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Post by fandad on Apr 7, 2019 13:05:52 GMT -5
2019 AMC/Great Plains/Kansas Men's Volleyball Tournament-Hosted by Missouri Baptist Semifinal - Friday, April 5 #4 Briar Cliff vs. #1 Missouri Baptist, 4 pm #3 Ottawa (KS) vs. #2 Park, 7 pm Championship - Saturday, April 6 1 pm MoBap over Briar Cliff (3-1; 21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-19) and Park over Ottawa (3-0; 25-22, 25-18, 25-23). MoBap and Park face off today for conference title and auto bid. MoBap finished their perfect conference and overall regular season off in fine fashion with a 3-0 win over Park (25-22, 25-15, 25-20). Finishing second to the Spartans is nothing to be ashamed of for Park, but will it be enough to get one of the 2 at-large bids. Either way, congrats to Park for a fine season. MoBap has had an epic season and are the clear favorites to win the national championship, but they haven't faced Lourdes, BenU-Mesa, or Grand View this year. Can one of them stop the favorites?
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Post by fandad on Apr 7, 2019 13:09:22 GMT -5
2019 Heart of America Athletic Conference Men's Volleyball Championship April 4-6 | Charles S. Johnson Wellness Center | Des Moines, Iowa Quarterfinal - April 4 Match 1 - No. 4 Missouri Valley vs No. 5 Graceland 1 PM Match 2 - No. 3 Clarke vs No. 6 Culver-Stockton 3:30 PM Semifinal - April 5 Match 3 - No. 2 Mount Mercy vs Winner of Match 2 4 PM Match 4 - No. 1 Grand View vs Winner of Match 1 7 PM Final - April 6 Match 5 - Winner of Match 3 vs Winner of Match 4 2 PM Last night, Mt. Mercy over Clarke (3-0; 25-23, 25-22, 25-17) and Grand View over MoVal 3-1; 25-18, 16-25, 25-10, 25-22). The #1 and #2 seeds face off for the title later today. Grand View took care of Mt. Mercy in 3 relatively easy sets (25-23, 25-15, 25-20) and the NAIA won't have to use one of the precious at-large berths to get the host into the tournament. I can't see this being enough for Mt. Mercy, though. They should be really proud of playing a really nice season. Maybe this is the start of something really good for them. As for Grand View, can the defending champs, playing at home, repeat against a really strong field?
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Post by fandad on Apr 7, 2019 13:12:32 GMT -5
2019 Chicagoland Men's Volleyball Tournament-Hosted by St. Ambrose(?) I haven't been able to find a single definitive source for information on this tournament, but here is a summary of what I found on the CCAC website: Semifinals - Friday, April 5 St. Xavier vs. Cardinal Stritch, 4 pm Robert Morris vs. St. Ambrose, 7 pm Championship - Saturday, April 6 Winners of Semifinals, 2 pm If anyone has better information, please share. St. Xavier over Stritch (3-2; 9-25, 25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13) and St. Ambrose over Morris (3-0; 25-23, 26-24, 25-20). The Saints will battle it out for the conference title and automatic bid this afternoon. St. Xavier pulls a minor upset in the final defeating St. Ambrose in 3 close sets (25-21, 25-23, 29-27) to earn auto bid for CCAC champion. Congrats to St. Ambrose for a nice season; this should definitely be the end of the road for them. Will St. Xavier be anything other than a sacrificial lamb in the NAIA championship tournament, though?
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Post by fandad on Apr 7, 2019 13:22:59 GMT -5
I wasn’t at the matches, but I streamed both of them because I had a feeling they’d both be great games. UC Merced was in it in every set, just in the first two there were a couple late runs from Benedictine that slowed the bobcats momentum and allowed them to take the first two. The third and fourth sets were great to watch. Merced played their hearts out in the third and won 29-27. Were up 20-18 in the fourth but had a couple bad passes that gave the setter only one option which led to a block or easy shots in the court. Benedictine’s block came up big towards the end. If Merced won the fourth, I believe they had a great chance to win the fifth. Menlo’s ibrahimovic was incredible. 35 kills...insane. If it wasn’t for him, Menlo would be a very average team. But he’s playing all American caliber volleyball and he’s only a freshman which is scary. Two really exciting matches to finish out the GSAC tournament last night. Hope takes down Merced (25-15, 25-16, 25-27, 25-21) for 3rd place. Then Menlo gave Benedictine everything they could handles in the final. It looked dire for Ben-Mesa down one set and 17-20 in the second, then they turned it on to overtake Menlo to win the second set. Then they took the 3rd and 4th, as well, with the 4th set also being very close. The final scores were 23-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22. Congratulations to Menlo for really coming on at the end of the season to be the ones really pushing Ben-Mesa for the conference championship. Menlo, in their second season, has only one senior on their roster. With Ben-Mesa graduating some key team members, I can't help but think that Menlo might be the favorite next year in this conference (if all these teams are still together in this conference). Nice job by Ben-Mesa to take care of business and return to the championship tournament where they'll be looking to improve on their runner-up finish from last year.
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NAIA 2019
Apr 7, 2019 16:54:48 GMT -5
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Post by beachbum86 on Apr 7, 2019 16:54:48 GMT -5
Any predictions on who takes home the title? Aquinas and Park got the two at-large bids. MoBap, BenU Mesa, and Lourdes are the three strongest teams in the field in my opinion. I think the winner will come out of those three squads.
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Post by fandad on Apr 7, 2019 17:38:11 GMT -5
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Post by fandad on Apr 7, 2019 17:39:40 GMT -5
2019 NAIA Men's Volleyball Coaches' Final Top 10 Poll (April 7th) RANK LAST TIME SCHOOL [FIRST PLACE VOTES] RECORD POINTS 1 1 Missouri Baptist [12] 26-0 132 2 2 Lourdes (Ohio) 23-3 118 3 3 Benedictine Mesa (AZ) 21-4 112 4 4 Grand View (Iowa) 18-1 105 5 5 Park (Mo.) 19-3 92 6 6 Aquinas (Mich.) 28-3 78 7 7 Ottawa (Kan.) 13-9 71 8 NR St. Andrews (N.C.) 21-5 59 9 8 Mount Mercy (Iowa) 22-8 54 10 NR Saint Xavier (Ill.) 20-7 45 Others Receiving Votes: Hope International (Calif.) 24, Menlo (Calif.) 13, Campbellsville (Ky.) 8, St. Ambrose (Iowa) 7, Briar Cliff (Iowa) 5 www.naia.org/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=27900&ATCLID=211798850
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Post by fandad on Apr 7, 2019 17:46:32 GMT -5
Any predictions on who takes home the title? Aquinas and Park got the two at-large bids. MoBap, BenU Mesa, and Lourdes are the three strongest teams in the field in my opinion. I think the winner will come out of those three squads. I'll say the same thing I said last year: I don't see anyone beating MoBap. Of course I was wrong last year, so I will probably be wrong again. The other thing that strikes me is that it will be hard to beat Grand View in their house. I'm not sure that really played a big part in them beating MoBap in the semi-finals last year, but it couldn't have helped. Home cooking is always nice.
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NAIA 2019
Apr 8, 2019 16:45:01 GMT -5
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Post by volleyballdude2015 on Apr 8, 2019 16:45:01 GMT -5
I wasn’t at the matches, but I streamed both of them because I had a feeling they’d both be great games. UC Merced was in it in every set, just in the first two there were a couple late runs from Benedictine that slowed the bobcats momentum and allowed them to take the first two. The third and fourth sets were great to watch. Merced played their hearts out in the third and won 29-27. Were up 20-18 in the fourth but had a couple bad passes that gave the setter only one option which led to a block or easy shots in the court. Benedictine’s block came up big towards the end. If Merced won the fourth, I believe they had a great chance to win the fifth. Menlo’s ibrahimovic was incredible. 35 kills...insane. If it wasn’t for him, Menlo would be a very average team. But he’s playing all American caliber volleyball and he’s only a freshman which is scary. Two really exciting matches to finish out the GSAC tournament last night. Hope takes down Merced (25-15, 25-16, 25-27, 25-21) for 3rd place. Then Menlo gave Benedictine everything they could handles in the final. It looked dire for Ben-Mesa down one set and 17-20 in the second, then they turned it on to overtake Menlo to win the second set. Then they took the 3rd and 4th, as well, with the 4th set also being very close. The final scores were 23-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22. Congratulations to Menlo for really coming on at the end of the season to be the ones really pushing Ben-Mesa for the conference championship. Menlo, in their second season, has only one senior on their roster. With Ben-Mesa graduating some key team members, I can't help but think that Menlo might be the favorite next year in this conference (if all these teams are still together in this conference). Nice job by Ben-Mesa to take care of business and return to the championship tournament where they'll be looking to improve on their runner-up finish from last year. I predict this whole conference will be insane in the next couple years. Menlo is bringing back their whole starting squad. Ottawa was post season ineligible this year but they beat Hope, Merced and Menlo and lose no one. Benedictine will return a couple of starters in Henige, Henson and Clizbe but replacing Jones, Hill, Adcock and Izaguirre will be tough. Hope always seems to have a good squad but can they replace the Belinski twins and Belvin. Merced isn’t losing much since they only had 3 seniors in Weisner, Stephan and Gomez but will need to replace all of them
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NAIA 2019
Apr 8, 2019 18:13:27 GMT -5
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Post by beachbum86 on Apr 8, 2019 18:13:27 GMT -5
Two really exciting matches to finish out the GSAC tournament last night. Hope takes down Merced (25-15, 25-16, 25-27, 25-21) for 3rd place. Then Menlo gave Benedictine everything they could handles in the final. It looked dire for Ben-Mesa down one set and 17-20 in the second, then they turned it on to overtake Menlo to win the second set. Then they took the 3rd and 4th, as well, with the 4th set also being very close. The final scores were 23-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22. Congratulations to Menlo for really coming on at the end of the season to be the ones really pushing Ben-Mesa for the conference championship. Menlo, in their second season, has only one senior on their roster. With Ben-Mesa graduating some key team members, I can't help but think that Menlo might be the favorite next year in this conference (if all these teams are still together in this conference). Nice job by Ben-Mesa to take care of business and return to the championship tournament where they'll be looking to improve on their runner-up finish from last year. I predict this whole conference will be insane in the next couple years. Menlo is bringing back their whole starting squad. Ottawa was post season ineligible this year but they beat Hope, Merced and Menlo and lose no one. Benedictine will return a couple of starters in Henige, Henson and Clizbe but replacing Jones, Hill, Adcock and Izaguirre will be tough. Hope always seems to have a good squad but can they replace the Belinski twins and Belvin. Merced isn’t losing much since they only had 3 seniors in Weisner, Stephan and Gomez but will need to replace all of them I agree wholeheartedly. I believe that the NAIA will start to become stronger on the west coast to challenge the Midwest teams more. Hope will always be strong, Benedictine will also continue to be good if they can bring in a good setter to develop to even half of what Jones was, as I think he is top two or three in the country. Replacing Izaguirre will be the toughest for them I think. Haven’t watched Ottawa play but they have some good wins in conference. If Menlo can manage to keep Ibrahimovic around (assuming he’s there because of a full ride over division 1 ball), he can carry them far over the next few years. Assuming he continues his stellar play for Menlo, ibrahimovic will undoubtedly be an All-American for the next 3 years, probably even honorable mention this year. Although having watched them play at Hope, his attitude is terrible. Such a primadonna. Hopefully Menlo’s other guys can stick around a tolerate playing with him because if so, they could be a great squad. Menlo also has a very athletic middle in Chase Dereito and their setter is good enough to get those two the ball. Merced is looking strong for the future too. They must bring in another middle to replace Stephan, so we will see if the coach can find a diamond in the rough for a late commitment. They have inexperienced freshmen and sophomore pins who will continue to get better with Steele getting them the ball. I may not be agreed with on this one, but I think a Steele has the potential to take over the GSAC from Jaron Jones and be an All-American his final two years if he can lead his team to the national tournament. Zach Brill will be one of the best liberos in NAIA. No Hui Ding yet, but he could be as good as Izaguirre. Their outside Webb is so athletic, but he’s just been unable to terminate at the clip Merced needs him to. Hopefully the GSAC can turn into a conference with 3 or 4 formidable teams over the next few years.
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Post by digs4days on Apr 10, 2019 11:04:31 GMT -5
The National tournament should be interesting. I honestly have no idea who will win it.
MoBap: Even though they are undefeated, I do not think that makes them the clear favorite, as their schedule has not been that difficult.
Lourdes: from the looks of it, played a very tough overall schedule, so even with 3 D1/2 losses I will be interested to see what they do.
BenU Mesa: is a bit of a wild card; they have played some quality D1/2 competition and competed... but then in conference play, though undefeated, they struggled at times. Not to mention statistically overall they are behind most of the field in alot of categories
Grandview: They have Chapman... enough said. however, they have shown weakness at times and are a beatable team.
Park: If they are hot, they are blazing... if they are cold they are up in the north pole... it all depends what team shows up to GVU
Aquinas: Another wild card; hasnt played a great schedule but their only losses are to Lourdes. They have rolled past almost anyone else. Are their losses a testament to how good Lourdes is? or is this a case of a 1st year program who may crack when they are pushed? I guess next week will give everyone a clearer picture
St. Andrews: From the looks of it their "best" player has been out with injury or removed from the program. Yet that hasnt stopped them one bit. They took Lourdes to 5 just a few weeks ago and have really taken care of business this back half of season. I wouldnt be surprised if they come out swinging at nationals
St. Xavier: The biggest wildcard. I have no idea what to expect as i have not seen them play. They swept St. Ambrose in their conference tournament finals, so they are likely playing some solid volleyball. We will see how it will continue in Pool B next tuesday.
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Post by fandad on Apr 16, 2019 9:08:22 GMT -5
NAIA Championship starts today. Today's matches are: Pool A: Aquinas vs. Benedictine-Mesa 10 am CT Pool A: St. Andrews vs. Lourdes 1 pm CT Pool B: St. Xavier vs. Missouri Baptist 4 pm CT Pool B: Park vs. Grand View 7 pm CT portal.stretchinternet.com/naia/Use the link above to live stream the matches. Payment options are $9.95 for a day pass or $29.95 for a tournament pass.
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Post by fandad on Apr 16, 2019 11:32:39 GMT -5
Ben-Mesa over Aquinas 3-0 (25-14, 25-20 27-25)
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NAIA 2019
Apr 16, 2019 12:15:35 GMT -5
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Post by beachbum86 on Apr 16, 2019 12:15:35 GMT -5
Ben-Mesa over Aquinas 3-0 (25-14, 25-20- 27-25) Benedictine-Mesa taking care of business as they should.
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Post by lineshot2016 on Apr 16, 2019 13:07:55 GMT -5
If anyone but Mobap won I would consider it an upset. They by far have the most talent and well rounded team. The only team I see challenging them would be Grandview and that is because of Chapman. Teams have won championships before with one dominant player ( Park in 2014 and 2017 with Arteaga) but I just don't see Mobap losing with how good their passing is and with how fast they run their offense.
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