FIVB

2009 World Tour Women’s Post-Season Awards

AVP stars April Ross and Angie Akers took home awards over the weekend for memorable performances on the 2009 FIVB Tour. Ross won Best Offensive Player and Best Hitter honors, while Akers was named Rookie of the Year.

Ross' two trophies cap off her most successful international season to date, which included three gold medals and a world championship title in Stavanger, Norway.

Ross and partner Jen Kessy, who finished third in voting for Best Offensive Player, Sportswoman of the Year, and Most Outstanding Player awards, also shattered their international team winnings record for a season by earning $278,200 on the FIVB in 2009. Ross’ previous individual honors include FIVB Top Rookie (2007), AVP Rookie of the Year (2006), and AVP Most Improved Player (2007).

2009 also saw Angie Akers experience a breakthrough season internationally. Akers and partner Tyra Turner won two medals (bronze in China, silver in Thailand) and finished in the final four four times.

See below for a full list of top-three voting for each award:

FIVB Indoor

2009 Men’s World Grand Champions Cup

Brazil captured its third FIVB Men’s World Grand Champions Cup title by beating Japan in Monday’s final. A packed house in Nagoya, Japan, gave Brazil a standing ovation after the world No. 1 finished with a perfect 5-0 record in the final pool. Cuba took home silver and Japan bronze.

The win follows Brazil’s earlier triumphs in 2005 and 1997. It adds another FIVB tournament championship to an already impressive trophy collection, which includes 2009 World League, 2007 World Cup and the 2006 World Championship titles.

2010 Women's World Championships

One day after the men’s festivities came to a close in Nagoya, the drawing of lots for next year's Women's World Championships took place at the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka in Tokyo.

The following 24 teams were involved in the draw: Japan (hosts), Russia (defending champions), Algeria, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Thailand, Turkey, United States.

Team USA looks to carry on its international success following a silver medal performance in the Beijing Olympics last August.

NCAA Top 10

#1 Penn State (30-0, 18-0 Big Ten) No. 1 Penn State clinched its seventh consecutive outright Big Ten title Saturday night with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 26-24) sweep of Indiana. The Nittany Lions extended their winning streak to a remarkable 94 matches.

#2 Texas (22-1, 17-1 Big 12) The second-ranked Longhorns clinched at least a share of the Big 12 Championship with a sweep (25-18, 25-18, 25-23) of Baylor Saturday evening. The championship is Texas' third straight, but with one more victory, UT can capture its first outright title during that span.

#3 Hawaii (26-2, 16-0 Western Athletic) Hawaii finished regular-season play this past Monday and is now preparing for the 2009 WAC Tournament. The Wahine enter as the No. 1 seed after capturing their 14th straight WAC regular season title. The tournament begins today at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, with UH’s first match tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. PST.

#4 Washington (22-4, 12-4 Pac-10) The No. 4 Huskies avenged an earlier loss with a three-set sweep (25-23, 25-18, 25-19) of cross-state rival Washington State Saturday night in front of a crowd of 5,807 at Bank of America Arena.

#5 Illinois (23-4, 15-3 Big Ten) In front of the "Spike Squad," arguably the greatest volleyball student section in the country, the fifth-ranked Fighting Illini polished off their regular-season home schedule Saturday night by crushing Wisconsin, 3-0 (25-23, 25-11, 25-21).

#6 Stanford (20-7, 13-4 Pac-10) Sixth-ranked Stanford swept Arizona State Saturday night (25-21, 25-15, 25-20) to secure its ninth consecutive 20-win season.

#7 UCLA (21-8, 11-5 Pac-10) After defeating Oregon State 3-0 on Friday evening, the Bruins stumbled Saturday night against the Ducks of Oregon, losing in five tight sets, 23-25, 18-25, 25-22, 27-25, 17-15.

#8 Iowa State (24-4, 16-3 Big 12) Iowa State swept Missouri (25-14, 30-28, 25-20) Saturday night at Hearnes Center. The team’s 24th victory tied the school record for wins during the NCAA era.

#9 Nebraska (21-6, 14-4 Big 12) Ninth-ranked Nebraska put together one of its best performances of the season, sweeping Kansas (25-15, 25-12, 25-18) Saturday afternoon in Lawrence, Kan.

#10 Kentucky (27-3, 17-2 Southeastern) The 13th-ranked Florida Gators upset the newly appointed top-ten Wildcats Sunday afternoon (31-29, 25-23, 24-26, 25-21) at Memorial Coliseum. A victory would have helped Kentucky clinch at least a share of the SEC title. Despite the setback, the Wildcats can still earn an SEC crown for the first time since 1988 with a win at Tennessee in Wednesday’s regular season finale.

NCAA Tournament play commences during the first week of December and lasts until Dec. 19, when the national championship match will take place at St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida.