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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2022 15:40:59 GMT -5
Mid-South experts in here...can one of you tell me more about Cumberland? That program took down two top programs (William Penn & Campbellsville), although they were both injured, but had some not great losses. Are they an up and coming program, or did they just catch fire briefly? They look like a young program, so I am interested to see if they could be that next team to come out of the Mid-South?
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Post by nslot on Apr 20, 2022 15:54:42 GMT -5
Mid-South experts in here...can one of you tell me more about Cumberland? That program took down two top programs (William Penn & Campbellsville), although they were both injured, but had some not great losses. Are they an up and coming program, or did they just catch fire briefly? They look like a young program, so I am interested to see if they could be that next team to come out of the Mid-South? They are a conundrum to me as well, they have talent players, just struggle with inconsistency's i did not see either the William Penn or the Campbellsville game but saw them play at other times and didn't think they where cream of the crop in the mid south at all very much a mid pack team. I do not believe they beat many teams in the south and benefited from the weaker north asides from Georgetown and Campbellsville the rest of the north was fairly pedestrian. Looking at the box score when they played campbellsville they were down to 2 starters there all america and the rightside, I think the setter make a huge difference in so many aspects of their game so thats what i would chalk that up to. Vs william penn it looks like no Krouse but I'm not familiarly enough with other starters to really tell. I think they have talent, and are underrated but i don't know that they are a top 25 team let alone top 15
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Post by paytonvb on Apr 20, 2022 16:32:56 GMT -5
Mid-South experts in here...can one of you tell me more about Cumberland? That program took down two top programs (William Penn & Campbellsville), although they were both injured, but had some not great losses. Are they an up and coming program, or did they just catch fire briefly? They look like a young program, so I am interested to see if they could be that next team to come out of the Mid-South? They are a conundrum to me as well, they have talent players, just struggle with inconsistency's i did not see either the William Penn or the Campbellsville game but saw them play at other times and didn't think they where cream of the crop in the mid south at all very much a mid pack team. I do not believe they beat many teams in the south and benefited from the weaker north asides from Georgetown and Campbellsville the rest of the north was fairly pedestrian. Looking at the box score when they played campbellsville they were down to 2 starters there all america and the rightside, I think the setter make a huge difference in so many aspects of their game so thats what i would chalk that up to. Vs william penn it looks like no Krouse but I'm not familiarly enough with other starters to really tell. I think they have talent, and are underrated but i don't know that they are a top 25 team let alone top 15 I remember watching the Campbellsville match. Both teams had a massive amount of errors that night (worse on the Campbellsville side) and an abysmal hitting percentage. This was still early in the season when they were dealing with some injuries (plus according to a friend they were coming off a covid protocol). History between the two programs is 7-1 (with the lone Cumberland win coming this season 3-2) Cumberland has a 2-1 record against William Penn. They were able to get a fast start against them in most sets. Like nslot noted, they have talent. It's a young program (40% of their team were freshman this year, with 1/3 being sophomores; no seniors) so the inconsistency will hopefully continue to improve with experience. They seem to play more matches than a lot of programs and play a fair amount outside their conference. Unfortunately for them they have to live in the Georgetown/Campbellsville bubble...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2022 16:57:33 GMT -5
Great insights, thanks! Trying to see how teams might start to shape up for next year
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Post by 513vb on Apr 20, 2022 18:40:32 GMT -5
Life has planned to leave the Mid South Since December of 2020 living.life.edu/press-releases/life-university-athletics-headed-to-southern-states-athletic-conference-in-2022-23/I believe that Milligan would have to leave the AAC in order to join the mid south. "Depending on new recruits" truett could win the conference lol, I think your being a little harsh on Life I agree that St. Andrews is in the top 4 but lets compare the other 3 Head to head records Life vs Rienhardt 1-1 (5 sets to 3 in favor of Life) Rienhardt vs Bluefield 2-0 (6 sets to 3 in favor of Rienhardt) Bluefield vs Life 1-0 (3 sets to 2 in favor of Life) Life 2-1, Rienhardt 2-1, Bluefield 0-3 Best win in Conference Life - St. Andrews and Webber - Tied for 2nd Rienhardt - Warner and Life - Tied for 6 Bluefield - Thomas Moore - 10th place Attacking Life - 12.56 kills per set hitting .252 Rienhardt 11.17 kills per set hitting .229 Bluefield - 10.94 Kills per set hitting .193 Defense Life - 9.85 Digs per set 2.12 blocks per set Rienhardt- 9.50 digs per set 2.05 blocks per set Bluefield - 9.52 digs per set 1.77 blocks per set Serve and Pass Life - 1.59 Aces per set Reception errors per set 1.38 Rienhardt - 2.16 Aces per set Reception Errors per set 1.20 Bluefield - 1.11 Aces per set Reception Errors per Set 1.29 Life had some key injuries Obrador there Opp and 3rd option last year only played in 8 set this year and then sat out with rotator cuff issues, he hit .429 with 4.28 kills per set in the first two matches so he is a big part of there success. They also lost there OH1 Felipe Gonzalez half way through the year. Program is going through a transition with a new coach i expect them to be a contender going forward Both Reinhardt and Bluefield are much improved but i still think they are a few pieces away from really competing with the top of the conference, the only team in the new AAC that Bluefield beat this past year was Truett. Maybe I'm being harsh on Life, but they just didn't seem to flow as well on the court this year. I'll chalk it up to the program transitioning under a new coach. They are losing some key players to graduation this year (assuming the seniors don't take a covid year) and next, so they may end up going through a rebuilding period. I think St. Andrews will likely have a breakthrough before Reinhardt. They seem to have done well on the recruitment front in the last year or so. Reinhardt has also been transitioning under a new coach I believe. Bluefield still has a ways to go, but I saw a tenacity in them this season that seems promising. I agree that Life looked better in past years. The new Reinhardt coach gave me weird vibes, sat behind the bench in some matches, and just seemed distant. The younger female coaches seemed to actually be coaching, however. Life's coach was the previous Reinhardt coach - he was able to recruit some solid players at RU, so I think given time he could revive Life a bit. Bluefield seemed cohesive and "tenacity" is a good word as well. Their libero was really good and helped them immensely.
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Post by 513vb on Apr 20, 2022 18:48:35 GMT -5
They are a conundrum to me as well, they have talent players, just struggle with inconsistency's i did not see either the William Penn or the Campbellsville game but saw them play at other times and didn't think they where cream of the crop in the mid south at all very much a mid pack team. I do not believe they beat many teams in the south and benefited from the weaker north asides from Georgetown and Campbellsville the rest of the north was fairly pedestrian. Looking at the box score when they played campbellsville they were down to 2 starters there all america and the rightside, I think the setter make a huge difference in so many aspects of their game so thats what i would chalk that up to. Vs william penn it looks like no Krouse but I'm not familiarly enough with other starters to really tell. I think they have talent, and are underrated but i don't know that they are a top 25 team let alone top 15 I remember watching the Campbellsville match. Both teams had a massive amount of errors that night (worse on the Campbellsville side) and an abysmal hitting percentage. This was still early in the season when they were dealing with some injuries (plus according to a friend they were coming off a covid protocol). History between the two programs is 7-1 (with the lone Cumberland win coming this season 3-2) Cumberland has a 2-1 record against William Penn. They were able to get a fast start against them in most sets. Like nslot noted, they have talent. It's a young program (40% of their team were freshman this year, with 1/3 being sophomores; no seniors) so the inconsistency will hopefully continue to improve with experience. They seem to play more matches than a lot of programs and play a fair amount outside their conference. Unfortunately for them they have to live in the Georgetown/Campbellsville bubble... Again, agreeing for the most part. Cumberland took advantage of a very weakened Campbellsville when they met. Campbellsville had a very altered starting group due to injury and Covid. I also heard that they played really well vs. William Penn, but Wm. Penn was without Krause (an AA). I watched this match and it was a battle of attrition in many ways. They have talented players, for sure, but don't have enough to be at the top of the MSC with Campbellsville and Georgetown. They are somewhat young, though. But they're a new-ish program so that's expected. They were upset in the first round of the MSC tournament by Thomas More, and from what I saw, the Cumberland coach made some weird lineup decisions throughout the match.
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Post by paytonvb on Apr 20, 2022 19:22:49 GMT -5
Maybe I'm being harsh on Life, but they just didn't seem to flow as well on the court this year. I'll chalk it up to the program transitioning under a new coach. They are losing some key players to graduation this year (assuming the seniors don't take a covid year) and next, so they may end up going through a rebuilding period. I think St. Andrews will likely have a breakthrough before Reinhardt. They seem to have done well on the recruitment front in the last year or so. Reinhardt has also been transitioning under a new coach I believe. Bluefield still has a ways to go, but I saw a tenacity in them this season that seems promising. I agree that Life looked better in past years. The new Reinhardt coach gave me weird vibes, sat behind the bench in some matches, and just seemed distant. The younger female coaches seemed to actually be coaching, however. Life's coach was the previous Reinhardt coach - he was able to recruit some solid players at RU, so I think given time he could revive Life a bit. Bluefield seemed cohesive and "tenacity" is a good word as well. Their libero was really good and helped them immensely. I did notice that about the new Reinhardt coach, but that just may be the way he helps the assistant coach learn "how" to coach. I watched some of the women's VB matches last year and he did something similar during a few of the matches (the new Life MVB coach was the assistant to the Reinhardt WVB team). Every now and then I'll see it in other sports too. Something tells me there may be more to the story, but without inside knowledge it's hard to say. What happened to the previous Life coach (as they were pretty decent)? Was he fired or did he find a better gig? They literally only had one freshman on the roster this year which is kind of odd (definitely a good recruit, though, at libero - I'm guessing maybe a result of the previous coach).
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Post by paytonvb on Apr 20, 2022 21:58:36 GMT -5
Mid-South is supposed to be splitting up next season. Teams heading to AACWebber Warner Reinhardt Life St. Andrews Bluefield Columbia International (assuming they field a team) - I wouldn't underestimate them if they do; their women's team made major strides the past 2 years Truett McConnell - feel sorry for these guys to be honest; it's got to suck when everyone beats the crap out of you Teams staying in Mid-SouthGeorgetown Campbellsville Cumberlands Midway Rio Grande Thomas More (?) According to their website, Thomas More will retain NAIA membership until the completion of the 2022-23 academic year so maybe they are staying for the short term. I'm guessing Mid-South may try and bring Milligan in since a number of Mid-South teams played them this season... I am mentally preparing myself for Beachin' to complain next year about AAC... Don't worry, I learned to hold my tongue after this year and having some of those hot takes burn me! The split of the Mid-South and AAC is definitely interesting. I do believe that Thomas More is moving into NCAA Division II after next season, so if the Mid-South moves to five teams, then they find themselves in some trouble and may need to have those teams merge into the AAC. I think the growth in that region is great for the sport though, and I am hoping that some of these top teams rely more on local talent instead of the international students as the sport grows in the region. Though, that is very unlikely. Beachin' - I am so giving you crap next season when you start complaining... I actually think AAC may turn into a funky bloodbath like SEC football for the next few years as the volleyball programs grow. A place where multiple teams beat up on one another and there is no "guaranteed" winner or loser. One insight may be to look at how the women's VB programs have progressed at these schools over the past 4-5 years. Men's VB is still a new turf for a lot of these colleges and I would assume both programs talk to one another or train together at times. Iron sharpens iron at the end of the day, though. I think the teams that go outside of their comfort zone and play outside of their conference more will benefit more than those that play the "safer" or less experienced programs. As far an local vs international players - you're funny... Although I would love to see how some of these programs pay for so many players...
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Post by valleyvolley1 on Apr 22, 2022 13:58:30 GMT -5
ok, growth of mens volleyball. the 2020 NAIA and 2021 threads were around 18 and 20 pages. This is 24 so far (kinda the end of the season). I think that indicates more interest? or is it me adding lame opinions?
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Post by valleyvolley1 on Apr 25, 2022 10:10:29 GMT -5
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