10/31/16: MLC overcomes BLC

UMAC Quarter
Martin Luther 3, Bethany Lutheran 2 MLC’s Grev had 22 kills, 17 digs.

-Ricky Nelson

10/30/16: See you tomorrow

Nothing doing today in the Central, Midwest or top 25.

Chicago Cubs 3, Cleveland Baseball Club 2 Phew.

-Ricky Nelson

Ricky Nelson’s 2016 Week 9 top 10

The AVCA poll comes out Tuesday.

My rank, (my Week 8 rank, AVCA Week 8 rank), record, key results last week
1 (1,1). Calvin 26-0 W: Hope. 
2 (2,3). Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 22-2 [None].
3 (4,2). Cal Lutheran 23-4 W: La Verne.
4 (6,4). Texas Dallas 26-1 W: Southwestern; Hendrix.
5 (7,8). Emory 27-5 [None]. 
6 (8,7). Wittenberg 18-5 W: Carnegie Mellon.
7 (NR,14). UW-Whitewater 25-6 W: UW-La Crosse; Millikin; UW-Eau Claire; Bethel.
8 (5,5). Southwestern 29-3 W: Hendrix. L: Texas Dallas.
9 (3,10). UW-La Crosse 21-4 L: UW-Whitewater.
10 (10,22). La Verne 22-5 L: Cal Lutheran.
Dropped out: Trinity (Texas) (25-7).

The contenders for Last Team Standing completed their regular seasons unbeaten, the Standout Stats page is as updated as can be, and the Conference Tourneys page is nearly complete. As a teaser for the latter page, one team is already in the Field of 64.

-Ricky Nelson

10/29/16: Wartburg upsets #18 UNW

UW-Whitewater Tri
#14 UW-Whitewater, Millikin, Bethel
#14 UW-Whitewater 3, Millikin 0; Bethel 3, Millikin 2; #14 UW-Whitewater 3, Bethel 1.

Trinity (Texas) Invite
#16 Trinity (Texas), Augsburg, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Hardin-Simmons, UMass Boston
UMass Boston 3, #16 Trinity (Texas) 1; #16 Trinity (Texas) 3, Mary Hardin-Baylor 1; Hardin-Simmons 3, Augsburg 0; Mary Hardin-Baylor 3, Augsburg 1.

Augustana Bash
Augustana, Coe, Webster, Central, Simpson, Rockford, Iowa Wesleyan
Coe 3, Iowa Wesleyan 0; Coe 3, Webster 0; Augustana 3, Central 2; Central 3, Iowa Wesleyan 0; Webster 3, Simpson 1; Augustana 3, Rockford 0; Simpson 3, Rockford 0.

Illinois Wesleyan Classic
Illinois Wesleyan, Cornell, Nebraska Wesleyan, Dominican, MSOE, DePauw, Anderson, Mount St. Joseph
Illinois Wesleyan 3, Nebraska Wesleyan 0; Illinois Wesleyan 3, Dominican 0; Cornell 3, Anderson 1; Cornell 3, Mount St. Joseph 0; Nebraska Wesleyan 3, Mount St. Joseph 0; DePauw 3, Dominican 0; DePauw 3, MSOE 0; Anderson 3, MSOE 0.

Benedictine Classic
Aurora, Loras, Benedictine, North Central (Ill.), Lake Forest, Wisconsin Lutheran
North Central (Ill.) 3, Benedictine 1; Loras 3, Benedictine 0; Aurora 3, Loras 0; Aurora 3, Lake Forest 0; Wisconsin Lutheran 3, North Central (Ill.) 2;  Wisconsin Lutheran 3, Lake Forest 1.

Lakeland Quad
St. Norbert, Edgewood, Lawrence, Lakeland
St. Norbert 3, Lakeland 2; Lawrence 3, Lakeland 0; Edgewood 3, Lawrence 0; Edgewood 3, St. Norbert 1.

WIAC
#17 UW-Stevens Point 3, UW-River Falls 0 UWSP outhit UWRF, .227 to -.051.
#23 UW-Oshkosh 3, UW-Stout 1 UWO’s Lemke hit 18-2-32 with 5 blocks.
UW-Eau Claire 3, UW-Platteville 0 UWEC’s Raskie hit 14-1-25.

MIAC
St. Thomas 3, Macalester 0 UST’s Lloyd hit 10-1-18.
Concordia 3, Saint Benedict 0 CC’s Friedrich had 18 kills, 17 digs.
Saint Mary’s 3, Gustavus Adolphus 2 SMU’s Blattner had 21 kills, 17 digs.
Hamline 3, St. Catherine 0 HU’s Zolnosky had 14 kills.

MWC
Grinnell 3, Monmouth 0 GC’s Willhardt hit 10-2-17.

UMAC
Minnesota Morris 3, Northland 0 UMM’s Ekness had 14 kills, 12 digs.
St. Scholastica 3, Crown 0 CSS’s Elvehjem hit 10-1-15.
UW-Superior 3, North Central 0 UWS’s Colligan had 14 kills, 10 digs.

SLIAC
Greenville 3, Spalding 1 GC’s Mitchell had 15 kills, 10 digs.
Greenville 3, MacMurray 0 GC outhit MC, .390 to .038.
Westminster 3, Blackburn 0 WC outhit BC, .250 to .000.
Westminster 3, Eureka 0
Spalding 3, Principia 0 SU’s A. Cosgrove had 16 kills.
Principia 3, MacMurray 0 PC’s Tippetts had 12 kills.
Eureka 3, Fontbonne 1 EC’s Hanney had 16 assists, 10 kills, 7 digs.
Fontbonne 3, Blackburn 0 FU’s Eason had 10 kills.

Nonconference
Wartburg 3, #18 Northwestern 1 WC’s Jones had 17 kills.
Concordia Wisconsin 3, Chicago 1 CUW’s Moegenburg had 18 kills, 13 digs.
Buena Vista 3, Bethany Lutheran 0 BVU’s  Schaap had 14 kills.
Beloit 3, Mount Mary 0 BC’s Baran had 11 kills, 10 digs.

Top 25 upset watch
#1 Calvin 3, Olivet 0
#2 Cal Lutheran 3, Pomona-Pitzer 1
#3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, Redlands 0
#4 Texas Dallas 3, #24 Hendrix 0
#5 Southwestern 3, #24 Hendrix 2
#5 Southwestern 3, Texas Tyler 0
#7 Wittenberg 3, Oberlin 0
#7 Wittenberg 3, #21 Carnegie Mellon 2
#8 Emory 3, Washington and Lee 0
#8 Emory 3, Berry 0
#9 Juniata 3, Otterbein 1
#11 Hope 3, Kalamazoo 0
#12 Mary Washington 3, St. Mary’s (Md.) 0
#13 Eastern 3, Muhlenberg 0
#13 Eastern 3, Hunter 0
#20 Christopher Newport 3, Marymount 2
Messiah 3, #20 Christopher Newport 2
#21 Carnegie Mellon 3, Oberlin 0
#22 La Verne 3, Caltech 0
#25 Ohio Northern 3, Marietta 0

Cleveland Baseball Club 7, Chicago Cubs 2 Sadness.

-Ricky Nelson

10/28/16: #10 UWL, #14 UWW clinch share of WIAC title

Trinity (Texas) Invite
#16 Trinity (Texas), Augsburg, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Hardin-Simmons, UMass Boston
Augsburg 3, UMass Boston 2; #16 Trinity (Texas) 3, Hardin-Simmons 0; #16 Trinity (Texas) 3, Augsburg 2.

Illinois Wesleyan Classic
Illinois Wesleyan, Cornell, Nebraska Wesleyan, MSOE, DePauw, Anderson, Mount St. Joseph
Cornell 3, Nebraska Wesleyan 0; Nebraska Wesleyan 3, Anderson 0; Cornell 3, MSOE 0; Illinois Wesleyan 3, Anderson 0; DePauw 3, Illinois Wesleyan 1; Mount St. Joseph 3, MSOE 1.

Augustana Bash
Augustana, Coe, Dubuque, Webster, Simpson, Rockford, Iowa Wesleyan
Dubuque 3, Rockford 0; Dubuque 3, Webster 0; Coe 3, Rockford 0; Simpson 3, Iowa Wesleyan 0; Augustana 3, Simpson 0.

Chicago Tri
Chicago, Dominican, North Park
Dominican 3, North Park 2; Chicago 3, Dominican 0; Chicago 3, North Park 0.

WIAC
#10 UW-La Crosse 3, UW-Platteville 0 UWL outhit UWP, .220 to -.011.
#14 UW-Whitewater 3, UW-Eau Claire 0 UWW’s Pfeifer had 11 kills, 11 digs.
#17 UW-Stevens Point 3, UW-Stout 0 UWSP’s Cefalu had 18 kills.
#23 UW-Oshkosh 3, UW-River Falls 0 UWO’s Jaeke hit 10-1-14.

CCIW
Millikin 3, Augustana 2 MU’s E. Syversen had 20 kills, 24 digs.
Carthage 3, Carroll 0 Carthage’s Korbakes had 12 kills.
Wheaton 3, North Central 1 WC’s Knowles had 19 kills, 17 digs.

MIAC
Carleton 3, St. Olaf 1 CC’s Stevens had 15 kills, 7 blocks.

MWC
St. Norbert 3, Beloit 2 SNC’s Johnson hit 16-2-22.
Grinnell 3, Knox 1 GC’s Fromm had 13 kills.

UMAC
#18 Northwestern 3, Martin Luther 0 UNW’s Peterson had 21 kills, 13 digs.

SLIAC
Webster 3, Iowa Wesleyan 0 WU outhit IWU, .175 to -.009.

Nonconference
#18 Elmhurst 3, Benedictine 0 EC’s Nimrick had 30 assists, 14 digs, 8 kills.
Ripon 3, Marian 0 RC’s Berrell had 16 kills.
Fontbonne 3, Illinois College 1 FU’s McDonough had 22 kills, 18 digs.
Maranatha Baptist 3, Finlandia 0 MBU’s Renz hit 15-0-25 with 11 digs.
Concordia Chicago 3, Mount Mary 0 Teams combined to hit -.005.

Top 25 upset watch
#1 Calvin 3, #11 Hope 2
#3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, Whittier 0
#4 Texas Dallas 3, #5 Southwestern 0
#6 Colorado College 3, Johnson & Wales (Colo.) 0
#8 Emory 3, Randolph-Macon 0
#8 Emory 3, Clarkson 0
#9 Juniata 3, Mount Union 0
#13 Eastern 3, Lycoming 1
#20 Christopher Newport 3, St. Mary’s (Md.) 0
#22 La Verne 3, Pomona-Pitzer 0

Cleveland Baseball Club 1, Chicago Cubs 0 [swear words]

-Ricky Nelson

10/27/16: Sabercats cruise past Scarlet Hawks

Nonconference
Maranatha Baptist 3, Illinois Tech 0 MBU’s A. Johnson had 13 kills.

-Ricky Nelson

10/26/16: #14 UWW sweeps #10 UWL

WIAC
#14 UW-Whitewater 3, #10 UW-La Crosse 0 UWW outhit UWL, .412 to .069.

CCIW
#18 Elmhurst 3, Millikin 1 EC’s Schryver had 24 digs, 5 aces.
Carthage 3, North Park 0 CC’s Kisten had 10 kills.

MIAC
St. Thomas 3, Concordia 0 UST’s Lloyd hit 14-0-24.
Augsburg 3, Saint Benedict 2 AC’s Linn had 13 kills.
Saint Mary’s 3, Carleton 1 SMU’s Blattner had 28 kills
Gustavus Adolphus 3, Hamline 0 GAC’s Hanson had 12 kills.
St. Olaf 3, St. Catherine 2 SOC’s Rewers had 23 kills.

MWC
St. Norbert 3, Ripon 0 SNC had 51 kills, hit .360.
Knox 3, Monmouth 1 KC’s Griffin had 18 kills, 13 digs.

UMAC
#18 Northwestern 3, Minnesota Morris 0 UNW’s Peterson had 16 kills.
St. Scholastica 3, Northland 0 CSS outhit NC, .526 to .101.
Bethany Lutheran 3, North Central 0 BLC’s Rutt had 13 kills.
Martin Luther 3, Crown 0 MLC outhit CC, .361 to .028.

SLIAC
Fontbonne 3, Webster 2 FU’s McDonough had 27 kills, 20 digs.
Westminster 3, Iowa Wesleyan 0 WC’s Marshall had 17 kills.

Nonconference
#15 Washington-St. Louis 3, Greenville 1 WUSTL’s Sheredy had 16 kills, 16 digs.
Illinois College 3, MacMurray 0 IC’s Ganley hit 5-0-10 with 27 assists, 12 digs.
Spalding 3, Franklin 1 SU’s A. Cosgrove had 25 kills, 12 digs.
St. Mary-Of-The-Woods 3, Blackburn 0 SMWC is USCAA.

Top 25 upset watch
Marymount 3, #12 Mary Washington 1
#13 Eastern 3, Lebanon Valley 0

Chicago Cubs 5, Cleveland Baseball Club 1 Quite satisfactory.

-Ricky Nelson

2016 NCAA regional rankings: Chicago enters at #8 in Midwest

The NCAA published the second set of 2016 regional rankings today.

Central (Last Week Rank)
1 (1). Northwestern
2 (2). Gustavus Adolphus
3 (4). Washington-St. Louis
4 (5). Augsburg
5 (3). St. Thomas
6 (7). Luther
7 (6). Saint Mary’s (Minn.)
8 (8). Wartburg

Midwest
1 (1). UW-La Crosse
2 (3). UW-Whitewater
3 (4). UW-Oshkosh
4 (2). Elmhurst
5 (7). Millikin
6 (5). UW-Eau Claire
7 (6). UW-Stevens Point
8 (NR). Chicago
Dropped out: No. 8 Illinois Wesleyan

Top four teams in other regions:
Great Lakes: 1. Calvin; 2. Wittenberg; 3. Ohio Northern; 4. DePauw.
Mid-Atlantic: 1. Mary Washington;  2. Juniata; 3. Eastern; 4. Carnegie Mellon.
New England: 1. Tufts; 2. MIT; 3. Springfield; 4. UMass Boston.
New York: 1. Stevens; 2. Ithaca; 3. Ramapo; 4. Brockport.
South: 1. Emory; 2. Randolph-Macon; 3. Hendrix; 4. Birmingham-Southern.
West: 1. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps; 2. Cal Lutheran; 3. Southwestern; 4. Texas Dallas.

-Ricky Nelson

10/25/16: Wartburg wins outright IIAC title

Carroll Tri
#23 UW-Oshkosh, Carroll, Lakeland
#23 UW-Oshkosh 3, Carroll 1; Lakeland 3, Carroll 1; #23 UW-Oshkosh 3, Lakeland 0.

CCIW
Wheaton 3, Augustana 2 WC’s Knowles had 22 kills, 17 digs.
Carthage 3, North Central 0 CC’s Korbakes has 10 kills.

MIAC
Bethel, Macalester 0 BU’s C. Hoppe had 13 kills, 18 digs.

IIAC
Wartburg 3, Dubuque 1 WC’s Blough had 14 kills, 18 digs.
Nebraska Wesleyan 3, Simpson 1 NWU’s Dahl had 14 kills, 12 digs.
Loras 3, Luther 2 Loras’ Ritchie had 13 kills, 25 assists.

MWC
Lake Forest 3, Beloit 0 LFC’s Larson had 14 kills, 6 aces.

Nonconference
#15 Washington-St. Louis 3, Westminster (Mo.) 2 WUSTL’s Ufondu had 15 kills.
#17 UW-Stevens Point 3, Concordia Wisconsin 2 UWSP’s Cefalu had 22 kills, 16 digs.
UW-Stout 3, St. Scholastica 0 UWS’s Jung hit 11-0-17.
Concordia Chicago 3, Illinois Tech 2 CUC’s Thompson had 21 kills, 11 digs.
Maranatha Baptist 3, Rockford 0 MBU’s Renz hit 16-1-30 with 6 blocks.
Cardinal Stritch 3, MSOE 0 CSU is NAIA.

Top 25 upset watch
#1 Calvin 3, Alma 0
#2 Cal Lutheran 3, #22 La Verne 0
#3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, Caltech 0
#4 Texas Dallas 3, Texas Tyler 0
#25 Ohio Northern 3, Baldwin Wallace 0

Cleveland Baseball Club 6, Chicago Cubs 0 Blerg.

-Ricky Nelson

2016 AVCA Week 8 poll: UWEC falls from top 25

Calvin is in unanimous top team in the AVCA Week 8 poll. Rounding out the top five teams are second-ranked Cal Lutheran, third-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, fourth-ranked Texas Dallas and fifth-ranked Southernwestern.

Central and Midwest teams in the Week 8 top 25: No. 10 UW-La Crosse; No. 14 UW-Whitewater; No. 15 Washington-St. Louis; No. 17 UW-Stevens Point; No. 18 Elmhurst; No. 18 Northwestern; No.23 UW-Oshkosh.

Central and Midwest regions teams receiving votes this week: Millikin; UW-Eau Claire; Gustavus Adolphus; Luther; Bethel; Augsburg; St. Thomas; Illinois Wesleyan; Chicago.

My Week 8 top 10

-Ricky Nelson