Which match result(s) this past week caught your eye the most?
Lindsay: I did tell everyone to watch MIT vs Vassar. I said Vassar could be a bit tired from having to play a heavy week. Turns out I just missed and should have picked Lasell with the upset. I think there’s notable things for all three of these teams. 1) Lasell has had an up and down year, but a near miss vs Wentworth and a win vs Vassar tells me they are a team to watch. 2) MIT caught fire at the end of last year and Gustafson can clearly carry the load offensively. They can challenge anyone in the UVC. 3) Vassar still won the most important match of their week. Jacob Kim’s usage was a little different as he had a few matches off so it will be interesting to see how he’s deployed for the rest of the season.
Harvey: The Yellow Jacket Invitational did not disappoint in Berea, Ohio. North Central went undefeated in their 3 matches and looked every part of the team we expected to contend for the best of the midwest. Messiah came away with two important wins, and Ryan Givens is putting up some Knigge-esque numbers (thank me later for the link). Nazareth faltered in their first weekend with multiple national challengers (they did defeat Lasell earlier in the year), escaping with a win over BW. And while Baldwin Wallace went 0fer this weekend, their competitive nature in all 3 matches showed me they are still the team to beat in the MCVL.
Ramius: Honestly, the team that caught my eye the most did so in a loss. St. Joseph (LI) went the distance with Springfield this past weekend ATSpringfield, attempting to reverse sweep the pride. St. Joseph has been a top 30 program for years with all the talent that comes out of Long Island, so nobody should be surprised to see them go the distance with some of the tougher teams across the landscape. It was only two years ago SJLI upset Southern Virginia to make the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament after all.
Which program is a dark horse currently flying underneath most people’s radars?
Lindsay: I think it’s harder to fly under the radar these days with the expanding amount of coverage at the Div III level. If you look at the T100, which of those top 20 teams haven’t been mentioned in the last 2-3 weeks? I do want it to be known that I had SJLI featured here, but I had to scrub that because Ramius mentioned them above.
Harvey: Has anyone had a conversation about Marymount this year? Coach Liberto has the Saints 13-0 having only dropped 6 sets all year. 5 of their next 7 matches over the next 3 weeks are against Nationally Ranked opponents- so we will see how much of a player the Saints are in the CVC.
Ramius: This is going to be an odd pick, but I’m going with North Central. I think their early season loss to Dominican was fairly punishing in the mind’s eye to those of us who cover D3VB nationally. As it stands, the Cardinals were the NCAA runner-up last year and still have all-american standouts Jared Moser and Tyler Donovan. They were the big winners of this past weekend’s Yellow Jacket Invitational and seemed to have found their stride.
Build your D3 team to compete against any non-Div III team in the country (Lindsay version)
Harvey:
OH: Jacob Labouliere – Christian Sheaffer – Owen Wickens
- I want size and firepower which is why I am starting with the D3 Kaijus- Laboo and Sheaffer. Wickens gets the nod as he will be our starting libero and a potential backup setter in emergency situations.
MB: Connor Feulner – Ryan Givens
- I think this was the toughest position group to work through for me. Feulner proved in the 2023 postseason that he is the Nation’s best middle, maybe on both sides of the ball. And he is doing it playing against top competition only (no padding). Givens is having stellar year with lots of offensive volume, something that would be a nice change of pace from what many DIs are accustomed to.
RS: Jacob Kim
- Kim is an ultra-versatile and talented athlete who seems like another perfecl fit. Could even let us go natural 6-2 with Wickens circa UCLA 2016.
S: Tyler Donovan
- The engine of our offense was easy to choose with Tyler Donovan. This guy is running an ultra efficient offense without the guns that this lineup would provide- seeing them with these tools and balance would be a thing of beauty. Donovan’s size as a blocker to matchup with opposing outsides separated him from some other choices
Lindsay:
OH: Andrew Kim- Jacob Labouliere- Jordan Cooper
- A little bit of crossover here and a big amount of fire power. These three have been a carrying force on the offensive side of the ball all year. What’s not to like.
MB: Chase Olson-Tyler Hoke
- Harvey said if there’s a number of directions you could go in the middle. Olson is in his 5th year so some veteran leadership combined with top 10 blocks per set can surely help. Hoke is an impact guy on both sides of the ball in his own right and he has the size to impact bigger attackers.
RS: Jared Piontkowski
- Did someone say something about size? It’s one thing to be big, it’s another to be big and move like he does. There’s just some things he does that others can’t.
S: Taylor Marks
- Tough choice for me as I considered a number of guys here (Dylan Mulvaney has been great among others) but I went with the athleticism of Marks. I have a feeling he’s the leader at Cal Lu and I want him to run this group
L: Owen Wickens
- To be truthful I think this is a disservice to Wickens. He’s better utilized somewhere else as Harvey noted but I’m not sure there’s someone who could hold down Libero as well as him. He has to be on the team.
Ramius: No write ups from me this week, but my selections would be below.
OH: Laboo, Andrew Kim, Jared Moser
MB: Connor Feulner, Brandon Dunz, Ryan Cholowinski
OP: Jared Piontkowski
S: Jacob Kim
Libero: Zach Knudsen
What matches do you have on your radar this upcoming week? Who is on upset alert?
Ramius: I’d keep an eye on Stevens vs Springfield this Saturday. The young Pride have performed above everyone’s expectations this year, and anytime two top 5 teams play against each other I tend to pay attention. Stevens is definitely a heavy favorite in this game, but you can never count out a Sullivan squad.
Harvey: There are a ton of excellent matchups on tap as conference play really gets underway. After their aforementioned shaky weekend, Nazareth takes on crosstown and conference rival, St. John Fisher. This match has a lot of emotional weight every time they play- but with both programs off to such excellent starts, I’m excited to see them duke it out.
CCIW Supremacy is on the line Friday night as Loras hosts Carthage in Dubuque. Carthage has been the white whale for Coach Ross (Carthage is 16-0 all time against Loras) but the Duhawks will be favorites in this year’s initial matchup- can they handle the pressure and show the rest of the CCIW that they are for real. A win for the Firebirds would launch them back into the National discussion in a big way.
Lindsay: I’m about symmetry these days. I started with Lasell and I’ll end with them hosting Springfield on Wednesday. I don’t have a prediction because I still don’t think I’ve been right, but it’s an interesting regional match. Lasell had a good week and Springfield has either 1) Won by a big margin or 2) Won when it’s gone to five.
Who are your personal top 5?
Ramius: Wentworth, Stevens, Southern Virginia, Springfield, Cal Lutheran
Harvey: Wentworth, Stevens, Southern Virginia, Cal Lutheran. Springfield
Lindsay: Wentworth, Stevens, Springfield, Southern Virginia, Cal Lutheran