Monday morning my phone was blowing up with texts from other coaches “This week is brutal” “What are you doing with 8-15?” “I feel good about 1-7 and nothing else”. So, on my way to the office, I grabbed some extra caffeine because it’s time to dive in after another week of crazy results.
- Stevens – (+1) The Ducks have quacked and they are back (on top) after a 3-0 sweep over NYU this past week.
- Juniata – (-1) Light punishment for JC following a loss to Southern Virginia. This team still has a Top 5 resume at the moment.
- Vassar – (+4) Huge week for the Brewers getting their first win over Springfield in 21 years followed by two routine sweeps. Almost bumped the Brew Crew up to #2.
- St. John Fisher – (-1) Fisher gets a one spot penalty despite their gritty win over Nazareth, more of a function of those around them in the poll.
- Messiah – (+1) Messiah gets a slight bump despite the quiet week taking down Elizabethtown and getting first conference win over Wilkes.
- Carthage – (-1) Carthage drops one spot following a 5 set grind to take down North Park. This squad is probably better than 6 but this Top 7 is jam packed (See below).
- Springfield – (-3) Probably to harsh of a penalty to drop the Pride 5 spots but everyone else in the Top 6 has wins over each other, Springfield is still looking for their signature win.
This is where the poll now gets very interesting so before we continue, I just want to provide a matrix of what the Top 7 have done within their resumes.
Stevens
- Top Wins: Vassar, St. John Fisher, Springfield
- Top Losses: Carthage
Juniata
- Top Wins: Carthage, St. John Fisher, Messiah
- Top Losses: Southern Virginia
Vassar
- Top Wins: Springfield
- Top Losses: Stevens
St. John Fisher
- Top Wins: Messiah
- Top Losses: Stevens, Juniata
Messiah
- Top Wins: Carthage
- Top Losses: Juniata, St. John Fisher
Carthage
- Top Wins: Stevens
- Top Losses: Juniata, Messiah
Springfield
- Top Wins:
- Top Losses: Stevens, Vassar
This level of parity and competition among the Top 7 is unprecedented. It really has made for an unbelievably exciting season and one where you can’t take any nights off. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
8. NYU – (+2) Welp, this is a first. After going 1-2 (beating Nazareth and falling to Stevens & Elmira) NYU moves up two spots.
9. Nazareth – (-1) Nazareth goes 0-2 for the week dropping a 5 set decision to Fisher and then a 4 setter to NYU but only falls one spot.
10. New Paltz – (-1) The Hawks drop 1 spot for the 2nd consecutive week despite a 2-1 record. A 5 set loss against unranked Arcadia where they were +16 in differential, a strange loss indeed.
11. North Central – (+4) I wasn’t overly impressed with the Cardinals road trip (although I was very impressed at the start). But a split with Cal Lu and a win over UCSC is enough to vault them up the ballot.
12. Southern Virginia – (NR) If SVU could play Juniata for every match, I would probably have them in the Top 5. Huge result for Coach Peterson’s Knights as they are now 6-1 against Division III competition.
13. Nichols – (-1) This week’s victims of circumstance are the Bison who drop 2 spots despite a 2-0 week highlighted by a 5 set win over Rivier.
14. Elmira – (NR) A big week for first year Head Coach Ryan McDonough as they take down NYU for the first time in in 9 years to start UVC play 1-0 (which is insanely important).
15. UC Santa Cruz – (-4) The Banana Slugs are clinging to the last spot in this poll after a 2-1 weekend agains the Midwest teams. Dropping the result against North Central hurt, but a good bounce back against Benedictine and IIT.
Also Considered: Cal Lutheran, Randolph-Macon, Loras, Lancaster Bible, Arcadia, Marymount