Makes USA Roster for 2010 FIVB World League May 4, 2010
Posted by Robert Espero in Alumni.add a comment
Congrats to ‘Eater alumn, Jayson Jablonsky, on making Team USA’s 19-man roster for the 2010 edition of FVB World League competition. USA will battle Finland, Egypt and Russian in their pool this summer in Chicago, IL, Concord, NC, and Wichita, KS. See the official release from USA Volleyball.
MPSF Semifinal Picks: The Net Live 4/26/10 April 29, 2010
Posted by Robert Espero in 2010 MPSF.add a comment
Hi all, I had one more chance to prove my knowledge by making picks for the 2010 MPSF MVB Tournament Semi-Finals. Listen in by clicking on the link above on what I had to say!
USA Volleyball Release: 4/28/10 April 28, 2010
Posted by Robert Espero in Alumni.add a comment
Hey ‘Eater VB family, friends and fans,
First of all, I apologize for my inconsistency in keeping up the new blog. The ‘Eater team was eliminated from the MPSF playoffs in a loss to Stanford last weekend. We’ll come back strong next year– no doubt about it. So now it’s time for ‘Eater alumni to shine on the international stage. We’ve got FOUR ‘Eaters on the Team USA squad– and I get the sense there could be a 5th in the form of David Smith (MH, Saugus, CA, UC Irvine).
Rip ‘em ‘Eaters!
Rob-on-the-Mic
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2010
B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: bj.evans@usav.org
U.S. Men’s Update: Summer Training Block Begins Monday
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The summer training block for the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team begins May 3 at the USA National Team Center in the American Sports Centers in Anaheim, Calif.
Players on the A2 team will be preparing for the NORCECA Pan American Cup on May 22-30 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Players on the National Team will be training for the FIVB World League, which begins June 4 when the team will be in Russia for the first weekend.
Here is a list of the players expected back in the gym on May 3. Other players will join them as the month continues:
Ryan Ammerman (S; Parker, Colo.; UC Irvine)
Matt Anderson (OH; West Seneca, N.Y.; Penn State)
Kevin Hanson (S; Newport Beach, Calif.; Stanford)
Andy Hein (MB; Carol Spring, Ill.; Pepperdine)
Tyler Hildebrand (S; Mesa, Ariz.; Long Beach State)
Tom Hoff (MB; Park Ridge, Ill.; Long Beach State)
Max Holt (MB; Cincinnati, Ohio; Penn State)
Jayson Jablonsky (OH; Yorba Linda, Calif.; UC Irvine)
Cody Loe (MB; Chatsworth, Calif.; Cal State Northridge)
Matt McKinney (Opp; Santa Ynez, Calif.; UCLA)
Evan Patak (Opp; Pleasanton, Calif.; UCSB)
Riley Salmon (OH; League City, Texas; Pierce College)
Jacob Schkud (OH; Santa Monica, Calif.; Hawaii)
Brian Thornton (S; San Clemente, Calif.; UC Irvine)
Dustin Watten (L; Long Beach, Calif.; Long Beach State)
Matt Webber (OH; Brentwood, Calif.; UC Irvine)
Jonathan Winder (S; Irvine, Calif.; Pepperdine)
Trivia
- Which current U.S. Men’s National Team player was a co-interim head coach for an NCAA Division I men’s college team?
- Which current U.S. Men’s National Team player was working as a warehouse supervisor for General Electric in 1999 when a scout called him and asked him to try out for a professional volleyball team in Italy?
Trivia answers along with updates on U.S. Men’s National Team players competing around the world are available at http://usavolleyball.org/news/article/35629.
Interview on “The Net Live” 4/19/2010 April 22, 2010
Posted by Robert Espero in 2010 MPSF.add a comment
Hey all, I had the opportunity to share my thoughts on the current 2010 NCAA D1-2 Conference tournaments and NCAA Final Four for men’s volleyball on the web radio show, “The Net Live” with Kevin Barnett, Reid Priddy, Danny Kinda and Chris “Geeter” McGee.
US Men’s Volleyball Update: 2 ‘Eaters Featured February 18, 2010
Posted by Robert Espero in Alumni.add a comment
Former ‘Eaters, OH Jayson Jablonsky ’07, and MB David Smith ’07 are mentioned in the latest edition of US Men’s Volleyball Update.
Check out the photo Smith! 
No. 3 UC Irvine Tops No. 7 Pepperdine In MPSF Opener January 15, 2010
Posted by Robert Espero in 2010 MPSF.add a comment
Carson Clark Swings Away at the Waves
Story from UC Irvine Athletics
Eaters Wash-Out the Waves January 13, 2010
Posted by Robert Espero in 2010 MPSF.add a comment
The first night of MPSF Conference Men’s Volleyball started this evening at the Bren Center between the Waves and the Anteaters– two of the powerhouses in the conference the last 4 years in NCAA D1-2 volleyball. Pepperdine (0-1) came in ranked 7th nationally, while Irvine (3-1) fell back to 3rd after the weekend at the UCSB Tournament– but it is too early to call what is going to happen in the MPSF this year since there is no clear front runner at this point.
Tonight brought out coaching legend, Marv Dunphy and Pepperdine team that is seeing their first season in 4 years without their All-American Opposite Hitter, Paul Carroll. In his place was a freshman from Riverside (who played at Orange Lutheran), Maurice Torres. Talk about having big shoes to fill.
It was a messy night and both teams could not run away from each other due to unforced errors at the service line and at the net, but when all was said and done, Irvine beat Pepperdine 3-1, 30-27, 24-30, 30-25, 30-27. Carson Clark went big in the 1st set and finished the match with 26 kills, while hitting .241, however Jordan DuFault stole the show the rest of the way, slowly heating up as the match continued on. JD finished with 19 kills and hit a clip of .417.
Some big surprises of the night:
1) Kevin Carroll subbing in for Anthony Spittle in the 3rd as a blocking substitution and seeing him set a couple transition balls.
2) Austin D’Amore coming off the bench in the 2nd to play the rest of the match
3) Connor Hughes starting the 3rd & 4th set.
There is still a lot of volleyball to be played and the ‘Eaters are still looking for a good combo on the court. They look good, but their not a well-oiled machine– yet.