The FrogJump Top 20 is our Power Ranking of the DIII Men’s Volleyball Landscape. Our algorithm uses a host of different variables, including the cumulative statistics of D3VB men’s programs throughout the season. This allows us to reflect the ever changing dynamics within the landscape as teams compete to be the best in the nation.
The better a team performs, the higher they’ll climb in our model. As it stands, only match data up to 3/8/2022 was taken into account (sorry Cal Lutheran, the Marymount win will be reflected next week).
- Springfield (16-1): Springfield sits atop the landscape in our model in an almost embarrassing fashion. The gap in performance metrics last week between Springfield at #1 and Vassar at #2 was LARGER than the gap between Vassar at #2 and SVU at #7… take that for what you will. The Pride are on a 3 match win streak following their loss to the Lasers, and will travel to my hometown to take on the New Paltz Hawks tomorrow. Best be sure I’ll be paying $5 dollars for my ticket.
- Vassar (13-3): The Brewers went 1-1 in UVC play this past weekend, losing to St. John Fisher while defeating Nazareth. They have a long break till their next match, heading to Stevenson on March 17th.
- Dominican (11-1): The Stars have a tough stretch ahead of them this week; with Fontbonne (3/10) Benedictine (3/12) and Aurora (3/15) all on the docket.
- Carthage (10-3): The Firebirds vault into the top 5 after a string of dominant performances. They head out to Dubuque, Iowa to take on Loras tonight before hosting Fontbonne Saturday.
- Rutgers-Newark (14-2): The Scarlet Raiders continue to roll. Fresh off a sweep over Arcadia, they’ll travel to Elmira, NY this Saturday to take on the Hilbert Hawks.
- Southern Virginia (12-2): SVU is looking to cement its status as the number one contender in the CVC following it’s sweep of Juniata this past week. They’ll take on Randolph-Macon again this Friday, expect sparks to fly in this battle in Virginia.
- North Central (11-1): The Cardinals were able to rebound from their loss to Carthage with a 3-0 win over Loras. They travel to Milikin tonight, before hosting North Park and Fontbonne this Saturday.
- St. John Fisher (14-4): The birds are soaring after their big weekend. Conference wins over Vassar and NYU are the perfect sendoff as the team gets ready to head out to California. They’ll participate in the Cal-Lu-Fornia Classic this weekend, taking on California Lutheran, Marymount, UC Santa Cruz, and Aurora.
- Stevens Institute of Technology (16-3): The Ducks are preparing for the Inaugural Pat Dorywalski Classic this Friday. They’ll host Eastern at 5PM before taking on their cross river rival NYU at 7PM. Going to be a long Friday.
- Juniata (17-4): The Eagles have a big regional match up tonight against Stevenson. Region II in the NCAA might as well be death valley, every match here matters as we get later into the season and Regional Rankings get closer.
- Marymount (16-3): The Saints were on the wrong end of a cincoset battle last night against California Lutheran, but don’t have much time to rest. They have St. John Fisher, Baldwin Wallace, and Aurora to contend with in the Cal-Lu-Fornia Classic.
- Wentworth (13-3): The Leopards swept Lasell in a rematch from their previous meeting earlier in the season. That’s a big GNAC to kick off Spring Break, as Wentworth joins everyone else down in California for the Cal-Lu-Fornia Classic. They’ll take on Baldwin Wallace and Cal Lutheran on Friday before playing UC Santa Cruz on Saturday.
- Loras (15-2): The Duhawks have a HUGE home match tonight, as the Carthage Firebirds are coming to town to find out exactly what a Duhawk is.
- New Paltz (14-3): The New Paltz win streak continues, as the Hawks are 9-0 since 1/30. They have a murderers row of opponents to close out the regular season. Their schedule the rest of the year is Springfield, St. Francis (DI/II), NYU, Vassar, Springfield, Elmira, and Nazareth. No better way to prepare for the UVC tournament.
- Messiah (11-3): The Falcons have been building momentum under the radar in the MAC, currently 9-0 since 2/1. They have a break for the next week, and won’t hit the court again until 3/16 when they head out to Widener.
- Stevenson (11-6): All eyes should be on Stevenson vs Juniata tonight, as this is a huge match with regional ranking implications in the Death Valley that is Region II. Stevenson has been able to hang and play with anyone this year, and have been looking for a signature win to highlight their season.
- Benedictine (7-5): The Eagles will travel to Rockford tonight, but the match I have my eye on happens Saturday. The Eagles will hit the road to take on Dominican in River Forest, IL. The Eagles are finally at full strength, and Dominican is a rivalry game. Anything can happen.
- Fontbonne (12-3): We’re not in the MCVL anymore! Fontbonne has a slate of huge opportunities in their next few matches to make some noise in the landscape, as they hit the road to Wisconsin/Illinois and take on the gauntlet of midwest powers. They play Dominican tomorrow night, Carthage Friday, a much improved North Park Saturday morning, before battling NCC Saturday night. Get your popcorn.
- Lasell (12-6): The Lasers break into our Top 20! Their 2-1 in their last three matches, splitting with ranked programs Springfield (win) and Wentworth (loss). They’ll have another oppurtunity for a signature win this week, as they’ll host MIT on Friday.
- Endicott (8-4): The Gulls return to our Top 20 following a weekend where they beat Elmira (3-1) before losing to Springfield (3-0). They’ll have two conference matches to close out the week, hosting Lesley tomorrow before traveling to play Northern-Vermont Johnson.
Ramius Thoughts
Bad teams care about the teams they beat “that one time”, good teams worry about beating the team in front of them. March is here, and this is crunch time in D3VB. Every match matters, every point matters, don’t get distracted.
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