Which match result(s) this past week caught your eye the most?
Lindsay: Even if all of us talked about a single result from Southern Virginia coming north, would that still be enough coverage? I’ve been quiet this year on my liberos, but Justin Madsen has inspired me. He’s the best I’ve seen so far if anyone asks for my vote. Exactly two guys had a good offensive day in those 4 matches. Shout out Vaughn Ramsey of Vassar and Andrew Kim of Hobart.
They have for certain one ranked team left on the schedule. Interestingly they play Juniata after almost 2 weeks off, so they will either be really well rested or a little rusty. I’m ready to claim Southern Virginia as the favorite for a national championship.
Harvey: Lindsay said everything necessary about SVU. But before the Knights throttled their two UVC opponents, St. John Fisher got an important 5 set win over Vassar. Between that and their win over Hobart, Fisher is in the driver seat to host the UVC tournament in cozy Rochester.
Ramius: As my two colleagues have written about Southern Virginia, my eyes look westward. North Central got reverse swept by Carthage earlier this week in a match that had a) huge conference implications and b) huge regional ranking implications. Loras might be the best of the midwest currently, but let’s not overlook a possibility by Carthage to make a surprise run in April.
Who do you see as the conference favorites at the midpoint of the season?
| Conference | Ramius | Harvey | Lindsay |
| UVC | Anyone who makes the tournament. | Hobart | SJF- I think they host |
| CVC | Southern Virginia | SVU | Southern Virginia |
| MAC | Stevens | Stevens | Stevens |
| NACC | Dominican | Concordia Wisconsin | Dominican |
| MCVL | Mount Union | Baldwin Wallace | Baldwin Wallace |
| SKYLINE | St. Joseph (LI) | St. Joe’s (LI) | St. Joes (LI) |
| CCIW | Loras | Loras | Loras |
| United East | Lancaster Bible | Lancaster Bible | Lancaster Bible |
| AMCC | Geneva | PSU Behrend | PSU Behrend |
| CUNYAC | Baruch | Hunter | Hunter |
| GNAC | Wentworth | Wentworth | Wentworth |
Who’s winning the Independent bid race at the midpoint of the season?
Harvey: Despite the two recents wins over Nichols, I don’t think Springfield has done enough to catch up to Cal Lutheran as the top Pool B candidate. Some absolute top tier wins, with the chance to add more this week, Coach Judd and the Kingsman are in prime position to make some noise in their impendicng NCAA Tournament debut.
Lindsay: It’s a great year to be independent. Too bad we can’t see a Springfield vs Cal Lutheran matchup. I’ve been really impressed with both teams. Springfield keeps finding ways to win close 5 set matches. Something tells me Cal Lutheran is in for a nice week at home.
Ramius: I wrote about this recently; but to reiterate, I believe California Lutheran and Springfield are currently in the lead for the first two bids. The big race comes down to Nichols and UCSC right now. UCSC has a chance to make the conversation much tighter at the CalLuFornia Classic, where they’ll play several nationally prominent teams to help their resume.
What matches do you have on your radar this upcoming week? Who is on upset alert?
Harvey: “Go west young man.” As Spring Breaks get underway, the CalLuFornia Classic welcomes in a number of pillars of the AVCA and the FJ top 20. The premier match of the bunch will be Wentworth and Cal Lu. As mentioned above, the hosts have had no issue taking on (and taking down) top competion all year long, and Wentworth could be the feather in their cap. Inversely, Wentworth is looking to separate from their peers with SVU appearing as a challenger for their top spot (Stevens is also playing some great ball right now). A win for the Leopards would go a long way in keeping them at the summit.
For an upset, I like Stevenson over Lasell. The Mustangs have one of the nation’s most underrated outsides in Tim Flanagan who can score points against anyone. In addition to Flanagan’s output, they have the serving and defense to frustrate the Lasers. The Mustangs would love another signature win for their first season under Coach Gardner.
Ramius: The event with the largest national implications is the CalLuFornia Classic, where a who’s-who of top programs are competing against each other (premier match being Cal Lutheran vs Wentworth as mentioned by Harvey). A matchup with upset potential this week I’d have is Hobart versus Nazareth (assuming Owen Wickens is both healthy and available, if not Hobart should be a heavy favorite).
Lindsay: North Central vs Loras is on my watchlist. Carthage had an entertaining and emotional reverse sweep last week against North Central. The CCIW is easily the most interesting conference right now. If Loras comes out and dominates again, they will have an even tighter hold on #1 but it doesn’t seem like much separates these teams.
For upsets, give me UCSC against at least one other ranked opponent.
Who are your personal top 5?
Ramius: Wentworth, Stevens, Southern Virginia, Springfield, Cal Lutheran
Harvey: Wentworth, Southern Virginia, Stevens, Cal Lutheran, Springfield
Lindsay: Southern Virginia, Wentworth, Stevens, Springfield, Cal Lutheran