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Post by jayj79 on Oct 9, 2022 8:42:09 GMT -5
Noticed that KBB’s oldest daughter (2024) committed to UNI. KBB has always had much respect for Coach Petersen. Will be interesting to see if Creighton and UNI continue playing each other every year, with the Creighton/USC/Kentucky/UNI tournament rotation having concluded. if not every year, perhaps at least arranging a home-and-home over a couple seasons like Texas did with UNI when Sydney Petersen was there (even though the pandemic threw a wrench in those plans and it ended up being a one-off match in Austin). |
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Post by jayj79 on Oct 11, 2022 22:24:26 GMT -5
UNI defeated Drake this evening, extending their conference record to 7-0, with a 2 match lead in the standings over 2nd place (Valpo, Drake, and UIC are at 5-2). With Valpo and UIC making the Iowa road trip to play UNI and Drake.
I just realized tonight that Drake has hired Hali Hillegas as an assistant coach. I remember enjoying watching her play as libero at Iowa State a few years ago.
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Post by vbwatcher2 on Oct 12, 2022 15:33:36 GMT -5
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Post by avid 2.0 on Oct 12, 2022 15:35:20 GMT -5
wow those are huge losses |
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Post by cpvb6 on Oct 12, 2022 16:21:56 GMT -5
wow those are huge losses Concussions are a bitch. |
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Post by jayj79 on Oct 14, 2022 12:51:18 GMT -5
Could be some good matches in the MVC this weekend, as the top 4 teams in the conference standings (and RPI) are playing each other. Fri. 10/14/2022 6 pm (CDT)UIC (5-2 MVC, 74 RPI) @ UNI (7-0 MVC, 57 RPI) - ESPN3, audio, statsValparaiso (5-2 MVC, 67 RPI) @ Drake (5-2 MVC, 89 RPI) - ESPN3, statsSat. 10/15/20225 pm (CDT): UIC (5-2 MVC, 74 RPI) @ Drake (5-2 MVC, 89 RPI) - ESPN3, stats7 pm (CDT): Valparaiso (5-2 MVC, 67 RPI) @ UNI (7-0 MVC, 57 RPI) - audio, stats |
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Post by jayj79 on Oct 16, 2022 0:01:59 GMT -5
halfway through the conference season (well, there is one more match to be played on Mon., but it won't really change the standings much).
So far, it has made the preseason poll look pretty silly.
1. UNI (picked 6th) 9-0
2. Drake (picked 9th) 7-2
3. SIU (picked 12th) 6-2
t4. Valpo (picked 5th) 5-4
t4. UIC (picked 3rd) 5-4
t4. Evansville (picked 2nd) 5-4
7. Missouri St (picked 7th) 3-5
t8. Murray St (picked 10th) 3-6
t8. Bradley (picked 4th) 3-6
t8. Belmont (picked 11th) 3-6
11. Illinois St (picked 1st) 2-7
12. Indiana St (picked 8th) 2-7
The conference tournament will feature the top 8 teams (after each team has played an 18-game conference schedule), with the top 2 teams getting double-byes into the semifinals, and the #3 and #4 teams getting a single bye into the quarterfinals.
Chances are that only the tournament winner will get a spot in the NCAAs, though UNI could get into the bubble discussion if they can keep winning, but I don't think they can get their RPI quite high enough given their lack of quality wins (Iowa State might end up in the top 50, but that'd be it)
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Post by jayj79 on Oct 30, 2022 8:01:16 GMT -5
UNI is still atop the conference at 13-0
but Drake has been keeping pace at 11-2 and the Bulldogs have won 17 consecutive sets (sweeping their last 5 matches plus sets 3&4 of their four-set win vs. Valpo).
The remaining 10 MVC teams (other than the 2 Iowa teams) all have at least 5 losses.
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Post by jayj79 on Nov 4, 2022 22:42:02 GMT -5
UNI extended their MVC record to 14-0 with a dominating win at Illinois State, which was also their 20th win in their past 21 matches.
This clinches a top 2 finish in the conference standings, securing a double bye into the semifinals of the MVC tournament, and bringing their "magic number" for a regular season championship down to 3.
Drake kept pace with a sweep at Bradley, putting their conference record at 12-2 and maintaining the state-of-Iowa dominance atop the MVC standings. They've locked up a conference tourney spot, and with a 3 match lead over the 3rd place team with 4 matches left to play, the Bulldogs have a good chance of grabbing the other top-2 seed.
Southern Illinois (who was picked to finish last in the preseason poll) picked up a win over Indiana State to push their MVC record to 9-5, also clinching a spot in the conference tournament.
Illinois-Chicago, who entered the day tied with SIU for 3rd was supposed to play a match at Murray State tonight, but the match ended up being cancelled due to a power outage, which throws an interesting wrinkle into things.
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Post by bucky415 on Nov 4, 2022 22:44:50 GMT -5
UNI extended their MVC record to 14-0 with a dominating win at Illinois State, which was also their 20th win in their past 21 matches. This clinches a top 2 finish in the conference standings, securing a double bye into the semifinals of the MVC tournament, and bringing their "magic number" for a regular season championship down to 3. Drake kept pace with a sweep at Bradley, putting their conference record at 12-2 and maintaining the state-of-Iowa dominance atop the MVC standings. They've locked up a conference tourney spot, and with a 3 match lead over the 3rd place team with 4 matches left to play, the Bulldogs have a good chance of grabbing the other top-2 seed. Southern Illinois (who was picked to finish last in the preseason poll) picked up a win over Indiana State to push their MVC record to 9-5, also clinching a spot in the conference tournament. Illinois-Chicago, who entered the day tied with SIU for 3rd was supposed to play a match at Murray State tonight, but the match ended up being cancelled due to a power outage, which throws an interesting wrinkle into things. As a Bradley fan, I am all for ISU losing!  . That said, I am happy for you and UNI. They have had so much bad luck with injuries in recent years that it is great to see them back where I expect them to be. I hope they bulldoze through the MVC tournament (and get sent to Minneapolis)! |
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Post by jayj79 on Nov 4, 2022 23:05:20 GMT -5
As a Bradley fan, I am all for ISU losing! . That said, I am happy for you and UNI. They have had so much bad luck with injuries in recent years that it is great to see them back where I expect them to be. I hope they bulldoze through the MVC tournament (and get sent to Minneapolis)! UNI was up 22-3 at one point in the first set, but the ISU coach never even bothered calling timeout. But then the Redbirds managed to pull off a 10-2 run (prompting a UNI timeout at some point during that stretch) before UNI was able to finish it off 25-13. I just worry that UNI might stumble in the conference tournament. They might end up with an RPI in the bubble-discussion range, but their only good win was at Iowa State, who I was kind of hoping might work their way into the top 25, but their loss to KSU tonight put a kibosh on that (unless they're able to beat Texas again, this time in Austin, which I'm not holding my breath on). And UNI's loss to Iowa looks worse now too, given the Hawks were swept by Rutgers tonight. But I digress. |
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Post by bucky415 on Nov 4, 2022 23:11:34 GMT -5
As a Bradley fan, I am all for ISU losing! . That said, I am happy for you and UNI. They have had so much bad luck with injuries in recent years that it is great to see them back where I expect them to be. I hope they bulldoze through the MVC tournament (and get sent to Minneapolis)! UNI was up 22-3 at one point in the first set, but the ISU coach never even bothered calling timeout. But then the Redbirds managed to pull off a 10-2 run (prompting a UNI timeout at some point during that stretch) before UNI was able to finish it off 25-13. I just worry that UNI might stumble in the conference tournament. They might end up with an RPI in the bubble-discussion range, but their only good win was at Iowa State, who I was kind of hoping might work their way into the top 25, but their loss to KSU tonight put a kibosh on that (unless they're able to beat Texas again, this time in Austin, which I'm not holding my breath on). And UNI's loss to Iowa looks worse now too, given the Hawks were swept by Rutgers tonight. But I digress. Yeah, it stinks. I hope UNI gets healthy enough to get an at large if they do not win the MVC Tournament either this year on in the future, but, again, not getting sent to Madison! . In 2002, the Badgers went undefeated at home in the league, but they lost here to a great UNI team. Mad respect for the Panthers and how good they have been for so long! The Badgers took a 5 year hiatus. UNI, not so much! |
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Post by definitelymaybe on Nov 5, 2022 19:58:01 GMT -5
This type of conference success for Drake is unprecedented, right? I don't ever recall them sitting 9+ games over.500. Their freshman setter seems to be doing a solid job.
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ballller12
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Post by ballller12 on Nov 5, 2022 21:05:06 GMT -5
This type of conference success for Drake is unprecedented, right? I don't ever recall them sitting 9+ games over.500. Their freshman setter seems to be doing a solid job. Less to do with their setter and more to do with how good their pins are. Doesn’t matter who is setting Haley bush or their lefty RS they are going to get kills. |
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Post by jayj79 on Nov 5, 2022 21:39:30 GMT -5
This type of conference success for Drake is unprecedented, right? I don't ever recall them sitting 9+ games over.500. Their freshman setter seems to be doing a solid job. They had a few years in the mid to late 90s when they were good. 1994 14-6 in the MVC for a 3rd place finish, 20-9 overall 1995 17-3 in the MVC for a 2nd place finish, 25-11 overall 1996 16-2 in the MVC for a 2nd place finish, 24-4 overall but other than that, they tended to be toward the bottom of the conference standings (with a few exceptions in the past decade, but not to the 9 games above .500 level) |
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. That said, I am happy for you and UNI. They have had so much bad luck with injuries in recent years that it is great to see them back where I expect them to be. I hope they bulldoze through the MVC tournament (and get sent to Minneapolis)!