The US is a bit puritanical with regard to sex and drinking. Many other countries don't see these things as a very big deal at all. They have lower drinking ages. Sex isn't considered so taboo. So kids who grow up in those cultures are more likely to be shocked and pushed away by the HC. American non-lds kids aren't gonna love it either, but having grown up in the US, the HC standards aren't quite as far away from what they're used to.

If Volleyball is an example, the difference could simply be that kids will make sacrifices to be on a national champion contender team. BYU volleyball is actually that good. BYU basketball is not.