10/31/19: Westminster improves to 14-2 in SLIAC

SLIAC
Westminster 3, Blackburn 0 WC’s Kistaitis: 12 kills.

Top 25 upset watch
#23 Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 3, Regis 0

A light night would be a good time to check out the 2019 Conference Tourneys page for dates and top seeds around the country.

-Ricky Nelson

10/30/19: #22 UST, #3 CC, Greenville clinch top seeds; NACC, UMAC end in 3-way ties

MIAC
#22 St. Thomas 3, #11 Saint Benedict 0 UST’s Anetipa: 55 assists.
#12 Augsburg 3, St. Catherine 0 AU’s Nierengarten: 10 kills.
St. Olaf 3, Hamline 2 SOC’s Lannom: 18 kills, 11 blocks.
Bethel 3, Concordia 1 BU’s Gavic: 19 kills.
Gustavus Adolphus 3, Macalester 0 GAC’s Holtan: 16 kills, 12 digs.
Saint Mary’s 3, Carleton 2 SMU’s Braun: 58 assists, 18 digs.

CCIW
#3 Carthage 3, Millikin 0 CC’s LeCount: 44 assists.
Illinois Wesleyan 3, Elmhurst 2 IWU’s Steininger: 17 kills.
Wheaton 3, Carroll 0 WC’s C. Smith: 12 kills.
North Park 3, North Central 0 NPU outhit NCC, .337 to .128.

ARC
Dubuque 3, Loras 0 UD’s Hintze hit 18-4-27.
Coe 3, Luther 2 CC’s Tidman: 26 kills.
Nebraska Wesleyan 3, Simpson 0 NWU’s Jensen: 10 kills.

NACC
Dominican 3, Aurora 2 DU’s G. Jones: 16 kills, 19 digs.
Wisconsin Lutheran 3, Concordia Wisconsin 0 WLC outhit CUW, .238 to .065.
Lakeland 3, MSOE 1 LU’s Goeser hit 12-1-21.
Benedictine 3, Illinois Tech 1
Edgewood 3, Marian 0 EC’s Doherty: 17 kills.
Rockford 3, Alverno 1 RU’s Crain: 17 kills.

UMAC
Northwestern 3, Minnesota Morris 0 UNW outhit UMM, .256 to -.016.
St. Scholastica 3, Northland 0 CSS outhit NC, .208 to -.009.
Bethany Lutheran 3, North Central 0 BLC outhit NCU, .342 to .056.
Crown 3, Martin Luther 2 CC’s Zieroth: 15 kills.

MWC
Grinnell 3, Cornell 2 GC’s Kuhn: 18 kills, 6 aces.

SLIAC
Webster 3, Fontbonne 0 WU outhit FU, .260 to -.008.
Iowa Wesleyan 3, Eureka 0 IWU’s Kammerer: 8 kills, 13 assists, 12 digs.

Nonconference
Moody Bible 3, Mount Mary 0 MBI is NCCAA.

Top 25 upset watch
#4 Calvin 3, Olivet 0
#7 Johns Hopkins 3, Gettysburg 0
#13 Hope 3, Adrian 0
#18 Susquehanna 3, Arcadia 0
#24 Transylvania 3, Mount St. Joseph 0

-Ricky Nelson

2019 Week 2 regional rankings: NACC teams rise in Midwest

The second regional rankings of the season have been published.

Central Region (Week 1 rank)
1 (1). St. Olaf
2 (2). Saint Benedict
3 (3). Augsburg
4 (4). Washington-St. Louis
5 (5). St. Thomas (Minn.)
6 (7). Northwestern
7 (8). Wartburg
8 (6). Loras

Northwestern instead of Bethel remains debatable to me. The MIAC order will work itself out soon.

Midwest Region (Week 1 rank)
1 (1). Chicago
2 (3). Carthage
3 (2). Wisconsin-Whitewater
4 (4). Wisconsin-Eau Claire
5 (5). Wisconsin-Stevens Point
6 (NR). Aurora
7 (NR). Concordia Wisconsin
8 (NR). Millikin

I still like UWW over Carthage despite UWW’s stumbles last weekend. I also had lengthy internal debates about teams 6-8, especially where to slot Millikin. In the end I had Stout ahead of Millikin and the rest flowed from there. I understand the logic behind the official order, but the pivot point that dictated my order makes more sense to me.

Top 4 in other regions
Great Lakes: Calvin; Muskingum; Ohio Northern; Transylvania.
Mid-Atlantic: Johns Hopkins; Susquehanna; Carnegie Mellon; Juniata.
New England: Tufts; Babson; Wesleyan; Wellesley.
New York: Stockton; Clarkson; Ithaca; NYU.
South: Emory; Berry; Randolph-Macon; Birmingham-Southern.
West: Trinity (Texas); Claremont-Mudd-Scripps; Colorado College; Texas Dallas.

-Ricky Nelson

10/29/19: WC wins ARC outright, GU clinches share in SLIAC

ARC
Wartburg 3, Buena Vista 0 WC outhit BVU, .271 to ,087.

MWC
St. Norbert 3, Beloit 0 SNC’s Van Hiel hit 12-1-18.

SLIAC
Greenville 3, MacMurray 0 GU’s Finch hit 13-2-19.
Blackburn 3, Fontbonne 2 BC’s Wiegand: 14 kills, 5 blocks.

Nonconference
UW-Eau Claire 3, St. Scholastica 0 UWEC outhit CSS, .512 to .063.
Central 3, Graceland 1 CC’s Larson: 11 kills.

Top 25 upset watch
#5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, Redlands 0
Otterbein 3, #10 Ohio Northern 2
#15 Muskingum 3, Marietta 0
#17 Babson 3, Wellesley 2

-Ricky Nelson

2019 AVCA Week 9 poll: Chicago nearly unanimous at No. 1

Chicago received 75 of 78 first place votes to remain atop the AVCA Week 9 poll. No. 2 Emory picked up one first place vote while No. 7 Johns Hopkins accounted for the remaining two.

Rounding out the top five in the Week 9 poll were No. 3 Carthage, No. 4 Calvin and No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

Other Central and Midwest region teams in the Week 9 top 25: No. 11 Saint Benedict; No. 12 Augsburg; No. 16 Wisconsin-Whitewater; No. 22 St. Thomas; No. 25 Washington-St. Louis.

Central and Midwest region teams receiving votes this week: St. Olaf; Wisconsin-Eau Claire; Gustavus Adolphus.

My Week 9 top 10 had St. Thomas instead of Berry.

-Ricky Nelson

10/28/19: League tourneys are nigh

Chill before conference seeding is settled next week.

-Ricky Nelson

2019 Week 2 regional rankings: My take

This is what I think the second regional rankings should be in the Central and Midwest regions. Comments and debate welcomed.

Central Region
1. St. Thomas
2. St. Olaf
3. Saint Benedict
4. Augsburg
5. Washington-St. Louis
6. Wartburg
7. Loras
8. Bethel

Midwest Region
1. Chicago
2. Wisconsin-Whitewater
3. Carthage
4. Wisconsin-Eau Claire
5. Wisconsin-Stevens Point
6. Wisconsin-Oshkosh
7. Wisconsin-Stout
8. Aurora

My regional ranking prep document

-Ricky Nelson

Ricky Nelson’s 2019 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). Chicago 24-1 W: Hope. 
2 (3,5). Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 22-3 [None]. 
3 (4,3). Emory 23-2 W: Wisconsin-Whitewater; Susquehanna.
4 (2,2). Calvin 20-2 W: [None]. L: Hope.
5 (6,8). Johns Hopkins 25-0 [None].
6 (9,8). Trinity (Texas) 29-4 W: Colorado College.
7 (8,4). Carthage 23-3 [None].
8 (5,6). Colorado College 28-3 W: [None]. L: Trinity (Texas).
9 (10,11). Ohio Northern 22-4 W: Heidelberg.
10 (NR,22). St. Thomas (Minn.) 25-4 [None].
Dropped out: No. 7 Wisconsin-Whitewater (21-6).

The 2019 Conference Tourneys page is starting to get filled in.

-Ricky Nelson

10/27/19: Monmouth earns 4th MWC win

MWC
Monmouth 3, Beloit 0 MC’s Cook: 11 kills.

Top 25 upset watch
#3 Emory 3, #24 Susquehanna 2
#6 Colorado College 3, Texas Lutheran 1
#6 Colorado College 3, Austin 0
#9 Trinity (Texas) 3, Dallas 0
#9 Trinity (Texas) 3, Southwestern 1
#24 Susquehanna 3, Roanoke 0

-Ricky Nelson

10/26/19: Cornell, St. Thomas clinch at least shares of league titles

Hope Tri
#1 Chicago, #20 Hope, Alma
#20 Hope 3, Alma 1; #1 Chicago 3, #20 Hope 1; #1 Chicago 3, Alma 0.

Emory Invite
#3 Emory, #7 UW-Whitewater, #24 Susquehanna, Saint Mary’s (Ind.), Roanoke
#3 Emory 3, Roanoke 0; #24 Susquehanna 3, #7 UW-Whitewater 0; #3 Emory 3, #7 UW-Whitewater 1; #24 Susquehanna 3, Saint Mary’s (Ind.) 0.

Illinois Wesleyan Classic
UW-Eau Claire, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Platteville, Millikin, Illinois Wesleyan, Augustana
Illinois Wesleyan 3, UW-Platteville 0; UW-Eau Claire 3, Millikin 0; Millikin 3, UW-Platteville 1; UW-Oshkosh 3, Augustana 1; UW-Oshkosh 3, Illinois Wesleyan 2; UW-Eau Claire 3, Augustana 1.

Concordia Wisconsin Invite
UW-Stevens Point, UW-Stout, Concordia Wisconsin, Carroll
Concordia Wisconsin 3, UW-Stout 2; UW-Stevens Point 3, Carroll 2; Concordia Wisconsin 3, UW-Stevens Point 0; UW-Stout 3, Carroll 1.

St. Scholastica Tri
UW-River Falls, St. Scholastica, Crown
UW-River Falls 3, Crown 0; UW-River Falls 3, St. Scholastica 2.

Wheaton Tri
Wheaton, Illinois Tech, Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo 3, Illinois Tech 0; Wheaton 3, Illinois Tech 0; Wheaton 3, Kalamazoo 1.

Mount Mary Invite
MSOE, Finlandia, Mount Mary, Robert Morris-Chicago, Holy Family, Dayspring Bible
Robert Morris-Chicago 3, MSOE 0; Mount Mary 3, Finlandia 1; MSOE 3, Holy Family 0; Robert Morris-Chicago 3, Finlandia 0.

MIAC
#12 Saint Benedict 3, Gustavus Adolphus 1 CSB’s H. Weiss hit 17-1-30.
#13 Augsburg 3, Bethel 2 AU’s Evans: 16 kills, 6 blocks.
#22 St. Thomas 3, Hamline 1 UST’s Anetipa: 55 assists.
St. Olaf 3, Macalester 1 SOC’s Rodriguez: 14 digs, 6 aces.
St. Catherine 3, Saint Mary’s 1 SCU’s Cutts: 12 kills, 7 blocks.
Concordia 3, Carleton 0 Concordia outhit Carleton, .301 to -.021.

ARC
Dubuque 3, Simpson 0 UD outhit SC, .330 to .090.
Loras 3, Central 1 LC’s Kinney: 17 kills, 14 digs.
Coe 3, Buena Vista 1 CC’s Teeple: 59 assists, 18 digs.
Nebraska Wesleyan 3, Luther 1 NWU’s Jensen: 13 kills, 11 digs.

NACC
Dominican 3, Wisconsin Lutheran 1 DU’s Sinickaite: 17 kills.
Lakeland 3, Concordia Chicago 0 LU’s Bishop: 13 kills, 11 digs.
Benedictine 3, Edgewood 2 BU’s Griffith: 16 kills.
Marian 3, Rockford 0 MU’s Dreifuerst: 14 kills, 10 digs.

UMAC
Northwestern 3, Martin Luther 0 UNW outhit MLC, .371 to .056.
Minnesota Morris 3, Northland 0 UMM outhit NC, .425 to .026.
St. Scholastica 3, Crown 0 CSS’ Schermann: 15 kills.
UW-Superior 3, North Central 0 UWS outhit NCU, .300 to -.033.

MWC
Cornell 3, Illinois College 2 CC’s Light: 17 kills, 8 blocks.
Grinnell 3, Monmouth 2 GC’s Kuhn: 29 kills, 13 digs.
Lake Forest 3, Lawrence 0 LFC outhit LU, .320 to .061.

SLIAC
Greenville 3, Blackburn 0 GU’s Smith: 14 kills, 16 digs.
Greenville 3, Spalding 1 GU’s Smith: 13 kills, 19 digs, 5 aces.
Webster 3, Fontbonne 0 WU’s Borik hit 11-1-16.
Webster 3, Principia 0 WU’s Farrah: 25 digs.
Westminster 3, Fontbonne 0 WC’s Wanyonyi: 12 kills, 15 digs.
Westminster 3, Principia 0 WC’s Wanyonyi: 15 kills, 11 digs.
Spalding 3, Iowa Wesleyan 1 SU’s Summers: 5 kills, 23 assists, 16 digs, 7 aces.
MacMurray 3, Eureka 0 MC outhit EC, .267 to -.024.
Blackburn 3, Iowa Wesleyan 1 BC’s Swedberg: 31 digs.

Nonconference
UW-La Crosse 3, North Park 2 UWL’s Lansink hit 22-2-36.
Maranatha Baptist 3, Emmaus 0 MBU outhit EBC, .356 to -.108.

Top 25 upset watch
#5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, Occidental 0
#9 Trinity (Texas) 3, #6 Colorado College 0
#6 Colorado College 3, St. Thomas (Texas) 0
#8 Johns Hopkins 3, Ursinus 0
#9 Trinity (Texas) 3, Centenary (La.) 0
#10 Berry 3, Centre 1
#11 Ohio Northern 3, Capital 0
#14 Tufts 3, Middlebury 0
#15 Muskingum 3, Otterbein 1
#16 Juniata 3, Arcadia 0
Randolph-Macon 3, #16 Juniata 2
#17 Babson 3, Wentworth 1
#17 Babson 3, Bridgewater St. 0
#18 Carnegie Mellon 3, Westminster (Pa.) 2
#19 Wesleyan 3, Hamilton 1
#21 Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 3, Lasell 0
#21 Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 3, Saint Joseph’s (Maine) 0
#23 Transylvania 3, Defiance 1
#23 Transylvania 3, Olivet 1

-Ricky Nelson