9/30/15: #13 Warhawks best #12 Pointers

WIAC
• #13 UW-Whitewater 3, #12 UW-Stevens Point 1 UWW’s Pfeifer: 18 K, 13 D, 6 B.
• #19 UW-Oshkosh 3, UW-Platteville 2 UWO’s Malcheski: 20 K.
• UW-La Crosse 3, UW-Stout 2 UWL’s Putzier: 17 K, 16 D.
• UW-Eau Claire 3, UW-River Falls 0 UWEC’s Raskie: 12 K.

MIAC
• Gustavus Adolphus 3, #24 Augsburg 1 GAC’s Woodstra: 12 K.
• St. Thomas 3, Hamline 0 UST’s Hawkins: 7 K, 18 AST, 3 aces.
• St. Catherine 3, Carleton 1 SCU’s Astar, Besch: 9 K, 4 B.

NACC
• Dominican 3, Benedictine 2 DU’s Chambers: 13 K, 17 D.

UMAC
• Northwestern 3, Crown 0 CC scored 16 points.

MWC
• Cornell 3, Grinnell 0 CC’s Brandly: 10 K, 11 D.
• Knox 3, Illinois College 1 KC’s Guthals: 17 K, 28 D.

Nonconference
• Northwestern 3, Macalester 0 UNW’s Peterson: 17 K, 15 D.
• Macalester 3, Crown 0 MC’s Hesterberg: 33 AST, 12 D.
• Mount St. Joseph 3, Spalding 0 MSJU’s Wilgenbusch hit 16-1-32.

Top 25 upset watch
• #3 Emory 3, Oglethorpe 0
• #3 Emory 3, Agnes Scott 0
• #5 Calvin 3, Trine 0
• #7 Wittenberg 3, Denison 1
• #10 Eastern 3, DeSales 0

-Ricky Nelson

9/29/15: Millikin sweeps #8 Carthage

CCIW
• Millikin 3, #8 Carthage 0 MU’s Syversen: 24 K.
• #15 Elmhurst 3, Wheaton 0 EC’s Lawrence: 11 K, 5 B.
• Illinois Wesleyan 3, North Park 1 IWU’s Block: 16 K, 13 D.
• North Central 3, Augustana 1 NCC’s Laugel hit 18-4-33.

IIAC
• Loras 3, Coe 1 LC’s Schultz: 14 K, 7 B.
• Wartburg 3, Central 0 WC’s Graves hit 9-1-13.
• Buena Vista 3, Simpson 0 BVU’s Schaap: 11 K, 14 D, 4 B.
• Luther 3, Dubuque 1 LC’s Veum: 15 K.

NACC
• Aurora 3, Concordia Chicago 0 AU outhit CUC, .313 to -.077.

UMAC
• UW-Superior 3, Northland 0 UWS’s Bandelin: 12 K.
• St. Scholastica 3, North Central 0 CSS hit .442.
• Martin Luther 3, Bethany Lutheran 0 MLC’s Grev: 9 K.

MWC
• Ripon 3, St. Norbert 2 RC’s Gary: 22 K.

SLIAC
• Greenville 3, Eureka 0 GC outhit EC, .253 to -.113.
• Westminster 3, Fontbonne 0 WC’s Kiso hit 12-0-15.
• Webster 3, Principia 0 WU outhit PC, .281 to -.071.

Nonconference
• Concordia (Minn.) 3, Minnesota Morris 1 CCM’s Skow-Anderson hit 10-0-18.
• Carroll 3, Edgewood 1 CU’s Voltolina: 14 K, 5 B.
• Marian 3, Beloit 0 MU’s Godfroy hit 8-0-9.
• Monmouth 3, Robert Morris-Springfield 0 MC outhit RMUS .301 to -.104.
• Rockford 3, Illinois Tech 1 RU’s Fowler: 10 K, 10 D.
• Maranatha Baptist 3, Alverno 0 MBU’s Renz hit 12-1-21 with 4 aces.
• Mount Mary 3, Silver Lake 2 MMU’s Hintz: 10 K, 15 AST, 27 D.

Top 25 upset watch
• Clarion 3, #1 Juniata 2 CU is D II.
• #4 Christopher Newport 3, Southern Virginia 0
• #6 Cal Lutheran 3, Occidental 0
• #22 Texas Dallas 3, Texas Tyler 2
• #23 La Verne 3, Redlands 0
• #25 Ohio Northern 3, Defiance 0

-Ricky Nelson

2015 AVCA Week 4 poll: WUSTL moves up to #2

Unbeaten Juniata maintained its spot atop the AVCA Week 4 poll, followed by Washington-St. Louis, Emory, Christopher Newport and Calvin.

Other Central and Midwest region teams in the top 25: No. 8 Carthage; No. 12 UW-Stevens Point; No. 13 UW-Whitewater; No. 15 Elmhurst; No. 16 Chicago; No. 19 UW-Oshkosh; No. 24 Augsburg.

Central and Midwest region teams receiving votes this week: Saint Benedict; Illinois Wesleyan; Wartburg; Dominican; Saint Mary’s (Minn.).

Was holding out hope that I’d see Concordia (Minn.) somewhere. If you didn’t see it, here is my top 10 this week.

-Ricky Nelson

9/28/15:

Nothing doing today. See you tomorrow. Go Cubs!

-Ricky Nelson

Ricky Nelson’s 2015 Week 4 top 10

The AVCA poll comes out on Tuesday.

My rank, (my Wk 3 rank, AVCA Wk 3 rank), record, key results last week
1 (1,3). Washington-St. Louis 14-1 W: Illinois Wesleyan. 
2 (2,1). Juniata 15-0 W: Eastern. 
3 (5,4). Emory 15-2 W: Christopher Newport; Randolph-Macon. 
4 (3,6). Carthage 13-2 W: Williams. L: UW-Whitewater. 
5 (6,7). Cal Lutheran 13-2 W: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
6 (7,5). Calvin 12-3 [None].
7 (9,2). Christopher Newport 14-2 W: Randolph-Macon. L: Emory.
8 (4,9). Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 12-4 L: Cal Lutheran; La Verne.
9 (10,8). Wittenberg 12-1 [None]. 
10 (NR,13). Colorado College 16-1 W: Southwestern.
Dropped out: No. 8 Chicago (12-4).

My top 5 matches of the week:
9/30 UW-Stevens Point vs. UW-Whitewater
10/2 Elmhurst vs. UW-Oshkosh
10/2 UW-Oshkosh vs. Colorado College
10/3 Elmhurst vs. Colorado College
10/4 Washington-St. Louis vs. Chicago

We’re down to three unbeaten teams in all of D III. One of them is easy – the AVCA’s top-ranked team. See the contenders, and their upcoming schedules, on the Last Team Standing page.

The Standout Stats page had several additions during the past week, including a 27-kill performance in four sets as well as a 50-dig effort and a 62-assist showing in five sets.

-Ricky Nelson

9/27/15: #13 Tigers take early SCAC lead

Top 25 upset watch
• #13 Colorado College 3, #18 Southwestern 1
• #13 Colorado College 3, Texas Lutheran 0
• #18 Southwestern 3, Dallas 0
• #21 Berry 3, Sewanee 0

-Ricky Nelson

9/26/15: Thunder roll over #10 UWSP

Elmhurst Invite
#10 UW-Stevens Point, #16 Elmhurst, UW-La Crosse, Augustana, Wheaton (Ill.)
Wheaton (Ill.) 3, #10 UW-Stevens Point 0; UW-La Crosse 3, Augustana 0; #10 UW-Stevens Point 3, #16 Elmhurst 1; UW-La Crosse 3, Wheaton (Ill.) 0.

UW-Whitewater Invite
#6 Carthage, #11 Chicago, #15 UW-Whitewater, #25 Williams, UW-Stout, Millikin
#15 UW-Whitewater 3, #6 Carthage 1; Millikin 3, UW-Stout 2; #6 Carthage 3, #25 Williams 0; #11 Chicago 3, UW-Stout 2; #15 UW-Whitewater 3, #11 Chicago 0; Millikin 3, #25 Williams 2.

IIAC/NACC Challenge
Loras host site
Concordia Wisconsin host site
Dominican, Coe, Wartburg, Edgewood, Buena Vista, Concordia Wisconsin, Lakeland, Luther, Dubuque, Central, Loras, MSOE, Aurora, Benedictine, Marian
Simpson 3, Lakeland 1; Loras 3, Benedictine 0; Dubuque 3, MSOE 0; Buena Vista 3, Edgewood 2; Dominican 3, Central 1; Luther 3, Marian 0; Loras 3, Lakeland 1; Simpson 3, Benedictine 1; Dubuque 3, Marian 0; Luther 3, MSOE 0; Wartburg 3, Concordia Wisconsin 1; Coe 3, Aurora 0; Dominican 3, Buena Vista 1; Edgewood 3, Central 1; Coe 3, Concordia Wisconsin 1; Wartburg 3, Aurora 0.

UW-Platteville Tri
UW-Platteville, North Central (Ill.), Concordia Chicago
UW-Platteville 3, North Central (Ill.) 0; North Central (Ill.) 3, Concordia Chicago 0; UW-Platteville 3, Concordia Chicago 0.

Finlandia Invite
Alverno, Finlandia, Maranatha Baptist, Great Lakes Christian, Silver Lake
Maranatha Baptist 3, Alverno 0; Alverno 3, Great Lakes Christian 0; Finlandia 3, Silver Lake 0; Maranatha Baptist 3, Silver Lake 0; [Finlandia, Great Lakes Christian].

MIAC
• Carleton 3, #19 Augsburg 2 CC’s Stevens: 26 K.
• Saint Mary’s 3, St. Thomas 1 SMU’s Urban hit 13-0-28.
• Concordia 3, Hamline 0 CCM outhit HU, .224 to .009.
• Gustavus Adolphus 3, St. Catherine 0 GAC’s Taylor hit 15-1-27 with 4 B.
• Macalester 3, St. Olaf 2 MC’s Trout: 50 D.

UMAC
• Minnesota Morris 3, St. Scholastica 0 UMM’s Becker hit 15-1-21 with 4 B.
• UW-Superior 3, Martin Luther 0 UWS’s Bandelin: 19 K.
• Bethany Lutheran 3, Northland 0 BLC’s Mielke hit 13-1-23.

MWC
• Cornell 3, Lawrence 0 CC’s Schnoor hit 10-0-13.
• Ripon 3, Carroll 2 RC’s Barnes: 17 K, 12 D.
• St. Norbert 3, Grinnell 0 SNC’s Ferry: 11 K, 14 D.
• Knox 3, Beloit 0 KC’s Griffin: 9 K.
• Lake Forest 3, Monmouth 0 LFC’s Avonts hit 10-0-16.

SLIAC
• Greenville 3, Webster 2 GC’s Laune: 62 AST, 16 D.
• Greenville 3, Blackburn 0 GC’s Sells hit 10-0-13.
• Spalding 3, Fontbonne 1 SU’s Heitzman: 14 K, 15 D.
• Spalding 3, MacMurray 0 SU outhit MC, .351 to -.059.
• MacMurray 3, Eureka 1 MC’s Lascody: 27 AST, 8 K, 6 D.
• Fontbonne 3, Eureka 0 FU’s Eason: 10 K.
• Webster 3, Blackburn 0 WU’s Grassi: 12 K, 4 B.

GPAC
• Dordt 3, Nebraska Wesleyan 0 DC is #14 in NAIA.

Nonconference
• #19 Augsburg 3, UW-River Falls 0 AC’s Peper: 14 K.
• Carleton 3, UW-River Falls 1 CC’s Stevens: 27 K.
• Rockford 3, Mount Mary 2 RC’s Rossi: 32 AST, 21 D, 12 K.

Top 25 upset watch
• #1 Juniata 3, Moravian 0
• #1 Juniata 3, Elizabethtown 0
• #2 Christopher Newport 3, Randolph-Macon 2
• #2 Christopher Newport 3, Washington and Lee 0
• #4 Emory 3, Washington and Lee 1
• #4 Emory 3, Randolph-Macon 0
• #7 Cal Lutheran 3, #9 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 0
• #8 Wittenberg 3, Allegheny 0
• #12 Eastern 3, Mary Washington 0
• #12 Eastern 3, Rowan 0
• #13 Colorado College 3, Trinity (Texas) 0
• #13 Colorado College 3, Schreiner 0
• #14 Hope 3, Kalamazoo 0
• #14 Hope 3, Heidelberg 0
• #18 Southwestern 3, Austin 0
• #18 Southwestern 3, Centenary (La.) 0
• #20 Carnegie Mellon 3, Pomona-Pitzer 0
• #20 Carnegie Mellon 3, #25 Mount Union 2
• #21 Berry 3, Centre 0
• #21 Berry 3, Covenant 1
• #24 Texas Dallas 3, Mary Hardin-Baylor 0
• #25 Mount Union 3, Stevenson 1

-Ricky Nelson

9/25/15: #10 Pointers eke by Vikings

Elmhurst Invite
#10 UW-Stevens Point, #16 Elmhurst, Augustana, UW-Platteville
#16 Elmhurst 3, UW-Platteville 0; #10 UW-Stevens Point 3, Augustana 2.

UW-Whitewater Invite
#6 Carthage, #15 UW-Whitewater, #25 Williams, UW-Stout, Millikin
#25 Williams 3, UW-Stout 1; #15 UW-Whitewater 3, Millikin 1; #6 Carthage 3, UW-Stout 0; #15 UW-Whitewater 3, #25 Williams 0.

IIAC/NACC Challenge
Loras host site
Concordia Wisconsin host site
Dominican, Coe, Wartburg, Edgewood, Buena Vista, Concordia Wisconsin, Lakeland, Luther, Dubuque, Central, Loras, MSOE, Aurora, Benedictine, Marian
Luther 3, Lakeland 0; Dubuque 3, Benedictine 1; Wartburg 3, Edgewood 1; Dominican 3, Coe 2; Simpson 3, Marian 1; Buena Vista 3, Aurora 0; Concordia Wisconsin 3, Central 0; Loras 3, MSOE 0; Luther 3, Benedictine 0; Lakeland 3, Dubuque 1; Coe 3, Edgewood 0; Wartburg 3, Dominican 0; Loras 3, Marian 0; Simpson 3, MSOE 2; Buena Vista 3, Concordia Wisconsin 0; Central 3, Aurora 1.

Finlandia Invite
Alverno, Finlandia, Maranatha Baptist, Great Lakes Christian, Silver Lake
Finlandia 3, Alverno 2; Maranatha Baptist 3, Finlandia 0; Maranatha Baptist 3, Great Lakes Christian 0; Alverno 3, Silver Lake 1.

Berea Classic
Illinois Tech, Berea, Johnson & Wales (N.C.)
Illinois Tech 3, Johnson & Wales (N.C.) 0; Berea 3, Illinois Tech 1.

MIAC
• Saint Benedict 3, Bethel 2 CSB’s Schmitt: 18 K, 24 D.

UMAC
• Crown 3, North Central 2 CC’s Brueggeman: 11 K, 23 D.

MWC
• St. Norbert 3, Cornell 0 SNC’s Herman: 10 K.
• Knox 3, Lake Forest 2 KC’s Griffin: 23 K.
• Lawrence 3, Grinnell 1 LU’s Neumeyer: 15 K, 15 D.
• Monmouth 3, Beloit 0 MC’s Merritt: 11 K, 4 aces.

SLIAC
• Webster 3, Iowa Wesleyan 0 WU’s Siebenmorgen: 13 K.
• Spalding 3, Blackburn 0 SU outhit BC, .440 to -.069.

GPAC
• Midland 3, Nebraska Wesleyan 0 MU is #4 in NAIA.

Nonconference
• Northwestern 3, St. Thomas 1 UNW’s Gonder hit 21-2-32.
• St. Catherine 3, Martin Luther 1 SCU’s Besch: 12 K.
• Gustavus Adolphus 3, Bethany Lutheran 0 GAC’s Rupar hit 7-0-10.
• Illinois College 3, Webster 2 IC’s Lowry: 17 K.
• Illinois College 3, Iowa Wesleyan 2 IC’s Lowry: 20 K, 10 D.
• Moody Bible 3, Mount Mary 0 MBI outhit MMU, .330 to -.024.

Top 25 upset watch
• #1 Juniata 3, #12 Eastern 1
• #4 Emory 3, #2 Christopher Newport 2
• #5 Calvin 3, Alma 0
• #5 Calvin 3, Heidelberg 0
• #8 Wittenberg 3, Hiram 0
• #9 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, Whittier 0
• #14 Hope 3, Saint Mary’s (Ind.) 1
• #20 Carnegie Mellon 3, Stevenson 2
• John Carroll 3, #20 Carnegie Mellon 2
• #24 Texas Dallas 3, Howard Payne 0
• #24 Texas Dallas 3, Concordia (Texas) 0
• #25 Mount Union 3, Brooklyn 0
• #25 Mount Union 3, Pomona-Pitzer 0

-Ricky Nelson

9/24/15: #3 WUSTL sweeps #23 IWU

SLIAC
• Fontbonne 3, MacMurray 2

Nonconference
• #3 Washington-St. Louis 3, #23 Illinois Wesleyan 0 WUSTL outhit IWU, .378 to .023.

-Ricky Nelson

9/23/15: #11 UC falls twice in 5

Dominican Tri
#11 Chicago, #16 Elmhurst, Dominican
Dominican 3, #11 Chicago 2; #16 Elmhurst 3, #11 Chicago 2; #16 Elmhurst 3, Dominican 2.

MacMurray Tri
Knox, MacMurray, Robert Morris-Springfield
Knox 3, MacMurray 2; Knox 3, Robert Morris-Springfield 0; MacMurray 3, Robert Morris-Springfield 0.

WIAC
• #10 UW-Stevens Point 3, UW-Platteville 2 UWSP’s Thomas: 21 K.
• #22 UW-Oshkosh 3, #15 UW-Whitewater 2 UWO’s Malcheski: 18 K.
• UW-La Crosse 3, UW-Eau Claire 2 UWL’s Henk: 22 K.
• UW-Stout 3, UW-River Falls 1 UWS’s Tschumperlin: 11 K, 9 B.

MIAC
• Concordia 3, #19 Augsburg 0 CCM’s Beaner hit 9-1-16.
• Bethel 3, Carleton 0 BU’s LaBerge hit 10-1-20 with 5 B.
• St. Thomas 3, St. Catherine 1 UST’s Lloyd: 18 K.
• Saint Mary’s 3, Hamline 1 SMU’s Fadness: 18 K.
• Saint Benedict 3, Macalester 1 CSB’s Schmitt: 23 K, 17 D.
• Gustavus Adolphus 3, St. Olaf 0 GAC’s Taylor hit 12-1-22.

NACC
• Lakeland 3, Wisconsin Lutheran 1 LC’s Errthum: 13 K, 21 D.
• Aurora 3, Alverno 0 Aurora’s McKenzie: 12 K.
• Marian 3, MSOE 2 MU’s Baker: 29 AST, 16 D, 5 K.
• Concordia Chicago 3, Rockford 0 CUC had 16 aces.

MWC
• Carroll 3, Lawrence 1 CU’s Hahn: 16 K, 10 D.

GPAC
• Doane 3, Nebraska Wesleyan 0 DC is #24 in NAIA.

Nonconference
• North Park 3, Benedictine 0 NPU’s Wiltsie: 19 K, 14 D.
• Franklin 3, Spalding 1 SU had 26 attack errors.

Top 25 upset watch
• #18 Southwestern 3, St. Thomas (Texas) 0
• #20 Carnegie Mellon 3, Franciscan 1
• #21 Berry 3, Oglethorpe 0
• #25 Williams 3, Amherst 1

-Ricky Nelson