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Post by zip15 on Apr 1, 2007 20:56:28 GMT -5
The obvious is Wisconsin/Oshkosh for over/under achieving. It's extremly tough to win continuously for 2 years straight, especially when every team is gunning for you. Interesting that Wisconsin got them, after they went 2-2 in their pool, finishing 4th, and neither of their losses was close.
Lakeland's had a good week, beating Oshkosh and getting to the final this weekend. They went 6-2 on the weekend and lost to Illinois for both of their losses. Illinois went 8-0, beating Lakeland twice, Notre Dame twice, and the top 4 teams from the Great Midwest Conference. Big weekend for them, except for Jeffries going down.
Other small points, NIU looked good on day 1, beating OSU, Indiana, Ohio Northern and Dayton for second in their pool, and then went 1 and done against Marquette on Sunday after getting a first round bye.
Questions: How high can you move Wisconsin after going 5-3 on the weekend, losing to Lakeland twice and Notre Dame, and beating Oshkosh? They're 17 right now, so maybe top 10?
How far/Does Oshkosh drop after two losses in a week, and where does everyone else in the top 5 go?
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Post by muoh61010 on Apr 1, 2007 22:29:24 GMT -5
i think because of their consistently strong play, illinois takes the #1 slot. depending on how davis does at NCCVL's (saw they were in the semi-finals), they could move up one, but i think i'll keep them at five (haven't seen them play, so maybe west coast people know more)
ucf is my #2...they lost to arizona at HIC, but avenged that loss out in vegas
my top 5 goes a little somethin' like this: 1. illinois 2. ucf (playing their best ball at the right time) 3. lakeland 4. davis (if they win NCCVL) 5. oshkosh/arizona (i don't know what to do here. since HIC, oshkosh has lost to lakeland and lost in the quarters at MIVA's. Arizona lost in the semi's at Vegas)
any opinions?
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Post by scmb19 on Apr 2, 2007 1:51:13 GMT -5
I think Arizona should take the spot over Oshkosh. While they didn't do well in Vegas, I heard they were missing two starters and lost game three in the semis to UCF on a yellow card.
Anyone know the final results for the NCCVL.
As for Saturday in the Quarters, Cal beat Fresno State, Sonoma St beat Santa Clara. Sonoma State is surprising a lot of teams this year... they lost to Arizona 25-21, 38-36 at Vegas in pool play. They have the ability to pull some huge upsets at Nationals.
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Post by sdvb13 on Apr 2, 2007 1:55:22 GMT -5
Davis at #4? Defintely a bit high after their showing in Vegas. If Arizona was actually missing two starters, then they definitely deserve the top spot. They got 3rd in the tourney with 2 backups, I can't imagine how easy the tourney might have been if they had all of their starters.
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Post by peluche on Apr 2, 2007 2:03:52 GMT -5
5 way tie for first??? lol i have no idea what the top 5 will look like. At this point it doesn't matter, everyone will beat up on everyone come nationals. But it would be amazing to say we're the number one seed ;D
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Post by mucads6 on Apr 2, 2007 8:07:50 GMT -5
although arizona was missing two starters at the vegas tourney, how about illinois playing without deke for all of MIVA's and losing Jeffries during their second match I think. I'd say that iw more impressive and that they deserve the top spot, and they also beat lakeland twice that weekend along with notre dame. my vote is for illinois
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Post by star035 on Apr 2, 2007 8:48:34 GMT -5
Really hard to determine the rankings. #1?
Arizona: Yes, if they missed guys at Vegas, and since they beat UCF at Hoosier-Illini Classic. No, since they lost in Vegas and lost handily to Oshkosh at HIC. (Any "quality" wins for them?)
Central Florida: Yes, for beating Arizona and Illinois to win Vegas. No, since they also lost to Arizona at HIC and have no other "quality" wins.
Illinois: Yes, for dominating the Big Ten and winning MIVA (with two starters out). No, since they've lost to UCF and Oshkosh.
Lakeland: No, but they beat Oshkosh recently and played well in the MIVA finals. A strong #5.
Oshkosh: Yes, for winning HIC and leading their very strong conference. No, for losing twice in the last week of the season.
I'd go: 1 UCF. What happened in Vegas, doesn't stay in Vegas. 2 Arizona. Starters or not, you gotta win (see Illinois: MIVA). 3 Illinois. Excellent season with an impressive finish. 4 Oshkosh. Two late losses? Tsk, tsk. Scary thought: Oshkosh at nationals with a chip on their shoulder. 5 Lakeland. It's a shame, but one of these teams won't have a shot at the national semi-finals.
UCF-Oshkosh and Arizona-Illinois could be great semi-finals, barring upsets up to that point (watch out for the west coast!).
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Post by muoh61010 on Apr 2, 2007 9:04:53 GMT -5
i was unaware of their poor showing in vegas, my bad.
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Post by zip15 on Apr 2, 2007 9:16:27 GMT -5
Arizona and Illinois have never played each other. Illinois got to the championship game in Vegas, Arizona lost in the semis, both to UCF, you can't give the advantage to either there, since both also beat Cal Poly in the semis/3rd place game. The HI is a similar situation: Both lost to Oshkosh, can't fault Illinois that they drew UW-O a round earlier. Arizona hasn't done anything to prove they should be ahead of Illinois since the HI.
So, coming out of the Vegas tournament last weekend, I would have had Arizona and Illinois as basiclly tied in my mind, with who gets the better ranking being a crapshoot. After Illinois looked dominant this weekend start to finish without Deeke, they definatly get the nod over Arizona.
Also, it may not matter that Jeffries was out this weekend (in terms of rankings), because it doesn't look like he expects to be playing again anytime soon. He was hobbling on those crutches pretty good Sunday.
I'd go: 1 Illinois 2 UCF 3 Arizona 4 Oshkosh 5 Lakeland
Any results from yesterday out west?
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Post by peluche on Apr 2, 2007 11:29:17 GMT -5
I think maybe the rankings above me might be the closest I could think of. I know our weak schedule hurts us but we don't have the luxury of driving a couple hours to play top 10 teams every weekend. Besides Oshkosh's two big loses recently they have beaten everyone else on the top 5 at least once so its hard to deny them the top spot in my eyes. But Illinois has been consistant finishing at the top of every big tournament they've played in. I have a feeling these rankings won't be out for a while...
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Post by iu12345 on Apr 2, 2007 12:58:50 GMT -5
I'm not sure why I think it is a good idea to post about Oshkosh right now, but I am struggling to understand what was going on with them this weekend. They have as talented a lineup as anyone, consistent coaching (something I've harped on in previous threads), and guys who seem to like each other, but something was wrong. I think I'm completely ready to chalk it up to working with a different lineup (in terms of the O2 and libero spots at least) and to just having a bad weekend, but there is at least a little doubt in my mind as to their motivation to play. I'm sure it is tough to not become complacent after winning so much so consistently. Most of us wouldn't know how that affects your motivation. The one thing I do know is that almost EVERY team Oshkosh played gave them a good run. Ohio Northern (25-23 game 2), Indiana (33-31, 25-23 - we tried really hard , Ohio State, Western Michigan, and obviously Wisconsin was able to play with a far superior Oshkosh team. It just looked to me like the Oshkosh team didn't want to be playing volleyball when they were on the court. Once the game got into the upper teens, egos and competitive juices got flowing and they were usually able to right the ship and pull out a victory. Everyone knows that upsets happen at nationals. It would be a shame (for Oshkosh) if Oshkosh stumbled in Day 1 or in a power pool match and had a disappointing nationals after such a great regular season up until this past weekend. I would seed them 4th or 5th which might be some motivation for them to come out hard a nats and would make them the undeniably BEST 4th or 5th seeded team going into nationals in my 6 years playing at NIRSA.
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Lew8ftln
Sophomore
Tweet? Follow team updates @oshkoshmvball or myself @bigfire8
Posts: 163
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Post by Lew8ftln on Apr 2, 2007 16:59:15 GMT -5
Oshosh may never win MIVA....Crazy enough last year our only loss was to MSU at MIVA, and the year before we lost in the first round to NIU! Not sure what it is, but every year seems to turn out the same way....stumble at MIVA, but suck it up at nationals (4 years: 3 losses, never before Saturday)
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Post by giba911 on Apr 2, 2007 19:42:07 GMT -5
I don't think Lakeland should move down in the rankings just cause they lost to Illinois twice. If anything they should move up a slot or stay at number 4. They finally got over the hump of beating Oshkosh, and played very well at MIVA's. So moving them down I think would be a mistake. Can't punish a team for playing well. Now all they gotta do is get over the hump of beating Illinois, who deserves a number 1 ranking.
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Post by zip15 on Apr 2, 2007 20:14:15 GMT -5
As terrible as it seems, a 5 really doesn't feel like dropping Lakeland. I think that coming out of the Midwest 10 play, after UCF won the Vegas open the unspoken rankings had already dropped Lakeland to 5 and moved UCF to a 2 or 3. Beating Oshkosh and having a good weekend earns them some points in my mind, but when you look at those 5 teams, I don't see how you could put anyone other then maybe Oshkosh below Lakeland. Even with Lakelands recent win, their still 1-3 vs Oshkosh, and all three losses were in straight sets.
Like star said, one of these teams isn't making a semifinal match, someones gotta be the odd man out. Maybe this weekend at the WVC will prove that Lakeland deserves better then the 5, we'll see.
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Post by athalete on Apr 3, 2007 9:19:04 GMT -5
Each team with the exception of Illinois has had a stumble recently. Lakeland lost to Notre Dame, UW-Oshkosh lost to Wisconsin, Arizona lost to UCF, UCF lost to Oshkosh and Long Beach (?) at Las Vegas. In my opinon the rankings should be: 1) Illinois- no losses recently- so no reason to be anything but #1 2) Lakeland- Lost twice to Illinois, but beat UW-O. Also, was there a more excited team not to see Oshkosh win? You would have thought they were going to the World Series the way they reacted when they found out Oshkosh lost. 3) UW-Oshkosh- Still good, stumbled a little this weekend. Still beat UCF and Arizona at HIC. 4) UCF- Won Vegas- problem is in region no other teams to give them a run. 5) Arizona- Best #5 ever. But they have not beaten any of the teams in front of them, with the exception of UCF, and UCF avenged that loss in Vegas.
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