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!