Aug. 31: St. Norbert upsets #12 Carthage, DeLozier sets record

Nonconference action can be difficult to recap, so I broke it down into individual tournaments for ease of comprehension. I added statistical info where available. I watched Wittenberg/Wartburg. Talent is there, but it definitely looked like they were playing their first regular season match.

Like in past years, I’m also tracking top 25 upsets from around the country.

Reminder: updates for the rest of the weekend may be as late as Monday or Tuesday. I’ll update this post with the rest of the weekend’s results when I can.

Losses by non-Central/Midwest Top 25 teams
#1 Christopher Newport 3, #9 Eastern 0 CNU’s Bailey Jensen went 11-0-18
#6 Cal Lutheran 3, #14 Colorado College 0 CC scored 37 total points
#6 Cal Lutheran 3, #16 UMass Boston 0 CLU’s Kylie McLogan had 21 kills, 10 digs
La Verne 3, #16 UMass Boston 0 ULV’s Morgan Donohue had 41 assists
#8 Hope 3, #18 Mount Union 1 HC’s Greer Bratschie had 44 assists, 16 digs
UC Santa Cruz 3, #19T Southwestern 0 UCSC’s Melissa Stoll had 40 assists, 14 digs
#25 Pacific Lutheran 3, #19T Southwestern 2 Set 5 ended 15-9, PLU had 75 kills
Trine 3, #21 Heidelberg 1
Clarkson 3, #22 Springfield 2 Set 5 ended 15-11, CU’s Aishvina Arasu had 20 kills
Whitworth 3, #24 Trinity (Texas) 2 WU’s Jalana White and Nicole Leonard had 22 kills and 20+ digs apiece

UW-Eau Claire Labor Day Classic
#19T Concordia-Moorhead 3, Martin Luther 1
RV UW-Eau Claire 3, #19T Concordia-Moorhead 2 Set 5 ended 15-12, UWEC’s Amy Bomgren and Anne Satterlee had 22+ kills apiece
RV UW-Eau Claire 3, St. Catherine 0 UWEC’s Emily Neave had 38 assists, 13 digs, 3 aces
RV UW-Stevens Point 3, UW-Stout 1 UWSP hit -.042 but had 19 solo blocks
RV UW-Stevens Point 3, St. Catherine 0
RV Saint Benedict 3, UW-Stout 0 CSB’s Alexa Rinde went 10-1-17
RV Saint Benedict 3, Martin Luther 1 CSB’s Taya Kockelman had 50 assists, 19 digs

UW-Whitewater Invite I
#17 UW-Whitewater 3, Augsburg 0 UWW’s Heidi Buss had 37 assists
#17 UW-Whitewater 3, Central 0 UWW had 39 kills
UW Oshkosh 3, Central 0
Gustavus 3, UW Oshkosh 1
Gustavus 3, Wheaton 2
Augsburg 3, Wheaton 0 AC’s Tabby Roh went 11-1-18

New York University Labor Day Invitational
UW-Platteville 3, Stevens 0
UW-Platteville 3, Geneseo 0

Saint Mary’s Sugar Loaf Classic
#7 St. Thomas 3, Nebraska Wesleyan 0 UST hit .323
#7 St. Thomas 3, Simpson 0 UST’s Paige Brimeyer went 7-0-10
Saint Mary’s 3, Edgewood 0 SMU’s Lex Krogstad had 24 digs
Saint Mary’s 3, Simpson 0 SMU’s Carissa Hahn had 10 kills, 10 digs
Luther 3, UW-La Crosse 0 Luther hit .309
Edgewood 3, Luther 1 EC’s Mallory Palmer went 20-1-44 with 11 digs
Nebraska Wesleyan 3, UW-La Crosse 0 NWU’s Katelyn Walsh had 13 kills

Northwestern ACR Homes Tournament
Northwestern 3, Wisconsin Lutheran 0 NWC’s Lexi Bertsch had 24 digs, 3 aces
Bethel 3, Northwestern 0 BU’s Cierra Nickel had 47 assists, 11 digs
Bethel 3, Wisconsin Lutheran 0 BU’s Val Smith had 26 digs, 3 aces
UW-River Falls 3, Grinnell 0
UW-River Falls 3, Buena Vista 1
Buena Vista 3, Grinnell 0

Elmhurst Invitational
#11 Elmhurst 3, RV Coast Guard 0 Three EC players had eight kills each
#11 Elmhurst 3, Lake Forest 0 EC’s Antonéya Veasy Smith had 12 kills, 10 digs
St. Norbert 3, #12 Carthage 2 Set 5 ended 15-11
#12 Carthage 3, John Carroll 0
#15 Chicago 3, Carroll 1 Chicago’s Maren Loe had 14 kills
#15 Chicago 3, RV Coast Guard 1 UC’s Maren Loe had 16 kills, 17 digs
Carroll 3, Bethany Lutheran 1
John Carroll 3, Bethany Lutheran 0
Lake Forest 3, Albion 1
St. Norbert 3, Whitman 0
Carleton 3, Albion 1 CC’s Alicia Flatt had 41 assists
Carleton 3, Whitman 0

Wittenberg National Invitational
#5 Wittenberg 3, RV Wartburg 1 WC hit .067

Augustana Viking Classic
Loras 3, Augustana 0
Augustana 3, Greenville 2
Greenville 3, Coe 1
Coe 3, Clarke 0
Loras 3, Clarke 2

Beloit Buc Blast
Hamline 3, Beloit 0 HU hit .400
Hamline 3, Dubuque 0 HU’s Mackenzie Remick had 15 kills
Macalester 3, Beloit 0 BC hit .027
Dubuque 3, Macalester 2
Marian 3, MSOE 0
Marian 3, Presentation 0
William Penn 3, MSOE 0
William Penn 3, Presentation 0

Mount Mary Invitational
UW-Superior 3, Grace Bible 0 GBC scored 32 total points
UW-Superior 3, Crown 0 UWS’s Kitty Tynen went 12-1-17
Mount Mary 3, Grace Bible 0 GBC scored 32 total points
Mount Mary 3, Crown 0 MMC had 45 kills

Oneonta State Invitational
RV St. Scholastica 3, Houghton 0 CSS’s Anna Zyvoloski had 15 kills
RV St. Scholastica 3, St. Lawrence 0 CSS HC Dana Moore won 300th match

Pomona/Claremont/La Verne Pacific Coast Classic
Pomona-Pitzer 3, Northland 0 NC hit -.133
Northland 3, Alverno 0 NC’s Tayler Viegut went 6-0-6
Alverno 3, NYU-Poly 1 AC’s Cali Trepp had 15 kills, 10 digs
Pomona-Pitzer 3, Illinois Wesleyan 1 IWU’s Alex Hill had 17 kills
Chapman 3, Illinois Wesleyan 0
North Central (Ill.) 3, Chapman 2 Set 5 ended 16-14, NCC’s Laura Kluk had 51 assists
North Central (Ill.) 3, Whittier 1 NCC’s Jenae Harner had 12 kills, 13 digs
Minnesota Morris 3, Colby-Sawyer 0
Minnesota Morris 3, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 0 UMM’s Emily Auch had 14 kills

North Park Classic
North Park 3, Ripon 1 NPU’s Shelby Switzer had 15 kills, 14 digs, 6 aces
North Park 3, Indiana-Northwest 0 NPU’s Shelby Switzer had 13 kills, 13 digs
Ripon 3, Kenyon 2 Set 5 ended 15-9

Concordia (Texas) Invitational
Concordia Chicago 3, Concordia Wisconsin 0 CUC hit .298
Concordia Ann Arbor 3, Concordia Chicago 0 CUC hit .032

Washington-St. Louis Tri-match
#2 Washington-St. Louis 3, Fontbonne 0 WUSTL’s Meghan Byrne went 8-0-10
#2 Washington-St. Louis 3, William Woods 0 WUSTL’s Kelly Pang had 21 digs

Puget Sound Premier
Pacific Lutheran 3, St. Olaf 0 SOC hit .008
Puget Sound 3, St. Olaf 0 SOC hit .041

Faith Bible Spikefest
Maranatha 3, Grace (Neb.) 0 MBBC’s Torey DeLozier (22 kills in match; 1,951 in career) broke NAC career kills record
Maranatha 3, Ozark Christian 0
Grace (Neb.) 3, North Central (Minn.) 0 NCU hit .021
Ozark Christian 3, North Central (Minn.) 0 NCU hit .082

Dallas Invitational
Alma 3, Westminster 0
Dallas 3, Westminster 0

Virginia Wesleyan Invitational
RV Millikin 3, Mount Aloysius 0
RV Millikin 3, Neumann 0
Virginia Wesleyan 3, Lawrence 0
Lawrence 3, Neumann 1

Webster Tri-match
Webster 3, Benedictine Springfield 0
Benedictine 3, Webster 0 WU played without two injured starters
Benedictine 3, Benedictine Springfield 0

-Ricky Nelson

Happy opening day eve

Many teams will have their season openers tomorrow, but I won’t have Internet access during most of the weekend, so updates will be sporadic. It’s unfortunate that it’ll be a rocky first weekend for the blog, but it will be updated as soon as I am able.

Sorry about that. I should be more timely after opening weekend. See the Standings/Matchups page for what’s highest on my weekend radar, but like always the rest of the Central and Midwest region action will get a thorough update.

-Ricky Nelson

Northwestern wins UMAC coaches’ poll

Northwestern received six of the eight first-place votes in the UMAC preseason coaches’ poll. St. Scholastica, my pick, snagged the two remaining top votes.

Northwestern returns one of the best young setters in the Central or Midwest regions in Krista Stoltz plus four other starters. But a couple of Stoltz’s top weapons were seniors last season.

Northwestern shared the 2011 regular season title with St. Scholastica, which returns reigning UMAC Player of the Year in outside Anna Zyvoloski. However, St. Scholastica must find replacements for a former UMAC Player of the Year outside, a two-time all-conference setter and starting libero.

I’m curious to see how St. Scholastica replaces so many key veterans, and I admit that the much safer choice is Northwestern considering the Eagles have won four of the last five UMAC regular season titles and secured an at-large bid to last year’s NCAA tournament.

-Ricky Nelson

NAC coaches pick Dominican to win

Dominican was the clear winner of the NAC coaches’ poll, garnering 12 of 13 first-place votes. I picked Dominican, too. Not exactly out on a limb.

The favored Stars lost in five to Edgewood (second place in the preseason poll) in last year’s NAC tournament and stayed home during the NCAA tournament despite having what I thought was one of the region’s best squads. Dominican returns 11 players from last year’s team, which went undefeated during the NAC regular season. The AVCA voters have only recently discovered the team, but I think Dominican will be even better this season.

I’ve championed underrepresented or emerging programs for top 25 recognition in the past. You know who they are: UW-Platteville, Wartburg, St. Scholastica, etc. I think Dominican is overdue for that next step, so, if I had to choose one program, the Stars may become a recurring theme this year – just like the championed masses that came before them.

[Forgive the late post on this. I’m away from home for the week]

-Ricky Nelson

Webster wins SLIAC coaches’ poll

The coaches narrowly chose Webster over Greenville in the SLIAC preseason coaches’ poll. Webster and Greenville tied for the regular season title in 2011 and Webster won the tournament. It should be another barnburner this season. I chose Greenville, but I admit it’s a coin flip in the preseason.

-Ricky Nelson

Tommies top MIAC preseason poll

St. Thomas easily outpaced second place Saint Benedict to earn the top spot in the MIAC preseason coaches’ poll. I agree with that assessment. But like always there’s no shortage of viable tournament teams in the MIAC.

The Tommies did OK after losing a senior All-America setter, Emily Foster, after 2010. There’s no reason to the think they won’t have a similarly smooth transition after losing another senior All-America setter, Ashley Maher, after 2011. Whether they run their Elite 8 streak to three seasons is up for debate.

-Ricky Nelson

Wartburg unanimous pick in IIAC

Wartburg was the unanimous No. 1 team in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference coaches’ poll. With Cornell off to the Midwest Conference and defending champion Coe needing to replace two top hitting options, Wartburg and its seven returning letter winners is the logical choice.

I’m surprised it was unanimous, but I chose Wartburg to win as well. Coe still returns one of the region’s best setters in senior Emily Ryan and four other starters from its undefeated romp through the regular season last year.

Then again Wartburg probably should be on a mission this season after getting shortchanged (my opinion) in the 2011 rankings despite a very good schedule.

-Ricky Nelson

In-game rule changes also approved

The Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved the following volleyball rules changes.

• Coaches are allowed 15 substitutions per set (up from 12) this season.

• Statistics can be transmitted to the bench area. However, audio or video transmissions to the bench area remain restricted.

Two additional rules involve proper referee platform construction and further clarification on what constitutes a contrasting libero jersey.

See the NCAA release for more on these changes.

-Ricky Nelson

Primary criteria changes approved

A major change to the primary selection criteria has been approved by the NCAA Management Council, a source said today.

Beginning with the 2013-14 season, all matches between NCAA Division III opponents will count in the primary selection criteria. The catch is that teams must play 70 percent of all competition against in-region D-III opponents.

Currently, only in-region contests are considered in the primary selection criteria. Non-D-III competition will still be considered in the secondary criteria.

Like all rule changes, there are perceived positives and negatives to the primary criteria change.

The positive is that the sometimes arcane and arbitrary borders for what constitutes an in-region match will fade away. That is until teams reach the threshold of 70 percent in-region contests.

One example of many: it was confounding to some that a natural rivalry match between Wheaton (Ill.) and Calvin (Mich.) wasn’t considered an in-region contest. But Wheaton could play an in-region match at Pacific Lutheran (Wash.), and Calvin could play an in-region match at Emory (Ga.). Beginning in 2013-14, UMass Boston can play a tournament in California and all of the matches will count equally on its resume (as long as it maintains at least a 70:30 split between in-region and out-of-region play).

A perceived negative is that the better-funded programs will have an edge. But the 70 percent in-region requirement should help curb that advantage. Juniata has one of the best schedules, which includes top teams from around the country either at home or on the road. This nonconference season Juniata will play, among others, Wittenberg, Christopher Newport, Washington-St. Louis, Cal Lutheran, Emory, Eastern and Heidelberg. Juniata is just an example. Many of the top programs have loaded schedules.

Are the rich not getting richer with this rule change? Not so much. Even when factoring in the postseason Landmark Conference contests that would count as in-region matches, Juniata’s 2012 posted online schedule of 33 matches would not conform to the 70 percent in-region requirement. In fact, Juniata will have to drastically change its current schedule to approach the 70 percent in-region requirement. By my count 17 of Juniata’s 33 scheduled regular season matches will be out-of-region this season.

Regional realignment talks are ongoing among the sport committees. But as regionally structured today, the 70 percent in-region requirement will affect the top programs. If anything, 70 percent may prove to be a high number.

-Ricky Nelson

Pointers overwhelming WIAC favorites

UW-Stevens Point was a part of the 2011 WIAC regular season tri-championship. UW-Stevens Point returns seven starters. Ergo, UWSP is the prohibitive favorite. Not much to debate, and the coaches sports information directors said as much with their votes.

However, before last season the Pointers hadn’t won a WIAC title since 1981 and the program hasn’t had the bulls-eye in about two generations. Expectations are high at UW-Stevens Point, but so is the talent level.

-Ricky Nelson