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Lafayette’s Leanna Deegan leads nation in kills as Leopards make strides in Patriot League | Volleyballmag.com

October 13, 2021 by admin

Lafayette’s Leanna Deegan leads the nation in kills and kills per set/Lafayette photo

She entered the week leading the nation in kills per set (5.98) and total kills (353). And she’s not playing for a Power 5 team. She isn’t even playing for a mid-major program.

Lafayette senior outside hitter Leanna Deegan, just 5-foot-9, isn’t a typical “volleyball lifer.”

But she’s become quite a force for her hometown college. Tiny Lafayette, which has just more than 2,000 undergraduates, entered the week in a three-way tie for second place in the Patriot League with Loyola Maryland and Army at 6-2 a game behind Colgate (7-1).

On Saturday, Lafayette travels to Army West Point, so at least one of those teams will end up in third place. The Leopards are looking to avenge a 3-1 loss to the Black Knights on October 8 that snapped their 5-0 start in league play.

Deegan was a three-sport athlete at nearby Easton Area High School — Lafayette is located in Easton, Pennsylvania, about 70 miles north of Philadelphia — playing lacrosse and basketball in addition to volleyball. While other players were taking part in their club volleyball seasons, Deegan was on to her next sport.

As a result, college interest for volleyball was sparse.

“It was hard to get my name out there (for volleyball) in that respect,” Deegan said. “And Easton isn’t a super-huge volleyball school. So it’s not like a lot of people are coming out to watch. It was a lot of me reaching out to coaches.

“It kind of took me until my senior year to realize (volleyball) is what I wanted to do in college. So I was really late in the process for that, so I guess that’s another reason there weren’t many opportunities in volleyball.”

Her decision came down to Lafayette and Hofstra, and Deegan opted to stay in her backyard and play five miles from the high school where she made her name as an athlete.

For some, playing so close to family and friends might add pressure. Deegan, however, finds comfort in the familiar surroundings.

Lafayette’s Leanna Deegan/Lafayette photo

“Most of my games, and even away games, my parents can be there, my friends,” she said. “And people I know from high school have been able to come, which is really nice.

“It always surprises me who comes to games, like my old teammates from basketball or volleyball.”

And one of the frequent spectators was a major player in helping nudge Deegan toward college volleyball: Jeffrey Corpora, her volleyball coach at Easton Area.

Corpora, now retired, became sort of a surrogate uncle to Deegan. Leanna’s mother, Helen, who was a middle blocker at Delaware, coached Easton Area’s middle school team and later served as Corpora’s assistant and junior varsity coach.

As such, Corpora was able to watch Leanna come up through the ranks, champing at the bit to have her on the varsity.

Once she made it there, Deegan was as good as Corpora envisioned. But in a strange twist, an injury, he said, helped her reach another level.

During her junior year, Deegan injured a finger during Easton Area’s season-opening victory. The injury was severe enough to force her to the sidelines, but perhaps it was more painful to her psyche.

One day not long after it was revealed Deegan would have to miss some matches, Corpora came into the gym and found her sitting alone in the stands.

“I think she was feeling a little sorry for herself,” Corpora said. “I went up and sat with her … and told her it was an opportunity to still be a big part of the team. I said, ‘But I need you down there with me.’

“That was the moment she truly embraced how the other girls looked to her. Not having her on the court hurt, but having her there supporting her teammates and her teammates knowing that she was there every minute with them was phenomenal.”

Her presence was a boost to the team, and Deegan also benefited because she was getting to see volleyball from a different perspective. She was watching it as a de facto coach rather than a player. Once she returned from her injury, Corpora said, her game took off.

“She became a better volleyball player by not playing volleyball,” he said. “She got to watch, and she got to listen and she really got to see the game.”

Deegan credits Corpora with helping her development: “He was always big on me playing in college. He always wanted me to get to that next level. He was kind of always there as a figure for me volleyball-wise.”

Deegan might have been blossoming, but she was far from a finished product. She spent her freshman season at Lafayette trying to get accustomed to the speed of the college game as well as learn many volleyball terms and strategies that still were foreign to her — a byproduct of her relatively limited exposure to the game throughout her teens.

This was the player coach Ryan Adams inherited when he took over as the Lafayette coach before the 2019 season, Deegan’s sophomore year. He already had an idea of what her capabilities were, although he was inheriting a program that finished 4-22 in 2016, 5-23 in in both 2017 and 2018, which included 0-16 in the Patriot League in 2018.

Adams was an assistant at another Pennsylvania college, Bucknell, also in the Patriot League, when Deegan was a freshman at Lafayette, and he recalled one of the Bison’s two meetings with the Leopards that season. Though his team came away with a 3-2 victory, Adams watched as Deegan torched the Bison for 34 kills on .441 hitting.

He noted her natural physical gifts, and when he assumed the helm at Lafayette, he set out to take her raw athleticism and turn it into volleyball athleticism.

Calling Deegan “probably the strongest woman I have been around, let alone seen on the volleyball court,” Adams began to make some tweaks.

The most significant was turning her back into a six-rotation player. To do that, he had to help her improve her serve receive. By her own admission, Deegan’s platform for serve receive isn’t the best, so Adams had her using her hands more to take advantage of her strength.

“My freshman year, I just hit front row. I didn’t play back row at all,” she said. “When you’re not doing that for a whole year, you kind of lose practice of it, and you have to start reading the ball better in the back row but also making sure you’re in the right space.

“Serve receive was especially tough for me to get back into.”

Deegan has made strides since. This season, she has 16 aces and is second on the team with 130 digs. Her serve-receive percentage is at a serviceable .969.

Becoming a more complete player has benefitted Deegan and the Leopards — they are 6-2 in the Patriot League after winning only four league matches from 2018-2020 — but her calling card remains her ability to hit.

“The ball just sounds different coming off her hand compared to others,” Adams said, “which is pretty cool.”

Her numbers are staggering. In the Leopards’ 16 matches, she has 11 with at least 20 kills, including two of more than 30. She had a season-high 36 (with a .418 hitting percentage) in a five-set loss to Sacred Heart and 31 in a four-set win over rival Lehigh.

Maybe even more impressive are the trio of three-set matches in which she had at least 24 kills — or eight per set.

As a testimony to her growth as an all-around volleyball player, Deegan is putting up her eye-popping numbers using more than brute strength.

“My freshman year, my mindset was, I’m going to jump and hit the ball as hard as I can no matter what,” she said. “I don’t care who’s in front of me. I’m just going to jump and hit it as hard as I can.

“But as the years go on, you’re looking more at the block. You’re looking more at using hands. You’re looking for open spots on the court, so even if I’m not hitting the ball as hard as I can, I’m hitting the ball to the right spot.

“We always talk about, as a team, that a kill is just a point no matter how hard you hit it. It’s not as cool, but it’s still one point for the team.”

Said Adams: “I think just across the board with all our hitters, we talk a lot about bad situations and good situations. I think through her tenure here, it’s just her being mindful of what it means to be in a good (hitting) situation or a bad situation.

“I think she had the baseline athleticism, and it’s just now coming to the peak of having so many years of volleyball under her belt, especially at the college level. It has helped her become a true volleyball player — with a very heavy arm.”

Deegan’s dominance has helped to open up opportunities for other players. Grace Tulevech, a senior outside, has 123 kills and a .250 hitting percentage — right behind Deegan’s personal best percentage of .252. Sophomore middle Gracie Gibson is second in the Patriot League with a .313 hitting percentage.

Senior Madi Wahrmund has contributed 97 kills and hit .242. The Leopards are on top of the Patriot League in hitting percentage (.221).

“It’s just a team effort,” Deegan said. “It’s not just me getting a lot of kills. We have been able to incorporate a lot of our other hitters.”

Another crack at Colgate looms October 24 in Easton. The Raiders swept the first meeting, but two of the three sets required “overtime.” That’s how close Lafayette is to having at least a share of first place.

The mere notion of contending for a conference title seemed far-fetched even a year ago. But the Leopards have shown they can be a serious player in the race to the top.

For proof, consider they swept perennial league power American in their October 1 meeting (one of Deegan’s 25-kill matches). The Leopards hadn’t swept American since 1987.

“It’s a really crazy feeling,” Deegan said. “Our first two or three years, we were the bottom of the Patriot League. It’s the best feeling. We’re just having fun. Every time we step on the court, everyone is trying their hardest.

“We’re having fun, laughing, excited to step on the court instead of being like, ‘Oh we’re going to get crushed by this team we’re playing’ … Now that we have played almost every team in the Patriot League, we have gained a lot more confidence in ourselves.”

So confident that the Leopards have visions of competing in the Patriot League Tournament, something none of the current players has done. Lafayette hasn’t played in the Patriot League Tournament since 2006, when it was the No. 4 seed.

As the season reaches the halfway point, the Leopards are in a comfortable spot, 2.5 games up on American and Navy for the No. 4 spot. Which is quite something when you consider even in Adams’ first year, 2019, the Leopards finished 13-19 overall, 2-14 in the Patriot League, and then just 2-5 in the abbreviated spring 2021 season.

Regardless of what the final month of the regular season holds, Deegan said she already can have a sense of satisfaction knowing the team is light years ahead of where it was her freshman season.

“Even now, winning this many games is something we’ve never done before, so it’s really cool to be a part of that,” she said. “Even if we don’t make it to the NCAA Tournament and just make it to the Patriot League Tournament, that’s a huge step for us.

“And it’s a good feeling to be a senior on the team and kind of lead the program into a better place than it started in.”

And that, Corpora said, is Deegan in a nutshell. As much pride as she could feel leading the country in hitting, she prefers to think of her accomplishments in terms of the team.

“She’ll never say how good she is,” Corpora said. “She probably doesn’t realize how good she is. If you listen to any of her interviews on the Lafayette website, she’s always praising her teammates. And that’s just her. She’s that type of kid.”

Chuck Curti is a sports writer/copy editor for the Tribune-Review and TribLive.com, Greensburg, Pa.
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USA vs. Costa Rica: Time, TV, streaming, betting odds for CONCACAF World Cup qualifier

October 13, 2021 by admin

The U.S. men’s national team will look to get back on track after its first loss in World Cup qualifying as it gets set to meet a Costa Rica side that is back from the dead in its bid to make it to Qatar 2022.

An American squad with seven new starters from its previous 2-0 win over Jamaica logged what was arguably the worst U.S. performance in the Gregg Berhalter era on Sunday, failing to register a single shot on target in a 1-0 loss to Panama. Berhalter’s decision to heavily rotate the squad was met with criticism, but he made it clear that it was a gamble for which the payoff comes on Wednesday.

“It obviously doesn’t look like the best choice, but I think we have to wait till Thursday,” Berhalter said after the Panama loss. “If we were going to play the same players [vs. Jamaica on Thursday] in this game [vs. Panama on Sunday], I’m not sure we would position ourselves in the best way to win again on Wednesday [vs. Costa Rica]. Again, the conditions that we’re dealing with [in Panama] with the travel and the weather made it complicated. And we had to make, I guess, somewhat of a risky decision.”

DECOURCY: It’s a stretch to blame Berhalter for Panama loss

Winning your home games is critical in World Cup qualifying and Wednesday’s opponent showed why. Back in 2017, Costa Rica went into Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., and beat the USA 2-0 in a qualifier that ultimately cost the Americans a place in the 2018 World Cup. That match was also the Ticos’ last win against the USA; they’ve experienced a period of slow decline since the end of the 2018 World Cup, going a mediocre 8-8-11 in all matches and having to fire their coach in June.

It’s experienced hand Luis Fernando Suarez who was appointed to take over a Costa Rican team in desperate need of a generational changeover. But Suarez is still rolling out the old guard, and it was those veteran heroes who allowed the Ticos to secure a draw in Honduras last week and salvage a 2-1 come-from-behind win over El Salvador on Sunday. PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas was the star, making a key save in both matches to preserve the results. Those four points have Costa Rica back in the qualifying mix.

It’s expected that Berhalter will field his first-choice U.S. team again, featuring emerging goal scorer Ricardo Pepi, who will have his work cut out for him to beat Navas. The 18-year-old is one of 13 U.S. players age 23 or younger, while Costa Rica has 12 players who are 30 or older. It makes for a fascinating battle of youth vs. guile with valuable points on the line.

MORE: World Cup qualifying standings, schedule & highlights

How to watch USA vs. Costa Rica

  • Date: Wednesday, Oct. 13
  • Time: 7 p.m. ET
  • TV Channels: ESPN2
  • Spanish-language TV: UniMas, TUDN
  • Streaming: fuboTV, ESPN+

USA vs. Costa Rica will air on ESPN2 (English), and UniMas and TUDN (Spanish) with all three channels streaming on fuboTV. New subscribers can get a free 7-day trial to the streaming service.

The match, which will also be available to stream on ESPN+, will be held at the new Lower.com Field in Columbus. It’s the home of Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew, which opened in July.

USA vs. Costa Rica: Lineups

The Americans will benefit from the return of goalkeeper Zack Steffen, midfielder Weston McKennie and left back Antonee Robinson after all three skipped the USMNT’s trip to Panama. But two of those players are carrying injuries into the game.

MORE: Berhalter doesn’t regret fielding lineup vs. Panama

Berhalter sounded a cautious tone regarding the soreness in McKennie’s right quad (“he’s making progress”) and a “little issue” with Robinson’s knee. Both were involved in the final U.S. practice, but if either of them isn’t ready to go, Gianluca Busio (midfield) and George Bello (left back) could be called upon.

And since it wouldn’t be a U.S. lineup without a controversial selection: There are also rumblings that Zack Steffen will be taking over in goal again for Matt Turner.

Update: Hearing that we’ll see rotation at the USMNT goalkeeper position tonight. I’m expecting Zack Steffen to step in for Matt Turner on his return to Columbus.

Steffen’s been the No. 1 for most of Berhalter’s tenure, but the timing may raise some eyebrows nonetheless.

— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) October 13, 2021

USA projected starting lineup (4-3-3, left to right): 13-Zack Steffen-GK — 5-Antonee Robinson, 12-Miles Robinson, 3-Walker Zimmerman, 2-Sergino Dest — 8-Weston McKennie, 4-Tyler Adams, 6-Yunus Musah — 19-Matthew Hoppe, 16-Ricardo Pepi, 11-Brenden Aaronson

USA projected subs: 1-Matt Turner-GK, 22-Shaq Moore, 21-George Bello, 18-Mark McKenzie, 15-Chris Richards, 23-Kellyn Acosta, 17-Sebastian Lletget, 14-Gianluca Busio, 10-Cristian Roldan, 20-Tim Weah, 9-Gyasi Zardes, 7-Paul Arriola (Others: Sean Johnson, Luca de la Torre, DeAndre Yedlin)

Costa Rica had to replace Joel Campbell (sprained right ankle) and Jose Guillermo Ortiz (positive COVID-19 test) and opted for 39-year-old Alvaro Saborio and 27-year-old Christian Bolanos, veterans of countless USA vs. Costa Rica matchups.

There is speculation that Costa Rica could opt to go with 5-3-2 formation, which has proven successful for it in the past.

Costa Rica projected starting lineup (5-2-3, left to right): 1-Keylor Navas-GK — 22-Ronald Matarrita, 15-Francisco Calvo, 6-Oscar Duarte, 19-Kendall Waston, 2-Ricardo Blanco — 5-Celso Borges, 10-Bryan Ruiz, 17-Yeltsin Tejeda — 11-Randall Leal, 9-Jonathan Moya

Costa Rica projected subs: 23-Leonel Moreira-GK, 18-Aaron Cruz-GK, 20-Fernan Faerron, 4-Keysher Fuller, 8-Bryan Oviedo, 3-Juan Pablo Vargas, 13-Orlando Galo Calderon, 2-Youstin Salas, 14-Jimmy Marin, 7-Johan Venegas, 16-Kenneth Vargas, Christian Bolanos, Alvaro Saborio, Luis Diaz

USA vs. Costa Rica: Betting odds & prediction

Odds courtesy of DraftKings

Pick: USA -1.25 Asian Handicap (+100)

After a dismal performance on Sunday, it’s hard not to see the Americans coming out pedal to the metal against a Costa Rica team that is not the opposition it once was. The Americans will be fresher, they’ll have a passionate home crowd behind them and, with Ricardo Pepi on the field from the start, they’ll have the best chance to score multiple goals. The only thing that would stand in the way is a lights-out performance from Costa Rican ’keeper Keylor Navas.

The -1.25 Asian Handicap offers some insurance (half the bet is refunded) in case the Americans only win by a single goal.

In case you’re into historicals: The USA has a 6-2-1 record against Costa Rica in World Cup qualifiers played on U.S. soil and a 7-1-2 record against all regional qualifying opponents in Columbus.

Prediction: USA 2, Costa Rica 0

  • Moneyline: USA -270 / Draw +350 / Costa Rica +650
  • Spread: USA -1.5 (+125) / Costa Rica +1.5 (-170)
  • O/U 2.5 total goals: Over +110 / Under -140
  • Both Teams To Score: Yes +145 / No -195

[VIDEO] SHAWN PORTER DEEP DIVE ON FURY KNOCKING OUT WILDER; WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT WILDER & MESSAGE TO HIM || FIGHTHYPE.COM

October 13, 2021 by admin

FightHype.com recently caught up with former world champion Shawn Porter, who’s back in training camp for his highly-anticipated November 20 showdown with multi-division world champion Terence Crawford. You don’t want to miss what he had to say about the fight and much more. Check it out!

[ Follow Sean Zittel on Twitter @Sean_Zittel ]

[VIDEO] CRAWFORD TRAINER BOMAC WARNS SHAWN PORTER KNOCKOUT “REAL LIKELY”; PREDICTS “ONE-SIDED” BEST VICTORY || FIGHTHYPE.COM

October 13, 2021 by admin

FightHype.com recently caught up with multi-division world champion Terence Crawford, who gave us a special invite to visit him in training camp for his upcoming clash with former world champion Shawn Porter on November 20. You don’t want to miss what went down. Check it out!

[ Follow Sean Zittel on Twitter @Sean_Zittel ]

Ali Izmailov Back in Action at Performance Arts Center in Dearborn, Michigan

October 13, 2021 by admin

This Saturday, October 16, IBF #11, WBC #14 and WBO #15 light heavyweight Ali Izmailov (5-0, 3 KOs) returns to action against capable hometown veteran James Ballard (10-3, 3 KOs) in the eight-round main event of promoters Kenny D Moore and Vi Tran’s of Second 2 None Promotions’ “Best of Tomorrow 12” event at the Performance Arts Center in Dearborn, Michigan.

The 28-year-old Izmailov, from Malgobek, Russia, is a former amateur standout who won multiple elite international tournaments. Already world-rated as a professional at just 5-0, 3 KOs, Izmailov recently started working with world-famous Florida-based trainer John David Jackson at his Action Jackson Boxing Academy in Fort Lauderdale.

Jackson, who has spent the last three weeks sizing up his new protegee, says Izmailov is a diamond in the rough waiting for polish.

“The sky is the limit for him with his punching power,” said Jackson of Izmailov. “He’s a tremendous puncher, but he’s also got natural boxing skills. As a fighter, I don’t think he realizes his potential. I’m getting him to move his head more and throw more combinations, instead of one power punch at a time. Nothing against his old trainers, but once he learns to throw three or four shots to set them up and camouflage the hard ones, he will be unstoppable.”

Jackson says the 32-year-old Ballard will be a good test for Izmailov and his newfound skills, but shouldn’t be able to derail any of their plans.

“Ballard is good, but Ali just has to pressure him and go to the body to break him down. Once his opponents feel his power, they all have a change of heart. Once Ali hits him with some good shots, it’ll be a matter of time.”

“Ali has amazing potential to be a star and John David is the perfect trainer to bring that out of him,” said Izmailov’s promoter, Dmitriy Salita. “I think you’ll see the improvements immediately under his expert tutelage. Ali was already the best prospect in the light heavyweight division.”

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