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Ex-CSU volleyball star makes name for herself on AVP Tour

BY KELLY LYELL • KellyLyell@coloradoan.com • July 4, 2008

Angela Knopf is settling into a routine in her first full season on the American Volleyball Professional circuit.

She's in a different city each weekend, often playing with a different partner. But in five of this year's eight tournaments, she's wound up in the same spot - tied for 13th.

That's where she and Saralyn Smith finished in tournaments in Miami and Huntington Beach, Calif., where she and Stacy Rouwenhorst wound up in Atlanta and where she and Sara Straton finished in the past two events at Hermosa Beach, Calif., and Belmar, N.J.

"It's been really fun to kind of break through a little bit and play with some of the best athletes in the world," said Knopf, 28.

And Knopf, a two-time All-American for CSU in 2000-01, is thrilled to be back in Colorado this week for the AVP Tour's annual stop in Boulder. Catie Vagneur Mintz, another former CSU All-American, also is entered.

Knopf, 6-foot, and Straton, a 6-2 Australian who is in her 14th season on the AVP Tour, will play their first match in the 32-team, single-elimination women's draw at 2 p.m. today at the University of Colorado's Folsom Field. And they'll play that match against Smith, who played collegiately at Hartford, and her new partner, former Georgia State player Beth Van Fleet.

"Switching partners is very difficult," Knopf said. "It's worse than the dating world because after you get 'dumped' or dump someone, you have to see them the next weekend, every weekend, with their new partner. It's like an episode of Days of our Lives, and lately I have felt like the main character."

She was kidding. Sort of.

Adjusting to each partner and her unique style of play isn't easy. But Knopf said she's been fortunate to have partners with similar styles and strengths. She feels "blessed" to be playing, period, and is making her mark on the AVP Tour 2½ years after relocating to Los Angeles to make a go of it.

Knopf missed four or five tournaments with a broken hand last season. But this season, she's played in every AVP event, earning $10,125, and four spots - one with each partner - among the top 50 teams in the Crocs Cup standings. Her best finish came in Louisville, Ky., where she and Lauren Fendrick finished in a tie for seventh after knocking off one of the AVP's top teams, Holly McPeak and Angie Akers, 21-19, 22-20 in a consolation match.

The travel, Knopf said, is difficult. She's headed to Chicago next weekend and New York the weekend after that. But she's enjoying herself, regardless of who she's paired up with each week.

"I feel really fortunate to be able to play with the players that I've been able to play with this year," Knopf said. "With their caliber of athleticism, I've really improved and learned a lot.

"I'm actually able to work with a coach now and see how far I can take it."