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Post by fandad on Oct 26, 2019 12:51:17 GMT -5
It seems like a good time to start a thread about the upcoming NAIA season. I wanted to start with an inventory of the schools that will be competing in men's volleyball this year and in the near future. Doing a search on the NAIA website shows 50 teams will field men's volleyball teams for the 2020 season, up from 43 teams in 2019. Of the 50 teams, 10 are new to NAIA men's volleyball. Three schools seem to have dropped men's volleyball. The three that dropped are: - Lindenwood University-Belleville (IL)
- Brewton-Parker College (GA)
- Calumet College of St. Joseph (IN)
The ten new teams competing, along with their head coaches, (in no particular order) are: - William Penn University (Oskaloosa, IA); Coach-Luke Bentley
- University of Jamestown (Jamestown, ND); Coach-Riley Salmon
- Thomas More University (Crestview, KY); Coach-Zachary Ober
- St. Louis College of Pharmacy (St. Louis, MO); Coach-Ryan Vonfeldt
- Reinhardt University (Waleska, GA); Coach-Charles (CJ) Shearer
- Indiana Institute of Technology (Fort Wayne, IN); Coach-Kyle Shondell
- Vanuard Univerity (Costa Mesa, CA); Coach-Brad Rostratter
- Simpson University (Redding, CA); Coach-David Irving
- The Master's University (Santa Clarita, CA); Coach-Allen Vince
- University of Saint Katherine (San Marcos, CA); Coach-Danko Iordanov
Thomas More and Saint Katherine have fielded teams for at least the last year, but were not NAIA members. They are now. The other 8 are brand new men's volleyball programs. There are three other schools that will be fielding teams this year that are not included in the NAIA, but appear to be poised to join the NAIA in the next year(?). They are: - Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Mount Vernon, OH); Coach-Doug Sherer
- Park University-Gilbert (Gilbert, AZ); Coach-Clay Webb
- Westcliff University (Irvine, CA); Coach-Jon Ferrari
Westcliff has fielded a team previously, but the other two are new programs. From what I can tell, the GSAC as it was configured last year will stay intact for one more year, with Vanguard and Master's joining Benedictine-Mesa, Hope International, Ottawa-AZ, UC Merced, Menlo College, and Arizona Christian for the 2020 season. Saint Katherine and Simpson appear to be independents this year, but next year, their regular conferece (Cal-Pacific) will split off from the GSAC to include those two schools plus Benedictine-Mesa, UC Merced, Park-Gilbert, and Westcliff. That means there will be 2 six-team conferences in the West (not to mention any schools that decide to add men's volleyball between now and then). I don't know this for sure, but next year my guess is that Mount Vernon Nazarene will join the Wolverine-Hoosier conference.
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Post by fandad on Oct 26, 2019 12:58:05 GMT -5
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NAIA 2020
Oct 30, 2019 12:31:16 GMT -5
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Post by beachbum86 on Oct 30, 2019 12:31:16 GMT -5
The new west coast schools, Vanguard and Master’s specifically, should be very competitive in their first seasons. They’re both located in volleyball hotbeds and I’m sure they’ve gotten some solid recruits. I feel that the GSAC just got a lot more interesting with potential for more teams this year to challenge Benedictine with them losing 4 key starters and other teams picking up very dynamic players.
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Post by fandad on Oct 31, 2019 13:54:31 GMT -5
From the NAIA Men's Volleyball Coaches Corner (Announcement)
UPDATE
On 10/17/19 the NAC Executive Committee moved to adopt a formalized NAIA Men’s Volleyball All-American Program. The program is endorsed by the NAIA Men’s Volleyball Executive Committee and is modeled after the process that NAIA Women’s Volleyball currently uses. Each conference/A.I.I./unaffiliated grouping is entitled to select a 9-member All-Conference team. A conference/A.I.I./unaffiliated grouping has the option to recognize additional players (i.e. 2nd team, honorable mention, etc.) for local recognition only. Additional selections do not advance for All-America consideration. It is recommended that each conference/independent selection committee convenes via conference call (set up by the conference/A.I.I./unaffiliated grouping) to select the All Conference /Independent teams. The Men’s Volleyball Coaches Association (MVCA) officers coordinates the calling time with the conference/A.I.I./Unaffiliated Grouping volleyball chair. The MVCA strongly recommends the process be by consensus, rather than a ballot rating, to insure proper recognition order of the athletes. Athletes are considered for further recognition in the rank order given on the form. The following factors should be considered in the selection process: a. observed performance b. statistics as appropriate c. relative strength of schedule d. team performance e. exhibits behavior consistent with “Champions of Character” philosophy The NAIA All-America Men’s Volleyball teams are selected by the NAIA-MVCA Executive Committee during the NAIA National Championship. The pool of candidates comes from the All-Conference/Independent Teams. The official All Conference/A.I.I. form is sent separately by the national office to the conference/A.I.I. commissioners. Players must be listed in descending rank order starting with the conference/independent player of the year and working downward ranked in order The NAIA-MVCA Executive Committee will select: 1st Team – 9 members 2nd Team – 9 members Honorable Mention – 9 members ***Please note that the AVCA NAIA Men’s Volleyball All-American and the NAIA All-American process are independent of each other. The AVCA will keep their same process**
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Post by fandad on Oct 31, 2019 13:57:16 GMT -5
Coaches' Top 10 Polls ( Poll Schedule Link) Preseason (Tues), Jan. 8 Poll 1 (Tues), Jan. 22 Poll 2 (Tues), Feb. 5 Poll 3 (Tues), Feb. 19 Poll 4 (Tues), March 4 Poll 5 (Tues), March 18 Final (Sun), April 5 Postseason (Wed), April 22
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2019 16:04:00 GMT -5
Why not take a stab at this...what I think each conference will look like in their initial ratings (released January 6):
Chicagoland (CCAC): 1. St. Ambrose 2. St. Xavier 3. Cardinal Stritch 4. Robert Morris 5. Judson 6. Trinity Christian 7. Viterbo
Golden State (GSAC): 1. Benedictine 2. Menlo 3. Hope International 4. UC Merced 5. Vanguard 6. Ottawa (AZ) 7. Master's 8. Arizona Christian
Heart of America (HAAC): 1. Grand View 2. Mount Mercy 3. Missouri Valley 4. Clarke 5. Graceland 6. William Penn 7. Culver-Stockton
Mid-South (MSC): 1. St. Andrew's 2. Campbellsville 3. Life 4. Cumberland 5. Webber International 6. Warner 7. Bluefield 8. Reinhardt 9. Midway 10. Thomas More
Wolverine-Hoosier (WHAC): 1. Lourdes 2. Aquinas 3. Siena Heights 4. Lawrence Tech 5. Indiana Tech 6. Goshen
Unaffiliated (AMC/GPCA/KCAC): 1. Missouri Baptist 2. Park 3. Ottawa 4. Briar Cliff 5. Jamestown 6. Morningside 7. Dordt 8.Lincoln
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Post by fandad on Dec 4, 2019 15:08:49 GMT -5
The new west coast schools, Vanguard and Master’s specifically, should be very competitive in their first seasons. They’re both located in volleyball hotbeds and I’m sure they’ve gotten some solid recruits. I feel that the GSAC just got a lot more interesting with potential for more teams this year to challenge Benedictine with them losing 4 key starters and other teams picking up very dynamic players. Looking at Vanguard's and Master's rosters, I can confirm that they got some solid recruits, Vanguard in particular. Both rosters are peppered with SoCal JC transfers and Vanguard got a couple really good transfers from other than the JCs: Christian Nowtash coming over from Concordia-Irvine and Bryce Thompson coming back home to Southern California after having been the primary setter for Ottawa in Kansas last year as a freshman. Thompson is an especially good get for Coach Rostratter. They have matches scheduled with with D3 powerhouse Springfield (X2), Condordia-Irvine (X2), UCSB, CSUN, UCSD, and Grand Canyon. It took awhile for Master's to post a roster, and they still haven't posted a schedule. The name on their roster that really stands out is MB Brett Norkus who is transferring in after a couple pretty successful years at Pierce College in LA. You might remember Norkus was a 2017 recruit to Cal Baptist who got left out in the cold when they dropped their program that spring. The GSAC should be very competitive this year. Ben-Mesa lost a lot of talent, but still have plenty left. Hope, as always, will be a threat and UC Merced is returning most of last year's roster. Menlo is also returning most of their key players from last year. After making a really good run in the conference tournament (losing to Ben-Mesa in 4 close sets in the final), they would seem primed to contend for the top spot this year; however, they did suffer one big loss to their roster. Last year's starting setter Trey Lake has decided to step away from volleyball, at least for the time being. I understand he is not registered to attend any school this year. He was one of the best setters in the NAIA and will be hard to replace. An original Oak team member from 2017/2018, Shea Filardo, is back on the roster. (Not sure why he didn't play last year.) And freshman Lucas Larson joins the team to compete for the S job with Filardo. I looked through the rosters for a couple other of the newer programs and the one that really stood out was Univ. of Jamestown (South Dakota). They have a "name" coach in Riley Salmon. It looks like Salmon is really following the Aquinas model from last year, with more than half his roster hailing from California and/or having played at a SoCal JC. They are even doing the spring break trip to SoCal this year just like Aquinas did last year. And they're not just playing the JC's. They have matches lined up with Pepperdine and Concordia-Irvine during that trip. It's hard to see them being as successful as Aquinas was last year, considering the conference they're in (with MoBap, Ottawa, Park, and Briar Cliff), but you never know. They should be fun to watch. Speaking of Aquinas, Michael Crane takes over from Rick Schroeder as the head coach. And it looks like they pulled in a couple more SoCal JC transfers, including libero Kelsey Yogi. All the key players from last year are returning, as well.
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Post by bealzabubba on Dec 4, 2019 15:51:45 GMT -5
FWIW on Vanguard - Coach Rostratter was exceptionally active at SCVA tourneys last year, and not just looking at 18's a1/a2 courts (my kid was a 15, and he was watching those courts and chatting up coaches / directors, and even the odd parent or two, though nothing specific).
Point being he seems to get that he's in a hotbed, he's got a new program, and that he needs to sell his program. He was infectious, and it was fun to see, candidly - made enough of an impression on me (at least) that I'll follow his team to see what happens.
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Post by teamjess on Dec 4, 2019 16:45:14 GMT -5
FWIW on Vanguard - Coach Rostratter was exceptionally active at SCVA tourneys last year, and not just looking at 18's a1/a2 courts (my kid was a 15, and he was watching those courts and chatting up coaches / directors, and even the odd parent or two, though nothing specific). Point being he seems to get that he's in a hotbed, he's got a new program, and that he needs to sell his program. He was infectious, and it was fun to see, candidly - made enough of an impression on me (at least) that I'll follow his team to see what happens. Brad is a remarkable young man and his coaching skills, his volleyball IQ and his interpersonal skills are going to take him far. Plus he was mentored by the best. (Marv Dunphy) also - I am not his mom
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Post by VBSH 2 on Dec 4, 2019 17:26:01 GMT -5
FWIW on Vanguard - Coach Rostratter was exceptionally active at SCVA tourneys last year, and not just looking at 18's a1/a2 courts (my kid was a 15, and he was watching those courts and chatting up coaches / directors, and even the odd parent or two, though nothing specific). Point being he seems to get that he's in a hotbed, he's got a new program, and that he needs to sell his program. He was infectious, and it was fun to see, candidly - made enough of an impression on me (at least) that I'll follow his team to see what happens. Brad is a remarkable young man and his coaching skills, his volleyball IQ and his interpersonal skills are going to take him far. Plus he was mentored by the best. (Marv Dunphy) also - I am not his mom Brad is a great guy and a great coach. He should do well there.
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Post by MVBFAN on Dec 4, 2019 17:26:35 GMT -5
Saint Xavier to watch out of Chicago.
They added an OPPO transfer who is touching like 11’10”
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Post by VBSH 2 on Dec 5, 2019 12:10:29 GMT -5
mark your calendars for March 13th- University of Jamestown Vs The Masters. There will be a wicked fights on Volleytalk with some parent posters. And a rematch of the OCC-Pierce finals a couple of years ago.
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Post by teamjess on Dec 5, 2019 12:27:11 GMT -5
mark your calendars for March 13th- University of Jamestown Vs The Masters. There will be a wicked fights on Volleytalk with some parent posters. And a rematch of the OCC-Pierce finals a couple of years ago. Calendar marked . But the big mark on the calendar here is for March 11.
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NAIA 2020
Dec 5, 2019 12:30:53 GMT -5
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Post by VBSH 2 on Dec 5, 2019 12:30:53 GMT -5
mark your calendars for March 13th- University of Jamestown Vs The Masters. There will be a wicked fights on Volleytalk with some parent posters. And a rematch of the OCC-Pierce finals a couple of years ago. Calendar marked . But the big mark on the calendar here is for March 11. How fun!!!
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NAIA 2020
Dec 24, 2019 13:10:47 GMT -5
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Post by chicagoballer11 on Dec 24, 2019 13:10:47 GMT -5
Another team out of the CCAC conference to look out for this year is Cardinal Stritch. Have all returners, picked up an All-American transfer from Lourdes, Both middles touch ridiculous heights, they’re a very physical team for the NAIA. I also heard they won the Marquette tournament, which is a pretty tough preseason bash. Was down in Chicago watching them play last year at St.Xavier, was impressed with their size and athleticism. Should be fun to see them and st. Xavier battle it out this year.
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