Ricky Nelson’s 2018 Week 5 top 10

The AVCA poll comes out Tuesday.

My rank, (My Week 4 rank, AVCA Week 4 rank), record, key results last week
1 (2,1). Calvin 13-0 [None].
2 (4,17). Wisconsin-Eau Claire 16-1 W: Concordia Wisconsin.
3 (6,14). Chicago 18-2 W: Washington-St. Louis.
4 (5,4). Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 16-1 [None].
5 (1,2). Colorado College 17-1 W: None. L: Trinity (Texas).
6 (3,3). Wittenberg 12-2 W: Wisconsin-Whitewater. L: Illinois Wesleyan.
7 (7,6). Juniata 11-3 [None].
8 (10,10). Thomas More 16-1 W: Hope.
9 (8,8). Washington-St. Louis 11-4 W: None. L: Chicago.
10 (9,5). Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 14-2 [None].

Two teams are alive for 2018’s Last Team Standing.

-Ricky Nelson

9/30/18: Chicago, CMU off to 3-0 UAA starts

UAA
#14 Chicago 3, #8 Washington-St. Louis 0 UC’s Muisenga had 12 kills, 11 digs.

Top 25 Upset Watch
Carnegie Mellon 3, #7 Emory 1
#23 Berry 3, Rhodes 1

-Ricky Nelson

9/29/19: Stout downs reigning WIAC champ La Crosse

Millikin Showcase
#3 Wittenberg, #10 Thomas More, #12 Hope, #25 UW-Whitewater, Millikin, Buena Vista
#10 Thomas More 3, Millikin 0; #3 Wittenberg 3, Buena Vista 0; #3 Wittenberg 3, #25 UW-Whitewater 1; #12 Hope 3, Buena Vista 0 [forfeit]; #10 Thomas More 3, #12 Hope; #25 UW-Whitewater 3, Millikin 0.

Carroll Tri
#17 UW-Eau Claire, Concordia Wisconsin, Carroll
Carroll 3, Concordia Wisconsin 1; #17 UW-Eau Claire 3, Concordia Wisconsin 0; #17 UW-Eau Claire 3, Carroll 0.

Bethel Tri
Bethel, St. Olaf, Muhlenberg
Muhlenberg 3, St. Olaf 2; Bethel 3, Muhlenberg 2.

Dubuque Tri
Dubuque, Loras, UW-River Falls
Dubuque 3, UW-River Falls 1; Loras 3, UW-River Falls 1.

Grinnell Tri
Grinnell, Central, Ripon
Central 3, Grinnell 0; Central 3, Ripon 0.

Dominican Tri
Dominican, Rockford, Saint Mary’s (Ind.)
Saint Mary’s (Ind.) 3, Rockford 0; Dominican 3, Saint Mary’s (Ind.) 2.

Spalding Tri
Westminster (Mo.), Spalding, Indiana-Southeast
Indiana-Southeast 3, Spalding 0; Indiana-Southeast 3, Westminster (Mo.) 0.

Blackburn Tri
Blackburn, Iowa Wesleyan, Lincoln Christian
Iowa Wesleyan 3, Lincoln Christian 2; Lincoln Christian 3, Blackburn 2.

WIAC
UW-Stevens Point 3, UW-Platteville 1 UWSP’s Gehl hit 23-2-38 with 11 digs.
UW-Stout 3, UW-La Crosse 1 UWS’s Simonson had 17 kills.

UAA
#8 Washington-St. Louis 3, Case Western Reserve 0 WUSTL’s Malek hit 15-2-20 with 5 aces.
#8 Washington-St. Louis 3, Brandeis 0 WUSTL’s Ufondu had 14 kills.
#14 Chicago 3, Brandeis 1 UC’s Muisenga had 12 kills, 14 digs.
#14 Chicago 3, Case Western Reserve 0 UC’s Pinton had 14 kills.

CCIW
Carthage 3, Augustana 1 CC’s Kebisek had 21 kills, 12 digs.

MIAC
#11 Gustavus Adolphus 3, St. Catherine 0 GAC’s K. Holtan had 11 kills.
Bethel 3, St. Olaf 0 BU’s Hoppe had 13 kills.
Augsburg 3, Hamline 1 AC’s Boysen had 10 kills, 8 blocks.
Concordia 3, Saint Mary’s 0 CC’s Cuppett had 10 kills.

ARC
Wartburg 3, Nebraska Wesleyan 0 WC’s Blough had 15 kills, 15 digs.

NACC
Aurora 3, Lakeland 0 AU’s Lines had 42 assists, 12 digs.
Wisconsin Lutheran 3, Alverno 0 WLC’s Grulke had 10 kills.
Dominican 3, Rockford 0 DU outhit RU, .316 to .010.
Edgewood 3, Illinois Tech 0 11 EC players had kills.

UMAC
Minnesota Morris 3, Bethany Lutheran 0 UMM’s Mathias hit 10-1-18.
St. Scholastica 3, Martin Luther 0 CSS’s Schermann had 10 kills, 14 digs.
UW-Superior 3, Crown 0 USW outhit CC, .443 to -.044.

MWC
Cornell 3, St. Norbert 1 CC’s Schulte had 59 assists, 11 digs.
Grinnell 3, Ripon 0 GC’s Kuhn had 19 kills, 18 digs.
Illinois College 3, Lawrence 0 IC’s Klanke had 10 kills.
Lake Forest 3, Knox 0
Beloit 3, Monmouth 2 BC’s Laun-Smith had 17 kills, 17 digs.

SLIAC
Westminster 3, Spalding 1 WC’s Ringwald had 41 digs.
Blackburn 3, Iowa Wesleyan 1

Nonconference
MSOE 3, Maranatha Baptist 2 MSOE’s Pekarek had 26 kills, 17 digs.
Finlandia 3, Mount Mary 2 FU’s Holmstrom had 16 kills, 16 digs.

Top 25 Upset Watch
#2 Colorado College 3, Schreiner 0
#2 Colorado College 3, Texas Lutheran 1
#4 Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 3, Simmons 0
#4 Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 3, Regis 0
#5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, Whittier 2
#6 Juniata 3, Susquehanna 0
#6 Juniata 3, Moravian 0
#7 Emory 3, Rochester 0
#7 Emory 3, NYU 0
Whitworth 3, #9 Pacific Lutheran 0
#13 Trinity (Texas) 3, Dallas 0
#13 Trinity (Texas) 3, Johnson & Wales (Colo.) 0
#15 Johns Hopkins 3, Haverford 1
#16 Ohio Northern 3, Marietta 0
#19 Ithaca 3, Capital 0
#19 Ithaca 3, Fredonia 0
#20 Texas Tyler 3, Louisiana College 1
Pomona-Pitzer 3, #21 Cal Lutheran 2
#23 Berry 3, Hendrix 0
#24 Christopher Newport 3, Neumann 0
#24 Christopher Newport 3, Lebanon Valley 0

-Ricky Nelson

9/28/18: #18 IWU sweeps #3 Witt, Millikin beats #12 Hope

Millikin Showcase
#3 Wittenberg, #10 Thomas More, #12 Hope, #18 Illinois Wesleyan, Millikin, Buena Vista
#18 Illinois Wesleyan 3, #3 Wittenberg 0; #10 Thomas More 3, Buena Vista 0; Millikin 3, #12 Hope 2.

Maranatha Baptist Tri
Maranatha Baptist, Finlandia, Northland
Maranatha Baptist 3, Finlandia 0; Finlandia 3, Northland 2; Maranatha Baptist 3, Northland 0.

Oak Hills Christian Tri
North Central (Minn.), Oak Hills Christian, Trinity Bible
North Central (Minn.) 3, Oak Hills Christian 2; North Central (Minn.) 3, Trinity Bible 0.

WIAC
#17 UW-Eau Claire 3, UW-Oshkosh 0 UWEC’s Pashibin had 11 kills.
#25 UW-Whitewater 3, UW-River Falls 0 UWW’s Aske had 9 kills.

CCIW
Elmhurst 3, Wheaton 1 EC’s Brouwer had 15 kills.

MIAC
Saint Benedict 3, Saint Mary’s 0 CSB’s M. Weiss had 11 kills, 5 blocks.
Bethel 3, Hamline 0 BU’s Hoppe had 12 kills.
Concordia 3, Carleton 0 11 Concordia players had kills.

ARC
Luther 3, Loras 2 Luther’s Larson had 13 kills.

NACC
Concordia Wisconsin 3, Alverno 0 CUW outhit AC, .240 to .038.
Edgewood 3, Dominican 2 EC’s Pfeifer had 12 kills, 26 digs.
Lakeland 3, Benedictine 0 LU’s Welsh had 14 kills.
Concordia Chicago 3, MSOE 0 CUC had 18 aces.
Illinois Tech 3, Rockford 0 IIT’s Burton hit 9-0-14.

SLIAC
Webster 3, Iowa Wesleyan 0 WU’s Farrah had 33 digs.
MacMurray 3, Spalding 0 MC’s Wall had 16 kills, 14 digs.

Nonconference
Augsburg 3, Northwestern 0 AC’s Evans had 11 kills.
St. Thomas 3, Muhlenberg 1 UST’s Mallak had 51 assists.

Top 25 Upset Watch
#13 Trinity (Texas) 3, #2 Colorado College 2
#5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, Occidental 0
#9 Pacific Lutheran 3, Whitman 0
#20 Texas Tyler 3, Belhaven 0
Chapman 3, #21 Cal Lutheran 1
#22 MIT 3, Mount Holyoke 0
#24 Christopher Newport 3, Frostburg St. 1

-Ricky Nelson

9/27/18: Sweeps all around

MIAC
#11 Gustavus Adolphus 3, Macalester 0 GAC outhit MC, .280 to -.032.

NACC
Aurora 3, Marian 0 AU’s Vondra had 14 kills.

SLIAC
Greenville 3, MacMurray 0 GU’s Freeman had 13 kills, 8 aces, 5 blocks.

Top 25 Upset Watch
#4 Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 3, Albertus Magnus 0
#15 Johns Hopkins 3, Stevenson 0

-Ricky Nelson

9/26/18: Webster deals Westminster first SLIAC loss

WIAC
#17 UW-Eau Claire 3, UW-Platteville 0 UWEC’s Barrett hit 10-1-14.
#25 UW-Whitewater 3, UW-Oshkosh 0 UWW’s Aske had 9 kills.
UW-Stevens Point 3, UW-Stout 1 UWSP’s Gehl had 27 kills, 12 digs.
UW-La Crosse 3, UW-River Falls 1 UWL’s Johnson had 17 kills, 15 digs.

CCIW
Carroll 3, Elmhurst 1 CU’s Mueller had 11 kills.

MIAC
St. Thomas 3, St. Olaf 1 UST’s Mallak had 52 assists.
Augsburg 3, St. Catherine 0 AC’s Quam had 11 kills.

NACC
Concordia Wisconsin 3, Concordia Chicago 1 CUW’s Mayer had 12 kills, 17 digs.

MWC
Cornell 3, Monmouth 0 CC’s Ciari had 15 kills.
Illinois College 3, Knox 0 IC’s Ganley had 45 assists.

UMAC
Northwestern 3, UW-Superior 0 UNW’s S. Schwitters had 43 assists, 11 digs.
Northwestern 3, Martin Luther 0 UNW’s Halvorsen had 12 kills, 11 digs.
Minnesota Morris 3, St. Scholastica 0 UMM’s Everson had 13 kills.
Minnesota Morris 3, North Central 0 UMM outhit NCU, .299 to -.042.
UW-Superior 3, Martin Luther 0 UWS’s Howe had 14 kills.
St. Scholastica 3, North Central 0 CSS’s Bounds had 11 kills, 4 aces.
Bethany Lutheran 3, Northland 0 BLC’s Domonoske had 8 kills.
Bethany Lutheran 3, Crown 0 BLC’s Rutt had 14 kills.
Northland 3, Crown 1 NC’s Litherland had 12 kills.

SLIAC
Webster 3, Westminster 0 Webster had 84 digs.
Fontbonne 3, Blackburn 1 Curtice had 7 kills.

Nonconference
Coe 3, Augustana 2 CC’s Wintermote had 14 kills, 11 digs.
Wheaton (Ill.) 3, Lake Forest 2 WC’s Smith had 12 kills, 13 digs.
Benedictine 3, Eureka 0 BU’s Stock had 15 kills.
William Penn 3, Grinnell 0 WPU is NAIA.

Top 25 Upset Watch
#1 Calvin 3, Kalamazoo 0
#15 Johns Hopkins 3, Washington (Md.) 0
#19 Ithaca 3, Cortland 0
#24 Christopher Newport 3, William Peace 0

-Ricky Nelson

9/25/18: #18 IWU, NPU remain unbeaten in CCIW

CCIW
#18 Illinois Wesleyan 3, Wheaton 0 IWU’s Brown had 13 kills, 17 digs.
North Park 3, Millikin 0 NPU’s Clinton hit 9-0-16.

MIAC
St. Thomas 3, Macalester 0 UST’s Bordson had 10 kills.

ARC
Dubuque 3, Luther 2 UD’s Wright had 21 kills, 23 digs.
Buena Vista 3, Simpson 2 BVU’s Runneberg had 17 kills, 7 blocks.

NACC
Benedictine 3, Marian 0 BU’s Dunwell had 16 kills.

MWC
St. Norbert 3, Lawrence 0 SNC’s Baumann had 14 kills, 10 digs.

SLIAC
Greenville 3, Principia 0 GU’s Finch hit 17-0-31.

Nonconference
Bethel 3, Wartburg 1 BU’s Clafin had 15 kills, 8 blocks.
Minnesota Morris 3, Saint Benedict 1 UMM’s Miller had 13 kills.
Loras 3, Iowa Wesleyan 1 LC’s LaCorte had 17 kills, 20 digs.
UW-Stout 3, Hamline 0 UWS’s Strain had 11 kills.
Edgewood 3, Ripon 0 EC’s Sager had 8 aces.
Wisconsin Lutheran 3, Beloit 0 WLC’s Pye had 12 kills.
Maranatha Baptist 3, Rockford 0 MBU’s Hansel had 11 kills.
Mount St. Joseph 3, Spalding 1 MSJU’s Looney had 17 kills, 6 blocks.
Lake Forest 3, Trinity International 1 LFC’s Larson had 21 kills, 10 digs.
Lincoln Christian 3, Eureka 1 LCU is NAIA.

Top 25 Upset Watch
#5 Claremont, Mudd-Scripps 3, Caltech 0
#6 Juniata 3, Clarion 0
#16 Ohio Northern 3, John Carroll 1
#20 Texas Tyler 3, Texas Dallas 1
#21 Cal Lutheran 3, Whittier 1
#22 MIT 3, Wheaton (Mass.) 1

-Ricky Nelson

2018 Week 4 AVCA poll: Welcome, Whitewater

As expected, not much changed in the Week 4 AVCA poll after a fairly routine set of results as teams entered conference play. One notable change in the newest poll was Wisconsin-Whitewater entering the top 25 for the first time this season and for just the 273rd time in program history.

Calvin and Colorado College remained the top two teams, followed by No. 3 Wittenberg, No. 4 Johnson & Wales (R.I.) and No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

Central and Midwest region teams in the Week 4 top 25: No. 8 Washington-St. Louis; No. 11 Gustavus Adolphus; No. 14 Chicago; No. 17 Wisconsin-Eau Claire; No. 18 Illinois Wesleyan; No. 25 UW-Whitewater.

Central and Midwest team receiving votes this week: Northwestern; Carthage; Concordia Wisconsin; Augsburg; St. Olaf; Aurora.

My Week 4 top 10 included UW-Eau Claire and Chicago instead of Emory and Pacific Lutheran.

-Ricky Nelson

9/24/18: St. Kate’s earns road sweep

Nonconference
St. Catherine 3, Martin Luther 0 SCU’s Isaacson hit 10-2-15.
Silver Lake 3, Mount Mary 0 SLC is NAIA.

-Ricky Nelson

2018 Manual highlights

The 2018 Pre-Championship Manual is online.

Highlights
Bid allocation: 43 A, 2 B, 19 C.
Online selection show (hurray!): 11:30 a.m. (central) Nov. 5.
Regional rankings: Oct. 17, Oct. 24, Oct. 31, Nov. 5.
National committee: Matt Schoultz, Lawrence (chair); Beth Wilmeth, Northwestern; Moira Long, Springfield; Sue Hozak, Saint Vincent; Danny Miller, Averett; Johan Dulfer, Ithaca; Kim Kelly, Carnegie Mellon; Ed Garza, Austin.

Errors
The AEC teams, Trinity (D.C.) and Valley Forge are listed in the Midwest instead of the Mid-Atlantic.
SUNY-Delhi is an ACAA member, not independent.

I’ll add this here because the Manual delves into each region’s members. D3sports.com reported that Benedictine will return to Division III.

In similar news, Texas Tyler is listed as a West Region independent in the Manual while Frostburg is still listed among the CAC teams without any mention of Division II intentions. Benedictine remains listed in the NACC but not eligible due to reclassifying status.

The FAQ page has been updated.

-Ricky Nelson