First Sign of Spring?

You know it's been a long winter when you hear a bird chirping in a tree and think it's a ref's whistle :)

This Club Season Might Well Be the Year of 11.3.1

The opinions expressed in this post on The Volleyball Donkey about the new net rules are not necessarily those of Cheese & Volleyball, but they did make us ROFL, LOL and CBTO (Chuckle Bemusedly to Ourselves). Give it a read.

ROTFL in WI

"It has been said that the cradle of volleyball coaches is Ball State. Now we know where the cradle of Ball State volleyball is -- Wisconsin."

--Comment left on our recent "Wisconsin Connections" post by gobucky

Audrey Hepburn and Sideshow Bob?

We just wanna go on record that we are not the ones making those comparisons to the 2009 Wisconsin Badgers volleyball team. If you go to this link, however, you'll find out who did. Funny stuff.

The Best Fest for Milwaukee-Area Volleyball Lovers

While that Summerfest thing will no doubt continue to get all the attention in and around the urban center known as Milwaukee, we're gonna tell it to you strait: Everyone with a heart for volleyball knows that the most exciting Milwaukee fest occurs five days earlier in Veteran's Park.  

Small wonder, too Four men's divisions. Four women's divisions. All on Saturday, June 20. If you wanna get into the fray and see how high you can rise against other triples teams in your division, here are all the Marquette Volleyball 2009 Triplesfest details. 

Of course, once Triplesfest is history, feel free to see Waukesha's own BoDeans the following Saturday at the Harley-Davidson Roadhouse. Unless, of course, you'll be checking out the main stages in Louisville, Miami or Atlanta. 

The Life of a Volleyball Mom

Mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile.

And that's just to an in-state tournament.

Happy Mother's Day from Cheese & Volleyball.

Volleyball Uber Alles

OK, so in spite of the fact that our e-mail address (vbuberalles@gmail.com) is roughly translated "volleyball above all else," we only know a little (er, ein bischen) German.

That, of course, means the only words we understand in this German-language article are the names of former Badger volleyball stars Jackie Simpson and Sheila Shaw (Muskego). But it was kinda fun to stumble across it.

If anyone's fluent, let us know what it says. Just shoot us an e-mail at the aforementioned address. Danke.

Oh, the Weather Outside Is Frightful

Since the weather outside is officially three to five inches past ridiculous, it's as good a time as any to trade stories about driving your young 'un through the elements to an 8 a.m. tournament match (or even more painful, a reffing assignment). Send your best (or would it be worst?) winter weather driving story to vbuberalles@gmail.com or leave as a comment to this post. You know what they say: Misery loves commentary.

Magnificently Mellifluous Mascot Matchups

It's no secret that Wisconsin has more than a few, how shall we say, less-than-usual mascot names. Just for grins, we're going to start a list of D1 playoff matches that make us, well, grin. 

• Polar Bears v. Golden Beavers on Saturday night in D1 S4
• Ships v. Terrors on Saturday night in D1 S2
• Evergreens v. Lumberjacks on Saturday night in D1 S1 (and in a strange twist of irony, the trees are favored)
• Galloping Ghosts v. Hornets on Saturday night in D1 S2

So who can name all of the high schools represented above? And are there any unusual D2, D3 or D4 mascot matchups happening tonight? No reason not to have some fun to relieve all this tension.

A Word to the Wise as We Head into the Playoff Portion of the Season

Be careful you don't hit anyone in the head while you're throwing all those rankings out the window.

Waupun Rafter Rattler Found on YouTube

The story was part of our "required reading" a week or so ago. And it turns out there's video evidence on YouTube of the rafter-rattling hit by a Waupun player that dislodged a second volleyball from the skies. We can't make this stuff up. See for yourself.

Suggested Playlist for the Wisconsin Pep Band

According to this blog post, Central Michigan prepared for the crowd noise they'll be facing this weekend in Madison by blaring Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture during practices. Something to keep in mind as you're screaming, "Point, Wisconsin."
 

10 Reasons Why Wisconsin Volleyball Moms Deserve a Big Hug Today

10. Volleyball moms know how to talk a concession stand worker into filling a bag of ice for a sore shoulder.

9. Volleyball moms know how thrilling (or devastating) a game to 15 can be.

8. Volleyball moms know how much a tank of gas costs.

7. Volleyball moms know how to refill a water bottle. And then another. And then another. And then another. And then another. And then another.

6. Volleyball moms know how to see the forest for the trees.

5. Volleyball moms know how to wake a kid up at 5:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning (hint: start at five).

4. Volleyball moms know how to make sure the kneepads have been packed.

3. Volleyball moms know how to explain the tiebreaker scenario for a three-team pool where all the teams finished with one win and one loss.

2. Volleyball moms know how to find high school gyms in the middle of nowhere.

1. Volleyball moms know how to revel in the accomplishments of their daughters and sons.

Happy Mothers' Day from Cheese & Volleyball.

Paula Bunyan's Ax? New Twist on Old Rivalry

We were making our semi-regular visit to a Minnesota volleyball blog this morning when we noticed an interesting line in one of their recent posts. After announcing two recent commitments, they noted that there were now "49 known Minnesota players" in the class of '08 to sign. This amused us somewhat because, just yesterday, we stated that Watertown Luther Prep's Kirsten Orth was the 50th Wisconsin player to appear on our master list of 2008 D1, D2 and NAIA recruits. Maybe there should be a volleyball equivalent of Paul Bunyan's ax for whichever state has the most commitments each year. This is also an excellent time to point out that Burlington's Danielle Rueter's press release is now up on UM-Crookston's site.

You Know You're a Huge Fan of Volleyball in Wisconsin if...

10. You know which school won the 2008 NIRSA D1 men's championship. And who won in 2006 and 2007.

9. You don't mind clearing snow off your car to get to an April tournament.

8. You can visualize every toll booth between the Wisconsin and Indiana state lines because you've driven to so many tournaments in Indianapolis.

7. You know how to pronounce Dolgner.

6. Your neighbor says he's going to Green Bay in November for a game and you assume he's talking about the state tournament.

5. The term "Lady Pope" actually makes sense.

4. Every t-shirt you own has a volleyball on it and half also have the name of a Wisconsin club, high school or college.

3. You know which club would cheer, "Who let the bees out?" and who would cheer "Ice, ice, baby."

2. You find yourself stopping in the middle of towns to watch adult rec league games.

1. Every time you hear the word, "point," you instinctively reply, "Wisconsin."

A Quick Mea Culpa About Our Use of Latin

Apparently, we at Cheese & Volleyball need to brush up on our Latin. As the story on Wisconsin Volleyball's site correctly states, the plural for a female graduate of a university is alumnae, not alumni as we stated in our last post. Ah well, as Brutus once said to Julius Caesar, "Oops, our bad."

The Secret to Semifinal Success Revealed

Sometimes, all it takes to motivate a team is to say the right thing at the right moment. This video provides advice on the subject.



You can replay it later by returning here or by clicking on the second video in the sidebar box to the right (it's hard to see, but it's there).

Cheese & Laughter: #4 in a Series

Is it us or do most three-way tiebreakers to determine who makes it out of pool usually start around midnight?

Cheese & Laughter: #3 in a Series

If a high school coach is peppering with a player in mid-February and mishandles a set, does that count as two contacts?

Cheese & Laughter: #2 in a Series

If you hired someone to wear this shirt on the sidelines during your team's next big match, how many more blocks would your M1 have?