Welcome to the first Pond Talk of 2026! For those new to the pond, this is a FrogJump roundtable featuring Harvey, Lindsay, and me, focused on the biggest storylines in men’s Division III volleyball. We each respond to the same set of questions, offering our own perspectives, analysis, and takes on the D3VB landscape. A lot happened over the first two weeks of the season, so let’s dive in.
- What from the first two weeks feels real and what still feels like early-season noise?
Ramius: What feels real to me… I think this is a down year for the UVC. Early results indicate NYU, Vassar, Nazareth, and St. John Fisher are worse than last year, we haven’t seen New Paltz play yet but there’s an argument based on the first two weeks they could be either the first or second best team in the conference. This take could very likely be noise on my end, and all of these squads should get better as the season progresses. NYU came away with a great win over Cal Lutheran, and Charlie Clifford is looking the part of an Impact Freshman early in the season already.
I will say I was impressed with the UCSC squad I watched this past week.The Banana Slugs had the most impressive opening week of all the ranked teams, going undefeated at their home tournament with ranked wins over Vassar and NYU. Categorize those results in the “real” column.
Harvey: West Coast is back! You can make an argument that 3 of the top 6 teams in the country hail from Region IV. The demise of Vassar after a tough opening weekend is greatly exaggerated. Tough opponents matched up with a Brewer squad this isn’t fully healthy.
Lindsay: NYU is going to win the UVC-that’s real. They graduated a huge chunk of their lineup and still look like contenders. Springfield losing on the west coast is noise. Sure it wasn’t against Div III teams so it doesn’t count, but they might not lose ever again in 2026.
- Which teams benefited most from the schedule or match context the last two weeks, and which teams were quietly tested harder than people realize?
Ramius: Buffalo State and UCSC benefitted the most given the schedule. Both teams hosted tournaments with ranked opponents, both teams took care of business and came away with two ranked wins. I will also admit SUNY Poly isn’t going to be an easy out for anyone this year, I think that team is going to give people some trouble. Group plays hard and works hard, and if you let them hang around, they’ll likely make you pay for it.
Harvey: Stepping away from the results. Not sure anyone benefited more than the participants of the Cal Luau Classic. What an amazing experience for those teams to travel out to Hawaii for competition – truly the trip of a lifetime. Baldwin Wallace had a nice win over Elizabethtown without All MCVL Outside – Dan Latham.
Lindsay: Hobart-Misericordia-Buffalo state. 5 setters all over the place. Like Harvey said regardless of results, early season challenges are a good thing. Much more should be gained from those matches than some of the other skewed results we’ve seen. - Based on what we’ve actually seen on the court, which teams have already shown Top-5 traits — even if the results aren’t perfect yet?
Ramius: UCSC will definitely have made the biggest argument to be in the top tier of D3VB to start the season, but as of now I have them just outside the top 5 echelon. They’ll play Baldwin Wallace and Carthage in February, wins over both would easily change most minds in the landscape if they’re not already believers.
Harvey: I’m going for a deep cut – I think MIT is a true contender to make the NCAA Tournament. It is a young squad full of explosive pin hitters and two young talented setters. The academic burden on those guys shouldn’t be too heavy yet.
Lindsay: If you can get a Midwest Div I OH to transfer into your program or you get elite California talent, you’re probably in the top 5. - What matches do you have on your radar next week?
Ramius: Throwing one I’m sure nobody is tracking outside of the midwest, but I’m very interested in the Aurora vs Illinois Wesleyan match this week. Aurora stock is pretty high right now, but Illinois Wesleyan showed flashes last year of a team taking the next step. Aurora “should” be the favorite in this game, but Illinois Wesleyan is hosting and they have some guys who can definitely play. I’d say this is a trap game the Spartans can’t overlook.
Harvey: I’ll take Loras and MSOE on Friday night. These are both programs that expect to be competing for the NCAA Tournament but have some heavy hitters in front of them for their conference crowns. This early season match up is likely to have big NPI implications.
Lindsay: Southern Virginia vs Randolph Macon on Wednesday. I’m not sure we’ve seen SVUs starting lineup yet and I think everyone is curious what they will look like. Are they still atop the CVC? New Paltz vs Juniata is a big one. We’ve seen Juniata more than anyone thus far and none of New Paltz. - What do the early wins and competitive matches against DI/DII opponents actually tell us about the top of Division III this year?
Ramius: I don’t want to dive too deep into the weeds on this question as I’ll be writing an article about this topic soon, but I think it tells us a lot about the DI/II landscape in the age of NIL and the truth about the top of DIII. In short, the top 8 of the DI/II world has so far separated from the rest of their division there isn’t really any parity from a competitive standpoint anymore at their level (if you don’t believe me check the box scores from the first two weeks of DI/II matches).
The top 20 DIII’s will continually compete with the rest of the volleyball landscape in the lower DI/II world, on the court and the recruiting trail. The scene probably gets murkier when DII eventually separates from DI to have their own National Championship, but as of now I still believe the DIII experience competitively and academically is excellent in comparison to losing to Hawaii 25-6, 25-12, 25-11 every time you play them.
Harvey: It tells us what we’ve always known. The top of Division III is good enough to play at the NC level. There are ballers all over the NCAA and aside from a few select schools, Division I is just a label.
Lindsay: Vassar and Santa Cruz beat Menlo. Wentworth beat Merrimack. Wentworth and Nichols beat AIC. Cal Lu has CSUN and UC Santa Barbara later this year too. - Who are your personal Top 5 teams right now to start the season?
Ramius: Springfield, Carthage, Southern Virginia, Messiah, Stevens
Harvey: Springfield, Messiah, Carthage, UCSC, Juniata
Lindsay: Springfield, Carthage, Santa Cruz, Cal Lu, NYU