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Post by legend on Oct 27, 2004 11:45:54 GMT -5
As a follower of men's volleyball in the east coast there aren't a lot of good rivalries in D-1 but the rivalry between Juniata and Springfield in D-3 over the last 4 years has become one to watch.
I know it is early in the pre-season but does anybody know how they are looking this year. Juniata graduated a few players this past year and Springfield seems to have 3 All-Americans back. Not sure about the freshman class but I heard rumors that Springfield has a OPP. from Puerto Rico that could be in D-1, has anyone seen him play?
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Post by vbbadman1 on Oct 27, 2004 12:15:44 GMT -5
i agree that Juniata and Springfield are likely to be the preseason DIII favorites. Who else is out there that would be in the team picture for Top 5?
With LaVerne out of the picture (a crime), here's how I think the Molten Championship will look like:
EIVA- Springfield or Juniata
NECVA - Medaille
Host - Stevens Institue of Tech. (NJ)
West/Midwest At-Large - UC- Santa Cruz or Carthage (WI) with Clarke at a possibility
There is a tournament at Clarke in March where Clarke, Carthage and UC-SC will play each other. The winner of that will likely determine the wild card invitation.
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Post by legend on Oct 27, 2004 13:38:26 GMT -5
I have to agree it is a crime to see LaVerne go, I had a chance to see them in 2002 in NYU and 2003 in Juniata and they were a solid team that brought a lot to the level of the tournament. Interesting you mention Carthage, I haven't heard from them before so it would be great to see a new team out there.
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Post by vbbadman1 on Oct 27, 2004 16:44:01 GMT -5
Carthage is a new DIII team this year. They won the 2nd level in club nationals last year. In the off season that added a 6'6" setter from St. Francis, a libero from Clarke hat was in the top 3 in digs in the MIVA and a couple of other guys with some college experience.
They have some height (6'6" - 6'8") and some hitters that put the ball down pretty well. One guy played with SPRI and the right side played for North Shore when they got 2nd two years ago.
They will be interesting to watch but as a first year team they will struggle against the big boys in the MIVA. They don't play OSU and IPFW this year. They do have Loyola,Findlay, Lewis, BSU and Quincy on their schedule.
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