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Post by bucky415 on Sept 9, 2023 2:49:09 GMT -5
UNI will be toughened up and ready for conference play - they always are - but can they get by Drake? They just had really weird non conference results! Bobbi's extension makes sense!
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Post by cpvb6 on Sept 9, 2023 6:37:30 GMT -5
:/ I know some things haven’t been helpful (retirements of Lund/Prodzinski, transfers of Moore/Otene/others) but Illinois St should not be this poor… I have no idea how the staff managed to screw up the team we had last year. There was no reason the Birds shouldn’t have been contending for the MVC title. I know losing prondzinski and Lund killed us, but part of me wonders if they really medically retired or just wanted out… Ding Ding Ding we have a winner.
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Post by jayj79 on Sept 9, 2023 8:14:39 GMT -5
UNI will be toughened up and ready for conference play - they always are - but can they get by Drake? They just had really weird non conference results! Bobbi's extension makes sense! I don't think their non-con results are all that weird. Their matches have mostly been against opponents in the 20-75 range (rough estimate, not really looking at any particular ranking system) and they've been competitive in all of them (5-setters, and/or deuce sets); winning some and losing some. But yes, it will likely be a battle against Drake, similar to last season. I could see the two teams splitting the season series again, and it coming down to whoever wins the conference tournament match between them. And yes, Bobbi's extension definitely makes sense.
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Post by jayj79 on Sept 9, 2023 13:47:04 GMT -5
I don't think their non-con results are all that weird. Their matches have mostly been against opponents in the 20-75 range (rough estimate, not really looking at any particular ranking system) and they've been competitive in all of them (5-setters, and/or deuce sets); winning some and losing some. and within hours of my making that comment, they get steamrolled by Utah State, playing poorly by what it sounded like on the radio for the first set and a half that I listened to before turning it off.
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Post by cpvb6 on Sept 14, 2023 19:21:43 GMT -5
Gotta shout out to Dahlia Miller of Murray State - 50 digs in a 5 set match against Chattanooga last weekend! An MVC record for a single game.
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Post by jayj79 on Sept 29, 2023 21:17:31 GMT -5
had a gold vs. gold match tonight with Valpo playing at UNI. I'm not a fan of both teams wearing the same color uniforms, but this was done intentionally for Pediatric Cancer Awareness month, so I won't gripe about it too much
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Post by avid 2.0 on Sept 29, 2023 21:19:39 GMT -5
UIC took down Drake in five sets tonight.
Bush went 4-8-40
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Post by definitelymaybe on Oct 4, 2023 16:45:25 GMT -5
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Post by jayj79 on Oct 4, 2023 17:28:45 GMT -5
19 on the roster (was 20, but one student athlete that hadn't really seen any in-match playing time had to medically retire) A couple of those players have been in street clothes all season, presumably due to injury. They've had tryouts like that for practice players the past few seasons. (and possibly before, but I just started noticing the social media announcements about them that past few years)
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Post by jayj79 on Oct 14, 2023 21:15:14 GMT -5
Nearing the midway point of conference play (8 of the 12 teams have played 9 conference matches with the remaining 4 playing their 9th on Monday night)
As expected, UNI and Drake are pacing the field, much as they did last season; with UNI a perfect 8-0 in conference and Drake at 7-1 with their only blemish being a 5-set home loss to UIC. The Panthers and Bulldogs face off in a big match in Des Moines on Monday.
Just behind them in the standings are the surprising Illinois State Redbirds who had a horrible 2-10 nonconference slate, followed by losing their first 2 conference matches before winning six matches in a row so far to put them in 3rd at 6-2.
In the middle of the pack are Murray State at 6-3, Valpo and Belmont at 5-4, Southern Illinois and UIC at 4-5, and Missouri State and Evansville at 3-6.
Then at the bottom are Indiana State who just got their first MVC win tonight (over UIC) to sit at 1-8. [kind of interesting how Drake's only conference loss is to UIC, and Indiana State's only conference win is over that same UIC team]; and Bradley still winless at 0-8. Interestingly enough, Bradley's past 3 matches have started off with the Braves taking 2-sets-to-1 leads, but then losing the 4th and 5th sets in all 3 matches (with the tiebreaker sets of the last 2 matches both ending 15-12)
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Post by notpriddy (COIF) on Oct 15, 2023 5:32:05 GMT -5
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Post by jayj79 on Oct 16, 2023 23:38:08 GMT -5
In the battle of Iowa teams for first place in the MVC, Drake started off hot, jumping out to a 4-0 lead to start the first set and more or less holding that lead through a 21-16 advantage; but then UNI went on a tear, scoring 9 consecutive points to take the first set 25-21.
The Panther mojo carried over to the start of the 2nd set, with UNI running out to a 5-1 lead (so a 14-1 run over the end of the 1st and start of the 2nd), before Drake rattled off some points, then kept things close for the majority of that set, with UNI holding a 21-19 lead before another Panther run to close out the 2nd 25-19 for a 2 sets to none lead going into the break.
The 3rd set was neck-and-neck throughout, with the Bulldogs fighting to extend the match with a 25-23 set victory to force a 4th set. At the end of this 3rd set, UNI's setter was sitting at 9 kills, 10 digs, and her usual few dozen assists; and on the very first point of the 4th set she scored her 10th kill to secure her sixth career triple-double (she ended up with 12 kills, 43 assists, and 12 digs).
The 4th set, much like the 3rd, was tightly contested with many ties and lead changes, but this time it was UNI who was able to grab the lead at the end to take the set 25-22 and the match 3 sets to 1; establishing a 2-match cushion atop the standings.
UNI and Drake will face each other again (next time on the home court of the Panthers) to close out the regular season on Nov. 15, a few days prior to the start of the MVC conference tourney.
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Post by fromonhigh on Oct 17, 2023 0:56:17 GMT -5
What happened to the freshman Brockway? I have not seen her on the bench the last two matches?
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Post by jayj79 on Oct 17, 2023 7:06:23 GMT -5
Just behind them in the standings are the surprising Illinois State Redbirds who had a horrible 2-10 nonconference slate, followed by losing their first 2 conference matches before winning six matches in a row so far to put them in 3rd at 6-2. ... and Bradley still winless at 0-8. Interestingly enough, Bradley's past 3 matches have started off with the Braves taking 2-sets-to-1 leads, but then losing the 4th and 5th sets in all 3 matches (with the tiebreaker sets of the last 2 matches both ending 15-12) The other MVC match last night was Bradley visiting Illinois State. And for the FOURTH match in a row, the Bradley Braves go to a 5th set and lose, and for the THIRD match in a row, the 5th set score was 15-12. That's gotta be frustrating. So Bradley remains winless (0-9) in conference play this year while Illinois State extends their winning streak to 7 matches, now tied with Drake for 2nd place in the conference standings
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Post by notpriddy (COIF) on Oct 17, 2023 16:06:41 GMT -5
Illinois State Head Coach Allie Matters Wins 100th Career Match with 3-2 Victory Over Bradley. 79 of those 100 were accomplished in her 4 years coaching at Wright State in the Horizon League. Matters joined the Redbird volleyball program after four seasons as the head coach at Wright State University where she led the Raiders to two NCAA Tournament appearances, two Horizon League regular season titles and a Horizon League Tournament title. In four seasons at the helm of the Raiders’ volleyball program, Matters compiled an impressive 79-30 overall record (.725) and a 48-15 record in conference play, leading WSU from the bottom of the Horizon League to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2019 and 2020-21. Coach Matters first year at ISU was hurt by the medical retirement of two of ISU's mainstays. After a slow start this season, she seems to have righted the Redbird ship, currently on a 7 match win streak. goredbirds.com/news/2023/10/16/volleyball-head-coach-allie-matters-wins-100th-career-match-with-3-2-victory-over-bradley.aspx
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