Which match result(s) this past week caught your eye the most?
Lindsay: It certainly didn’t feel like the most shocking week of results, but Nichols took a big in region match from Lasell. Being that Nichols is fighting for that 3rd independent spot as we talked about in a previous pond talk, every win against good programs is important. They have Wentworth at the end of this week and if they can get some revenge, Nichols could start thinking about NCAAs.
Harvey: I think the clear winner of the weekend is Hobart. Coach England put on a tactical clinic- leading the Statesmen to their first two wins over nationally ranked opponents in Misericordia & Baldwin Wallace. Andrew Kim and his band of merry first years are going to be more competitive in the UVC than folks think. They have a claim as the best first year program since Lakeland 2014 (apologies for toaster quality).
Ramius: I’ll agree with Harvey on the Hobart performances this weekend. Two wins over nationally ranked opponents and a VERY close game against Wentworth should put the UVC on notice. Hobart will make some noise in the UVC for sure.
Many conferences are jumping into play soon, which conference race are you looking forward to the most?
Lindsay: Eyes on the CCIW for me. Loras is currently undefeated and rolled through the NACC with 3 sets wins against Benedictine and Dominican on consecutive Saturdays. We have to wait another two weeks to see any of the top 3 play each other, but North Central has been strong since some early season hiccups. Carthage is 6-4, but they’ve played some of the strongest competition outside the Midwest in Cal Lu and Stevens.
Harvey: I’m pretty invested in the NACC race. After some early season results- Benedictine and Dominican have struggled to get non-conference wins. Aurora and Concordia Wisconsin have both struggled out of the gate. Most of these programs tend to hit their stride in mid March but I am unsure who should be the favorite heading into conference play.
Ramius: I’m always interested in the UVC race (especially this year), but outside my own conference I’d have to agree with Lindsay and look at the CCIW. Carthage and NCC have essentially dominated the 1-2 spots of the conference, but this year Loras has so far shown they are the top dogs until proven otherwise. This is truly a three way race for their conference bid.
Who has been the breakout performer through the first month of Division III men’s volleyball?
Ramius: I’m not sure if we could consider it a true “breakout” given he was on Kings last year, but my pick would probably be Jared Piontkowski of Misericordia. Outside of Andrew Kim at Hobart I don’t believe any other player has had more of an impact on a team than Jared this season. He’s helped solidify the Cougars into a top 20 program, hitting .323 on the year while averaging 4.4 kills per set.
Harvey: I’ll head north into the GNAC for two picks.
The obvious one is Wentworth setter Josh Milke. The junior setter currently ranks 4th in the nation in assists/set leading his offense to the top of the kills/set ranking and a .344 attack percentage which is good for 5th nationally. Milke also is an effective blocker and server for the Leopards helping them sprint out their #1 ranking in the National Polls.
Under the radar is Emmanuel outside hitter Michael Shelley. Shelley is currently 8th in the country with 4.37 kills/set and doing it on an efficient .357 attack percentage. He’s had double digit kills in all but one match and was instrumental in their early season upset of SUNY New Paltz
Lindsay: Speaking of the northeast, how about freshman Sam Levinson for Springfield. Hes leading the team in kills per set from the oppo and they’re undefeated against Div III opponents. I know I mentioned him as a rookie of the year candidate but at this point I think he’s running away with it.
Over in NY I think you could pick any number of guys from St John Fisher but Ian Rauh (5th) and Griffin Stella (19th) are both represented on the hitting percentage leaderboard. Rauh wasn’t even a starter last year. Outstanding middle play for the cardinals.
What matches do you have on your radar this upcoming week? Who is on upset alert?
Ramius: There are a lot of great games and matchups this week honestly, but I think the one that has large implications for the rest of the season is going to be Dominican vs UCSC. A win for UCSC here is going to be huge later in the season when regional rankings start getting formulated. Dominican started the season off with a huge splash against NCC, but has come up short in five set losses to Cal Lutheran and Carthage since then. In region wins over potentially ranked opponents is huge, so this match result has implications further down the line.
Harvey: My eyes will be glued to Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jacket invitational all weekend long. The hosts are welcoming in North Central, Messiah, and Nazareth for a round robin of matchups that will produce some fireworks.
My upset alert is for Southern Virginia, as they face off with instate rival Randolph-Macon. Macon has had an up and down start to the season but seem to be finding their stride at the moment. It is nearly impossible to win in the Barn, but RMC always plays SVU tough so I’ll be excited for that one.
Lindsay: NCC vs Nazareth is on my radar. I asked for more East/midwest crossover a few weeks back and this is a matchup we (probably?) haven’t seen recently. Naz is undefeated but this will easily be the best team they’ve faced so far.
I hate picking upsets…but I’m excited for the RS matchup of MIT and Vassar. Gustafson is top 10 in kills per set for MIT. Vassar plays NACC hopeful Benedictine in Wednesday, a physical Lasell team on Friday and then MIT on Saturday. That’s a tough slate of matches, maybe MIT can catch them sleeping.
Who are your personal top 5?
Ramius: Wentworth, Stevens, Southern Virginia, Springfield, Vassar
Harvey: Wentworth, Stevens, Southern Virginia, Springfield, Cal Lutheran
Lindsay: Wentworth, Stevens, Springfield, Southern Virginia, Cal Lutheran