Opening weekend left no doubt: NCAA volleyball is back. Well start off with a very noteworthy upset, and then work our way through other highlights of the first weekend of play.1. Tar Heel triumphThese things just dont happen to Penn State in volleyball. The Nittany Lions very rarely lose at home, and almost never to a non-conference opponent. They also dont let matches get away when theyve all but got a victory nailed down.But thats what makes sports endlessly fascinating, right? Seven-time NCAA champion Penn State was on the verge of closing out North Carolina in four sets Saturday. But trailing 23-18, the Tar Heels rallied for seven consecutive points to take the set. Then they won the fifth set 15-9, and won the Penn State Classic. Talk about a trophy that never expected to take an airplane trip.How unusual was this? It was just the 15th time -- ever -- that a non-conference volleyball opponent has won at Penn States Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions are now 316-15 in non-league matches there, and 580-34 overall.If anyone knew the historical significance, it was Tar Heels coach Joe Sagula, in his 27th year at North Carolina.This is going to be one that we will remember for a long time, Sagula said.The Tar Heels, whove won 12 ACC titles (most recently in 2014), were picked to win the league this year. Theyve consistently been a good program, albeit one with a losing overall record, 13-17, in the NCAA tournament. They had a tough end to last season, losing at home to Creighton in the NCAAs second round.But with four starters and their libero back, they had high hopes this season, and it couldnt have begun any better. North Carolina got 18 kills from sophomore Taylor Leath, who is from the State College, Pennsylvania, area and grew up watching the Nittany Lions. (By the way, shes also one of four players on the Tar Heels roster with the first name of Taylor. They must use nicknames a lot with this squad.).UNC freshman Julia Scoles made a great college debut, winning tournament MVP honors by compiling 30 kills and 33 digs in the Tar Heels three victories in State College. They swept Georgia Southern and West Virginia in their first two matches. North Carolina is now No. 12 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, with Penn State at No. 13.Next up for North Carolina? Just a friendly neighborhood matchup Thursday with archrival Duke (6:30 p.m. ET, Watch ESPN.)The loss will no doubt motivate Penn State, which faces Colorado and Stanford this weekend in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge in Boulder, Colorado.2. USC goes 0-3Speaking of the Pac-12, traditional conference power Southern Cal had a very rough start. The Trojans, who were tied for seventh with Washington in the preseason poll, lost to Marquette, Santa Clara and UC Irvine at home in the Galen Center. That sent the Trojans plummeting out of the this weeks rankings.USC lost national player of the year Samantha Bricio to graduation, so it was expected there would be some growing pains. But its doubtful anyone figured USC would open like this. The Trojans will try to get on track with another tournament at home this weekend, but the competition is challenging. They take on No. 23 Kentucky, Northern Iowa, and No. 22 Creighton.3. Huskers solidify No. 1In the VERT Challenge in Eugene, Oregon, last weekend, top-ranked Nebraska opened with a 3-1 victory against Florida and a sweep of Texas. Nebraska-Texas was a rematch of last seasons NCAA final and a battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2. And it wasnt very close. The Huskers prevailed 25-15, 25-16, 25-21, led by a combined 21 kills from the Rolfzen twins, Kadie and Amber.However, Texas did start with a 3-1 victory against Oregon. The Longhorns lost three key seniors from last year, and they wont have middle blocker Chiaka Ogbogu, who is taking the season off to focus on academics. It may take a little while for Texas, now ranked No. 3, to really develop its chemistry.4. Hawaii looking to youngstersHawaii, which fell from No. 6 to No. 15, is still without All-American senior star Nikki Taylor, who is out indefinitely with an elbow injury. The Rainbow Wahine lost their opening matches to visiting Wisconsin and Kansas State, and then trailed Arizona 2-0. But behind sophomore outside hitter McKenna Granatos career-high 33 kills, Hawaii rallied to win 3-2. And perhaps more unusual than North Carolina having four Taylors is Hawaii having two McKennas. The other is freshman defensive specialist McKenna Ross.5. Keep an eye on ... WisconsinThe Badgers moved up to No. 2 in the rankings after three victories in Hawaiis tournament, and the rest of their non-conference schedule is also extremely challenging. Friday, theyll take on San Diego (which beat Stanford last Friday). Then Wisconsin also has matches on the road against North Carolina, Louisville, Texas A&M and Texas before starting the grind of Big Ten play. Nobodys going to question the Badgers strength of schedule, thats for sure. Custom George Brett Jersey . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. Cheap Royals Jerseys .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play. http://www.customroyalsjersey.com/ . Schenn scored the game-winning goal and added two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday. Cheap Custom Royals Jersey . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. Wholesale Custom Royals Shirts . The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator. On the evening of March 17, 2006, ahead of the Mumbai Test, Owais Shah was fed up. He had enjoyed the summer of his life, scoring seven first-class centuries and 1700 runs, and, after injuries decimated Englands Ashes-winning side, was rewarded with a Test call-up for the tour to India. Somehow, though, Shah faced leaving India as he had arrived: without a Test cap.I remember clearly going to bed the night before and thinking thats the series gone, Im not going to get an opportunity, he says. But by the following morning, all had changed. Alastair Cook, who scored a debut hundred two weeks earlier in Nagpur, was violently throwing up and in no state to play. Finally, eight years after starring in Englands only Under-19 World Cup victory, here was Shahs chance. I saw it as a bit of a situation that was meant to be.Two years earlier, frustrated that his precocity had yet to be converted into consistent excellence, Shah went to India to work with Mohammad Azharuddin.He said always look to score off a ball, Shah says. Defending is your last option so as the ball is coming down you look to score runs off it, and if you cant you block it. But always have that mindset and look to score runs. If your mindset looks to score runs then your body will get into really good positions, and from that position, if you realise its a good ball, then, defend it.Walking out at No. 3 in Mumbai, Shah stayed true to Azharuddins advice. From his third ball, against Harbhajan Singh, he advanced down the pitch. It wasnt a statement of intent. It was just the way I played my cricket against spin bowling: always looking to dominate, always looking to score runs from the first ball I faced. My game was very set up for using my feet trying to hit straight.By the end of the game he had made 88 and 38 to underpin Englands unlikely Ring of Fire victory. Ive always backed my ability to play spin, and just applied the basics - reading the spinners from the hand. I just backed my technique.Even if Shahs career fizzled out unsatisfactorily - I just wish Id got more opportunities after the Mumbai Test- his tale affirms that it is possible for novice Test batsmen to thrive in India. That should be heartening for Ben Duckett, after two indifferent Tests in Bangladesh, and Haseeb Hameed, who could yet emulate Shah in debuting in India.It will be very tough, Shah says, though he believes that England can give India a good fight if their batting shows more resolve than in Bangladesh.Youre not going to blast the spinners out of the attack there. The batting unit need to use their feet and manoeuvre the ball and get more singles and twos - whoever does that best will be the better batting unit. If we try and blast their spinners, we can get undone. But at the same time if we just block, block, block thats not the right way to go about it. If we get stuck and then play the big shot, thats a problem. You need to be busy and not allow them to settle.He urges Duckett and Englands flamboyant middle order to trust their instincts against spin, just as he did a decade ago. They will play the game thats got them to international cricket, they cant just change. If someone wants to run down and use their feet let them - thats probably what theyre comfortable doing. The same if they want to sweep or reverse sweep.Of greater concern to Shah is Englands bowling. They do not just have to battle India, but a system at home that has stunted the development of spin bowling over recent years.Its not our spinners fault, because they havent bowled that much in the past five-six years in county cricket.dddddddddddd Theyve bowled a lot more this year but prior to that not that much, he says. Thats perhaps where well fall down.We should make wickets that help spin bowling. There should be a bit of deterioration from day three as opposed to the green seamers that finish in three days. Thats not real first-class cricket. Batsmen are forgetting how to play for five or six hours: theyre having to play a lot more aggressively because they realise that sooner or later theres a good ball around the corner. In Test cricket youve got to know how to put a five- or six-hour hundred together. If you havent practised it how are you going to know how to do it in a Test?While England are attempting to thrive in India, Shah has a very different challenge on his mind: coaching the UAE. After helping out during their tour of Scotland last summer, Shah has just signed for a three-month stint as head coach, a plum job to land just after turning 38.This is an opportunity I didnt think I could turn down, he says. If everything is right and I feel like Im making progress after three months, and the Emirates Cricket Board and, most importantly, the players are happy with me, then why not?Shah has been impressed with the UAEs talent, but also identified their first-class cricket as a major area to improve. Im trying to teach them a little bit more about the longer form of the game, because they play a lot of short form, he says. I think being able to play the longer form will help their short-form cricket, especially one-day internationals. A few months after the UAE introduced fully professional contracts, Shah will be charged with ensuring the team are not just professional in name only.Now theyre required to turn up and train every day, and be consistent in that. Its a new concept and will take some time to understand. Hopefully they can tap into my knowledge of being a professional cricketer: whats required of you, and your life revolving around cricket; your behaviour, having the right amount of rest, what food you eat and things like that. Its about making them understand that all your actions will have a knock-on effect on your cricket.Shah intends to be very much hands on as a coach. Im quite happy to dive around, shown them how to catch, show them how to hit sixes or whatever, he says. These guys are international cricketers. Its more about helping them on a mental level. Im also trying to teach them about playing at the top level, when the bowlers are that much faster, and the batsmen are that much quicker on their feet - some technical stuff and also some tactical stuff.And as a player who was not always managed sensitively - in particular, he was shunned by the Duncan Fletcher regime - Shah should be well placed to judge each players individual needs.Every single player is different. Some players need more showing how things are done, and some need less showing and need to work things out themselves. Its more of a man-management thing, coaching. A 22-year-old needs different kind of managing to a 34-year-old. Those two people are at different stages of their lives.An early test for Shah and his new side will come at the start of December, when the UAE play three 50-over matches against England Lions. It should be good fun, he says. Until then, he will watch Englands current generation trying to make their mark on India with interest. ' ' '