Jumpstarting the Blog!

I apologize for the delay in updates. It has been an whirlwind of a semester, wrapping up my academic career and getting a taste of what the real world (which is extremely dark and scary) has to offer. I suppose the easiest way to do this is to do an interview... with myself! Feel free to shoot me any additional questions, and I will answer them in future blogs. I am going to do my best to start posting more frequently now that things are stabilizing.

Where have you been???

Well, the last 3 months I've been wrapping up my bachelor's degree in Sports Management, and although the workload has not been too hectic, a few personal issues have ended up taking up A LOT of my time. On top of that, planning for life after graduation has certainly taken up a lot of time as well.

Have you been playing volleyball?

Yes and no. I've played once to twice a week. I helped out the women's volleyball team here at the school once a week, and played in a Wednesday night league. I did a few adult tournaments as well, and when the weather was warmer I'd play grass with the guys here. I didn't play as much as I'd like to, but I suppose I could have used a bit of a break.

So what's the plan after graduation - are you Europe-bound?

Sadly, with the economy being as it is I will not be attempting to go overseas right away. My student loans simply amount to too much, and although the majority of people that go overseas get paid, stories like all-time digs leader Tony Ker getting screwed over is enough to keep me from going until I at least take care of all my private loans. Regardless of whether or not I get paid, the loan companies will still expect to collect, and as I have people who graciously co-signed my loans I owe it to them to take the safe route and make sure I'm able to re-pay my debt.

That being said, there are two routes: Graduate school and work. I consider myself very well networked in the Chicago area, but find that most job opportunities through these measures have only pulled up jobs that I probably could have gotten without the degree - at wages that will not cover all the bills, or at best make the minimum payments for my loans. One or two interviews this Thanksgiving break may prove to be different, but nothing's etched in stone. With any luck, I'll get a call or two next week, and begin work immediately once arriving home.

Although I hadn't thought too much about it previously, I decided to e-mail every Division I women's volleyball coach that had a graduate assistant on their staff, simply asking for information on applying for the position. I was pleased to hear back from four coaches in the span of 48 hours, which is a nice change of pace from getting very little feedback while looking for jobs. Although the locations aren't exactly ideal ( I would like to be closer to home to be with family, specifically the 5-year old brother ), I really liked what a few of the coaches had to say, and feel that unless a really good job opportunity comes up, I will be enrolling in graduate school in the fall, working towards my MBA and hopefully helping a Division I program to become better than it was when I first got there!

Does this mean that you're giving up on playing overseas?

I have come to terms that I will be going overseas for the experience and not the pay. If I can stay in shape, continue to work hard, work my debt down and get a small nest-egg to cover my loan payments for x amount of months that I could play overseas, I would love to go over there and break even once in the next year or two. In the meantime, I will play A/AA USAV indoor ball, and continue to work towards playing 'professionally' (although if you read Hans Stolfus' blog, you realize there are only about 8-10 males that actually make a living playing sand full-time).

So what should we expect from this blog now that your collegiate career is over?

There are plenty of things I want to cover:

- Interviews with professional players

- In-season updates from various D-III players

- Personal updates

- Any news in the volleyball community and my thoughts on them

I still take requests. Despite heading back to Chicago, I do want to keep tabs on the Newbury program, and intend to keep in touch with the players to get the latest on what's going on. So if you have any suggestions, let me know and I'll see what I can do!

It's been a long break, but looking forward to writing on a regular basis again!

One Year Later.

Tough day today.

There are some memories that just linger in your head like it was yesterday, regardless of how long ago they actually occurred. One year ago today (from tomorrow actually), I was sitting in a co-workers kitchen doing some cold calls when I got a call from the former SID of our college. Her voice was trembling, and I could tell something was wrong. "They can't find Dave" she said, and as we got farther into the conversation I began to see the writing on the wall. I left work, went home, and immediately started hitting the internet looking for updates, calling teammates, and trying to obtain more information. I was like a zombie at that computer at times, simply finding the most recent story to be published, and clicking refresh every minute.

Towards the end of the day, I began to realize I had to simply let time take its toll as the search party scoured the river, well above its normal level due to 2 weeks worth of rain, looking for any sign that perhaps he climbed out and was wandering around the area. Unfortunately, the worst-case scenario unfolded, and the next day it was confirmed that we lost him.

Coach Dave Hildebrandt changed my life in ways I probably didn't appreciate until it was too late to tell him. When he first got in contact with me, I was working while going to community college, settling for B's, not really heading in any specific direction, pretty much putting my life on cruise control and doing what was needed to get by. He said he was going to be in town to visit friends, and we ended up meeting and discussing the possibility of me transferring to Newbury to play for his team. A few months later I visited and knew that it was the place for me.

Fast forward a bit, and during my two years at Newbury with him I really developed both on and off the court. He constantly pushed his players to excel in the classroom, which was evident with the team GPA earning our team All-Academic awards. A lot of people would critique him for his lack of knowledge of the game, and I would be lying if I wasn't in that group at times. However, Dave more than made up for that with his ability to constantly challenge his players to continue raising the bar, never settling for where they were at.

I won't name the player, and for some readers I probably won't have to. A teammate of mine played for him one year, and was not a big fan of him to say the least. Dave was probably harder on him than the rest of us, sometimes to the point where the teammate felt it was unfair. However, his progression as the season went on couldn't be denied, and that was a key part in our run to the conference championship match, finishing a school-best 6th in the Nation that season. When the coaching switch happened last season, the same discipline that brought us success previously simply wasn't there (a testament to Dave moreso than a knock to the current regime), and it showed with our mid-season collapse.

When word spread that Dave applied for the Elms position, most of us were enraged. We just finished our best season ever, most of the core was returning, and he was going to leave us? There was even a meeting for the returning players discussing going to the A.D to say if he didn't get the job at Elms, we wouldn't want to play for him due to a lack of trust.

I cannot think of a time I was being more selfish.

It is no secret that Newbury does not pay well compared to other schools. The gym is rented from off-campus. Dave had to work admissions in order to obtain full-time status. That being said. Elms offered him a full-time position strictly coaching, with 2 gyms to practice in. How could he not take that job? Any of us would have done the same thing in his situation.

I stopped talking to Dave for awhile once he accepted the Elms position. However, I was in town for business later that summer, and stopped into the office to chat with him a bit, as I heard it was coincidentally his last day at Newbury. He told me about his upcoming camping trip, we talked some sports, and had a really nice conversation for an hour. At one point, he said he wished I would have told him I was coming, he had about 14 Newbury warmups that he could have gave me. I jokingly said he'd need to keep them, as he'd probably want to wear them and look at himself in the mirror when he was at home, missing being around us.

Little did I know it was going to be the other way around. One week later, he was gone.

I look back with fond memories of my time playing for him. So many different stories come to mind:

* Freshman year, Sacred Heart, I play atrociously the first set. We're walking back onto the court and I ask him if there's anything I can do differently. "You better stop playing like shit" what his response. I wasn't too pleased at the time, and although we lost in a 5-set heartbreaker, I took his advice.

* Playing at Lasell. I'm cheating out of base for defense because their middles are tipping into the seams, and I pick up 3 digs quickly. The 4th one they adjust and hit into my normal position. Dave gets off the bench and begins SCREAMING at me about it. Rather than nod my head and take it, I go over to explain why I'm doing it, and it gets ugly. I hop back on the court and proceed to play out of my mind. Dave tries to cheer me on, but I want nothing to do with him at the time.

The teammates loved this. I was given the tag of "Golden Boy" as most of them felt I could do no wrong with Dave. The irony in that is Dave and I were VERY different in our philosophies, and I would spend hours in his office doing work-study, arguing with him back and forth about volleyball, our team, and other teams. Dave and I didn't get in each other's faces at practice because we were able to agree to disagree, and therefore didn't bring any of those debates into practice. Teammates never saw these arguments. I think they got a kick out of seeing us go at it for a change.

One year later, Dave and I still would argue about that game. He's gone, but I guarantee you neither of us have changed our stances. I'd still cheat in the seam if we replayed that match, and he'd still give me hell for it.

I could go on and on. This post is getting long though, so I'll get to my last and favorite memory of Dave. We were in the second round of the NECVA tournament in 2008, 5th set against former #1 in the nation Nazareth. Down 13-10, we mount a comeback off some great serves by Jay Neveu, capped by opposite Josh Aberly HOUSING 2-time All-American Tom Maving to seal the match.

I have video of this, and the angle is perfect: You can see everyone's reaction. The teammates and I would watch it, laugh at someone's reaction, rewind and find someone else to watch. Everyone goes berserk. Coach Dave jumps off the bench, starts running towards us, and drops all his papers from his clipboard/binder. He proceeds to scrape them all up, then run back to Coach Bob with them pumping his fist.

Today, we see coaches too often focused on their self-image, reacting how they want people to see them rather than how they really feel. There was a great article on ESPN about this, and I completely agree that it takes away from the integrity of the game. Dave had many qualities, but his best was that he was the most genuine, passionate coach you'll ever meet. That moment where he ran onto the court and spilled his papers was a perfect example: He knew how coaches are supposed to act, but his excitement simply was too much to hold it in. There were coaches that were more experienced, more talented, and more successful, but Dave squeezed out every bit of his potential, building the worst team in the nation (losing 56 games in a row at one point) into a nationally-ranked contender.

He also used his passion to continually try to expand Division III Men's Volleyball, and although he may not be the main factor, he certainly did everything he could to help us get a National Championship, which will be effective in 2011.

I respected Dave as a coach and friend well before his death, but I didn't get the full picture of what he did for me until I went back to Newbury and he wasn't there. His door was ALWAYS open, and although I took advantage of it, I never realized how lucky I was to have those opportunities.

Rest in peace. Your impact on my life is not forgotten.

A Rough Day, With a Rougher Day to Come...

The irony about me is with one leg longer than the other, standing in a place for an extended period of time can really mess with my body. I played 24 games this weekend and felt pretty good afterwards: The last two days, work has required me to stand looking down at small objects for 8 hours each day, and I feel like I've been hit by a train!

This did not bode well for me in my co-ed doubles league, as I played TERRIBLE as we dropped a set, which would be our third loss on the season. I may sound like a snob complaining about "dropping" to 25-3, but when you're tied at 12 and proceed to have four hitting errors in a row, it's disappointing knowing that playing even average for yourself most likely would have secured the win. I suppose I shouldn't complain going 5-1 on the day. Next week is the last one for the regular season, and going 3-1 will secure 1st, although being greedy I want/expect the 4-0. I am lucky to be able to click with the significant other on the court as well as we do off of it!

That being said, August 3rd is beginning to creep up on me, and I can't help but feel depressed knowing we're so close to the one-year anniversary of Coach Dave's passing. I will be helping Bob Vilsoet at the opening practice for the Harper Women's Volleyball team, and although I hope that it'll be a distraction from the pain I'll feel, I'm sure doing some coaching myself will only remind me more of him. Time will tell I suppose.

Anyways, I should shower and head to bed, just felt like posting as I'm trying to get back on track updating this thing. I will try to write something tomorrow as well.

A Typically-Overdue Update - The Ups and Downs.

As usual, I find myself flying all over the place this summer and by the time I get to sit down at the computer and have the ability to blog, I find myself wanting to check my mail and go to bed.

However, tonight I find myself still flying high after a wonderful weekend of volleyball and spending time with friends. The 20th annual Spike for Kids tournament was Saturday and Sunday, and this was the 5th year I had participated.

I look back on the first year I played it with my friends Kevin and Juan. We got on the court, looked at the other team, and started muttering to ourselves how easy it was going to be. Funny thing was, they had won it before (other than the Luau, this is the probably the most competitive grass 3's tournament of the year for IL), and proceeded to annihilate us. We made it out of pool play, but was bounced out of the playoffs the first round. The next year I didn't make it out of pool play, the only time I've been sent packing before playoffs since I started playing grass touranments.

Fast forward to this weekend, and things have changed a bit. Last year we made it to the semis, but ran out of steam and ended up settling for 3rd. Josh and I picked up a new setter who played on the Cameroon National Team, and he did not disappoint. We faced the defending champions in the semi-finals, and games were to 21. Two of their players were on the team that beat us in the USAV BB National Championship in May, as well as the team that beat Josh's team in the Waupaca Semis, so redemption was necessary. One of the closest matches I've ever played, we won in straight sets, 24-22 28-26.

We advance to the finals, where we face a team we split with in pool play. They had a hammer of an outside, as well as a strong setter and big opposite, so it was going to be a tough one. They came out very strong, taking the first set 21-14. We re-grouped for the second and edged out a 21-19 victory to force it to a 3rd game.

Although my defense felt great all tournament, my hitting was definitely our weak point, as I hadn't played much rightside this summer and was struggling to get my timing down. Luckily, Set 3 starts off well, as I put down 2 straight kills down the line, then make a diving left-handed pop-up to Josh who set Patrick on the rightside for a 3-0 lead. We never looked back, and after two HUGE digs in a row by Josh to give us match point, we took a 15-11 victory to win the tournament.

This was by far the biggest victory of my career. It seems like just yesterday I was at the Luau (the actual year was 2005) and watching the Open Division in complete awe. My friend Orest, a veteran of the local tournaments, was sitting beside me as I basically admitted that these guys killed any trace of an ego I had. He said that he remembered how they played at my age and that I just needed to be patient.

Sure enough, 4 years later and the work seems to be paying off.

The next day, Juan and I teamed up with the girlfriends for the co-ed 4's, really just playing for fun and not really having expectations. Although we rotated and had everyone hit, our defense was very strong, and we ended up winning the 2nd highest division, despite the fact that most teams didn't rotate and had the guys blasting away everytime. So I ended up 2-for-2 on the weekend, thanks to some great play by some incredible teammates!

Aside from that, I've played a few pro sand tournaments, taking home a 9th and a 17th. Not the best finishes, but I'm winning matches at each tournament, so it's nice to know I can at least hang in there with the big guns. On top of that, it's been another eye-opening season as to what I need to work on the most, and although I'm having a blast and don't want the sand season to end, I can't WAIT to hit the weight room and start the P90X workout this fall.

With one month to go before heading back to school, I look forward to cramming in as much volleyball as possible before REALLY taking an off-season and staying of the court for a few months. It's literally been about 5 years since I've stayed away from any sort of competition, and although at Newbury I used to play a lot of grass/do the fall season with the teammates, I plan on really disciplining myself short-term so that I can reap the benefits next summer. I'm in talks with a few potential sponsors, and if all goes well, I should be traveling around the country in 2010 competing in AVP/EVP events. A lot can happen before that though, so for now I'll take it one step at a time and enjoy the last few weekends in Chicago.

More to come at another time.

Italy vs. USA Recap

Brief observations, as my better half is waiting patiently for me. Italy came back from losing the first set 25-20 to winning the next 3 20-25, 21-25, 24-26.

observations:

* 2nd OH is definitely a liability. Salmon wasn't necessarily a go-to guy, but you never felt like he was killing your team the way I felt watching Jablonsky struggle tonight against Italy. Couldn't block, most kills were tools that could have gone either way, backrow was par at best. Touzinsky was put back in the game late in the 3rd, but the momentum had shifted by that point. I really hope that Anderson/Rooney stay healthy/motivated, because I just don't feel comfortable with anyone else from the newer generation of National Team pipeliners.

* What I'm surprised no one touched on is the 2nd middle. Kudos to the setter that came in for Italy late in the 1st set (#5) for running a FAST offense. Middles were unstoppable, and were getting solos all day for the pin hitters. Savani (#11) was a monster for Italy, and the lefty opp (#7) was a workhorse as well, going over triple blocks a time or two. The pace of the sets were near unstoppable, and by the 4th set the U.S had no answer. Hein/Smith both show a lot of potential, and Hein seems to already be there on the offensive end. However, until they can close a block on the regular basis, it won't matter how much height we have on the sides.

* Stanley looks TIRED. I feel like Priddy mentioned previously that he was worried about Clay not taking a break, and my thoughts are the same. His serves were all over the place, he was hitting into blocks, and just never seemed to hit his stride. Patak is one of the brightest prospects we have, why not give him more time? Billings also has a ton of experience from the 04 games.

* Rooney has grown A LOT as a player since last year. Very impressed with his confidence compared to last year when they played Bulgaria. His bic's were unstoppable, and I look forward to watching him continue to progress. However...One of the things that stuck out about last year's team (perhaps even moreso now after watching tonight's match) was the mental toughness and poise they showed. No matter how bad of a run they were on, they came to the middle. Every player. Every time. This year? Rooney shows some fire when things go well (Had a FANTASTIC pancake, sprung up, and fired a cross-court bomb to the corner), but when things went wrong, he was always going away from the team, obviously pissed off, even kicking the side panel once in frustration. I understand the age, and I realize he'll get better with time, but if he wants to be a go-to player NOW, then he's gotta grow up a bit faster, because it seemed like the overall camaraderie wasn't there.

* Crucial play that I'd like others' opinion on: 21-23, 3rd set, Patak bombs a shot to my corner (I was in reserved seating) that I'm pretty sure went in. Line judge called it in, but up ref over-ruled it. No replay on the jumbotron. Am I crazy or was that an ace? HUGE momentum shift from being down only 1 coming off an ace compared to missing a serve giving the other team set point.

* Hansen seemed to set well, although his block is a liability. I realize people on the board were never fans of Ball's blocking, but Hansen looked lost on there for some stretches (He did have some great solos from time to time). I liked his leadership, I think if he continues to develop his game he could definitely become something special. Suxho came in late in game 4, had a great serving run to get them back in the game, but I felt his sets had no tempo (granted, it's hard to warm up in that type of scenario).

* Lee looked great. It's nice to know we have one staple in the middle. If Hein continues to work on his defense we could have a nice 1-2 combo, with Holt ready to jump in as well.

* Anyone have any insight to Anderson's absense from the roster? I hadn't checked their final roster and didn't know until watching warm-ups he wasn't there, what a huge disappointment. Hopefully it's for strategic purposes only.

* Italy's offense/serve receive looked fantastic. #11 (Savani) was a monster, the lefty opp was consistent, and 15 and 17 were great in the middle (15's back 1 was killer). The times USA were doing well always seemed to be in sync with getting them out of sync regarding serve receive. If they want to get the split, we'll need to take their passing out of system so they can't continue to create solo blocks.


That's it for now. Looking forward to match 2!

Italy vs. USA Tonight!

We are less than two hours away from the first serve of Italy vs. USA tonight! Tonight I'll be in the reserved seating, then tomorrow back in general admission. The Sears Centre is a pretty nice facility and viewing will be good from virtually every seat.

I am a bit upset with how I dropped the ball on obtaining a press pass for the event as I could have with some work, but unfortunately my schedule has been unbelievably hectic since my return to Chicago this summer. This has been a true eye-opener to the real world, and although I'm rising to the occasion it sure does make it difficult to fit everything into my schedule. Regardless, I do plan on beginning to write more frequently from this point on, starting with a recap of tonight's match, so keep your eyes peeled for it!

Prediction: USA in 4. I have heard nothing but good things about the EXTREMELY tall line-up with Rooney/Anderson/Hein/Patak. Talk about stealing Russia's style! Last year vs. Bulgaria, the first night was composed of the starting line-up, with the second having more reserves get playing time. It will certainly be a different look than last year, but I look forward to seeing the future of USA Volleyball, with a lot of guys in their mid-20's starting to hit their stride!

USAV Nationals - 5-27-09

How it took me 4 days to find the complimentary computer at our hotel is as mind-boggling to you as it is to me. Regardless, plenty of things are worth discussing as we're at the half-way point of Nationals!

First, let's discuss the venue:

* The stadium itself is fantastic. The convention center has 3 domes which makes for a cool interior. As a spectator, this has been the best in regards to set-up out of the 3 I've been to now (Austin and Atlanta being the others). Ample seating at each court, with the stands for the Open courts being much more spectator friendly, as you can view all four courts from any of the "grandstands". Last year, the open courts were cut off from each other, making viewing all the games somewhat difficult.

* As a player, it is not the friendliest of setups. First off, the netting in between courts is 9 feet at best, so players are constantly bouncing balls over them in warmups, causing for an overwhelming amount of replays. Courts seem to have more deadspots than in previous years, and although it doesn't get much better at most big centers, the lack of padding underneath the sport court causes for aches and pains. Even with a two day rest between co-ed and Men's ball, my body is needing more and more care before/after matches.

* The city itself is interesting... I will try to not hold a grudge that virtually every food vendor was shut down on Sunday/Monday. Construction right now is BRUTAL. I never thought I'd see more construction than I do in Chicago, but Minneapolis is certainly trying to one-up us. The nightlife isn't nearly as entertaining as it was in Austin, but there are some nice hotspots like Brit's and Bootleggers, and the homeless population obviously is a bit less aggressive compared to Atlanta. I'd put it behind Austin but ahead of Atlanta.

As for volleyball, I have to say I was a bit disappointed with the Open level. I realize that some of these players are professionals (the women's A2 teams being there/a few men on the National Training Team Roster included), and maybe they use this for socializing more than competing, but watching players with physical ability mail it in is depressing. One match you'd see some absolutely fantastic ball, an example being the Paul Mitchell/Creole 5-setter where Paul Mitchell overcame a 2-0 deficit, winning the 5th 21-19. Later in the day, Creole's players are goofing around, half-assing their swings and getting smoked by a much weaker squad that simply wants it more. Too many matches lacked passion from both teams, and I honestly enjoyed watching AA/A ball much more. Although the physical ability wasn't as good, these players wanted it, leading to much more exciting volleys.

Individually, I had fun playing co-ed with friends, we weren't the most competitive team, but we gave it our all and most importantly we had a lot of fun. We took 5th, losing to a team that lost in the finals. The people that organized the team hadn't won a set in the previous two years they had competed, so they couldn't be happier with how we played! I don't get to play with them too much, so I'm glad that we had a chance to hang out both on and off the court.

Today was the first day of our men's team competition, and despite our best efforts we went 2-0. Still working out the kinks, but I'm confident that we'll come out strong tomorrow now that we've gotten our nerves in order. Great comeback in the 2nd match from being down 7-3 in the third set, so hopefully we use that momentum to continue our success tomorrow!

8 AM games, so I'm watching the Lakers/Nuggets game then getting to bed early. More updates tomorrow!

Minneapolis: Here we Come! USAV Nationals

Hello all,

I'm about to begin our drive from Chicago and Minneapolis, and could not be more excited. I'll be there the entire week, and hope to take some good video as well as provide an inside perspective of all the festivities. If anyone has a specific request, feel free to e-mail me at Bpmcder@gmail.com, otherwise I have quite a few interviews/topics I hope to cover already.

Hopefully I'll see some of you there!

The Grassroots of Volleyball in the United States: How Do We Fix it?

There is a thread on Volleytalk (link is http://volleytalk.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=menvb&action=display&thread=26690) discussing an article that was posted in the most recent USA Volleyball magazine about whether or not the sport is dying. This is not the first time I've thought about the sport and its lack of promotion in certain areas, so I figured I'd write a quick blog on it.

Going outside the box and switching gears a bit from the thread's tone:

I brought up the point on THE NET LIVE's last show that the sport here seems to struggle to be appealing to younger kids (5-8 would be the age I'm referring to, although I'd even add a year or two on the top end). It is a painfully fundamentally demanding sport. Unlike soccer, where a kid can completely whiff kicking the ball, yet play continues as the other 20 children follow him/her around the field, volleyball has too many stops when serves are missed, people can't pass, etc.

Basketball was my favorite sport growing up. I remember being 5, running downstairs for christmas, and seeing the plastic 4-foot basketball hoop that I could play with. I spent countless hours on it. Fast forward a few years where I had the Chicago Bulls wooden backboard with an actual metal rim that could hang about 5 1/2 feet above ground on the back of my bedroom door. Even though I was too small to be able to make a basket on a regulation hoop, I was still able to play a version of the sport at a level that kept it somewhat interesting.

Even with Baseball, you have t-ball to give children the ability to hit that would never be able to hit a ball that was pitched to them.

What do we have with volleyball?

Even within the sport, at the club level we realize that once a player finds a club that they're happy with, the odds of them leaving are slim (and yes, I realize that the legality behind not being able to recruit a player from one club to another comes into play). Still, if a child falls in love at the age of 5 with soccer, baseball, basketball, or any other sport, what are the odds they'll be pulled away by volleyball at 10-13? Our sport is coming into play much later than other sports, and other than cases where older siblings/parents play it, their exposure to it compared to the rest is minimal.

How do we counter this?

If I was in charge, I'd be looking for a way to make the sport adaptable for younger kids. I would create a sport court that could be broken down which had smaller dimensions for a court. A net system that was MUCH shorter. A ball that stayed in the air a bit longer (lighter balls are nice, but it doesn't change the time that children need to be able to react to the ball - perhaps something in between a volley lite and a beach ball?)

I have no doubt that people with a little money, a lot of time, and some creativity can find a way to make the sport more child-friendly without sacrificing the basic principles of the game, as well as the overall fundamentals used. If you had a smaller court, a net low enough where children could put it over on a regular basis, and a ball that moved a bit slower in order to make it easier to keep it in play, volleys would be longer and the appeal to play it would increase.

Just my thoughts on the topic.

Loss of a Great Man: R.I.P Wayman Tisdale

I apologize for the lack of updates - I've been trying to get my ducks in a row since my return to Chicago, so my volleyball happenings have been a bit sidetracked. I assure you I'll have quite a few posts coming up in the near future, so don't take this off the bookmarks quite yet!

I did want to put a brief update regarding some sad news I read about today: Former NBA player Wayman Tisdale passed away this morning at the age of 44. Although he was a great player on the court, his personality and impact he had off the court was absolutely awe-inspiring. I beat this point to death constantly, but in a time where professional sports is littered with greedy athletes where steroids and run-ins with the law run on the ESPN ticker frequently, stories like Wayman Tisdale's are refreshing.

I had always been a fan of his, but reading this 2008 article (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?page=tisdale-081203), I found myself with a much greater respect for him as a person.

"You can never give up because quitting is not an option. No matter how dark it is or how weak you get, until you take that last breath, you must fight."

--Wayman Tisdale

You will be missed.

More updates on USAV Nationals, sand season, and other topics soon.

An Interview with an Olympian: Chatting with Brook Billings

As a 19-year old that just began to really get into the sport of volleyball, I used every single source to further my knowledge of the game, as well as network with as many players as possible. I may not use myspace often anymore, but a) it was how I got in touch with Coach Dave, so technically without it I may have never found the path I did, and b) many professional players ended up having profiles. I friended a lot of Olympians, and most accepted, but actual discussions were rare.

This was not the case with Brook Billings. 

I remember watching a video of the United States' AMAZING comeback against Greece in the 2004 Olympics, and Billings had an absolute cannon of an arm on the right side. Stanley is probably the name that comes to mind for most current fans of USA Volleyball when thinking of opposites, but Billings was a crucial piece of the puzzle en route to a 4th place finish during those games, which at the time was a pretty big accomplishment for a team that was still finding their identity.

Upon friending Brook Billings, I asked him about how to improve my game, getting overseas, and other various topics. Not only did he answer, but he would answer quickly, and with long, detailed responses which he'd clearly put a lot of time and thought into.

Years later, I messaged him on facebook asking if he'd be willing to answer some questions for an interview, and although a lot of time had passed since our previous conversations, he was still the same guy he was the first time we had talked. If more elite athletes were like him, the professional sports world would be a better place.

Thank you for your time Brook. For the readers that aren't familiar with you, could you give a brief volleyball background? (College, Years played professionally, countries you played in, etc.)?

USC, 7 years in Europe and 1 summer in Puerto Rico. 7 years with Team USA...Vienna Austria, Osaka Japan, Eregli Turkey, 3 years Czestochowa Poland, Istanbul Turkey.

What are some of your favorite hobbies when not playing volleyball?

Surfing, Beach Volley, water skiing, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Laker Games!, Lounging at the pool, a little golf, some Tennis, Palm Springs and boating in Big Bear.

When you first began to play overseas, what was the biggest obstacle in regards to culture shock?

Def the language was an issue but I was also surrounded by Americans my first year. Getting paid and having some money in my pocket was a nice change. It also made playing more like a job and more stressful. Living so far away from family was hard as well. I think that is the main object that breaks a lot of players' careers. They aren't able to live so far away from loved one and friends and get super homesick. Its a hard thing to do...A lot of players also want to come over and just have fun while getting paid. Its not like that. Clubs expect you to be professional. 

What do you miss the most when you're not back in the States?

Of course my family and friends. Its hard to hear about family get togethers for the holidays while over here. Also missing a friends bday or even wedding and being so far away only to be see the photos after. I also miss going to Laker games and good mexican food!

What's one of your favorite things about the culture you currently reside in that isn't found in the United States?

I think having lived in Poland which is a 90% Catholic country and then living in Turkey which is a 90% Muslim country you learn to appreciate everyone's views and beliefs. Currently living in Turkey, to answer the question...I enjoy learning the History. Still seeing some of the ancient ruins through out the entire country is pretty amazing. I love the outdoor cafe's for coffee. It just has a different vibe than at home. people at home are always stop into Starbucks for a coffee on the road. here they take their time and enjoy the atmosphere. 

Can you give readers an idea of your typical off-day?

Two or three times a week we only have one training in the afternoon so I have a lot of free time. Its hard to say what I do on my "off days" because i'm not a cold weather guy. I tend to meet up with my friends from the team and their families to get coffee or hang out. I have been playing a lot of Uno with my friend Vladamir Grbic and his family in the evenings. its a great game to be with friends and hang with eachother. I like to go for walks and get outside when its not raining. I take a lot of naps as well. 

And how about days you have matches?

I'm kind of a supersticious guy and like to do things that have reflected good matches. Wake up and breakfast that is usually cereal and a banana with a big cup of coffee, If you haven't noticed by now... I'm addicted to coffee! I'll take a walk just to get out of the house/hotel and then come back and rest before lunch. After Lunch I will dark out my room and take a nap, granted it is a night match. after my nap I like to take a shower to wake up and pound a lot of water/powerade to hydrate. Maybe grab a sandwich or some sort of snack that will give me energy and then listen to music on my way to the match thinking about how I am going to enter the match. Jump and hit the ball high off the block, throwing my toss nice and high on my serve, and trying to grab the ball while blocking. Just little notes to myself to start focusing before warm ups.

Congratulations on being selected for the Preliminary World League Roster! It's been almost 9 years since you played a pivotal role in the United States' 4th place finish (Editor's Note: I completely botched this, I have no idea how I missed that. What I MEANT to say was it's been almost 5 years since playing a pivotal role in the 2004 Olympics, not the 2000 Olympics.) - What are the biggest changes you've made since that time, and what are your goals for the near future?

Thank you for the congratulations first of all. Its an honor to play for the National Team and I'm very happy that they still have trust in me to represent team USA in World League. I hope to be able to play my best and be a main guy on the squad this quad. 

Second, I've only played on the National Team for 7 years and the 4th place finish we in 2004. But you're right, I have not played much of a role on the team since those games. It was really hard not getting much of a chance to play these past 4 years...and the chances I did get I always felt that I had to show everything in one match. Stressful! but without a doubt I understood that there were 2 great players ahead of me and by no means was it a knock to my level of play. Clay Stanely and Gabe Gardner went out there and did it everyday for the team. 

I haven't changed much except gaining more knowledge of my own capabilities. I am learning every time I step on the court and trying to beat my worst enemy...my head. This game is just as mental as it is physical. 

My near goals are to start for the USA team this summer and just keep working hard. 

With leagues running almost year-round, what do you think is the biggest key in keeping your body from breaking down during the course of a season?

Lots and lots of ice and therapy. Resting on my off time is also going to prolong my career. Staying in the weight room is a must as well. If your muscles are weak then your joints are going to take on more stress...Joints are the problems that keep most athletes out. 

What's the best piece of advice you can give readers in developing as a volleyball player?

You can not stress hard work and communication enough. There are a ton of talented players that can get away without working hard but if you don't communicate on the court you are going to have a real hard time getting to the next level. The best thing my high school coach, Jon Lee, taught me was communication between players. 

What's next for you after volleyball?

I have no idea. I hope to meet the right girl and start a family. I would love to do something that helps people as a profession but one task at a time...and right now it is making as much money as possible with this sport to be able have a cushion till that opportunity comes along. 

To conclude, I found it interesting that even as one of the best players in the world, he admits that it can be difficult to win the battle against yourself mentally. I found it interesting that he's been to two countries with VERY different cultural backgrounds... it's probably been quite the eye-opener. It seems that he's been a key role in his team's success in Turkey this season, and I look forward to hopefully catching him with the USA team when they stroll into Chicago in July!

A Thank You.

I normally don't write about individual accomplishments of mine, but I'm going to change that for a moment to write about an award I received due heavily in part to a few people around me.

It's funny how certain things can just shoot a random memory back into your head. I was in Chipotle today and a Lucinda Williams (country singer most people probably have never heard of) song comes on. I have heard the song probably over a hundred times. This was the first time I had heard it in well over 10 years. The reason I remember it is because my mom and stepdad, divorced since 1999, used to play it all the time in our house in Villa Park. Immediately my mind starting racing towards memories of things that happened during that time. Quite the odd feeling, but kind of nice as well.

Tonight, I was awarded in my opinion the greatest award I've ever received, the 2009 Newbury Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. This states that I had the highest cumulative GPA of all student-athletes for the year. I had a feeling I may win it, but until they began the description of my career, I wasn't certain.

Immediately, my mind flashed to one specific memory: I was sitting in my living room, both biological parents sitting down with me (although it's not due to bad blood, this does not happen often). It is the summer of 2004, and one year after being an Illinois State Scholar graduating high school with a 3.5 GPA, I've come home from ISU with a 1.48 GPA. I was depressed, no longer interested in my major, and for the first time in my life, lacking direction of any sort. Most importantly, I was straight-up embarrassed. I had come close to meltdowns from time to time, but this was the first time I had to look my parents in the eye knowing that I had failed.

It has been an interesting 5 years. I have bounced around various jobs/career interests, and although I have had some stability in my direction as of lately, it wasn't always like this. For a parent, I cannot imagine the roller coaster I put them through, wondering if I'd ever find something I'd like to stick with. Even when I did with volleyball, my father was extremely nervous about my decision to rack up the debt it would take to come to Boston. Even with his lack of approval of the idea, he always supported me, as did the rest of my parents.

His nerves were a bit calmed when he sat down for lunch one day with Coach Dave Hildebrandt when I arrived at the school in January 2007. We went to Legal Seafood, and I basically sat there listening intently to the conversation my father and Dave were having. I can assure you that of all the things they discussed, the one thing that probably put my dad at ease was Dave's stress of good academics. When my father hugged me goodbye a day later and wished me luck, it was the first time I truly felt like a genuine comfort on his end with my decision.

Throughout the next few years, Dave helped me become a better player on the court, but more importantly helped my growth as a human being off of it. We didn't always see eye-to-eye, he didn't know the mechanics of the game all too well, but Dave was the poster child of a man making the most out of his abilities. There are people that had issues with Dave, and I'm sure many of them have some weight. However, everyone has their faults, and Dave's positives HEAVILY outweighed the negatives.

The loss of Dave this year has been harder on me than anything I have ever dealt with. Even though he was going to Elms, there is no doubt in my mind he would be just as willing to shoot the breeze with me on the phone as he did when I'd enter his office. I may not be appealing my final year anymore, but I know that if he was around, he would have been the first one to help me with the process. 

I don't know if I'll ever completely recover from his death. 

I worked hard to earn this award tonight, but the foundation to do so was built by both my parents and Dave. I wouldn't have done it without their constant support, in good times as well as bad.

This one's for them.

End of Season Reflections.

This is probably going to be one of the most difficult posts I have ever written. Not because I don't know what to write about: Frankly I could put 5,000-10,000 words down on this easily. However, I don't want to write in a manner that's just venting, I don't want to burn bridges or point fingers, and I don't want to turn this into a "woe is me" piece. The purpose is going to be to make observations of both self and team, and hopefully others can take something from it, whether to use the good for their own situation, avoid the bad, or simply have someone to relate to when dealing with rough situations.

We finished 24-13, which doesn't look bad on paper, but in my mind was a complete failure given our goals. In four spurts, we (in the correct order) went:

16-1

1-10

6-0

1-3

Peaks and Valleys anyone? So what went wrong?

Fingers were pointed everywhere. To an extent, everyone was right. Did the coaches make mistakes? Absolutely. Did we as players make mistakes? We sure did. But because both sides weren't willing to focus on fixing our own mistakes and proceeded to dwell on others, no one was really working to fix it. 

Personally, as a team, I think our biggest issue was as good as we were, we didn't know how good we weren't. We didn't have a definitive leader that everyone felt comfortable following. Even with 3 days left in the season, we were still fiddling with line-ups, looking for the "right one", when the issue was never what 6 people were in what 6 spots, as much as how those people conducted themselves on the court, both in practice as well as in matches. The confidence that helped make us so successful the first half of the season was nowhere to be found the second half... multiple people on the team openly stating that the 16-1 start could have had more to do with the schedule being easy than us actually being good...

The chemistry that was so strong at the beginning of the year disappeared, and quickly at that. Playing time became an issue with most people, and you could tell when it was on player's minds. When the 2nd team went in, the 1st team would goof off on the sidelines and support only in spurts (and I'm being generous). Towards the end of the season, you could hear a pin drop on our sidelines during the game. This is not a shot at anyone specific, just a red flag that things were not as they should have been.

I would say that the coaching staff was forced to bite off more than it can chew - and I don't fault them for that. They were thrown in a VERY unfamiliar situation to them, and we certainly didn't make their job any easier. We knew there was more leash than we probably should have had, and players were pretty open about that fact - yet we still took as much as we were given. Although I would have liked more discipline, shame on us for not disciplining ourselves. We're adults now. We should have been accountable, we weren't (probably still aren't), and this season most likely will always be looked back on as a disappointment.

It will be hard not being able to play next season. I finish my 3-year career with over 1100 kills, 950 digs, 100 aces, various awards... But it all is hollow without the team awards. It saddens me knowing I was one game away from the Final Four and we couldn't pull it through, but I hope that the team learns from this season, works hard in the off-season, and comes with a chip on their shoulder next year, a little stronger, a little smarter, and most importantly a little hungrier. The talent is there. But as we learned this season, it's nothing without the hustle.

First Post as a Former Nighthawk...

Saturday marked the end of my three-year career as a player at Newbury, and although we came up short in the finals of the ECAC's, I was glad we ended it there rather than at NECVA's. I unfortunately can't post everything I'd like to right now (internet is still terrible at our dorms, extremely frustrating as it's taking a toll on my ability to do work), but a few topics to be discussed:

End of Season Reflections
Where I'm going from here
USAV Nationals next month
Speakers from a couple weeks ago
Interviews with Olympians Reid Priddy/Brook Billings

I'm sure there are more as well, those are just the ones that come to my mind at the moment. I can say that it's sad to not be able to come back one more year to play, but I know the team still has a chance at having its best season yet, and will be cheering from them when it rolls around again, hopefully from overseas.

I'll post later about the end of the season.

Quick Finals Note

Internet has been TERRIBLE at my dorm. I'm about to head over to the finals with my friend, but wanted to note that the lack of updates has been due to the tin-can and string connection in my room.

To be honest, I have no idea regarding who will win in the finals today. Watching Stevens, I feel they have the most firepower of all the teams that were at the tournament. However, they did give up spurts here and there due to lack of concentration, and they seem vulnerable to good off-speed shots. Still, when they play at their best, I don't think anyone can stop them.

On the other end Naz REALLY impressed me this year. Leahy was a better setter than I originally remembered, nothing flashy, just good ball placement, scrappy defense, and great leadership. Meanwhile, my original worry of a freshman outside leading the charge proved to be the exact opposite. Billy Gimello was one of the most impressive players at the tournament, NEVER changing facial expressions, no matter what the play. Completely focused at the task at hand. Smart player, great athletic ability. It's scary when you look at someone's poise and the name "Tiger Woods" came to my mind. Overall, I thought Nazareth looked like the hungriest team at the tournament, and hustle beats talent in my opinion.

It's going to be a close game. I'm going to give the veterans the edge and say Stevens in 5. Can't wait to go watch.

Unbelievable and Completely Believable All at Once.

Going to bed last night, I was unsure of what I'd feel in the morning. The last waking hours of the night, I was pretty numb. Lots of reflection, some intentionally, other things just sorta light-bulbing in my head.

To sum it up, PBU beat us in 4. I was optimistic going into this match, and some of that was completely blind. Realistically, we've never been the same after we had that 1-10 skid. One night against Endicott where we put it all together, but other than that, we hadn't played a complete match in 2 months.

Philly Bible reminded me of Vassar without the complex offense. They didn't have a ton of physical talent, but they all played their role, hustled for every ball, took what was given to them, and supported each other from the first point to the last. On the other end of the floor, we looked completely out of our element, a couple moments of things boiling over both on the court and in the huddles, followed by complete silence on the floor for a couple plays. It was a low point in my career as a nighthawk, and although I'll look back on my time here with fond memories... if my appeal doesn't go through it will be a sad way to end it.
There's a saying that Randy Pausch said which goes "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you want", and I think that although short-term this stings, I will take SO much from this as I grow as a player and as a coach. Forgive me parental units, but as someone with 6 parents due to divorces (it's not as bad as it sounds - I have good relationships with all of them and they don't fight - so no "woe is me" going on here), I always joked around to people about learning what NOT to do in relationships growing up. With this team, it's the same thing. I've learned what a team cannot do if they expect to succeed.

While talking with one of the teammates last night, he said "I guess we found out we weren't the team we thought we were", and I disagree on that. However, we DID find out that we weren't as self-reliant as originally thought. When Dave was leaving us for Elms, we actually looked at this as a potential way to get a better coach, something that would make us even better. However... I think I learned to appreciate little things Dave did that I hadn't even realized when it was happening.

I remember losing to Vassar 30-12 in the finals last year. Dave went to every single one of us and told us to keep our heads up, we gotta look to ECAC's, the finals was an accomplishment. And I hated him for it at the time. Anything less than the Final Four was a disappointment to me. After last night? I missed that. I NEEDED that. I sat on the bench getting dressed for the bus, and the coach didn't huddle us up, didn't say anything to us, and the first thing she said in the van was how she was pissed off about how girls came to the bench after the game, and how it was never to happen again.

Forgive me for being agitated with this, but a little volleyball talk or reflection on what just happened would have been something I'd be a little more interested in hearing our volleyball coach discuss. I tend to be somewhat politically correct in my blogs, but the way we were (or weren't would be more accurate) coached this season sickens me, and the way it ended was a perfect example of how the whole season went. If you don't know where to set the bar, don't put it anywhere you please, especially low.

So where do we go from here? We may have ECAC's, but to be honest, I don't think anyone feels the significance of it last the last 2 years. Honestly? If it happens, I will play with everything I have. If it was up to me? Let the season go. The goals were Molten's. ECAC's are a consolation prize in my eyes... Even if we were to three-peat in it, it isn't going to define our season or put a nice little "finish with success" tag on the season.

Couple days of rest, going to watch some of the tournament, and we'll see if the season's over. If it is, I'll probably begin my weightlifting, haven't decided if I want to hop on the Tennis team for the last half of their season. I may just want to get my body patched up. I'll post some thoughts on the tournament now.

We Have Internet! Running Diaries - Ramapo/Elms.

Finally got internet up here, apparently I'm not intelligent enough to figure out how to connect to their internet here at MIT, let alone actually attend the institution. Props to the assistant coach/random ball shagger for helping!

Nazareth/Emmanuel just finished, was closer than I expected, but Nazareth came through. I wrote in a notepad file, I will post it tonight.

SET 1: (Ramapo Score - Elms Score)

0-0 Elms does a loud cheer in Spanish. Entertaining to watch the lone American Kleckner try to fit in on that.

0-1 Andujar dump on 2 gives Elms the early lead. They have two big guns in Velez/Bravo, but rarely go to them on the first play.

5-1 Timeout Elms. Ramapo fires off a run to push Elms back. Elms' serve receive, which has been its saving grace during its recent hotstreak, seems a bit shaky. Probably nerves being on the big stage, but I wouldn't count them out yet.

6-1 Ace by Donahue. Ramapo is booming.

8-2 A net violation by Ramapo breaks the run, but DeLeon misses the serve to give the ball back to Ramapo. A sloppy volley ensues on the next play, with a waffled overpass giving Ramapo the point.

9-4 Block by Elms. Hopefully this will help them calm down... you can see they're a bit nervous. Bravo isn't on the court, possibly as he's seen as a defensive liability... still, with the weak passing, it makes you wonder if he wouldn't be a good bailout option.

11-5 Nice spurt by Ramapo to get the ball back, but Velez just hit the best line shot I've ever seen in Division III. Holy crap.

14-5 Hitting error by Velez followed by a Ramapo kill gives them the 9 point lead... Elms has got to calm down if they want to make a push for this set.

17-6 Ace by Ramapo/block on Bravo keeps the bleeding going. The passing is non-existent on Elms' side.

18-7 Sideout by Elms, but a slide by Donahue gets the ball back.

19-7 Timeout by Elms. Bravo mishits a roll into the net. This team is a shell of what it was last weekend at NECC's... I am optimistic that they can pick it up, but I wonder if Ramapo will give them any ground for a comeback this set.

22-8 Missed serve by Ivan. They've got to make Ramapo earn their points!

24-10 Nice kill by Velez, but Elsasser tools the block. Ramapo is siding out incredibly well.

24-12 Kill by Kleckner followed by a setting error by Sierra gives Elms just a bit of momentum.

26-13 Great tool by Donahue. He just makes good decisions, swings high and off hands as good as anyone in Division III.

28-14 Waffle by Donahue lands for the kill. Elms seems to have put Bravo on the opposite for blocking purposes, but it may actually be hurting them, as I personally feel they play their best ball with him on the outside.

30-15 Hitting error by Cruz gives Ramapo the game. Just by watching I am confident that Elms hit in the negatives. If they don't move Bravo to the outside for bailouts, or clean up the passing, this could be a quick three setter...

SET 2.

1-1 Hitting error by Donahue, then serving error by Andujar.

1-2 PHENOMENAL x by Elms gets picked up after an incredibly lucky bounce off the curved ceiling, but DeLeon gets a second chance and puts it away. Starting to look like the Elms I know.

2-3 Kill by Donahue followed by a tool by Cruz.

4-4 Net violation by Bravo ties it up.

4-5 Bravo hits a cross shot from the outside to take the lead. Elms has seemed to shake off the jitters and began passing. This one is going to be close...

6-7 DeLeon blasts his second kill in a row. Not normally one of their heavy hitters, if he can continue to produce consistently it will give them an unexpected boost.

6-8 DeLeon with another kill!

8-9 DeLeon blocked/hit the next out of bounds... uh oh.

9-9 Kill by Cruz ties it up.

11-10 Velez blasts a line-shot, followed by Elsasser (13, apparently there are two) hitting one of his own from the right side.

11-13 Two straight blocks by Elms gives them the two point advantage.

11-14 HUGGEEEE block by Sebastian/Bravo gives them 3 in a row. Ramapo is loud, but the crowd seems louder, and the masses seem to like Elms.

13-17 Another block on the outside by Sebastian/Bravo! Crowd goes nuts.

15-17 Great backrow attack by Donahue/hitting error by Sebastian brings Ramapo within two.

16-17 Failed x attempt by Bravo.

16-18 Great hit by DeLeon to break the run.

22-23 Lost internet briefly :( play's been going back and forth. Hitting error by Kleckner.

22-24 Kill by DeLeon off the x gives Elms a 2 point lead.

22-25 great volley, Carrasco gets a huge dig off Donahue and Velez puts it away.

22-26 Velez goes OT on the outside to give Elms a 4 point lead.

23-26 Elsasser (13) crushes a quick to sideout.

24-26 DeLeon overpasses, McNeill puts it down.

25-26 Setter stepped under the net for Elms.

25-28 Timeout Ramapo. Velez gets 2 MONSTER swings dug, player on ground for Elms digs 2 balls while laying on the ground, and Velez tools the block, at which point the crowd goes BESERK. The whole gym seems to be pro-Elms... which looks to be about 150 people from about 6-8 teams.

26-28 Huge kill by Kohler to silence the crowd.

26-29 Slide by Sebastian to give Elms its first set point.

27-29 Sebastian gets the block but grazes the net. Set point two for Elms coming up.

28-29 DeLeon overpasses it and Donahue swipes it right to get the point. Third set point for Elms.

28-30 Elsasser (16) serves a floater out to give the set to Elms. Brutal. It'll be interesting to see how Ramapo comes out. They seem to be hitting very conservative at the pins... Sierra is putting the ball almost at the ten foot line to give his hitters space, but I wonder if it's truly beneficial to give them that much room.

SET 3:

2-1 Nice start by Ramapo, but DeLeon sideouts on a cross shot to stop the run.

3-1 Great serve by Andujar, but the libero comes up with a BEAUTIFUL pass, and Donahue puts it away on the rightside.

6-1 Serve Receive getting a bit sloppy for Elms, Donahue on a nice run.

7-1 Timeout Elms after Castillo blasts a crosscourt shot. Even when Elms gets the pass, it seems like the chemistry with Andujar and the hitters isn't where it was last set. Bravo's been out this whole run.

8-4 Two missed serves and a hitting error by Ramapo lets Elms back in it.

9-4 Great backrow attack by Donahue. He's got one of the best in the country for D-III.

12-4 Velez gets blocked, then Backlund gets back-to-back aces. He's one of the few serving specialists in D-III that I actually feel serves his purpose well...

12-5 Just jinxed him. Missed serve into the net gives Elms the ball back.

12-6 Block by Velez and Sebastian. Bravo back in the front row, could lead to a run.

13-6 Hitting error by Bravo off a broken play.

13-7 GREAT pass by Carrasco leads to a crosscourt rightside kill by Velez.

16-7 Hitting error by DeLeon on back to back plays. Timeout Elms. Their discouragement with their play is apparent, and they certainly look more similar to the team we watched in the first set. A good pass to get Bravo a decent look could stop the bleeding...

16-8 Nice pass leads to quick kill by Sebastian.

17-8 Missed serve by Sebastian. Elms can't afford mistakes like that...

18-8 Block by Ramapo. Not appreciating them stealing our YOU SHALL NOT PASS chant.

19-9 Ace followed by a missed serve. Andujar back to serve... he needs a big run here.

19-10 ... and gets the ace off the tape!

20-10 Donahue tools DeLeon off the slide for the point. He's been showing his versatility all match, hitting from every spot on the court.

21-10 Castillo with the cross court kill. Freshman for Ramapo, great vert, nice shoulder... if they could get him to glide a bit more instead of jumping straight up he could become a VERY strong player over the next few years.

22-15 Back-to-back kills by Velez. Elms showing some life...

23-15 Quick by Kohler to sideout.

23-16 Lift by a Ramapo player after 2 pancakes in the same play... Yikes.

24-17 Point Elms... but another pancake by Ramapo, they're not letting anything hit.

25-17 Sierra wins a joust against Cruz for the point.

26-17 Donahue tools Andujar for the point. Elms is using a lineup where he hits a couple rotations... which I just don't understand.

27-17 Hitting error by Andujar. Scary moment when Donahue seems to land on Andujar's foot, coming up limping. Timeout Elms, and he seems to be walking it off.

28-17 Roof by Donahue on Andujar. Guess he's fine.

28-18 Nice cross-court shot by DeLeon to get the ball back. I just realized I haven't been writing much about Bravo... he's on the sideline. They can't afford to keep him out for long stretches like that. It seems like he hasn't taken many swings.

30-18 Ace Ramapo to end the set. Crowd is starting to disburse, most likely to check out the Stevens/EMU game. If Velez/Bravo don't catch fire, this could end quickly...

SET 4:

0-1 Ace by Andujar to start the game.

1-1 ... Followed by an error. Wish he missed that much against us...

2-1 Bravo with the error. Why is he starting in the 2?

2-2 Quick by Cruz ties it up. Bravo's in the backrow now... And they're keeping him in. I suppose that's acceptable as I realize they want to get Velez to the front.

6-3 Ramapo picks up a few clutch digs to make a nice run.

7-4 Donahue with another backrow attack. I'd be interested to know what his hitting percentage running the pipe, sometimes I think he hits that better than he does frontrow.

8-6 Velez to the back, and Bravo to the front... they finally put them opposite again. This seems to have been their best lineup when they play us, I never understood why they don't do it from the start.

9-8 Kill by Sebastian - Elms' middles have come a LONG way since the beginning of the season, which is probably a big reason they've come on strong to finish the season.

11-9 Elms gets two soft blocks on Donahue... only to let the cover put it over and let the ball hit the ground. They cannot let that fall.

11-11 A rightside kill by Bravo where he seemed to never come down followed by a block ties it up.

11-12 hitting error by Elsasser (13) gives Elms the lead!

11-13 Castillo goes to hit the pipe and takes it back in his face - ouch.

12-14 Kleckner with a nice cross-court kill to sideout.

13-14 Castillo with a nice tool on the outside.

14-14 Velez under the net to tie it up...

14-15 After a long volley, Sebastian puts the quick down to give Elms the lead. Nice that they're getting production from the role players, that will be key if they want to go to 5.

16-15 Castillo tools the triple block, and Elms calls timeout. Hard to say if either team has the momentum, both are making big plays.

19-15 Velez hits out on the x. Jesus goes under the net saving a ball. DeLeon hits one out. They're starting to give looks to the refs. Not a good way to come out of a timeout.

21-16 Donahue down the line for the kill. Not sure if Elms can make up the difference with the way Ramapo is siding out.

22-16 Ace by Ramapo, and Elms' frustration is evident. They call timeout.

23-19 BRUTAL no call on a lift, good thing Cruz puts it down because the crowd would have erupted.

25-19 Hitting error by Velez/Ace by Ramapo. Elms cannot let balls drop - the aces aren't even being touched.

26-20 Nice slide by Donahue.

27-20 Hit long out of bounds by Cruz. Elms disagrees. You can feel each point hanging over their head for the next 2 plays (sound familiar?

27-22 GREAT dig by Cruz leads to a tool by Velez.

28-23 Missed served by Elsasser (13). Elms needs to run...

28-24 Sierra above the plain on a dump, backrow attack violation.

28-25 Timeout Ramapo. Velez jumps early for the flat 4, but has such a nice arm that he still gets the tool on pure strength.

29-25 Castillo with the clutch kill on the outside. I don't believe he started this match - I wonder if they'll keep him playing the remainder of the tournament.

30-25 Hitting error by Kleckner. They fought hard, but Ramapo was simply more consistent. It's a shame Elms got the 14 seed - if they could have gotten the nervousness out of their system against a weaker opponent they may have been able to claw back. Oh well, that's the craziness of the tournament.

Although I was originally thinking of doing a journal for the third game, but I want to watch both matches, and as their in different gyms I gotta shut it down. I will post tonight with more recaps/thoughts on the day. Wish us luck!

So Many Subjects, So Little Time: First-round Predictions and More!

I want to start by saying that I will be posting eventually about this last Wednesday. To put it in cliff notes' version, I heard a lecture from the co-founder of Harpoon Ale, saw a great 15-minute interview of Knicks head coach Mike D'Antioni (spelling is wrong, I can just tell), and then sat front row to listen to Johnny Earle (better known in his cult following as Johnny Cupcakes) give one of the most inspirational speeches I've ever listened to. This post WILL happen. Very important stuff.

To give everyone a heads' up, I will try to do a LIVE running diary of the NECVA tournament. As I've never done it before/am unsure of how the MIT wireless network is going to behave, it may hit a few snags at the beginning. However, in a perfect world, starting at 2 pm EST I'll be constantly updating the thread with scores/details on the games. At 2 PM I'll most likely be covering Nazareth/Emmanuel, then at 4 pm Ramapo vs. Elms, and although I'll need to stretch, I may catch the beginning of the Vassar/MIT match.

Time is running short, but I want to get predictions for the first round in. Here we go!

RIVIER (1) vs. HUNTER (16)

Hunter is one of the flashiest teams in Division III, with two of the most explosive under-6 foot hitters in the nation in Wajubiak (spelling) and Ripoll. However, their size has been their achilles' heel, and with Rivier having arguably one of the best middle tandems in the country with Wright/Ferreria, as well as bangers at the pin in Anderozzi/Soucy... This one could get ugly fast. Led by potential All-American Zach Hansen, this could be one of the most lopsided matches in the tournament.

Prediction: Rivier in 3.

NAZARETH (2) vs. EMMANUEL (15)

Nazareth is one of the few teams I haven't seen this year, but I've heard nothing but good things about them. With Senior All-American Leahy running the show, and led by powerhouse freshman outside Billy Gimello, they've compiled an impressive 24-4 record. Many insiders I've talked to feel that they may be favorites to reach the finals (which as a 2 seed would make sense!).

Meanwhile, Emmanuel is an intriguing first-round matchup. They have their flaws, but when they're hot, they compete at a level as high as any team in this tournament. An aggressive serving team with an offense that moves their two outsides from pin-to-pin, they can catch teams off guard. I'm giving the sweep to Nazareth, but don't be surprised if the scores are closer than you'd expect.

Prediction: Nazareth in 3.

RAMAPO (3) vs. ELMS (14)

I remember when Ben Wallace signed a 4-year, 60 million dollar contract with the Bulls. Although the city was excited at the time, he struggled his entire time there, and ended up being a huge bust. Bill Simmons discussed this concept in one of his columns on ESPN, discussing how a player can be underrated, then plays with a chip on his shoulder, then everyone realizes he's underrated and proceeds to talk him up. Eventually, so many people talk about how unappreciated the player is that he becomes overrated.

Elms is one of my favorite teams in the tournament. I have more friends on this team than any other non-Newbury team. However, I feel that with all the attention they've gotten in the last week, a) They've lost their "nobody believed in us!" advantage, and b) You better believe Ramapo is using this as fuel to their fire. Elms is going to put up a great fight, and if they did win, I wouldn't be completely shocked. At the same time... Ramapo is no pushover, and I think that they'll show why they were able to come out on top of a division including teams like Stevens and Vassar. Expect it to go into extra sets, but that's where Ramapo does its best work.

Prediction: Ramapo in 5.

STEVENS (4) vs. EASTERN MENNONITE (13)

Stevens started the season obliterating everyone in its path, and a narrow 5-set loss to Juniata led people to believe that they would be a lock as a top 3 national team for the season. However, injuries and inconsistency stemming from it has led to them dropping to a 4-seed. However, Bocchichio seems to be getting back to full strength, they still have arguably the best middle in the country in Cranford, and Trinsey will not want his career to finish on a sour note.

EMU has a young core with a lot of potential, but it seems like they haven't quite hit their stride. Rumor has it one of their players is out due to grades, and that will definitely hurt if he's as good as I hear he is. Coto's one of my favorite players, but I believe he'll have to wait another year, because they drew arguably one of the best 4 seeds this tournament has ever seen.

Prediction: Stevens in 3.

ENDICOTT (5) vs. NEW PALTZ (12)

A somewhat interesting match-up. Endicott has had a great season, upsetting many goliaths on the way. Coleman is one of the top liberos in the nation, and Witofsky is one of the most versatile middles in Division III. Meanwhile, New Paltz has quietly put together a nice season, and although they finished 4th in their division, keep in mind the 3 teams above them were seeded in the top 6 of this tournament. They're one of the few Division III teams to defeat Stevens (although Stevens was short-handed, it's not something easily done).

They have a nice 1-2 punch in the middle with Stross and Moore, but their setter's height is a liability in the front row, and the outsides on Endicott are pretty big. I expect them to run a pretty nice offense, but they'll struggle with Endicott on the defensive end, and although they may steal a set, I see Endicott advancing.

Prediction: Endicott in 4.

VASSAR (6) vs. MIT (11)

A battle of the brains! Vassar has had an interesting run, going 4-0 at the Nazareth tournament all against nationally ranked teams, but ended the season being swept at home by Endicott. It looks as if Leserman (one of the best liberos in the country) has been moved back to the hitting role. Time will tell if they can get some chemistry going in time, but with 2008 Coach of the Year Johnathan Penn running the show, I am confident they will do well.

MIT has silently compiled a 19-2 record over the last 21 games, and don't take home court advantage lightly. Despite that, Vassar tends to have a faithful crowd following them, and they may even that out better than most teams in the tournament. Although I actually want to give MIT the upset special... my gut tells me Vassar's experience and 2008 NECVA POY Phil Tully will give them the edge and help them prevail.

Prediction: Vassar in 4.

NEWBURY (7) vs. PHILLY BIBLE UNIVERSITY (10)

Very excited for this match. I don't want to go into details before the match, but I will make up for it with a detailed post-game analysis upon my return tonight.

Prediction: Newbury in 4.

BARUCH (8) vs. MEDAILLE (9)

I'm openly admitting bias here. Medaille as the 9 seed still boggles my mind... However, I don't see it being that much of an advantage. I saw Baruch play at the Endicott tournament, and was not impressed as Emmanuel handed them a 4-set loss. However, rumor has it they fell victim to the flu bug like my team did, and all my sources say they've hit their stride as of lately. It's not how you start, but how you finish, and I see Baruch coming in with a big chip on its shoulder and taking it out on Medaille.

Prediction: Baruch in 3.

Alright. Time to get some lunch and head over to MIT. I will try to post when I get settled in! Wish me luck!

NECVA TOURNAMENT SPECIAL: Mini-Interviews!

When I step on the court, everyone on the other side becomes the enemy. Although they may be nice guys, they are all obstacles in the way of my goal, and I'll do whatever I have to in order to take the win from them.

However, I do enjoy talking ball with the guys off the court. It's always interesting to get different perspectives and see how things work at other schools. After thinking that people may be tired of just seeing my views all the time. I decided to get some information from other players on their thoughts on the NECVA tournament. Thanks to the guys that got back to me on it!

Ivan Andujar, Junior Setter, Elms

Most exciting first-round match? elms vs. ramapo then hunter vs. riv then newbury vs. PBU

Most under-rated team in tournament (other than your own)? Baruch and Stevens

Biggest Upset of the Tournament? Well after ours... I think Hunter could take Rivier.

Team most interested to watch at the tournament? Stevens.

Any friends on other teams in the field? Bryan "cant pass Ivan's serve" McDermand (Editor's Note: I can't pass Ivan's serve because he's afraid to bring it my way!) and Voytek Jakubiak and Pablo Oliveira.

Random Fact about your team? There is only one American on the team.

Finals Prediction? Elms in 4 over Stevens. I love my team :)

Any last words? I hope to play newbury one more time before the seasons over!!

Believe me, the feeling's mutual :)

Curtis Abram, Sophomore OH, Emmanuel

Most exciting first-round match? I feel like it would be Newbury vs. PBU. It just seems to depend upon which team shows up.

Most Under-rated team in the tournament? I would say EMU, just because of the low seed. If they play consistent they could give Stevens a match.

Biggest Upset of the Tournament? I'm gonna say SUNY New Paltz over Endicott. I feel Endicott has been on a bit of a down slump and SUNY can fire up and take down a big team like that. Or I could be entirely wrong and Endicott pulls out of the slump for the tournament.

Team Most interested to watch at the tournament? Medaille, I'd like to see how a team one game over .500 is a 9 seed.

Do you have any friends on other teams in the field? Haha, yea Wright's (Rivier) a character, but no I don't... being out of the area, I don't know any of the guys from club and such.

Any random facts about your team outsiders may not know about? 6 of our players set for their team in High School, we may have the shortest outside hitter in the nation at 5'8 (Townsend), we don't have a player from MA in our starting lineup and 3 are from CA.

Finals Prediction? Rivier over Vassar in 4 sets.

Any last words? I feel that this years NECVA's is gonna be determined by which teams show up. Alot of lower seeded teams have an ability to knock off top seeds if those lowers come out and play.


Zach Hansen, Junior Setter, Rivier

Most exciting first round match? I personally think the best first round match will be elms vs. ramapo. I can see an upset.

Most under-rated team in the tournament? (although you probably just answered it) haha yea Elms is the most under-rated at 14.

Team most interested to watch at the tournament? Stevens

Do you have any friends on other teams in the field? Yea, one friend on Endicott

Any random facts about your team outsiders may not know about? Our OH Anderozzi had heart surgery the summer before freshman year... that's all I can think of.

Finals Predictions? Riv Over Naz in 4.

Frankie Coto, Sophomore Middle, Eastern Mennonite

Most Exciting first-round match? Well, we will be really pumped and fueled to go out and beat Stevens. Stevens is a cocky team and I really don't like them, besides my good friend Stephan is on their team.

Most under-rated team in the tournament? I really don't see any underrated teams. I could see PBU pulling some upsets, but once Justin gets tired I don't see them getting far.

Do you have any friends on other teams in the field? Haha, besides you, not really. I know the setter/libero from Stevenson, and Stephan from Stevens.

Any Random facts about your team outsiders may not know about? My team is all freshman and we only have one senior, other than that, no. No secrets, just that we might be getting some sick players next year, but I don't want to ruin the surprise. I'll hint that we should be getting a Cuban star from Miami and a Puerto Rican setter.

Finals Predictions? I don't have any predictions because this whole season has been weird for me. But I am going to say that we will not have a repeat performance from the Western Tournament. I am really embarrassed after that poor performance that my team called volleyball.

Any last words? I'm leaving it all on the court.

Joe Trinsey, Senior Outside, Stevens

Most exciting first-round match? I think Vassar vs. MIT will be the most exciting first-round matchup, purely because of the home-court factor. MIT seems to be playing fairly well and Vassar is struggling a bit, so I think it will be close. However, I think Vassar pulls it out in the end.

Who is the most underrated team in the tournament? PBU seems to be under-seeded, but I'm not sure they pull off an upset. Vassar is also a pretty strong 6-seed. I think they are a little like us last year in that they've been pretty inconsistent and most won't expect them to get to the finals, but they're going to be a very difficult second-round matchup.

Who are you most interested in watching at the tournament? Rivier, because we haven't seen them (outisde of watching their webcast matches) and hopefully we'll be seeing them in the semi-finals, so I'm looking to see what their team is like.

Any friends playing that aren't on your team? John Kessenich from Vassar was on my club team. I hung out with some of the Nazareth guys at the NECVA banquet; we were all bummed out after losing so we kind of split out to watch the basketball games. Other than that, I think it's more of a mutual respect factor, especially with some of the seniors who I've matched up with for four years.

Random fact(s) about your team: We've won NECVAs in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Maybe the odd-numbered years are good for us?

Finals Prediction? Well obviously I'm going to pick us and on the other side, it seems like Nazareth is playing the best lately so I will say/hope that it is us over Naz in 4.

Pablo Oliviera, Sophomore Outside, Baruch College.

Most exciting first-round match? In my opinion the 2 most exciting matches are going to be Elmsx Ramapo and Newbury xPBU.

Most Under-rated team of the tournament? The most underated team of the tourney in my opinion is Elms and yes they might upset Ramapo.

Who you're interested in watching at the tournament? I definitely want to watch Elms, Rivier and Newbury(unfortunately its the only team i havent watched yet).

Random fact(s) about the team: Oh well about us I would say just like it happened with you guys(Newbury), a lot of our guys were sick, and this flu definitely did not help us, so i think we are playing more solid now and definitely better.we will see what happens!

Finals prediction: As every player should believe in their team i believe in mine therefore i will say Baruch 3x2 over NAZ, and i do know especially us that we have a tough schedule till then, Medaille, probably Rivier then Stevens, but anything can happen. So lets ball out and see what happens, NECVA will be fun and interesting this year!!

A couple random notes:

I plan on writing my predictions for NECVAS tomorrow.

I confirmed with Paul Dill of MIT that both gyms have wireless. Therefore, I'm looking to get to the gym for the first games and write a few running diaries as the matches progress. Perhaps I'll do an interview or two as well. We shall see!

I was lucky enough to get a hold of Reid Priddy from the USA Men's Volleyball team, and he graciously said yes to doing an interview. If you have a question for the gold medalist, e-mail me at Bpmcder@gmail.com and I'll be sure to include it!

Another update shortly about the day.

My NECVA Seeding Predictions! Part 2

EIGHTH SEED.

Candidates: Emmanuel, Medaille, New Paltz, MIT, Elms, Baruch

This is where it gets tricky. Let's look at head-to-head:

New Paltz: 4-1 (wins versus MIT, Emmanuel Twice, Medaille, loss to Baruch)

MIT: 4-2 (wins versus Emmanuel, Elms twice, Baruch, losses to New Paltz and Elms)

Medaille: 1-1 (win versus Baruch, loss vs. New Paltz)

Emmanuel: 2-3 (wins versus Elms* and Baruch, losses to MIT and twice to New Paltz)

Baruch: 2-3 (wins vs. Elms and New Paltz, losses to Emmanuel, Medaille, and MIT).

Elms: 1-4 (win vs. MIT, losses to MIT twice, Emmanuel, and Baruch)



hmmm... Records vs. top 7 seeds?

Elms: 3-5

Baruch: 1-4

MIT: 1-5

Emmanuel: 1-6

Medaille: 1-6

New Paltz: 1-6

And the remaining NECVA tournament field? (Hunter, PBU, EMU)

Baruch: 3-1

MIT: 1-0

Medaille: 2-2

Emmanuel: 1-1

Elms: 0-2

New Paltz: 0-2

Total records vs. NECVA Field:

MIT: 6-7

New Paltz: 5-9

Baruch: 6-8

Medaille: 4-9

Elms: 4-11

Emmanuel: 4-10

Losses vs. NECVA teams not in tournament:

New Paltz: 0

Baruch: 0

Elms: 0

MIT: 1

Emmanuel: 2

Medaille: 1

Enough Stats!

Prediction: Baruch.

Why do I say Baruch? Medaille, Emmanuel, and MIT had losses to non-tournament NECVA teams. Baruch defeated the other two teams that went undefeated against those teams. Baruch has a better total record against the 16-team field than the other 2 teams. They also are the only conference champion of the group. However, I do feel they'll be losing in the first round to...

NINTH SEED.

Candidates: Emmanuel, Medaille, New Paltz, Elms, MIT, Hunter

Prediction: Elms.

Elms started the season 2-7. Sequiel, the NECC Freshman of the Year and most probable NECVA New England Freshman of the Year (Assuming Gimello takes the NECVA Freshman of the Year, Sequiel would be a runner-up), joined halfway through that stint. Since then, the team has started to gel, and as far as I'm concerned, they are the sleeper team of the tournament. They've won 9 of their last 10 (the last loss coming to Baruch - interesting!), but they looked extremely sharp this weekend, and I believe they have a lot of positive momentum going into Friday.

TENTH SEED.

Candidates: Emmanuel, Medaille, New Paltz, MIT, Hunter

Prediction: New Paltz.

I really wanted to put Medaille here... I really did. However, I just couldn't justify putting New Paltz below anyone else. A loss to Hunter, a loss to PBU. Those are the only "blemishes" on the record. The other losses: D-I Sacred Heart, Vassar twice, Newbury, Nazareth, UC-Santa Cruz, Stevens, Ramapo, Baruch, D-II East Stroudsburg. New Paltz has a SMALL setter, but they run a somewhat complex offense, the freshman middle has been doing very well, and Jake Moore has been a great leader to the team. Could Medaille get this seed for political reasons? Absolutely. However, I believe New Paltz earned this spot.

ELEVENTH SEED.

Candidates: Emmanuel, Medaille, MIT, Hunter

Prediction: MIT.

(Note: I beleive they will be rated 11th, but bumped to 12th in order to avoid a first-round matchup against Endicott.)

MIT has quietly won 19 of their last 21, defeating Baruch, Elms, Newbury, and Emmanuel in the process. The losses came to D-I Harvard and Endicott. Early losses to Newbury and Elms tarnished their conference record, but they have been playing very good ball, and will look to show that the AQ for hosting is not the only reason they're here.

TWELVTH SEED.

Candidates: Emmanuel, Medaille, Hunter

Prediction: Emmanuel.

(Note: Due to the previous statement regarding MIT, Emmanuel would move to 11th to play Endicott).

They are a peaks and valleys team, but you can't deny they've had some quality wins. Elms, Baruch, Hunter, and Newbury have all dropped matches to this team. A loss to NJCU does make me feel like they may end up 15th if Medaille gets the 12, but Medaille's loss to Stevenson should call this a wash as far as I'm concerned. Both sides are justifiable, but I think looking at how both teams have played the past 2 months, Emmanuel deserves the nod.

THIRTEENTH SEED.

Candidates: Medaille, Hunter

Prediction: Medaille

Boy do they know how to wreck a seeding process. Wins early in the season against Baruch, Endicott, MSOE, and Hunter. A 4-set winner against a re-building Quincy. The win against EMU to get the AQ. Other than that, they have 9 wins against 5 teams with a combined record of 29-92. Coto's my boy, but EMU picked a bad time to get a team squeak a win by them...

FOURTEENTH SEED.

Candidates: Philly Bible, EMU, Hunter

Prediction: Philly Bible

How did PBU draw Nazareth first round of the conference tournament? It doesn't make sense to me... anyways, had they gotten the AQ, they'd be looking at a seeding between 7-9, but instead they'll have their work cut out for them this time around. Perhaps the volleyball gods are making up for the #2 seed they recieved last year...

FIFTEENTH SEED.

Candidates: EMU, Hunter

Prediction: EMU.

(Note: Hunter would flip-flop with them to avoid a Nazareth-EMU match-up).

EMU upset Philly Bible last year to make a surprise run to the semi-finals as a 10 seed, but I don't know if they'll be able to repeat.. Coto is a phenominal middle, they have some young guns, but they haven't seemed to replace the leadership that a few of their graduates from last year brought to the table.

SIXTEENTH SEED.

Prediction: Hunter.

Hunter can be a fun team to watch, but they are really hurting after losing Kowalski/Oliviera to Baruch. A flashy team with hints of greatness, but their lack of size ends up getting the best of them most of the time.

FINAL RANKINGS:

1) Rivier
2) Nazareth
3) Ramapo
4) Stevens
5) Vassar
6) Endicott
7) Newbury
8) Baruch
9) Elms
10) New Paltz
11) Emmanuel
12) MIT
13) Medaille
14) PBU
15) Hunter
16) EMU

This is how I THINK it should go. Some great stories if this was the case would be Ramapo/PBU as PBU recently defeated Ramapo, a potential Newbury/Nazareth 2nd round re-match after last year's 5-set thriller, and Baruch/Elms being a tougher 2nd round opponent than Rivier probably prefers to face.

How I could see politics shifting things:

1) Rivier
2) Nazareth
3) Ramapo
4) Stevens
5) Vassar
6) Endicott
7) Newbury
8) Medaille
9) Elms
10) Baruch
11) PBU
12) MIT
13) EMU
14) New Paltz
15) Emmanuel
16) Hunter

After the 6, all is fair game. We shall see how it plays out tomorrow morning at 9 AM.

Time to do some other things. Quick note: I would appreciate to hear feedback about the blog. Things you'd like me to write about, questions you may have, or just overall comments about it. (Follwers would be nice too, I'd love to know the actual amount of people that visit the blog, even if it's only 8 or 9!)

My NECVA Seeding Predictions! Part 1.

This post is strictly for the NECVA enthusiast. Attention to detail will be borderline-tedious, and it may prove to be my longest post yet. Before we begin, I will say this: It is the most wide-open field this tournament has ever seen. There are plenty of teams in the 10-16 range that no one wants to play first round. I beleive there will be upsets left and right, and no team is immune to them.

So what are the rules with seedings? 5 sub-conferences, top 2 from each make it, MIT is in automatically as the host, and 5 at-large bids are awarded. A 2 seed from their conference can't be higher than the 1, and an At-large cannot be higher than the 2 AQ's from their conference. However, an At-large in one conference is not bound to be lower than any seed in any other conference. Confused? Fair enough. Let's continue regardless.

What do we know for sure? Thanks to a certain NECVA coach that posts on Volleytalk for making this a copy/paste for me so I can save time.

DIVISIONAL AUTOMATIC BIDS:

CUNYAC: 1. Baruch; 2. Hunter (finalist in division tourney)

GNAC: 1. Rivier; 2. Emmanuel (finalist in division tourney)

METRO: 1. Ramapo; 2. Stevens (finished 1 and 2 in division)

NEW ENGLAND: 1. Endicott; 2. Newbury (finished 1 and 2 in division - Beat out Elms for 2nd place because of who they beat in division)

WESTERN: 1. Nazareth; 2. Medaille (division tournament. Medaille was a bubble team, but earned the AQ because of finish in tourney)

MIT gets an at-large for hosting the tournament, so that leaves 5 teams getting an At-large.

Here are the bubble teams (not in any ranking order):

PBU
EMU
Vassar
New Paltz
Lasell
NJCU
Elms

Let's begin with my predictions for At-Large's, although I will wait to go into detail on them until I seed them in order to save a bit of time.

My "sure things"

PBU
Vassar
EMU
Elms

My "99% sure thing"

New Paltz.

Wow, not too difficult! Unfortunately, this is where the simplicity ends. Without further Adieu, let's begin!

FIRST SEED.

Candidates: Rivier, Nazareth, Ramapo, Endicott, Baruch

Prediction: Rivier.

Rivier is 31-1. This is the only "If I was forced to choose one thing that was for CERTAIN regarding seedings and it was a life or death situation" choice of the tournament. One 5-set loss early in the season at Carthage ruined the perfect season, but I think they'll be fine dealing with it. Weapons at every position, a great setter, phenominal coach... This team earned it. I do have my cynical views regarding how they'll fare at the tournament, but that will be discussed when seedings officially come out and I do a predictions blog.

SECOND SEED.

Candidates: Emmanuel, Nazareth, Ramapo, Endicott, Baruch

Prediction: Nazareth.

Nazareth has quietly established themselves as a force this season. Although the departure of Maving was going to leave a wound, freshman Billy Gimello has provided quite the band-aid, and led by All-American setter Leahy, this team could argue that they're actually the team to beat. Their only losses: First match of the season versus Division I St. Francis, swept by Stevens when Stevens was crushing EVERYONE, a five-set loss to UC Santa Cruz, and a 4-set loss to Vassar. Since then, they've won 8 in a row, defeating Ramapo, Quincy, NYU, PBU twice, Carthage, Medaille, and MSOE. None of those teams are pushovers. Although they'll get the two, the distance between Rivier and Nazareth isn't much.

THIRD SEED.

Candidates: Emmanuel, Medaille, Ramapo, Endicott, Baruch

Prediction: Ramapo

I was interested to see if Ramapo would rise to the occasion or end up putting it on cruise control after being awarded the Molten's and an automatic bid to them, but it hasn't shown any negative side-effects up to this point. I've played against them early in the season as well as watched them at the Endicott tournament, and this team has the most energy out of all of the teams in the field. A deep, LOUD bench, one of the most under-rated players in the country with Shane Donahue, this team won a conference that included powerhouses Stevens and Vassar. Although I think Stevens would have won the conference had these two opponents met earlier in the season, it's all about how you finish, and Ramapo did a hell of a job of that by beating New Paltz/Vassar/Stevens in a one-week span. Being swept late in the season by Philly Bible raises an eyebrow, but it shouldn't be a big enough blemish to award this seed to any of the four candidates, especially since Ramapo defeated all of them during the season.

FOURTH SEED.

Candidates: Emmanuel, Medaille, Stevens, Endicott, Baruch

Prediction: Stevens.

I think Stevens is a perfect example on why a team should never accept the "oh well, we've got a better shot next year anyways" mentality. An early exit last year at the hands of Ramapo led people like me to believe that Stevens would be a monster with a huge chip on its shoulder this year, led by 3 All-American caliber players Cranford, Bocchichio, and Trinsey. Which is exactly how they started the season. However, Trinsey's got a bad shoulder (which I hear is important for hitters taking 30-40 attacks a match, and his workload only got heavier when Bocchichio ended up suffering a freak injury mid-way through the season.

Ever since then, this team has not been the same. I would still put them above the rest as their only losses came from D-I Harvard, a 5-setter against New Paltz where Trinsey/Bocchichio didn't play, a loss to Ramapo, and a 5-setter against D-II Mount Olive. However, I don't believe they have the same intimidation factor they would have had if the Bocchichio injury didn't take place.

Perhaps this turns out to be good for them, with teams sleeping on them a bit more than they would have if they annihilated everyone during the regular season. I still wouldn't want to play them early if I was a lower seed.

FIFTH SEED.

Candidates: Emmanuel, Medaille, Vassar, New Paltz, Endicott, Baruch

Prediction: Vassar

My first hesitant pick comes at the 5 seed, thanks to Endicott sweeping Vassar at Vassar this weekend, as well as Baruch having a stronger season than many people realize. However, I just can't put Endicott over Vassar with the quality of the schedule we're looking at here.

Vassar's 7 losses: Newbury in 5, Springfield twice, Stevens, Ramapo, NYU, Endicott.

Some of Vassar's wins: Carthage, Medaille, EMU, UC Santa Cruz, PBU, Elms, Nazareth.

That being said, I feel that Endicott could have received this seed had they not lost to Newbury earlier in the week. I think Vassar's reputation as the former National Championship Runner-up on top of the quality of their wins puts them in the 5 slot.

SIXTH SEED:

Candidates: Emmanuel, Medaille, New Paltz, Endicott, Baruch

Prediction: Endicott.

I literally was three paragraphs into why I picked Baruch for the six when I doubled back and changed my mind. They may have swept endicott early on, and endicott may have had a couple slip ups against Elms and Newbury recently, but I know Newbury had a great night, and Elms is going to be a sleeper in this tournament without a doubt. Looking at Endicott:

Losses: Baruch/MSOE/Medaille first tournament of season, Stevens, Sacred Heart, Ramapo in 5, Springfield, Harvard, Newbury, Elms, Rivier.

Wins: Carthage, Elms, MIT Twice, Hunter, Newbury, Emmanuel, Vassar.

Baruch's Losses: Medaille, Rivier twice, PBU, King's, MIT, Emmanuel, Ramapo, Stevens.

Which isn't bad. However...

Baruch's Wins: Endicott/MSOE/Carthage at the beginning of the season, Hunter twice, New Paltz, Elms.

They are 33-9, with only 5 wins coming against NECVA-tournament caliber teams, 7 if you count MSOE/Carthage. Other than Endicott and Hunter (and frankly I consider Hunter by default as the 3rd place team in that division wasn't strong), all at-large bids. Therefore, Endicott gets the spot.

SEVENTH SEED.

Candidates: Emmanuel, Medaille, New Paltz, Newbury, Baruch

Prediction: Newbury.

Could we be seeded lower? Absolutely. a 1-10 slump in the middle of the season was absolutely brutal. However, with half the team getting the flu, a couple line-up experimentations, and a few other factors played into this. Although a loss to Elms to finish the regular season stung, a strong victory over Endicott earlier in the week showed that this team still has some fire.

Newbury Losses: Ramapo, Harvard, Endicott, Rivier, Elms twice, MIT, Emmanuel, Cal Baptist, Hope International twice.

Newbury Wins: Hunter, Vassar, Emmanuel, Elms, MIT, New Paltz, Endicott.

Although we've lost our fair share of games, we've also defeated half of the field. Everyone is healthy again, and after our late-season run to the finals last season, there is no doubt that the ability to turn it on is there. Will we be seeded above Baruch? Time will tell.

Taking a break to do some more research, as this is where it gets tricky. Will post the second half later!