D3 in 2024

[UVC Uberfan]

Baruch with a major upset victory at home over 8th ranked NYU in 5 sets

[digbigvolley22]

Jan 25, 2024 22:04:20 GMT -5 UVC Uberfan said:

Baruch with a major upset victory at home over 8th ranked NYU in 5 sets

NYU is just really inconsistent, have no idea why Candido or Kellogg isn’t starting at right side. Also, I think it’s time to give Dasari a shot at starting cause I haven’t been really impressed with Nguyen

[rickyrubioburner]

Minutes away from what should be a slug fest between Eastern and Elizabethtown

[psuvbfan10]

Messiah tourney has some solid matches today

[rickyrubioburner]

Dang gummit. My eastern eagles are selling this year. What the actually Taylor swift is that. They stinking stink. I’m so mad right now. We got worked by etown and it was very unjoyable. I’m an angry little elf. Eagles need to figure it out.

[chuckbrown21]

New Paltz looses 3 games this weekend including losses to Emmanuel and Nichols. Not worried for them as they have volleyball god Ramius at the assistant coach position. Wouldn't be surprised if they rise to number one in the nation by the end of the year with the management talents they have.

[UVC Uberfan]

Loras with a stunning sweep over #3 Cal Lutheran. New Paltz with a disastrous weekend. Hobart with a few grimy wins and looking good with the 2023 POTY

Polls are gonna look interesting after this weekend of games... Dare I say it but is UVC overrated this year???

[digbigvolley22]

Jan 29, 2024 0:26:00 GMT -5 UVC Uberfan said:

Loras with a stunning sweep over #3 Cal Lutheran. New Paltz with a disastrous weekend. Hobart with a few grimy wins and looking good with the 2023 POTY

Polls are gonna look interesting after this weekend of games... Dare I say it but is UVC overrated this year???

NYU and New Paltz both look lost right now. Think they need to change up the lineup, MIT is just super underwhelming right now and probably the worst team in the UVC right now

Vassar, Fisher and Nazareth are right their neck and neck. They will be the three favorites come UVC playoffs. Hobart has looked great and you can see how influential Kim has been, it definitely has sped up their contention process this year. Elmira has been…. Not bad, only have 10 players but they are a talented bunch interesting to see how they continue to do this year

[longboard56er]

Dear Dig Big,

MIT has played the best schedule and played well. NYU is NYU for the last 10 years. Fisher and Nazareth have had easier schedules. Vassar is still King. Come March it will be game on. You need to like the "Big 4" out of the Midwest. Cal Lu/North Central match was Final 4 stuff.

[averagefan69]

Jan 29, 2024 17:08:55 GMT -5 digbigvolley22 said:

Jan 29, 2024 0:26:00 GMT -5 UVC Uberfan said:

Loras with a stunning sweep over #3 Cal Lutheran. New Paltz with a disastrous weekend. Hobart with a few grimy wins and looking good with the 2023 POTY

Polls are gonna look interesting after this weekend of games... Dare I say it but is UVC overrated this year???

NYU and New Paltz both look lost right now. Think they need to change up the lineup, MIT is just super underwhelming right now and probably the worst team in the UVC right now

Vassar, Fisher and Nazareth are right their neck and neck. They will be the three favorites come UVC playoffs. Hobart has looked great and you can see how influential Kim has been, it definitely has sped up their contention process this year. Elmira has been…. Not bad, only have 10 players but they are a talented bunch interesting to see how they continue to do this year

We are seeing the growing pains of both these programs early. Both NYU and New Paltz had to deal with some pretty crucial losses from the 2023 season. Dasari and Spulnik were very crucial/ extremely talented players that were main options for Li and Shaffer, who were two of the best setters in conference and country. Rasmussen, Ronan, and LaRosa were also extremely valuable key players. Having two freshman setters is a tall order for both programs. Patrick Wing is still in top form, which the Hawks need if they want to turn their tough start around. Knudsen is clearly still a top libero and having Buddy Cohen in the middle is extremely crucial to the Violets success at the net. 

Wouldn't say the UVC is overrated. It's true Vassar is still top dog, an early loss to a very good Cal Lu team means nothing for them. It means a lot more for Cal Lu who needs that Pool C bid. Kim is the best setter and may be the best overall player in D3 in 2024, so expect Vassar to keep growing and adjusting from their important roster losses as well (Very similar to New Paltz in that sense). Very typical for teams like Naz and Fisher to jump to the top early, then flatten out once conference play begins, however these rosters are much more experienced and this year would definitely be exception to their status quo. They have much better depth then what we have seen in past years. Newman is also a great surprise for the Cardinals, he has had a fantastic start to the year. MIT is still a sleeper team in my opinion, they always seem to show up in conference play. Hobart is a fun team to watch, it is amazing how one player in Kim can create so much energy for a first year program, very cool to see. We will see what happens come conference play. I predict not one team will have a perfect conference record. 

My rankings just based on knowledge as of right now:
1. Vassar
2. St John Fisher 
3. NYU
4. New Paltz
5. Naz
6. Hobart
7. MIT
8. Elmira 

[ned3head]

Rank Team Points Record Last Week
1 Wentworth [23] 460 6-0 1
2 Stevens 433 7-1 2
3 So. Virginia 408 6-0 4
4 Cal Lutheran 378 8-2 3
5 St. John Fisher 369 8-0 5
6 Vassar 332 6-1 7
7 Springfield 329 4-1 6
8 Loras 283 4-0 14
9 North Central 261 2-2 9
10 Nazareth 249 7-0 10
11 Carthage 225 3-2 11
12 Juniata 219 3-3 12
13 NYU 161 2-2 8
14 Dominican (IL) 146 3-3 16
15 Misericordia 124 5-1 18
16 Messiah 91 1-2 15
17 Benedictine 85 1-1 16
18 Marymount 81 5-0 20
19 Nichols 76 6-1 NR
20 Baldwin-Wallace 58 3-1 19

Others receiving votes and listed on two or more ballots: SUNY New Paltz 25; Lasell 15; MIT 14; St. Joseph’s (LI) 2

[psuvbfan10]

Messiah over Elizabethtown 3-1

[vball]

Jan 29, 2024 17:08:55 GMT -5 digbigvolley22 said:

Jan 29, 2024 0:26:00 GMT -5 UVC Uberfan said:

Loras with a stunning sweep over #3 Cal Lutheran. New Paltz with a disastrous weekend. Hobart with a few grimy wins and looking good with the 2023 POTY

Polls are gonna look interesting after this weekend of games... Dare I say it but is UVC overrated this year???

NYU and New Paltz both look lost right now. Think they need to change up the lineup, MIT is just super underwhelming right now and probably the worst team in the UVC right now

Vassar, Fisher and Nazareth are right their neck and neck. They will be the three favorites come UVC playoffs. Hobart has looked great and you can see how influential Kim has been, it definitely has sped up their contention process this year. Elmira has been…. Not bad, only have 10 players but they are a talented bunch interesting to see how they continue to do this year

Would argue NYU is not lost have one bad loss to Baruch and that is it. People forget they beat Carthage and UCSC already this year. Have a tough schedule moving forward in the early part of the year where we will learn more about them. Do not think Dasari loss hurts them nearly as much as a Spulnik to New Paltz. Would put NYU up there With Vassar and Fisher. Naz has to do something different to prove they are in that category. Still the Owen show over there and that did not get them in the UVC tournament last year. 

[UVC Uberfan]

Jan 31, 2024 9:19:21 GMT -5 vball said:

Jan 29, 2024 17:08:55 GMT -5 digbigvolley22 said:

NYU and New Paltz both look lost right now. Think they need to change up the lineup, MIT is just super underwhelming right now and probably the worst team in the UVC right now

Vassar, Fisher and Nazareth are right their neck and neck. They will be the three favorites come UVC playoffs. Hobart has looked great and you can see how influential Kim has been, it definitely has sped up their contention process this year. Elmira has been…. Not bad, only have 10 players but they are a talented bunch interesting to see how they continue to do this year

Would argue NYU is not lost have one bad loss to Baruch and that is it. People forget they beat Carthage and UCSC already this year. Have a tough schedule moving forward in the early part of the year where we will learn more about them. Do not think Dasari loss hurts them nearly as much as a Spulnik to New Paltz. Would put NYU up there With Vassar and Fisher. Naz has to do something different to prove they are in that category. Still the Owen show over there and that did not get them in the UVC tournament last year. 

NYU does have some solid wins in their resume so far but there are definitely some concerns which may lead to some changes with setter and/or opposite. Maybe a 6-2 would be better for them with the younger Dasari mixing in, but we will see though. I agree that the Spulnik, Shaffer, LaRosa, and the Ronan losses hurt them a ton. 

Your comment about Nazareth made me dive deep into their stats. Young team with two decent ranked wins but I agree that it is still the Wickens show over there with some young talent contributing too. Sophomore setter Burda took over the setting responsibilities there but was just wondering where Stuver is for this team as he was a big part of team last year. Says he is on the roster still but has yet to play in a game for them. Anyone know what the case is for him?

[TheReignman]

Jan 31, 2024 12:20:48 GMT -5 UVC Uberfan said:

Jan 31, 2024 9:19:21 GMT -5 vball said:

Would argue NYU is not lost have one bad loss to Baruch and that is it. People forget they beat Carthage and UCSC already this year. Have a tough schedule moving forward in the early part of the year where we will learn more about them. Do not think Dasari loss hurts them nearly as much as a Spulnik to New Paltz. Would put NYU up there With Vassar and Fisher. Naz has to do something different to prove they are in that category. Still the Owen show over there and that did not get them in the UVC tournament last year. 

NYU does have some solid wins in their resume so far but there are definitely some concerns which may lead to some changes with setter and/or opposite. Maybe a 6-2 would be better for them with the younger Dasari mixing in, but we will see though. I agree that the Spulnik, Shaffer, LaRosa, and the Ronan losses hurt them a ton. 

Your comment about Nazareth made me dive deep into their stats. Young team with two decent ranked wins but I agree that it is still the Wickens show over there with some young talent contributing too. Sophomore setter Burda took over the setting responsibilities there but was just wondering where Stuver is for this team as he was a big part of team last year. Says he is on the roster still but has yet to play in a game for them. Anyone know what the case is for him?

As president of the Max Stuver fan club, he has a broken digit. Believe it is his thumb