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Post by Bearkitten on Sept 27, 2022 8:54:33 GMT -5
One Tuesday night match in the MAC and what a doozy it is. “DJ” Ray Gooden and his NIU Huskies will play host to Coleen “Big Money” Munson and her Western Michigan Broncos. Both of these veteran skippers have seen a thing or two and their teams enter tonight’s showdown at Victor E Court undefeated in the MAC at 2-0. WMU has a little better team but VIctor E Court is the league’s toughest venue to play in so you can flip a coin here. The match is a toss up and my gut feeling is Victor E Court decides the outcome. Here is Kitten’s pick for Tuesday: Northern Illinois over Western Michigan 3-2.
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Post by Bearkitten on Sept 28, 2022 10:52:47 GMT -5
Kitten hit the jackpot correctly predicting Northern Illinois’s huge 3-2 victory over Western Michigan last night in DeKalb. Kitten’s overall MAC prediction record now stands at 11-2. It was a well played battle that could of gone either way. However, the Victor E Court snake pit home court advantage was to much for coach Colleen “Big Money” Munson’s Broncos to overcome in set 5, as the Huskies were nearly flawless winning 15-9. With the win, NIU stays unbeaten in the MAC at 3-0 under veteran coach “DJ” Ray Gooden. WMU falls from the unbeaten ranks in the MAC, but still stand tall at 2-1. Tonight’s lone MAC match will feature Buffalo (0-2) at Akron (0-2). Coach Scott Smith’s Bulls dropped 6 consecutive sets last weekend to Western Michigan, but many were extremely competitive. Meanwhile, Akron dropped 6 consecutive sets to Northern Illinois, most by wide margins as the Zips are clearly rebuilding under 1st year coach Tyson Norton. Here is Kitten’s pick for Wednesday night: Buffalo over Akron 3-0.
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Post by Bearkitten on Sept 29, 2022 8:53:11 GMT -5
Kitten was spot on calling for Buffalo’s road sweep over Akron last night improving Kitten’s MAC record to 12-2 on the season. The Bulls dominated from the opening jump serve and picked up their 1st MAC victory of the season and stand 1-2. Akron falls to 0-3 and will be hard pressed to pick up any MAC wins this season. Two MAC West unbeaten teams will collide tonight when host Toledo (2-0) meets Central Michigan (2-0) inside Savage Arena. Trying to pick a winner here is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. CMU is riding high after 2 stunning victories over defending MAC champion Ball State while Toledo had an excellent opening weekend sweeping Eastern Michigan twice. This is absolutely a toss up but Kitten’s gut feeling goes with Jason Oliver’s high flying Rockets. Here is Kitten’s pick for Thursday: Toledo over Central Michigan 3-2.
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Post by Bearkitten on Sept 30, 2022 11:05:17 GMT -5
Kitten scored big on Toledo’ grueling 3-1 victory over Central Michigan in a hard fought well played battle between previously unbeaten MAC teams. With the win Toledo moves into a first place tie at 3-0 with Northern Illinois. The two MAC juggernauts will play again tonight in Toledo’s Savage Arena. There are 6 matches scheduled in the MAC tonight with the marquee match in Bowling Green where the unbeaten Falcons (2-0) will meet unbeaten Ohio (2-0). This match will be a fight to the finish! Kitten stands 13-2 on the MAC season only missing Central Michigan’s upset wins over pre-season favorite Ball State. Here are Kitten’s picks for Friday. Bowling Green over Ohio 3-2, Central Michigan over Toledo 3-2, Ball State over Eastern Michigan 3-0, Buffalo over Northern Illinois 3-2, Western Michigan over Akron 3-0, Kent State over Miami 3-2.
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Post by Bearkitten on Oct 1, 2022 7:54:27 GMT -5
A night of upsets in the MAC! Biggest stunner was previous winless Akron shocking unbeaten Western Michigan 3-2. The Zips played clearly their finest match of the season and completely shut down the Broncos offense in set 5. 15 times in the 5th set, the Zip PA announcer was able to bellow out “And The Point Goes to The Zips!” It was a devastating loss for Colleen “Big Money” Munson’s Broncos. The other minor upset was Miami’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Kent State. The key to the Redhawk’s 1st MAC victory was the absence of Kent State’s first team All- MAC left side attacker Samantha Matthew’s who did not play for undisclosed reasons. The Flashes simply did not have the firepower needed to defeat the determined RedHawks who smelled blood without KSU’s Matthews on the court. Bowling Green had little trouble disposing Ohio in a battle of MAC East unbeaten teams. The Falcons swept the Bobcats in the Stroh Center. Central Michigan turned the tables on Toledo after losing to the Tockets on Thursday and handed the Rockets their 1st MAC loss 3-1. Ball State handled Eastern Michigan 3-1 as the Eagles played very possibly their finest match of the season. EMU came out of the gate fast stunning the Cardinals in set one 25-23 before the Cardinals chirped home the rest of the match. Northern Illinois took Buffalo to the woodshed battering the Bulls 3-0. “DJ” Ray Gooden’s Huskies have proven they are for real this season and are perched atop of the MAC West at 4-0. There are 5 rematches scheduled for Saturday. Kitten went a paltry 3-3 Friday and now stands at 16-5 on the season. Here are Kitten’s picks for Saturday. Ball State over Eastern Michigan 3-0, Northern Illinois over Buffalo 3-1, Western Michigan over Akron 3-0, Bowling Green over Ohio 3-2, Miami over Kent State 3-1 assuming Samantha Matthews does not play. It will be a whole different match if she does!
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Post by Brutus Buckeye on Oct 1, 2022 9:13:44 GMT -5
Alright, I guess I'm flying with the Falcons this year, if they swept Ohio U.
Some of these Bearkitten recaps are more exciting than the actual match highlights. Lol.
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Post by Bearkitten on Oct 2, 2022 11:46:01 GMT -5
It was a second day of topsy turvy MACtion with one major upset. Bearkitten’s predictions were a miserable 6-6 on the weekend and Kitten’s season MAC record is now 19-8. The big upset Saturday took place in Buffalo where the previously winless Bulls turned the tables on “DJ” Ray Gooden’s Huskies sweeping unbeaten Northern Illinois 3-0. Only 24 hours earlier, NIU had no trouble disposing the Bulls 3-0. Coach Scott Smith’s UB club is now 1-3 in the MAC East while NIU falls to 4-1, but still leads the powerful MAC West. After winning a heart stomping 3-2 match over Kent State without Flashes star outside attacker Samantha Mathew’s, the high flying left side banger returned in set 2 last night in Oxford and led KSU and 1st year coach Haley Eckerman to their 1st MAC victory 3-1. Both KSU and Miami are now 1-3 in the MAC East and in a 4-way deadlock for 3rd place. In the biggest MAC East match of the day, unbeaten Bowling Green once again got the best of Ohio 3-1. The Falcons had the home court advantage and strong group of BG faithful and a loud band got in the ears of a very good team of Bobcats. Bowling Green, under the excellent leadership of coach Daniella Tomic, now lead the MAC East at 4-0 while Ohio falls to 2-2 under coach Geoff Carlson. After a stunning 3-2 loss to Akron Friday night, coach Colleen “Big Money” Munson’s Broncos responded from Friday’s wake up call by crushing the Zips 3-0. WMU is now 3-2 in the MAC West in 3rd place while Akron is 1-3 in the MAC East. Ball State had little difficulty disposing Eastern Michigan sweeping the improving Eagles 3-0. BSU looked more like the MAC champion Cardinals of a year ago with their precision ball control and defense. BSU sits in 3rd place in the MAC West at 2-2 while EMU occupies the cellar at 0-4. Central Michigan bounced back from a Friday night thumping at Toledo with a huge 3-1 victory over previously unbeaten Toledo. The win vaulted the Rockets into a 2nd place MAC West tie with Toledo. The Chippewas and Rockets are 3-1. After two weekends, the MAC has shaken out like this: Bowling Green is clearly in the catbird seat in the East followed by Ohio. In the West, it is a free for all between NIU, CMU, Toledo, BSU and WMU.
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Post by Bearkitten on Oct 6, 2022 12:21:31 GMT -5
MACtion resumes tonight in Mount Pleasant, Michigan when two of the fastest rising volleyball programs in the MAC West and East collide in what is expected to be a real donnybrook! Two 2nd place teams, Central Michigan and Ohio, will meet for the only time this season and both clubs are expected to be contenders in the post season MAC tournament. CMU (3-1) has already upset MAC West favorite Ball State twice on the Fire Up Chips home court while splitting at Toledo last weekend. Meanwhile, Ohio dropped 2 matches on the road to MAC East power Bowling Green after smashing Miami opening weekend. The Bobcats ((2-2) have yet to prove they can win big MAC matches on the road under coach Geoff Carlson. Mike Gawlik has put together his finest team ever at CMU. Here is Kitten’s pick for Thursday: Central Michigan over Ohio 3-1.
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Post by Bearkitten on Oct 7, 2022 10:12:04 GMT -5
Ohio University made a huge statement last night on the road at Central Michigan shocking the “Fire Up Chips” 3-0. It was a near flawless performance by 2nd year coach Geoff Carlson’s Bobcats who ran their record to 3-2 in the MAC East and occupy 2nd place. The Chippewas fall to 3-2 in the MAC West and drop into 3rd place. The Bobcats stormed out of the gate in set 1 to a 4-0 lead and never looked back the rest of the match against a group of shellshocked Chippewas who actually played a very solid match. Ohio simply was on a mission after dropping a pair of road matches at MAC East leader Bowling Green last weekend. A full slate of matches in the MAC tonight. Here are Kitten’s picks for Friday: Ball State over Akron 3-0, Ohio over Eastern Michigan 3-0, Bowling Green over Northern Illinois 3-2, Central Michigan over Kent State 3-1, Western Michigan over Miami 3-1, Toledo over Buffalo 3-1.
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Post by jaypak on Oct 7, 2022 12:17:54 GMT -5
The world needs Kitten covering other conferences like this.
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Post by Bearkitten on Oct 8, 2022 10:10:49 GMT -5
They don’t call it Victor E Court for nothing! Northern Illinois spilled the beans upsetting unbeaten MAC East power Bowling Green last night in a thrilling 3-1 victory. The BG loss gives every team in the MAC at least 1 loss. Bowling Green, coming off a two match sweep of Ohio a week ago, now only leads the Bobcats by 1 game in the MAC East. The Bobcats are now 4-2 after defeating a much improved Eastern Michigan club 3-1 last night. The Eagles have to be the best 1-16 team in America as they fought the Bobcats all the way to the finish last night. Kitten predicted 5 out of 6 matches correctly last night missing only Bowling Green’s loss at NIU. The Huskies now lead the MAC West with a 5-1 record. In other MAC matches, Ball State defeated Akron 3-1, Western Michigan buried Miami 3-0, Toledo snuck by Buffalo 3-1 in a very tight match, Central Michigan breezed by Kent State 3-0. 5 matches of MACtion this evening. Here are Kitten’s picks for Saturday: Ball State over Buffalo 3-1, Eastern Michigan over Kent State 3-2, Bowling Green over Western Michigan 3-0, Northern Illinois over Miami 3-0, Toledo over Akron 3-0.
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Post by Bearkitten on Oct 14, 2022 10:28:31 GMT -5
All MACtion eyes turn this weekend to Victor E Court in DeKalb, Illinois where MAC West leading Northern Illinois hosts pre-season MAC West favorite and defending MAC champion Ball State in a weekend doubleheader. “DJ” Ray Gooden’s Huskies are coming off a monumental win a week ago over previously MAC East unbeaten Bowling Green. NIU is perched atop the West with a 6-1 record while Kelli Miller Phillips Ball State Cardinals are nipping at the Huskies paws at 4-2. These two matches may loom as two of the biggest matches for both teams this season. Two other MAC marquee match ups tonight are Central Michigan (4-2) at Bowling Green (5-1) and Toledo (5-1) at Western Michigan (4-3). Five of six teams in the MAC West currently own winning records whereas only two teams in the MAC East are above 500. The MAC West is going to be a meat grinder to the end where only Bowling Green and Ohio will contend for supremacy in the MAC East. Kitten correctly picked 10 of 12 matches last weekend. Here are Kitten’s picks for Friday. Northern Illinois over Ball State 3-2, Bowling Green over Central Michigan 3-1, Toledo over Western Michigan 3-2, Kent State over Akron 3-1, Miami over Eastern Michigan 3-2, Ohio over Buffalo 3-1.
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Post by Bearkitten on Oct 15, 2022 8:17:17 GMT -5
It was a wild Friday night of MACtion and Kitten will begin at the top. Ball State moved back within a game of 1st place in the MAC West, stunning MAC West leader Northern Illinois 3-1 on the Huskies nearly invincible VIctor E Court. NIU was coming off a victory only a week ago over undefeated Bowling Green, and entered last night’s showdown with the defending MAC champion Cardinals on top of the world. But it is often said, when a team begins to feel to good about themselves something bad happens, and it did! BSU, in nearly a “must win” situation, stood tall and simply slayed the Huskies. With a repeat victory today over NIU, the Cardinals will take over 1st place in the MAC West. In the 2nd stunner in the MAC West, 2nd place Toledo waltzed into Kalamazoo to play 4th place Western Michigan and Colleen “Big Money” Munson’s Broncos and took the Rockets to the woodshed and chopped Toledo up 3-0. The loss puts the Rockets in a 2nd place tie with BSU at 5-2 and the win places WMU at 5-3 and only a game out of 2nd heading into today’s rematch. MAC West stunner #3 was winless Eastern Michigan entering match at Miami 0-6 and Darcy Dorton’s Eagles shocked Miami 3-0! The kicker to the match was in set 1, the Eagles trailed Miami 24-19 and rallied back to win in overtime 29-27! EMU then chased (Raven style) the RedHawks right off the court the next 2 sets dropping Miami to a paltry 1-6 in the MAC East. MAC East upset of the night took place in Athens, Ohio where coach Scott Smith’s Buffalo Bull spilled the beans stunning the 2nd place Bobcats 3-2. Ohio coach Geoff Carlson was so livid he was the only coach in the Convocation Center after the match that refused to walk through the line and shake hands with the opponent. The Bulls move into a tie for 3rd with Kent State at 3-4 while the Bobcats fall to 4-3 and still hold onto 2nd place by a shoelace over Buffalo and KSU. The only matches that went true to form were MAC East leader Bowling Green’s 3-0 sweep over a solid Central Michigan team, spoiling the Chips coach Mike Gawlik’s birthday celebration. BG moved to 7-1 and is poised to run away in the East. CMU falls to 4-3 and drops into a 3rd place tie in the MAC West with WMU. The other match that went according to the book was Kent State’s easy 3-0 sweep over bottom feeder Akron. The Zips now stand 1-6 and are tied for the basement of the East with Miami. With all the upsets, Kitten went a pathetic 2-4 on the night and picking winners in today’s rematches will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack! Here are Kitten’s picks for Saturday: Ball State over Northern Illinois 3-2, Eastern Michigan over Miami 3-2, Toledo over Western Michigan 3-1, Ohio over Buffalo 3-1, Bowling Green over Central Michigan 3-2, Kent State over Akron 3-1.
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Post by Bearkitten on Oct 16, 2022 11:41:44 GMT -5
Ball State moved into a 1st place tie with Toledo when the defending MAC champion Cardinals buried previous MAC West leader Northern Illinois 3-0 on the Huskies Victor E Court. The Cardinals dominated the entire match and turned the hapless Huskies into puppies likely squelching NIU’s chances of winning the MAC West. Meanwhile, Toledo turned the tables on Western Michigan (5-4) after being swept Friday by beating the Broncos 3-1 in Kalamazoo. Toledo is now tied with Ball State for 1st place in the MAC West at 6-2 with a battle for sole possession of 1st place looming Wednesday night when the Rockets and Cardinals battle in Toledo’s Savage Arena. In other MAC matches, Bowling Green smashed Central Michigan likely dashing the hopes for a Chippewas West championship dropping CMU to 4-4 in the West. Bowling Green (7-1) now has a 3 game cushion over Ohio (5-3) who dodged a bullet squeaking out a 19-17 5th set win over up and coming Buffalo (3-6) gaining a split in the weekend series with the Bobcats in Athens. Eastern Michigan had an incredible weekend sweeping former MAC power Miami on the RedHawks home court and winning both matches this weekend giving the Eagles a 2-6 record in the MAC West and dropping the RedHawks into the MAC East cellar at 1-7. Akron pulled a shocker at Kent State sweeping the flashes to improve the Zips record to 2-6 while dropping the flash in the pan Flashes to 3-5. KSU began the season 9-2 and was the talk of the MAC under new coach and the league’s flashiest dresser Haley Eckelman. Now that talk has completely ceased. Kitten’s conclusion from this weekend is that Bowling Green will run away with the MAC East and Ball State and Toledo will fight it out for the MAC West championship.
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Post by Bearkitten on Oct 18, 2022 9:19:57 GMT -5
MACtion resumes tonight in Kent, Ohio when Ohio University (5-3) squares off with Kent State (3-5). Both teams are coming off weekend splits. The 2nd place MAC East Bobcats came within an eyelash of dropping both matches to Buffalo (3-6) by winning a thrilling set 5 in overtime 20-18. Buffalo may be the most improved team in the MAC East the past 2 weeks while Ohio does not look like the same team that steamrolled Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant a week ago. For the Bobcats to have any hope of staying in the MAC East race with Bowling Green, they must win tonight. Meanwhile, coach Haley Eckelman’s Kent State Flashes are coming off a devastating home court loss to Akron (2-6). The Golden Flashes return the lions share of their starting line up from a year ago and had high MAC expectations this year, but have struggled in the early going despite sitting in 3rd place in the MAC East with a losing record. With neither team playing well at the moment it’s difficult to project what might happen tonight on the Flashes home boards. It will likely be a dentist chair match with both teams pulling their teeth out trying to win this inter state rivalry match. Here is Kitten’s pick for Tuesday: Ohio over Kent State 3-2.
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