8/31/18: Lakeland sweeps reigning WIAC champ UW-La Crosse

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, La Verne, Pomona-Pitzer Classic
#1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, #6 Johnson & Wales (R.I.), #9 Southwestern, #14 Carthage, St. Scholastica, Cal Lutheran, Chapman, La Verne, Union, Pomona-Pitzer, Franklin & Marshall, Occidental, Redlands, Salisbury, Brandeis, Mount Aloysius
Chapman 3, St. Scholastica 0; Cal Lutheran 3, #6 Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 1; Pomona-Pitzer 3, St. Scholastica 0; #6 Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 3, #1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 2; Cal Lutheran 3, Carthage 1; #9 Southwestern 3, Occidental 0; La Verne 3, #9 Southwestern 1; #1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, #14 Carthage 2.

Colorado College Classic
#3 Colorado College, St. Thomas, Nebraska Wesleyan, North Central (Ill.), East Texas Baptist
East Texas Baptist 3, North Central (Ill.) 1; St. Thomas 3, Nebraska Wesleyan 0; #3 Colorado College 3, North Central (Ill.) 0; #3 Colorado College 3, Nebraska Wesleyan 0; St. Thomas 3, East Texas Baptist 0.

Emory Classic
#5 Emory, #13 Illinois Wesleyan, Saint Benedict, Whittier, Texas Tyler, Covenant, Maryville (Tenn.), New Paltz
Texas Tyler 3, #13 Illinois Wesleyan 1; Saint Benedict 3, New Paltz 0; #5 Emory 3, Whittier 0; Texas Tyler 3, Saint Benedict 2.

Trinity (Texas) Invite
#7 Gustavus Adolphus, #11 Trinity (Texas), Aurora, UW-Stevens Point, Cabrini
#11 Trinity (Texas) 3, Cabrini 0; #7 Gustavus Adolphus 3, UW-Stevens Point 0; Aurora 3, UW-Stevens Point 0; #11 Trinity 3, #7 Gustavus Adolphus 1; Aurora 3, Cabrini 0.

Transylvania Invite
#10 Washington-St. Louis, #25 Berry, Hope, Transylvania
#10 Washington-St. Louis 3, Transylvania 1; Hope 3, #25 Berry 0.

Northwestern Invite
#15 Northwestern, Wartburg, Bethel, St. Norbert, Buena Vista, Concordia (Minn.)
#15 Northwestern 3, Buena Vista 0; Bethel 3, #15 Northwestern 2; Wartburg 3, Bethel 1; Wartburg 3, St. Norbert 0; Concordia (Minn.) 3, St. Norbert 1; Concordia (Minn.) 3, Buena Vista 2.

Puget Sound Premiere
#16 Millikin, #22 Pacific Lutheran, UW-Oshkosh, Puget Sound, Elizabethtown
#22 Pacific Lutheran 3, UW-Oshkosh 0; #16 Millikin 3, Elizabethtown 1; UW-Oshkosh 3, Puget Sound 0; #16 Millikin 3, Puget Sound 1; #22 Pacific Lutheran 3, Elizabethtown 0.

Chicago Classic
Chicago, Central, North Park, Rose-Hulman, Albion, Kalamazoo
Chicago 3, Kalamazoo 0; Rose-Hulman 3, Central 1; Albion 3, Central 1; North Park 3, Kalamazoo 0; Chicago 3, Rose-Hulman 0; North Park 3, Albion 0.

UW-Whitewater Invite
UW-Whitewater, Coe, Minnesota Morris, UW-Platteville, DePauw, Franklin
UW-Whitewater 3, Franklin 0; UW-Whitewater 3, Minnesota Morris 1; UW-Platteville 3, Franklin 2; UW-Platteville 3, Coe 2; Minnesota Morris 3, DePauw 0; Coe 3, DePauw 2.

Saint Mary’s (Minn.) Classic
Luther, Dominican, Edgewood, Saint Mary’s (Minn.), Augustana, Northland
Saint Mary’s (Minn.) 3, Dominican 0; Luther 3, Northland 0; Dominican 3, Luther 0; Augustana 3, Edgewood 2; Saint Mary’s (Minn.) 3, Augustana 0; Edgewood 3, Northland 0.

Carleton & St. Olaf Invite
St. Olaf, Carleton, UW-River Falls, Hamline, St. Catherine, Martin Luther, Simpson, Macalester, Bethany Lutheran, Crown
St. Olaf 3, Martin Luther 0; Macalester 3, Crown 0; Hamline 3, Simpson 2; UW-River Falls 3, Macalester 2; Bethany Lutheran 3, Crown 2; Carleton 3, Simpson 2; St. Olaf 3, UW-River Falls 1; Hamline 3, Bethany Lutheran 0.

George Fox, Lewis & Clark, Pacific Tourney
UW-Stout, Elmhurst, Illinois Tech, Pacific, Whitworth, Whitman, George Fox, Linfield, Willamette, Lewis & Clark, UC Santa Cruz, New Rochelle, Johnson & Wales (Colo.), Mills
UW-Stout 3, Whitman 2; UW-Stout 3, Pacific 2; George Fox 3, Elmhurst 2; Whitworth 3, Elmhurst 1; Willamette 3, Illinois Tech 0; Lewis & Clark 3, Illinois Tech 0.

Lake Forest Invite
Loras, Carroll, Lake Forest, MSOE, St. John Fisher, Manchester
Lake Forest 3, St. John Fisher 0; MSOE 3, Carroll 2; Carroll 3, Manchester 1; MSOE 3, Manchester 0; Loras 3, St. John Fisher 0; Loras, Lake Forest (halted due to roof leak).

Lakeland Tourney
UW-La Crosse, Lakeland, Wisconsin Lutheran, Ogelthorpe, Cardinal Stritch
Lakeland 3, Cardinal Stritch 2; Lakeland 3, UW-La Crosse 0; UW-La Crosse 3, Wisconsin Lutheran 0; Wisconsin Lutheran 3, Oglethorpe 2.

Roger Williams Invite
Augsburg, Roger Williams, Trine, Montclair St., Alfred
Augsburg 3, Trine 1; Augsburg 3, Alfred 0.

Webster Quad
Westminster (Mo.), Webster, Benedictine, Lincoln
Webster 3, Lincoln 1; Webster 3, Benedictine 2; Benedictine 2, Westminster (Mo.) 2; Westminster (Mo.) 3, Lincoln 0.

Texas Dallas Tourney
UW-Superior, Texas Dallas, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Heidelberg
Texas Dallas 3, UW-Superior 0; Mary Hardin-Baylor 3, UW-Superior 0.

Rhodes Invite
Dubuque, Birmingham-Southern, Brevard, Rhodes, Sewanee, Huntingdon, Rust
Dubuque 3, Rhodes 1; Dubuque 3, Sewanee 2.

Ripon Quad
Wheaton (Ill.), Ripon, Marian, Finlandia
Wheaton (Ill.) 3, Ripon 0; Marian 3, Finlandia 2.

Illinois College Invite
Greenville, Illinois College, Grinnell, Knox, MacMurray, Iowa Wesleyan, Blackburn, Anderson, Culver-Stockton
Illinois College 3, Blackburn 0; MacMurray 3, Knox 2; Culver-Stockton 3, Greenville 0; Grinnell 3, Iowa Wesleyan 0; Culver-Stockton 3, MacMurray 2; Anderson 3, Blackburn 0; Illinois College 3, Iowa Wesleyan 0; Knox 3, Greenville 1; Grinnell 3, Anderson 0.

Springfield Invite
Lawrence, Springfield, Skidmore, Westfield St., Rhode Island College
Skidmore 3, Lawrence 0; Springfield 3, Lawrence 0.

Beloit Blast
Beloit, Rockford, Eureka, North Central (Minn.), Alma, Olivet
Beloit 3, North Central (Minn.) 0; Olivet 3, Beloit 0; Alma 3, Eureka 1; North Central (Minn.) 3, Rockford 0; Alma 3, Rockford 0; Olivet 3, Eureka 0.

Virginia Wesleyan Invite
Alverno, Randolph-Macon, Virginia Wesleyan, Geneva, Widener, McMurry, St. Mary’s (Md.), Penn St. Berks
Geneva 3, Alverno 0; Randolph-Macon 3, Alverno 0.

Faith Baptist Bible Tourney
Maranatha Baptist, Faith Baptist, Oak Hill Christian, Randall, Ozark Christian, Cottey, Manhattan Christian, Trinity Bible
Maranatha Baptist 3, Oak Hills Christian 0; Maranatha Baptist 3, Ozark Christian 0.

Top 25 Upset Watch
#2 Calvin 3, Stevens 0
#2 Calvin 3, #8 Ithaca 0
#4 Wittenberg 3, Otterbein 0
#19 Ohio Northern 3, #12 Carnegie Mellon 0
#17 Juniata 3, Stevens 1
#18 Johns Hopkins 3, Goucher 0
Thomas More 3, #19 Ohio Northern 2
#21 Swarthmore 3, Alvernia 0
#21 Swarthmore 3, Wesley 0
#23 Christopher Newport 3, Susquehanna 2
Muhlenberg 3, #23 Christopher Newport 0
#24 Stevenson 3, Keystone 0
Mary Washington 3, #24 Stevenson 0

-Ricky Nelson

Nigh on opening day

Just four more sleeps until the regular season begins, so for the uninitiated, here’s a brief rundown of the expected stuff on this award-losing blog’s 2018 syllabus.

All Central and Midwest region results will be posted each night along with top 25 results from outside the regions. I strive to post scores and links in a timely manner, but forgiveness in that area is requested periodically because I will often be in gyms and offices performing duties related to my day job as matches become final.

There will be posts that highlight stats, news and minutia, but I decided to shutter the Standout Stats page this season because it didn’t seem popular with the masses. The last featured page still standing is, appropriately enough, Last Team Standing. RIP, Standout Stats and Standings/Matchup pages.

Upsets and upstarts will give us reason to take notice. Conference tourneys will be contested. We’ll all nerd out to project and debate a national championship field. Tournament Guides will be published. We’ll have minor meltdowns over the NCAA’s chosen field before thoroughly enjoying the tournament after several anger naps (if you are still in the anger-nap phase of your recovery process, I understand).

Info will be dispensed. Comment sections will be open. Fun will be had. Click around. If you like what you see while clicking around, tell a friend that you liked the clicking around.

It’s volleyball season, folks. Good luck, play/coach/cheer hard and have fun out there.

-Ricky Nelson

2018 preseason conference polls

Below are conference favorites, according to league preseason polls. Links are to preseason polls. If different, my picks are in parentheses.

ACAA: [No preseason poll traditionally]
ARC: Wartburg
CCIW: Illinois Wesleyan
MIAC: Gustavus Adolphus
MWC: Cornell
NACC: Aurora & Concordia Wisconsin
SLIAC: Westminster
UAA: [No preseason poll traditionally]
UMAC: Northwestern
WIAC: Wisconsin-Whitewater (Wisconsin-Eau Claire)

-Ricky Nelson

Jimenez to helm Blackburn

Carlos Jimenez was announced as the new head coach at Blackburn on Monday. He was most recently the head men’s coach and assistant women’s coach at Wilson College.

-Ricky Nelson

Schnoor, Lloyd among NCAA Woman of the Year contenders

Former Cornell opposite Libby Schnoor and St. Thomas middle Whitney Lloyd are among 154 conference nominees for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year award.

The Top 30 honorees, comprising 10 women from each NCAA division, will be named by the Woman of the Year selection committee in September.

The initial list of 581 nominees, submitted by member schools, also included Northwestern libero Jackie Doering, Concordia Wisconsin outside Kaily Erdman, Martin Luther outside Kira Grev, Wisconsin-Platteville outside Allison Jensen, Dominican middle Kendyl Todd, Alverno middle Jessica Wewers and Wisconsin-Oshkosh opposite Bri Witter.

The NCAA Woman of the Year program recognizes graduating female student-athletes for excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership.

-Ricky Nelson

Blue Angels announce new coach

Mount Mary announced Natalie Balleto as its new head coach. Her most recent coaching stint was at Cardinal Stritch.

-Ricky Nelson

Defending champ CMS tops 2018 AVCA preseason poll

The AVCA anointed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, last year’s national champion, the top-ranked team in the 2018 preseason poll. The Athenas received 42 of 62 first place votes.

My preseason top 25 had CMS 22nd due to its senior-laden title squad, but the idea that the champ is the champ until proven otherwise is an approach that I can abide. The logic is solid if a bit unthinking. I’m assuming the retort would be, “What is there to think about? CMS is number one.” Understood. Not a strong disagreement from me.

Following the champion Athenas in the AVCA preseason poll are Calvin in second, Colorado College in third, Wittenberg in fourth and Emory in fifth. For comparison’s sake my top five heading into 2018 are No. 1 Colorado College, No. 2 Emory, No. 3 Calvin, No. 4 Washington St. Louis and No. 5 Gustavus Adolphus.

Central and Midwest region teams in the AVCA preseason top 25: No. 7 Gustavus; No. 10 Washington-St. Louis; No. 13 Illinois Wesleyan; No. 14 Carthage; No. 15 Northwestern; No. 16 Millikin.

Central and Midwest region teams receiving votes in the preseason: St. Thomas; Chicago; Aurora; Wisconsin-La Crosse; Wisconsin-Whitewater; Wisconsin-Eau Claire; Wartburg; Wisconsin-Oshkosh; Concordia Wisconsin; Cornell.

Besides CMS, the biggest divergences (10 or more spots) between mine and the AVCA’s top 25 also include Chicago (my No. 8, AVCA “No. 27”), St. Thomas (my No. 11, AVCA “No. 26”), Berry (my No. 12, AVCA No. 25), Tufts (my No. 14, AVCA “No. 42”), Aurora (my No. 17, AVCA “No. 30”), Whittier (my No. 18, AVCA “No. 31”), UW-Eau Claire (my No. 20, AVCA “No. 35”), Trinity (Texas) (my No. 21, AVCA No. 11), Southwestern (my No. 24, AVCA No. 9), Northwestern (my “Next 40,” AVCA No. 15).

-Ricky Nelson

IIAC now ARC

So long, Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Hello, American Rivers Conference. The former IIAC announced its name change Thursday. The impetus for the name change was when Nebraska Wesleyan joined the IIAC two years ago.

-Ricky Nelson