Too tired for a cutesy intro today. Let’s get after it.
- Juniata – (+1) An easy ascension into pole position for the Eagles after a huge win over Messiah and escaping Arlington with a W to start 1-0 in CVC play.
- Stevens – (-1) Light punishment for the Ducks who went 2-1 on their Midwest trip “lowlighted” by a loss to the reigning national champs.
- St. John Fisher – (0) Fisher went 3-0 without dropping a set, including an impressive win over Mount Union who was gaining some steam.
- Springfield – (0) Three wins over teams who’ve appeared in the polls so far (Lasell, MIT, NYU) have the Pride holding steady after their Morgan Classic Championship
- Carthage – (+2) A huge win over previously unbeaten Stevens vaults the Firebirds back into my top 5. The real question though, is Tarble the toughest place to win in the country?
- Messiah – (-1) The Falcons dropped a tough road decision to Juniata before rebounding with a gritty 5 set win over New Paltz in beautiful Dallas, PA.
- Vassar – (-1) Last week I mentioned that I felt bad having Vassar at #6 after seeing how talented they are. So naturally I moved them down one spot after 3 clean sweeps including a dismantling of Randolph-Macon.
- Nazareth – (+1) An eventful week for the Golden Flyers who had two 5 set wins in their joint tournament including their Friday night thriller over Mount Union.
- New Paltz – (-1) The Hawks got a full weekend of volleyball in Dallas, PA – dropping to Messiah in 5 sets than edging out a feisty Misericordia squad in 5 as well. Hadn’t seen Spulnick in person since 2019, the dude’s arm is WIIIILD.
- NYU – (0) The Violets took care of Rutgers-Newark at the Morgan Classic before falling to a Springfield squad that is starting to find its groove. Also the 5th UVC team on my ballot.
- UC Santa Cruz – (+1) The Slugs took on some NAIA competition this past weekend, falling to Menlo and triumphing over Westcliff. TBH, I don’t know what that means but they are a benefit of circumstance this week.
- Nichols – (+1) I was the only person in the country to rank the Bison last week, hopefully that changes this week. This squad is legit, proven by their win over Lasell last week.
- Marymount – (+2) The very rare lose a big match and move up two spots, but of the teams I am considering for this spot, Marymount has played the best schedule. Pushing Juniata to a 5th set showed they are ready to compete.
- Mount Union – (-3) The Purple Raiders certainly didn’t have the weekend they wanted in Rochester- dropping to both Naz and Fisher before narrowly escaping SUNY Poly. With 3 ranked losses and one ranked win, that is enough to stay on my ballot.
- North Central – (NR) Coach Exline’s squad squuuuuuuuueaks into my last spot based on eye test alone. These guys looked incredible last week. Cardenas looks like he could eat me, that guy is huge. Want to see them get a result of consequence soon!
Also Considered: Baldwin Wallace, Loras, Rutgers-Newark, Sothern Virginia
Disclaimer: 11-15 in the poll right now is really tough. I feel pretty comfortable about my Top 10 at this point and I think my top 7 specifically are absolute studs at the moment. 11-15 could be in just about any order at this time. Fun having so many upsets and such parity in MVB right now but it certainly makes doing this more difficult.