Anyone who knew me as a kid, would be able to tell you that I love Smash Mouth (shout out to Astro Lounge). And as the poets of the late 90s said “The years start coming and they don’t stop coming”. Substitute “upsets” for “years” and you’ve got the story of the 2023 Men’s Volleyball season so far.
- Stevens – (0) Adding wins over New Paltz and Wentworth (with Laboo) cement their place at the top of this list.
- Juniata – (+1) A 3-0 week highlighted by a win over St. John Fisher at home has the Eagles rising one spot in the poll.
- St. John Fisher – (+1) Despite dropping a match this week, they did sweep previously unbeaten Messiah moving them up one spot with both D3 losses to the 2 teams above them.
- Springfield – (+1) A 3-0 week for the Pride highlighted by a sweep of New Paltz moves the Pride up comfortably into the Top 5.
- Messiah – (-3) Falcons grabbed another nationally ranked win over Rutgers-Newark at home before dropping to the Cardinals in a battle of the birds at Juniata.
- Vassar – (0) I almost feel bad having the Brewers this low at #6 because I watched these guys play in person and they are really good. Dominating wins over Misericordia and Lasell.
- Carthage – (0) The Firebirds hold steady after 2 wins this week, highlighted by a 5-set thriller at home over Santa Cruz.
- New Paltz – (0) Hard to have a 1-2 week that could be called a success- but New Paltz was on the verge of 0-3 before reverse sweeping Wentworth (with Laboo) to salvage the week.
- Nazareth – (0) A well-deserved week off for Owen and Co after their hot start to the season. No reason to move them down for that.
- NYU – (+3) Everyone above the violets took a tumble, and while they didn’t have a standout win- they did add 3 more to the column.
- Mount Union – (NR) A big win over Santa Cruz highlights the 4-0 week for the Raiders who’s only loss comes to the team I currently have ranked 5th.
- UC Santa Cruz – (-2) 7 Matches for the Sliming Slugs this past week is no joke. 5 set losses to teams ranked on my ballot this week. Solid results against CUW & MSOE.
- Nichols – (NR) A big win for the Bison over MIT vaults them into the poll. Their 3 losses (all at SUNY Poly) came to teams currently ranked 2-3-9 on my ballot.
- Baldwin Wallace – (NR) Coach Mars’ squad returns to my ballot after a 3-0 week. I may be a bit quick to dismiss their result against Medaille from our tournament because I know how it arrived. Putting more stock into their wins over Loras, RMC, and CUW.
- Marymount – (NR) Currently sitting at 7-2 and flying under the radar are the Saints. A big win over Cal Lu and previous result against Elmira are representing here.
Also Considered: Lasell, Rutgers-Newark, MIT, Randolph-Macon, Southern Virginia, North Central