NACC: Several Fall Aurora matches have been posted (upset of then-ranked #18 St. Benedict-MN in the opener, and several losses, a 5-set loss by St. Norbert, and and Edgewood mild upset of then #25 Concordia-WI.)
WIAC: UW-Whitewater's opening night upset of U of Chicago, then #22 UW-Eau Claire knocking off then-ARV Augsburg.
HCAC: Transylvania beating Maryville-TN in a 5-setter.
CCIW: An Augustana-IL win over Central-IA
Last night it was St. Norbert's turn to pull of an upset as the Green Knights knocked off #12 UW-Eau Claire in a 5 setter:
St. Norbert outhit UW-Eau Claire .121 to .036 in Set 5 to get the win here.
#21 Bethlel-MN vs. ARV UW-Stevens Point currently in progress:
Final: ARV UW-Stevens Point over #21 Bethel-MN in 4 sets:
(20-25. 25-23. 25-23, 25-14)
Pointers: Neutz .345 hutting pct. 12 spikes for points
Bethel-MN: Cotter .469 hitting pct. 20 spikes for points
Keeping tabs on ARV Mt. St. Joseph vs. IL Wesleyan:
Today, it was IL Wesleyan's turn to storm back from 2 sets down and knock off ARV MSJ:
(28-30, 21-25, 25-18, 25-19, 18-16)
IL Wes: Outhit MSJ .212 to .111 to get this win at home.
HCAC/SLIAC match-up (ARV Transylvania vs. Spalding) up shortly.
Final: ARV Transylvania over Spalding in 3 sets:
(25-18, 25-13, 25-20)
Transylvania: .371 team hitting pct.
Spalding: Robison .368 ind. hitting pct.
HCAC action (Bluffton/Manchester) up shortly: (Winner gets out of the in-conference cellar)
Franklin vs. ARV Transylvania on deck:
Update: Per TU site, game is under a "weather delay" (power outage, perhaps?)
HCAC Final: Bluffton comes back from 2 sets down to stun Manchester on the road:
(16-25, 19-25, 25-21, 27-25, 15-11)
Bluffton: Barnett .471 hitting pct. Team outhit Manchester .100 to .000 in Set 5
Eureka/Westminster-MO just underway: (Gotta give the SLIAC a bit of overdue love).
SLIAC Final: Westminster-MO over Eureka in 3 sets:
(25-12, 25-14, 25-18)
BlueJays: 10 service aces Menke and Wanyonyi 10 and 8 spikes for points, respectively
Wanyonyi also had 10 digs.
Tonight I followed live stats, but when I took in Westminster-MO's
video feeds of a couple of their matches last spring, I was
impressed with Wanyonyi's play. She's quick on her feet and
can pull off a lot of strong shots.
.
10-20-21 Region VIII Rankings:
Team: SOS: RRO: Overall Record:
1) U of Chi .643 Not shown 12-8 (.600)
2) IL Wes .625 14-11 (.560)
3) WI-EC .609 22-3 (.880)
4) Wi-WW .603 20-1 (.952)
5) MSJ .597 15-8 (.652)
6) WI-SP .585 20-5 (.800)
7) Wash-MO .584 13-7 (.650)
8) Aurora .554 14-7 (.667)
9) Earlham .542 15-5 (.750)
10) CUW .525 17-3 (.850)
CCIW Conference Race Update: Carthage, IL Wes, Elmhurst, Wheaton-IL and Millikin have clinched Tournament playoff spots. Augie, North Park and North Central-IL are still alive for the last one.
Schedule for teams still in contention:
North Park; at Wheaton-IL
North Central-IL; at Augie
Augustana-IL: at North Central (Augie must win this to stay in contention.
Tie-breaker scenarios: North Central: Beat North Park, yet to play Augustana (so an Augie loss here would
give North Central the last playoff sot.
North Park: Beat Augustana, Lost to North Central
Augustana: Lost to North Park, yet to play North Central
In the event of a 3-way tie, An Augie win over North Central would put both squads at 1-1. North Park also went 1-1. Further tie-breaker procedures would come into play.
Quote from: WLCALUM83 on October 20, 2021, 11:17:31 PM
10-20-21 Region VIII Rankings:
Team: SOS: RRO: Overall Record:
1) U of Chi .643 Not shown 12-8 (.600)
2) IL Wes .625 14-11 (.560)
3) WI-EC .609 22-3 (.880)
4) Wi-WW .603 20-1 (.952)
5) MSJ .597 15-8 (.652)
6) WI-SP .585 20-5 (.800)
7) Wash-MO .584 13-7 (.650)
8) Aurora .554 14-7 (.667)
9) Earlham .542 15-5 (.750)
10) CUW .525 17-3 (.850)
10-27-21 Regional Rankings:
Team: IDR: SOS: RRO: Overall Record
1) UW-EC 25-3 (.893) .608 9-2 (.818) 25-3 (.893)
2) UW-WW 23-1 (.958) .598 6-1 (.857) 23-1 (.958)
3) UW-SP 23-6 (.793) .566 5-5 (.500) 23-6 (.793)
4) U of Chicago 14-8 (.636) .645 6-6 (.500) 14-8 (.636)
5) Aurora 17-7 (.708) .556 3-6 (.333) 17-7 (.708)
6) Earlham 17-5 (.773) .535 3-2 (.600) 17-5 (.773)
7) IL Wes 16-12 (.571) .608 4-10 (.286) 16-12 (.571)
8) Wash-MO 15-7 (.682) .595 1-7 (.125) 15-7 (.682)
9) Mt. St. Joe 15-8 (.652) .575 3-7 (.300) 17-8 (.680)
10) Concordia-WI 19-4 (.826) .534 1-2 (.333) 20-4 (.833)
Update:
CCIW: Carthage, IL Wes, Elmhurst, Wheaton-IL, Millikin, and North Park made this tournament.
HCAC: Earlham, Mt. St. Joe, Transylvania and Hanover are in.
NACC: Aurora, Concordia-WI, Benedictine, St. Norbert, MSOE and IL Tech are in.
SLIAC: Greenville, Westminster-MO, Webster, Fontbonne, Blackburn and Spalding are in.
WIAC: Eau Claire, Whitewater, Stevens Point, Oshkosh and La Crosse are in. One spot open yet.
UPDATE: Platteville got the last playoff spot.
Quote from: WLCALUM83 on October 27, 2021, 06:38:43 PM
Quote from: WLCALUM83 on October 20, 2021, 11:17:31 PM
10-20-21 Region VIII Rankings:
Team: SOS: RRO: Overall Record:
1) U of Chi .643 Not shown 12-8 (.600)
2) IL Wes .625 14-11 (.560)
3) WI-EC .609 22-3 (.880)
4) Wi-WW .603 20-1 (.952)
5) MSJ .597 15-8 (.652)
6) WI-SP .585 20-5 (.800)
7) Wash-MO .584 13-7 (.650)
8) Aurora .554 14-7 (.667)
9) Earlham .542 15-5 (.750)
10) CUW .525 17-3 (.850)
10-27-21 Regional Rankings:
Team: IDR: SOS: RRO: Overall Record
1) UW-EC 25-3 (.893) .608 9-2 (.818) 25-3 (.893)
2) UW-WW 23-1 (.958) .598 6-1 (.857) 23-1 (.958)
3) UW-SP 23-6 (.793) .566 5-5 (.500) 23-6 (.793)
4) U of Chicago 14-8 (.636) .645 6-6 (.500) 14-8 (.636)
5) Aurora 17-7 (.708) .556 3-6 (.333) 17-7 (.708)
6) Earlham 17-5 (.773) .535 3-2 (.600) 17-5 (.773)
7) IL Wes 16-12 (.571) .608 4-10 (.286) 16-12 (.571)
8) Wash-MO 15-7 (.682) .595 1-7 (.125) 15-7 (.682)
9) Mt. St. Joe 15-8 (.652) .575 3-7 (.300) 17-8 (.680)
10) Concordia-WI 19-4 (.826) .534 1-2 (.333) 20-4 (.833)
11/3 Rankings:
Team: IDR: SOS: RRO: Overall Record:
1) UW-Eau Claire 27-3 (.900) .607 10-2 (.833) 27-3 (.900)
2) UW-Whitewater 25-1 (.962) .585 7-1 (.875) 25-1 (.962)
3) UW-Stevens Pt. 25-6 (.806) .572 5-4 (.556) 25-6 (.806)
4) U of Chicago 15-8 (.652) .649 7-6 (.538) 15-8 (.652)
5) Aurora 18-8 (.692) .562 3-7 (.300) 18-8 (.692)
6) UW-Oshkosh 18-11 (.621) .581 5-5 (.500) 18-11 (.621)
7) Earlham 19-5 (.792) .530 3-3 (.500) 19-5 (.792)
8) IL Wesleyan 17-12 (.586) .610 4-10 (.286) 17-12 (.586)
9) Concordia-WI 21-4 (.840) .535 1-2 (.333) 22-4 (.846)
10) Mt. St. Joseph 17-8 (.680) .573 3-7 (.300) 19-8 (.704)
Region VIII NCAA AQs:
CCIW: IL Wesleyan
NACC: Aurora
SLIAC: Greenville, IL
WIAC: UW-Eau Claire
On the bubble: UAA U of Chicago, Carthage, Earlham, Concordia-WI
HCAC: TBD tomorrow.
Update:
HCAC: Transylvania
Region VIII Pool C's:
UW-Whitewater, UW-Stevens Point, U of Chicago
Quote from: WLCALUM83 on November 03, 2021, 05:15:09 PM
Quote from: WLCALUM83 on October 27, 2021, 06:38:43 PM
Quote from: WLCALUM83 on October 20, 2021, 11:17:31 PM
10-20-21 Region VIII Rankings:
Team: SOS: RRO: Overall Record:
1) U of Chi .643 Not shown 12-8 (.600)
2) IL Wes .625 14-11 (.560)
3) WI-EC .609 22-3 (.880)
4) Wi-WW .603 20-1 (.952)
5) MSJ .597 15-8 (.652)
6) WI-SP .585 20-5 (.800)
7) Wash-MO .584 13-7 (.650)
8) Aurora .554 14-7 (.667)
9) Earlham .542 15-5 (.750)
10) CUW .525 17-3 (.850)
10-27-21 Regional Rankings:
Team: IDR: SOS: RRO: Overall Record
1) UW-EC 25-3 (.893) .608 9-2 (.818) 25-3 (.893)
2) UW-WW 23-1 (.958) .598 6-1 (.857) 23-1 (.958)
3) UW-SP 23-6 (.793) .566 5-5 (.500) 23-6 (.793)
4) U of Chicago 14-8 (.636) .645 6-6 (.500) 14-8 (.636)
5) Aurora 17-7 (.708) .556 3-6 (.333) 17-7 (.708)
6) Earlham 17-5 (.773) .535 3-2 (.600) 17-5 (.773)
7) IL Wes 16-12 (.571) .608 4-10 (.286) 16-12 (.571)
8) Wash-MO 15-7 (.682) .595 1-7 (.125) 15-7 (.682)
9) Mt. St. Joe 15-8 (.652) .575 3-7 (.300) 17-8 (.680)
10) Concordia-WI 19-4 (.826) .534 1-2 (.333) 20-4 (.833)
11/3 Rankings:
Team: IDR: SOS: RRO: Overall Record:
1) UW-Eau Claire 27-3 (.900) .607 10-2 (.833) 27-3 (.900)
2) UW-Whitewater 25-1 (.962) .585 7-1 (.875) 25-1 (.962)
3) UW-Stevens Pt. 25-6 (.806) .572 5-4 (.556) 25-6 (.806)
4) U of Chicago 15-8 (.652) .649 7-6 (.538) 15-8 (.652)
5) Aurora 18-8 (.692) .562 3-7 (.300) 18-8 (.692)
6) UW-Oshkosh 18-11 (.621) .581 5-5 (.500) 18-11 (.621)
7) Earlham 19-5 (.792) .530 3-3 (.500) 19-5 (.792)
8) IL Wesleyan 17-12 (.586) .610 4-10 (.286) 17-12 (.586)
9) Concordia-WI 21-4 (.840) .535 1-2 (.333) 22-4 (.846)
10) Mt. St. Joseph 17-8 (.680) .573 3-7 (.300) 19-8 (.704)
11/8 FINAL Rankings:
Team: IDR: SOS: RRO: Overall Record
1) UW-Eau Claire 29-3 (.906) .619 14-2 (.875) 29-3 (.906)
2) UW-Whitewater 26-2 (.929) .602 8-2 (.800) 26-2 (.929)
3) UW-Stevens Pt. 26-7 (.788) .576 5-7 (.417) 26-7 (.788)
4) U of Chicago 17- 9 (.654) .643 7-8 (.467) 17- 9 (.654)
5) UW-Oshkosh 19-12 (.613) .591 5-7 (.417) 19-12 (.613)
6) Aurora 20- 8 (.714) .572 4-8 (.333) 20- 8 (.714)
7) IL Wesleyan 19-12 (.613) .614 3-10 (.231) 19-12 (.613)
8) Earlham 20- 6 (.769) .539 3-2 (.600) 20- 6 (.769)
9) MSJ 17- 9 (.654) .580 3-7 (.300) 19- 9 (.679)
10) Concordia-WI 22- 5 (.815) .544 2-3 (.400) 23- 5 (.821)
UW-Eau Claire is the Region VIII squad which advanced to the Elite 8.
Region VIII Post-Season Awards are now up:
https://www.avca.org/awards/all-regional-all-america-awards/division-iii-region.html
UW-Eau Claire is in the final, after having upset Juniata in a 5-set thriller!
News on an HCAC coaching change here:
https://www.defianceathletics.com/sports/wvball/2021-22/releases/20220104g9xht7
Elmhurst has a new coach:
https://elmhurstbluejays.com/news/2022/2/1/womens-volleyball-cameron-andrew-named-head-volleyball-coach.aspx
UW-Stout (WIAC) has a new coach:
https://stoutbluedevils.com/news/2022/3/29/womens-volleyball-ben-staupe-to-take-over-volleyball-program.aspx
2022-23 CCIW Pre-Season WVB Poll is now up:
https://cciw.org/news/2022/8/10/womens-volleyball-illinois-wesleyan-tops-preseason-cciw-volleyball-poll.aspx
More Region 8 Pre-Season Polls:
HCAC:
https://heartlandconf.org/news/2022/8/16/womens-volleyball-transylvania-gets-nod-in-2022-hcac-volleyball-preseason-poll.aspx
SLIAC:
https://www.sliac.org/sports/wvball/2022-23/releases/20220822qtxc1t
WIAC:
https://wiacsports.com/news/2022/8/23/uw-eau-claire-tabbed-womens-volleyball-favorite.aspx
NACC:
https://naccsports.org/news/2022/8/28/aurora-secures-top-spot-in-nacc-womens-volleyball-preseason-poll.aspx
10 19 22 Regional Rankings
Team: IDR: SOS RRO Overall Record
1. U of Chicago 14-10 (.583) .662 N/A 14-10 (.583)
2. Transylvania 17- 5 (.773) .629 17- 5 (.773)
3. Wash-MO 22- 3 (.880) .609 22- 3 (.880)
4. WI Eau Claire 18- 5 (.783) .633 18- 5 (.783)
5. WI Oshkosh 22- 4 (.846) .598 22- 4 (.846)
6. WI Stevens Point 19- 5 (.792) .634 19- 5 (.792)
7. WI Whitewater 21- 5 (.808) .616 21- 5 (.808)
Quote from: WLCALUM83 on October 19, 2022, 05:42:03 PM
10 19 22 Regional Rankings
Team: IDR: SOS RRO Overall Record
1. U of Chicago 14-10 (.583) .662 N/A 14-10 (.583)
2. Transylvania 17- 5 (.773) .629 17- 5 (.773)
3. Wash-MO 22- 3 (.880) .609 22- 3 (.880)
4. WI Eau Claire 18- 5 (.783) .633 18- 5 (.783)
5. WI Oshkosh 22- 4 (.846) .598 22- 4 (.846)
6. WI Stevens Point 19- 5 (.792) .634 19- 5 (.792)
7. WI Whitewater 21- 5 (.808) .616 21- 5 (.808)
10-26:
1. Wash-MO 25-3 (.893) .611 7-2 (.778) 25-3 (.893)
2. UW-Oshkosh 26-4 (.867) .605 6-3 (.667) 26-4 (.867)
3. UW-Whitewater 22-5 (.815) .618 5-4 (.556) 22-5 (.815)
4. UW-Stevens Point 21-6 (.778) .632 5-4 (.556) 21-6 (.778)
5. UW-Eau Claire 20-6 (.769) .626 6-6 (.500) 20-6 (.769)
6. Transylvania 20-5 (.800) .608 5-3 (.625) 20-5 (.800)
7. U of Chicago 15-11 (.577) .661 7-6 (.538) 15-11 (.577)
Quote from: WLCALUM83 on October 28, 2022, 07:56:18 PM
Quote from: WLCALUM83 on October 19, 2022, 05:42:03 PM
10 19 22 Regional Rankings
Team: IDR: SOS RRO Overall Record
1. U of Chicago 14-10 (.583) .662 N/A 14-10 (.583)
2. Transylvania 17- 5 (.773) .629 17- 5 (.773)
3. Wash-MO 22- 3 (.880) .609 22- 3 (.880)
4. WI Eau Claire 18- 5 (.783) .633 18- 5 (.783)
5. WI Oshkosh 22- 4 (.846) .598 22- 4 (.846)
6. WI Stevens Point 19- 5 (.792) .634 19- 5 (.792)
7. WI Whitewater 21- 5 (.808) .616 21- 5 (.808)
10-26:
1. Wash-MO 25-3 (.893) .611 7-2 (.778) 25-3 (.893)
2. UW-Oshkosh 26-4 (.867) .605 6-3 (.667) 26-4 (.867)
3. UW-Whitewater 22-5 (.815) .618 5-4 (.556) 22-5 (.815)
4. UW-Stevens Point 21-6 (.778) .632 5-4 (.556) 21-6 (.778)
5. UW-Eau Claire 20-6 (.769) .626 6-6 (.500) 20-6 (.769)
6. Transylvania 20-5 (.800) .608 5-3 (.625) 20-5 (.800)
7. U of Chicago 15-11 (.577) .661 7-6 (.538) 15-11 (.577)
11-2:
1. Wash-MO 27-4 (.871) .614 7-3 (.700) 27-4 (.871)
2. Oshkosh 30-4 (.882) .576 6-2 (.750) 30-4 (.882)
3. Whitewater 23-6 (.793) .626 7-5 (.583) 23-6 (.793)
4. Transylvania 23-5 (.821) .612 6-3 (.667) 23-5 (.821)
5. Stevens Point 23-6 (.793) .627 5-4 (.556) 23-6 (.793)
6. Eau Claire 21-8 (.724) .632 6-7 (.462) 21-8 (.724)
7. Millikin 22-9 (.710) .612 5-5 (.500) 22-9 (.710)
Congratulations to North Park, which won the CCIW tourney for the first time ever and will make its first appearance in the D3 tourney in program history!
Quote from: WLCALUM83 on November 02, 2022, 06:25:07 PM
Quote from: WLCALUM83 on October 28, 2022, 07:56:18 PM
Quote from: WLCALUM83 on October 19, 2022, 05:42:03 PM
10 19 22 Regional Rankings
Team: IDR: SOS RRO Overall Record
1. U of Chicago 14-10 (.583) .662 N/A 14-10 (.583)
2. Transylvania 17- 5 (.773) .629 17- 5 (.773)
3. Wash-MO 22- 3 (.880) .609 22- 3 (.880)
4. WI Eau Claire 18- 5 (.783) .633 18- 5 (.783)
5. WI Oshkosh 22- 4 (.846) .598 22- 4 (.846)
6. WI Stevens Point 19- 5 (.792) .634 19- 5 (.792)
7. WI Whitewater 21- 5 (.808) .616 21- 5 (.808)
10-26:
1. Wash-MO 25-3 (.893) .611 7-2 (.778) 25-3 (.893)
2. UW-Oshkosh 26-4 (.867) .605 6-3 (.667) 26-4 (.867)
3. UW-Whitewater 22-5 (.815) .618 5-4 (.556) 22-5 (.815)
4. UW-Stevens Point 21-6 (.778) .632 5-4 (.556) 21-6 (.778)
5. UW-Eau Claire 20-6 (.769) .626 6-6 (.500) 20-6 (.769)
6. Transylvania 20-5 (.800) .608 5-3 (.625) 20-5 (.800)
7. U of Chicago 15-11 (.577) .661 7-6 (.538) 15-11 (.577)
11-2:
1. Wash-MO 27-4 (.871) .614 7-3 (.700) 27-4 (.871)
2. Oshkosh 30-4 (.882) .576 6-2 (.750) 30-4 (.882)
3. Whitewater 23-6 (.793) .626 7-5 (.583) 23-6 (.793)
4. Transylvania 23-5 (.821) .612 6-3 (.667) 23-5 (.821)
5. Stevens Point 23-6 (.793) .627 5-4 (.556) 23-6 (.793)
6. Eau Claire 21-8 (.724) .632 6-7 (.462) 21-8 (.724)
7. Millikin 22-9 (.710) .612 5-5 (.500) 22-9 (.710)
11-9-22:
1. Wash-MO 29-5 (.853) .616 8-4 (.667) 29-5 (.853)
2. Whitewater 25-6 (.806) .632 7-5 (.583) 25-6 (.806)
3. Stevens Point 25-7 (.781) .636 7-5 (.583) 25-7 (.781)
4. Oshkosh 30-5 (.857) .589 6-4 (.600) 30-5 (.857)
5. Transylvania 25-5 (.833) .614 3-3 (.500) 25-5 (.833)
6. U of Chicago 19-12 (.613) .657 7-8 (.467) 19-12 (.613)
7. Millikin 23-10 (.697) .616 4-5 (.444) 23-10 (.697)
Yes, HUGE kudos to NPU's team! POY Adriana Rodriguez and the Vikings land on the shores of Lake Johanna for tonite's tourney game. UNSP (30-2) is the host. Their record is deceiving as the Eagles play in a weak vball conference, going undefeated this year.
Also heard North Park has progressed greatly over the last couple of years-I, too, think their opening match will be interesting. (Sounds like that whole regional is one of the tougher ones--)
Region 8 is overloaded with strong squads (you know that when yearly NACC power Aurora is an 8th seed, and has to face Calvin right off the bat.) Plus the WIAC squads as well.
Congratulations to U of Northwestern for advancing to the Final Four! When I posted before their round one matchup against North Park, UNW's record seemed too lofty as it went 14-0 in conference play without losing a single set.
I watched my Vikings net a tie at one set apiece. I thought NPU, because they rotate more players and in light of UNW coasting thru conference play, might use stamina and talent to propel them to victory. However, UNW's superior height proved to be the ultimate factor.
Region 8 5th yr players, per '23 rosters:
NACC: Concordia-Chicago: Grace Heywood OH
'22 stats: 2nd in NACC in kills, NACC 1st team All-Conference: 356 total points, 324 kills and 25 service aces.
MWC: Cornell-IA: Grace Marti MB
'22 stats: 2nd team all-MWC: 226 kills, 79 total blocks, 282 total points
Grinnell: Rachel Woock OH/RS
144 kills, 240 digs, 174 total points
Avery Richardson OH/RS
43.5 total points
Monmouth-IL: Amanda Dybal OH
228 kills, 240 digs, 24 service aces, 277.5 total points
CCIW: North Park: Molly Steel-Miller MB (transfer from Mitchell)
145 kills, 25 service aces
WIAC: UW-Stout: Lydia Kneubuehl MH
104 kills
HCAC Tourney Upset Alert:
#6 RHIT over #3 Hanover
(3 sets to 1)
11/11/23 Region VIII Tourney Final Matchups:
CCIW: #1 North Park vs. #3 Carthage
NACC: #1 Edgewood vs. #2 Aurora
WIAC: #1 Oshkosh vs. #2 Whitewater
SLIAC: TBD
11/12
HCAC: TBD
This was another breakthrough season for North Park, as the Vikings won the CCIW title for the first time ever, repeated as CCIW tourney champs, and posted the best record in school history at 25-7 against what Massey rates as the seventh-toughest schedule in D3 women's volleyball (NPU went 3-5 against AVCA top 25 opponents, including 2-3 against the top 10). The problem for North Park is figuring out how to win under the bright lights of mid-November, as for the second season in a row the Vikings bowed out in the first round of the D3 tourney in four sets. Granted, last year everything was against NPU; the Vikings had to play on the home floor of regional top seed Northwestern (which eventually went to the Final Four), and it was the first time anybody wearing a North Park WVB uni had ever played in the D3 tourney. But this year everything seemed favorable -- the Vikings were the second seed in the Oshkosh regional, and East Texas Baptist was unranked. Kudos to ETBU for putting together a great game plan and then executing it to perfection, but it ended up leaving a bit of a sour aftertaste to a North Park season worth remembering.
The Vikings will have to replace All-Region setter Christina Gatta, their floor leader and the heart and soul of the team, who departs with her name scattered all over the NPU record book as well as the second-highest total of service aces ever scored by any CCIW WVB player in and out of league play. They also lose a good utility player in Jenna Jones and a couple of defensive specialists in Teiya Alagar and Delaney Lynch. But they retain a lot of hitting power, including 2022 first-team All-American Adriana Rodriguez and All-CCIW second-teamer Shamiya Collier, and the coaching staff believes that they have an outstanding (although skills-wise different) heir apparent for Gatta at the setter position.
The trick to solving the problem of how to win in the D3 tourney is to keep getting back there until you get it right -- and getting back there is not a guarantee for a CCIW team.
Quote from: Gregory Sager on December 01, 2023, 01:11:35 PM
This was another breakthrough season for North Park, as the Vikings won the CCIW title for the first time ever, repeated as CCIW tourney champs, and posted the best record in school history at 25-7 against what Massey rates as the seventh-toughest schedule in D3 women's volleyball (NPU went 3-5 against AVCA top 25 opponents, including 2-3 against the top 10). The problem for North Park is figuring out how to win under the bright lights of mid-November, as for the second season in a row the Vikings bowed out in the first round of the D3 tourney in four sets. Granted, last year everything was against NPU; the Vikings had to play on the home floor of regional top seed Northwestern (which eventually went to the Final Four), and it was the first time anybody wearing a North Park WVB uni had ever played in the D3 tourney. But this year everything seemed favorable -- the Vikings were the second seed in the Oshkosh regional, and East Texas Baptist was unranked. Kudos to ETBU for putting together a great game plan and then executing it to perfection, but it ended up leaving a bit of a sour aftertaste to a North Park season worth remembering.
The Vikings will have to replace All-Region setter Christina Gatta, their floor leader and the heart and soul of the team, who departs with her name scattered all over the NPU record book as well as the second-highest total of service aces ever scored by any CCIW WVB player in and out of league play. They also lose a good utility player in Jenna Jones and a couple of defensive specialists in Teiya Alagar and Delaney Lynch. But they retain a lot of hitting power, including 2022 first-team All-American Adriana Rodriguez and All-CCIW second-teamer Shamiya Collier, and the coaching staff believes that they have an outstanding (although skills-wise different) heir apparent for Gatta at the setter position.
The trick to solving the problem of how to win in the D3 tourney is to keep getting back there until you get it right -- and getting back there is not a guarantee for a CCIW team.
So HOPEfully, NPU can add to that resume that they were one of two teams to beat this year's National Champion - Go HOPE!
CCIW Conference Race Update;
#1 IL Wes and #2 Millikin have first round byes;
#3 Carthage/#6 Augustana-IL
#4 North Park/#5 North Central-IL
HCAC Update:
Tournament First Round Byes-Transylvania, MSJ
3 seed-Manchester
4-6 TBD between Earlham, Hanover and Anderson
NACC Update:
Edgewood has the top seed, 5 is Lakeland, 6 Benedictine, 7 IIT;
St. Norbert, Concordia-WI and Aurora are also in;
Dominican and MSOE are fighting it out for the last spot here.
NACC Tourney Pairings:
1 Edgewood/8 MSOE
2 Concordia-WI/7 IIT
3 St. Norbert/6 Benedictine-IL
4 Aurora/5 Lakeland
Quote from: WLCALUM83 on November 07, 2024, 11:50:14 AMCCIW Conference Race Update;
#1 IL Wes and #2 Millikin have first round byes;
#3 Carthage/#6 Augustana-IL
#4 North Park/#5 North Central-IL
IL Wesleyan and Millikin are in the Tourney Final here.
Quote from: WLCALUM83 on November 07, 2024, 11:59:06 AMNACC Update:
Edgewood has the top seed, 5 is Lakeland, 6 Benedictine, 7 IIT;
St. Norbert, Concordia-WI and Aurora are also in;
Dominican and MSOE are fighting it out for the last spot here.
NACC Tournament Final Matchup: #1 Edgewood/#2 Concordia-WI