There’s officially two weeks left of the regular season, and the games are becoming more consequential. Dive into our takes from the past week of matches.
Conference Playoff Races are starting to take shape- which ones are you keeping an eye on when it comes to potential matchups and playoff seeding?
Ramius: As always I’m interested in the UVC matchups. NYU established dominance with convincing wins over SJF and Nazareth this weekend, while the Hawks dropped to five set matches to both Rochester teams. Seeding is paramount as always in the shark tank that becomes the UVC tournament, every game matters.
Harvey: The CCIW may have its top seed decided (even with Carthage recent loss to NCC) but NCC and Loras are vying for the #2 slot and home court advantage in a second round matchup. Those two are 13 & 14 in NPI respectively, looking to battle their way into position and with a head to head matchup this Saturday, there is a lot on the line.
Lindsay: I was interested in the MCVL last week and nothing has changed that. Trine did go the distance with both Mt Union and Baldwin Wallace, but didn’t pick up a victory against either. That would have made things even more exciting down the stretch. We have to wait until April 5th for BW vs Mt U
Which result caught your eye the most last week?
Ramius: The CCIW matches have to be talked about. Kudso to North Central shocking the world picking up a big win over Carthage at home. While I’d still bet money on Carthage walking away as thr Tournament favorite, the win shows we shouldn’t write off the conference tournament just yet.
Further, kudos on Carthage for rebounding from the loss with fairly dominant win over Loras in their rematch later in the week. Unlike the last time these two teams played, Carthage firmly controlled the match and established themselves as the heavy CCIW favorite. Excellent rebound win heading into the last two weeks of the season.
Harvey: I’ll take this time to talk about Naz over New Paltz. Cal is pulling out all the stops on his retirement tour moving Naz to a chance at 3rd place in the UVC pending their showdown with SJFU. And after a 3-0 start to UVC play New Paltz falls to 3-3 with the battle for Poughkeepsie on Wednesday night.
Lindsay: Stevens v Messiah was one of the biggest matches last week. Kobe Sherman is on a tear right now. 22-2-37 is an amazing line on any night, let alone against Messiah on the road. Coming into the match it was a very possible outcome the MAC championship was going through Pennsylvania, but Stevens wasn’t ready to concede.
What games should we keep on our radar this week? Any potential upsets?
Harvey: One of the really cool unique things about Men’s Volleyball is that even as you get into the late part of the season- there are huge consequential non-conference games that happen. Stevens just moved to top 4 in NPI and Vassar currently holds onto the precious final At-Large. For Vassar, there is a lot at stake & in the event they both get in, this match could play into a top 4 seed or avoiding SVU/NYU until the the National Semi-Finals.
For potential upset, give me Benedictine over UCSC. Ben U is smack dab in the middle of the UCSC midwest swing, with NCC two nights before and Aurora the next day. It’s possible the Slugs could overlook the Eagles and get salted in the process.
Lindsay: Speaking of Pennsylvania, Messiah plays Misericordia this week. Both have lost to Stevens, so now we’re talking about the 2 and 3 seeds. They could then see each other again in the playoffs. My eyes are on that Wednesday before tuning into my upset pick over the weekend. Springfield over SVU. Southern Virginia is still undefeated, still hasn’t dropped a set. Maybe that changes on Saturday!
Ramius: Southern Virginia versus Springfield has to be the marquee match of the week. Consequential game for both teams in terms of NPI, as it’s possible a win for SVU pushes them ahead of NYU nationally. Southern Virginia has to be the heavy favorite in the match due to their size and physicality advantages, but if any team in the country is capable of pulling an upset over the Knights, it would be Sullivan and the Pride.
Whos the favorite for each conference?
| Conference | Ramius | Harvey | Lindsay |
| UVC | Anyone who makes the tournament (but probably NYU) | NYU | NYU |
| CVC | Southern Virginia | SVU | SVU |
| MAC | Stevens | Stevens | Messiah |
| GNAC | Wentworth | WIT | Wentworth |
| AMCC | Buffalo State | Buffalo State | Buff state |
| CUNYAC | Baruch | Baruch | Baruch |
| NACC | Aurora | Aurora | Aurora |
| CCIW | Carthage | Carthage | Carthage |
| UEC | Lancaster Bible | LBC | Lancaster Bible |
| MCVL | Mt. Union | Baldwin Wallace | Mt Union |
| Skyline | SJLI | NJCU | NJCU behind the 40 yr old |
| ODAC | Randolph-Macon | RMC | Randolph-Macon |
| NEVC | Nichols | Nichols | Nichols |
| PAC | Thiel | Thiel | Thiel |
Who’s your top 5?
Ramius: NYU, SVU, Cal Lutheran, Springfield, Carthage
Harvey: SVU, NYU, Springfield, Stevens, Juniata
Lindsay: SVU, NYU, Springfield, Carthage, Cal Lu