9/30/17: #8 Northwestern sweeps #17 St. Thomas

Illinois Tech Invite
North Park, Illinois Tech, Albion, Olivet, Anderson, Cincinnati-Clermont
Olivet 3, Illinois Tech 0; Albion 3, Illinois Tech 0; Albion 3, North Park 1; North Park 3, Cincinnati-Clermont 0.

Coe Tri
#23 UW-Stevens Point, Coe, Carthage
Carthage 3, Coe 0; #23 UW-Stevens Point 3, Carthage 2; #23 UW-Stevens Point 3, Coe 0.

Carroll Tri
UW-Platteville, Carroll, Finlandia
UW-Platteville 3, Carroll 2; Carroll 3, Finlandia 0; UW-Platteville 3, Finlandia 0.

Edgewood Tri
Edgewood, Concordia Chicago, Maranatha Baptist
Concordia Chicago 3, Maranatha Baptist 0; Edgewood 3, Maranatha Baptist 0.

WIAC
#7 UW-Whitewater 3, UW-River Falls 1 UWW’s Wagner has 12 kills, 7 blocks.
UW-La Crosse 3, UW-Stout 0 UWL’s Entinger had 39 assists.
UW-Eau Claire 3, UW-Oshkosh 0 UWEC’s Pashibin had 12 kills.

MIAC
#11 Gustavus Adolphus 3, St. Catherine 0 GAC’s Hanson hit 12-1-21.
#17 St. Thomas 3, Macalester 0 UST outhit MC, .213 to -.011.
St. Olaf 3, Bethel 1 SOC’s Reid had 18 kills, 14 digs.
Augsburg 3, Hamline 0 AC’s Evans hit 12-0-16.
Saint Benedict 3, Carleton 0 CSB’s Pekarek hit 7-0-9 with 36 assists.
Saint Mary’s 3, Concordia 0 SMU’s Blattner had 14 kills.

UAA
#18 Washington-St. Louis 3, New York University 0 WUSTL’s Malek hit 12-1-16.
#18 Washington-St. Louis 3, Case Western Reserve 1 WUSTL’s Brown had 14 kills.
#25 Chicago 3, Brandeis 0 UC’s Muisenga had 10 kills, 11 digs.
#25 Chicago 3, Rochester 0 UC’s Scrafford had 14 kills.

IIAC
Luther 3, Buena Vista 1 LC’s Veum had 13 kills.
Dubuque 3, Central 0 UD’s Davis had 11 kills.
Wartburg 3, Nebraska Wesleyan 1 WC’s Jones had 19 kills.
Loras 3, Simpson 2 LC’s Budden had 30 kills.

MWC
Cornell 3, St. Norbert 1 CC’s Schnoor had 18 kills.
Ripon 3, Grinnell 2 RC’s Allard had 20 kills, 17 assists, 16 digs.
Lawrence 3, Illinois College 1 LU’s Cohen hit 19-1-34.
Lake Forest 3, Knox 1 LFC’s Smith had 14 kills.
Monmouth 3, Beloit 2 MC’s Dabrowski had 12 kills, 29 digs, 9 blocks.

UMAC
#8 Northwestern 3, Northland 0 UNW outhit NC, .427 to -.049.
Minnesota Morris 3, Bethany Lutheran 0 UMM outhit BLC, .376 to -.037.
St. Scholastica 3, Martin Luther 2 CSS’s Schermann had 15 kills, 22 digs.
UW-Superior 3, Crown 0 UWS’s Runck hit 11-1-20.

NACC
Concordia Wisconsin 3, Alverno 0 CUW outhit AC, .275 to -.034.
Aurora 3, Marian 0 AU’s Vondra had 15 kills.
Edgewood 3, Concordia Chicago 0 EC’s Koester hit 9-0-13.
Lakeland 3, Benedictine 2 LU’s Scoles had 14 kills.
Wisconsin Lutheran 3, MSOE 1 WLC’s Tomhave had 13 kills.

SLIAC
Principia 3, Greenville 2 PC’s Hathaway had 21 kills, 14 digs.
Greenville 3, Eureka 0 GC’s Mitchell had 21 kills.
Webster 3, MacMurray 0
Webster 3, Blackburn 0
Westminster 3, Eureka 2 WC’s Needy hit 19-1-32.
Westminster 3, Iowa Wesleyan 0 WC’s Becker had 35 assists.
Principia 3, Iowa Wesleyan 0 PC’s Tippetts had 13 kills.
Spalding 3, Fontbonne 1 SU’s Spivey hit 17-2-29.
MacMurray 3, Blackburn 2

Nonconference
#8 Northwestern 3, #17 St. Thomas 0 UNW’s Peterson had 18 kills, 14 digs.

Top 25 upset watch
#1 Wittenberg 3, John Carroll 0
#2 Colorado College 3, Schreiner 0
#2 Colorado College 3, #4 Trinity (Texas) 0
#3 Emory 3, Rochester 0
#3 Emory 3, Brandeis 0
#4 Trinity (Texas) 3, Austin 1
#5 Southwestern 3, Dallas 0
#5 Southwestern 3, Centenary (La.) 0
#9 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, Whittier 0
Case Western Reserve 3, #10 Carnegie Mellon 1
#10 Carnegie Mellon 3, New York University 1
#13 Juniata 3, Moravian 1
#13 Juniata 3, Elizabethtown 1
#14 MIT 3, Mount Holyoke 0
#14 MIT 3, Keene St. 0
#15 La Verne 3, Occidental 0
#19 Ohio Northern 3, Mount Union 0
#22 Christopher Newport 3, Marymount 0
#24 Johns Hopkins 3, Haverford 0
#24 Johns Hopkins 3, Arcadia 0

-Ricky Nelson

9/29/17: Dubuque improves to 18-1

Illinois Tech Invite
North Park, Illinois Tech, Olivet, Anderson, Cincinnati-Clermont
North Park 3, Olivet 2; Illinois Tech 3, Cincinnati-Clermont 1; North Park 3, Anderson 2; Anderson 3, Illinois Tech 0.

Coe Tri
Coe, Carthage, Augustana
Carthage 3, Augustana 0; Coe 3, Augustana 0.

WIAC
#23 UW-Stevens Point 3, UW-Platteville 0 UWSP’s Gehl hit 12-1-22 with 11 digs.

MIAC
Saint Benedict 3, Saint Mary’s 0 CSB’s Schultz had 14 kills, 11 digs.
Carleton 3, Concordia 0 Carleton’s Stevens hit 15-1-28.

CCIW
North Central 3, Wheaton 1 NCC’s Elshoff had 13 kills, 17 digs.

IIAC
Luther 3, Nebraska Wesleyan 1 LC’s Veum hit 16-1-21.
Dubuque 3, Simpson 0 UD’s Cose had 37 assists.
Loras 3, Central 0 LC’s Kinney had 10 kills, 6 aces.

UMAC
#8 Northwestern 3, North Central 0 UNW outhit NCU, .512 to -.037.

NACC
Concordia Wisconsin 3, Wisconsin Lutheran 0 CUW’s Erdman had 10 kills, 13 digs.
Aurora 3, Lakeland 0 AU’s Vondra had 12 kills.
Edgewood 3, Dominican 1 EC’s Doherty had 13 kills.
Benedictine 3, Marian 0 BU outhit MU, .282 to .054.
MSOE 3, Alverno 1 MSOE’s Pekarek had 12 kills.
Concordia Chicago 3, Rockford 0 CUC’s Johnson had 13 kills.

SLIAC
Principia 3, Eureka 1 PC’s Hathaway had 18 kills, 17 digs.

Nonconference
Maranatha Baptist 3, Mount Mary 0 MBU outhit MMU, .184 to -.071.

Top 25 upset watch
#1 Wittenberg 3, Ohio Wesleyan 0
#9 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, Occidental 2
#13 Juniata 3, Eastern 0
Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 3, #14 MIT 0
#15 La Verne 3, Pomona-Pitzer 1
#22 Christopher Newport 3, St. Mary’s (Md.) 0

-Ricky Nelson

9/28/17: Greenville hands Webster first SLIAC loss, #12 MU swept

SLIAC
Greenville 3, Webster 0 GC’s Mitchell had 17 kills, 21 digs.

Nonconference
DePauw 3, #12 Millikin 0 DPU’s Peters had 16 kills, 11 digs.
#25 Chicago 3, Wheaton (Ill.) 0 UC’s Muisenga had 12 kills, 12 digs.

Top 25 upset watch
#3 Emory 3, Covenant 0

-Ricky Nelson

9/27/17: #7 UWW wins in Oshkosh

WIAC
#7 UW-Whitewater 3, UW-Oshkosh 1 UWW’s Racky had 12 kills.
#23 UW-Stevens Point 3, UW-Stout 0 UWSP’s Gehl had 15 kills.
UW-La Crosse 3, UW-River Falls 0 UWL’s Henk had 10 kills, 10 digs.
UW-Eau Claire 3, UW-Platteville 0 UWEC’s Baierl had 8 kills.

MIAC
#11 Gustavus Adolphus 3, Macalester 0 GAC outhit MC, .379 to -.139.
#17 St. Thomas 3, St. Olaf 0 UST’s Spacek had 10 kills.
Bethel 3, Hamline 0 BU’s Stern had 14 kills.
Augsburg 3, St. Catherine 0 AC’s Malley had 32 assists, 12 digs.

CCIW
Carthage 3, Elmhurst 0 CC’s Behrendt had 14 kills.

IIAC
Wartburg 3, Buena Vista 0 WC’s Jones had 18 kills, 6 blocks.

UMAC
#8 Northwestern 3, Martin Luther 0 UNW’s Peterson had 18 kills, 14 digs.
#8 Northwestern 3, UW-Superior 0 UNW’s Peterson had 17 kills.
Minnesota Morris 3, North Central 0 UMM’s Mathias had 10 kills.
Minnesota Morris 3, St. Scholastica 0 UMM’s Ekness had 15 kills.
Martin Luther 3, UW-Superior 2 MLC’s St. Germaine had 18 kills.
St. Scholastica 3, North Central 0 CSS outhit NCU, .337 to -.028.
Bethany Lutheran 3, Northland 1 BLC’s Rutt had 20 kills.
Bethany Lutheran 3, Crown 0 BLC’s Rutt had 16 kills.
Northland 3, Crown 1 NC’s Litherland had 16 kills.

MWC
Cornell 3, Grinnell 0 CC’s Schnoor had 14 kills.
St. Norbert 3, Lawrence 0 SNC’s Ferry had 13 kills, 15 digs.
Illinois College 3, Knox 1 IC’s Pankey had 25 kills, 13 digs.

NACC
Dominican 3, Rockford 0 DU’s Cole hit 7-0-9.

SLIAC
Westminster 3, Blackburn 0 WC outhit BC, .301 to -.105.

Nonconference
Lincoln Christian 3, Monmouth 2 LCU is NAIA.

Top 25 upset watch
#6 Calvin 3, Albion 0
#24 Johns Hopkins 3, Washington College 1

-Ricky Nelson

9/26/17: #12 Big Blue, #16 Titans cruise to CCIW road wins

CCIW
#12 Millikin 3, Wheaton 0 MU’s E. Syversen had 15 kills.
#16 Illinois Wesleyan 3, North Park 0 IWU’s Brown had 11 kills, 12 digs.
Augustana 3, Carroll 1 AC’s Westermeyer had 18 kills, 11 digs.

IIAC
Dubuque 3, Coe 0 UD’s Davis had 18 kills.

SLIAC
Webster 3, Eureka 1 WU’s Grassi had 14 kills.
Principia 3, Fontbonne 1 PC’s Tippetts had 22 kills.

Nonconference
Saint Benedict 3, St. Scholastica 0 CSB’s M. Weiss hit 15-1-24.
Marian 3, Ripon 2 MU’s Schrauth had 21 kills.
Illinois Tech 3, Lake Forest 1 IIT’s Hassell had 17 kills.
Beloit 1, Rockford 1 [suspended in Set 3 due to a light shattering]
Wisconsin Lutheran 3, Mount Mary 0 WLC outhit MMU, .397 to -.026.
Monmouth 3, Robert Morris-Springfield 0 MC had a 36-5 advantage in kills.

Top 25 upset watch
Our Lady Of The Lake 3, #5 Southwestern 2 OLLU is NAIA.
#14 MIT 3, Wheaton (Mass.) 0
#15 La Verne 3, Chapman 0
#19 Ohio Northern 3, Dension 0
#20 Texas Dallas 3, Texas Tyler 0
#22 Christopher Newport 3, Virginia Wesleyan 0

-Ricky Nelson

2017 AVCA Week 4 poll: Wittenberg remains No. 1

Wittenberg strengthened its hold atop the AVCA Week 4 poll. The Tigers received 58 first-place votes this week after garnering 28 last week.

Colorado College picked up the remaining nine top votes and lists second in the Week 4 poll. Rounding out the top five are third-ranked Emory, fourth-ranked Trinity (Texas) and fifth-ranked Southwestern.

Central and Midwest teams in the Week 4 top 25: No. 7 Wisconsin-Whitewater; No. 8 Northwestern; No. 11 Gustavus Adolphus; No. 12 Millikin; No. 16 Illinois Wesleyan; No. 17 St. Thomas; No. 18 Washington-St. Louis; No. 23 Wisconsin-Stevens Point; No. 25 Chicago.

Central and Midwest programs receiving votes this week: Bethel; Aurora; Wisconsin-La Crosse; Dubuque; Cornell; Luther; Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

My Week 4 top 10 had Johns Hopkins and Illinois Wesleyan instead of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Carnegie Mellon.

-Ricky Nelson

2017 Pre-Championship Manual is online

The 2017 NCAA Division III Pre-Championship Manual has been published. The FAQ page has been updated.

Big Stuff
43 Pool A bids, 1 Pool B bid, 20 Pool C bids (same as last season)
Regional Rankings: 10/18; 10/25; 11/1; 11/6
Online selection show: 11/6 at 12:30 p.m. (EST)
Regionals: 11/9-11 and 11/10-12
Finals: 11/16-18 in Grand Rapids, Mich.

National Committee
Central: Beth Wilmeth
Great Lakes: Sue Hozak
Mid-Atlantic: Marie Stroman
Midwest: Matt Schoultz, chair
New England: Moira Long
New York: Johan Dulfer
South: Becky Hall
West: Ed Garza

And because you love math, the 2017 access ratio is 420 (Pool A teams) ÷ 43 (Pool A conferences) = 9.767, which gets truncated to 9. There are 11 Pool B teams, so there will be a Pool B bid until either the newly formed ACAA gains an automatic bid or a few more independent teams pull a Rust and leave the division.
The Pre-Championship Manual says there are 16 Pool A eligible programs in the USA South, but I counted 17.

-Ricky Nelson

9/25/17: Morris upends Augsburg

Knox Tri
Knox, MacMurray, Robert Morris-Springfield
MacMurray 3, Knox 1; MacMurray 3, Robert Morris-Springfield 0; Knox 3, Robert Morris Springfield 0.

Nonconference
Minnesota Morris 3, Augsburg 2 UMM’s Ekness had 30 kills, 14 digs.
St. Olaf 3, Martin Luther 0 SOC’s Curry hit 9-0-11 with 6 blocks.

-Ricky Nelson

Ricky Nelson’s 2017 Week 4 top 10

The AVCA poll comes out Tuesday.

My rank, (My Week 3 rank, AVCA Week 3 rank), record, key results last week
1 (1,1). Wittenberg 11-0 [None].
2 (2,3). Colorado College 14-0 [None].
3 (4,4). Emory 11-1 [None]. 
4 (8,5). Trinity (Texas) 13-2 W: Southwestern.
5 (3,2). Southwestern 14-1 L: Trinity (Texas). 
6 (NR,NR). Johns Hopkins 10-2 W: Eastern.
7 (NR,19). Illinois Wesleyan 11-4 W: Cornell; Tufts; Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
8 (7,6). Calvin 10-3 W: Hope.
9 (10,12). Northwestern 14-3 W: Gustavus Adolphus.
10 (NR,11). Wisconsin-Whitewater 10-3 W: Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Dropped out: No. 5 Millikin (11-3); No. 6 Gustavus Adolphus (13-3); No. 9 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (9-5).

We’re down to seven contenders for this year’s Last Team Standing.
The Standout Stats leaderboard: 16 blocks; 30 kills; 50 digs; 61 assists.

-Ricky Nelson

9/24/17: #3 CC sweeps CC

Top 25 upset watch
#3 Colorado College 3, Centenary (La.) 0

-Ricky Nelson