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 3/15/2022 was taken into account.
- Springfield (18-1): Springfield continues to solidify it’s hold of the East Coast, ending the week with wins over New Paltz and MIT. They hit spring break on a 5 match win streak, and will return to the court March 23rd when they play Regis.
- Carthage (12-3): Carthage vaults up to numer 2 on our board following their dominant offensive displays over the last few weeks against NCC, Loras, and Fontbonne. Carthage will next play Augustana on the 16th.
- Dominican (13-1): The Stars are 13-1 and have only lost to NCC. They’re coming off three solid wins over Benedictine, Fontbonne, and Aurora. They won’t have much time to rest, as they take on the Loras Duhawks in a match full of upset potential on March 18th.
- Vassar (13-3): Vassar comes back from spring break with a huge test against Stevenson on Thursday. Harvey and I have that circled as a possible upset candidate given Vassar is coming back from break and Stevenson has been playing up to now.
- Southern Virginia (12-2): The Knights defeated Randolph-Macon for the 3rd time this season and stand as the favorite in the CVC for now. They play Eastern Mennonite and Elizabethtown this week.
- Rutgers-Newark (14-2): The Scarlet Raiders just swept Misericordia yesterday, and have a huge match on the docket as they take on fellow CVC power Marymount on Friday.
- North Central (14-1): The Cardinals are on a four match win streak with wins over Loras, Millikin, North Park, and Fontbonne. They’ll travel to Bloomington to take on Illiniois Wesleyan University on Friday.
- Stevens Institute of Technology (18-3): The Ducks are coming off a sweep over NYU, and will play King’s College on Wednesday in an MAC contest.
- Wentworth Institute of Technology (15-4): The Leopards went 3-1 last week, defeating Lasell early in the week before heading out to California for the Cal-Lu-Fornia Classic. There they defeated Baldwin Wallace and California Lutheran before falling to UC Santa Cruz. They play Emerson on the 17th.
- Marymount (18-4): The Saints had a mixed week out in California, defeating St. John Fisher and Baldwin Wallace while losing to California Lutheran and Aurora. They’ll play Rutgers Friday in a match with huge CVC implications.
- St. John Fisher (16-6): The Cardinals also had a mixed week out in California, losing to California Lutheran and Marymount before rebounding with a pair of cincoset wins over UCSC and Aurora. They’ll take on a competitive Elmira team tonight in UVC action before heading to Dallas, PA this weekend for a tri-match with Wilkes and Misericordia. I recommend hitting up J and J’s bottle service and deli for dinner as it might actually be heaven on earth.
- Stevenson (14-6): The Mustangs don’t have much time to rest this week following their sweep of Misericordia, as they’ll take on Alvernia tonight before hosting UVC stalwart Vassar college tomorrow. Keep your eyes on that match.
- Juniata (19-5): The Eagles rebounded from their loss to Stevenson with back to back sweeps of Hiram college this weekend. They’ll hit the court Friday against Lancaster Bible, where they’ll celebrate Senior Night.
- New Paltz (15-4): Mixed week for New Paltz has them holding steady at 14, with a loss to Springfield in four followed by a cincoset win over DI/II St. Francis-Brooklyn on senior night. They have a bit of a rest for spring break before they continue their hellish end of season schedule. They’ll play NYU on March 23rd followed by Vassar on the 26th.
- Loras (16-3): The breakout program of the midwest should have everyone’s attention this week, as they host the Dominican Stars Friday night in a match up full of upset potential. Don’t sleep on the Duhawks.
- Messiah (11-3): The reigning MAC champions are currently on a 9 match win streak. They’ll take on Widener tonight before traveling to Reading, PA for a tri-match with Alvernia and Drew.
- Endicott (11-4): Fresh off a cincoset victory over Eastern Nazarene, the Gulls will host a cross region matchup this Saturday as a much improved CUW makes their way to the East Coast.
- Nazareth (17-6): The Golden Flyers will be enjoying spring break for a bit, and return to the court March 23rd for a match against DI/II D’Youville. Their schedule doesn’t get much easier, as they end the season with UVC matches against MIT, St. John Fisher, and New Paltz.
- California Lutheran (12-7): The Kingsmen break into our top 20 for the first time after an amazing stretch of performances. They went 4-1 last week, with wins over Marymount, Aurora, St. John Fisher, and Baldwin Wallace. The loss to Wentworth is nothing to be upset about, as the string of victories are against a slew of quality programs just as regional rankings are being formulated. They’ll have a small rest this week, before hitting the road to play NCC in Illinois. This match has huge Region III implications.
- Benedictine (8-7): The Eagles had a tough stretch last week, losing both matches against Dominican and DI/II Daemen. They’ll have a nice stretch of NACC matches to get back on track to end the season, starting with MSOE tonight in a match with upset potential for the Raiders.
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