Welcome to the fourth pondtalk of 2025! For those who are knew to the pond, this article is a roundtable discussion amongst the frogjump contributors (Harvey, Lindsay, and myself) about D3VB. We’re all given the same set of questions to answer, and each writer speaks from their own point of view, providing individual insight and opinions regarding the storylines of men’s D3VB.
General observations from the past weekend, as the season officially begins its second month of action?
Lindsay: NYU is in the top 3 in probably every poll, 10-0 and dropped 3 sets all season. Cal Lu, top 5 in most polls, is 10-2 and has dropped a total of 18 sets. Emerson Evans is leading NYU in attempts with 229. He would be fourth at Cal Lutheran. Jordan Cooper is at 412. Everyone still lags behind Jared Piontkowski of Misericordia and his 532 swings. I didn’t do any further research but if someone has taken more swings up to this point, please let us know. Some teams have played a lot of volleyball in January and some are just getting warmed up.
Harvey: I’m just so impressed with the overall quality of college volleyball in the men’s game. I said it a few weeks ago, the matches where you can rest starters and run back ups are few and far between. Results from this past week reinforce that.
Additionally, I’m proud of MVB coaches for continuing to schedule like demons. Last weekend a member of my athletic department said “If college gameday existed for Volleyball they would definitely be here this weekend.” And then I had to explain how many top VB teams play each other so often and I hope that NPI doesn’t change that.
Ramius: It’s getting to a point this year whenever I see Cal Lu is down 0-2 in sets on the NCAA scoreboard, I generally assume they’re going to reverse sweep. This was especially the case this weekend given how many five-set matches they played (and won). Exhaustion aside, Aurora is a very talented midwest team and a loss is a loss. The addition of Logan Brouwer seems to have been the missing piece for the Spartans, Midwest should take notice. Regardless, I don’t think the loss damages Cal Lutherans place in the landscape as of yet.
Based on the first month of matches, who do you see as the favorite for each conference currently?
| Conference | Ramius | Harvey | Lindsay |
| UVC | NYU | NYU | NYU |
| CVC | Southern Virginia | Southern Virginia | Southern Virginia |
| MAC | Stevens | Stevens | Stevens |
| GNAC | Wentworth | Lasell | Lasell |
| AMCC | Buffalo State | Buffalo State | Buffalo State |
| CUNYAC | Baruch | Baruch | Baruch |
| NACC | Aurora | Aurora | Dominican |
| CCIW | Carthage | Carthage | Carthage |
| UEC | Lancaster Bible | Lancaster Bible | Lancaster Bible |
| MCVL | Mount Union | Walrus Time | Baldwin Wallace |
| Skyline | Ramapo | St. Joe’s (LI) | Ramapo |
| ODAC | Randolph Macon | Randolph-Macon | Randolph Macon |
| NEVC | Nichols | Nichols | Nichols |
| PAC | Hiram | St. Vincent | Hiram |
Which result caught your eye the most this past week?
Harvey: Aurora over California Lutheran. There are two possible ways to read this outcome.
- Cal Lutheran was absolutely exhausted after playing 14 sets rolling into their final match of the weekend.
- Aurora has finally turned the corner and is ready to take the NACC by storm and challenge Carthage & Baldwin Wallace for Midwest Supremacy
I think it is probably a little bit of both, but I choose to believe in Aurora (see above)
Lindsay: I’m staying on theme here. North Central has played six matches, five of them have gone to five sets! They’ve played both the aforementioned NYU and Cal Lu and although they lost both those matches, anything can happen in a fifth set. Finally a win Sunday afternoon in three sets hopefully gave new head coach Kevin Kustura a much needed sigh of relief. I’m not sure what to make of their season yet, but I think they’re going to be better in February.
Ramius: I’ll go with a trio of results; Juniata, Stevens, and Carthage all going 2-1 at the FrogJump Invitational (Carthage defeating Juniata, Juniata defeating Stevens, and Stevens defeating Carthage). All three of these teams are contending for top 5 positions in the landscape, and the effective stalemate barely changes the national narrative.
What are some of the best matches to keep our eyes on as we head into this weekend? Who’s potentially on upset alert?
Ramius: The Springfield-New Paltz home and home series begins this week as my hometown Hawks travel to the Mecca on Alden Street. Sparks always seem to fly when these two programs meet and I’m hoping for that trend to continue. For potential upset, I’m looking at Carthage vs Dominican this weekend. The Firebirds are easily a top 5 team in the nation and should be considered a heavy favorite, but the Stars simply don’t care. I think if any upset occurs this week it’ll be here with the Stars.
Harvey: Cancelling my Friday night plans to watch Juniata vs. Messiah. Yorktowne 17 Blue kids will pick which school they go to depending on who wins this one. Lots of good midwest match-ups this week as well: NCC vs. Aurora /// Dominican vs. Carthage but my upset pick is MSOE over Loras.
Lindsay: My upset alert last week was Dominican over Cal Lu because they always go five sets. I was right about half of it, but Cal Lu won again. This week I’m paying attention to a midweek match between Lasell and MIT. Lasell is 9-1 and my pick to win the GNAC. MIT is coming off a few losses in PA, so it will be interesting to see how they rebound. I think I will take a week off from picking an upset, but I am looking at Marymount to pick up at least 3 wins in New York this weekend.
Who’s your top 5 based on the last week of matches?
Ramius: NYU, SVU, Carthage, Cal Lu, Stevens
Harvey: NYU, SVU, Cal Lu, Carthage, Springfield
Lindsay: SVU, NYU, Cal Lu, Springfield, Carthage