Day Off Musings

I’ve reached out to some coaches for their analysis of the Championship tomorrow. Tomorrow, which is Saturday. The 7^th day of December. The year is 2024. The time will be 4 pm Eastern. If any of that is incorrect, please leave me a comment.

I did the championship analysis (from the coaches) last year and I really enjoyed it. (It’s basically an article that I don’t have to write.) I received a number of comments from the Elite 8 parents on the scouting articles. All favorable. They absolutely love reading stuff not from me, it appears. As Colorado College DS Kelli Miller once said to me, “I like some of your stuff.” I think that’s the best I can do. Look for the Kelli Miller approved analysis tomorrow.

This will be the second year in a row with an off day before the championship. We have had 8 straight championships end in a sweep. The hope was that last year that might change with the day off. We continue to hope this year. (As a reminder, my (hot) wife will treat me like a pumpkin if we stay past 6 pm. Maybe a little wiggle room in there but we can’t miss our flight out of Charlotte.)

This is my second Elite 8 to attend and I hope to continue the trend in the future. Nicely run by the ODAC. A lot of people doing a lot more than me and doing it better. It’s a bit of a pain to get here but a very nice venue and everyone has been very nice. If you haven’t figured out where I’m sitting, it’s at the table behind the up referee. If you are really lucky, you can see the back of my head on the tube. If unlucky, it means I’ve turned around and you can see my face.

We have the ESPN+ broadcast on an iPad at the table. We become very popular during reviews. I would say I’m only 50% on getting the call right.

So, with Hope out, who’s going to bribe the Roanoke students more Saturday?

I met a Juniata alumnus the other day and he said that broadcast was misstating “Juniata”. I asked how but he didn’t know. He read it on a Facebook post. So, I asked the broadcast team. How did I know it was going to be an uncomfortable question? My (hot) wife who was next to me sprinted out of the line of fire before I introduced myself. Anyway, I made them both say “Juniata” and it sounded correct to me. We can’t hear the announcers at the table. (I probably should learn to be more diplomatic.)

Ricky has a poll up for the championship if you know who’s going to win.

I really dislike the Live Stats through the NCAA site. I think there are other links to the stats we enjoy but I’ve had to stumble across them and it’s been rare. If anyone finds a better Live Stats link for tomorrow, let me know.

I really want to dislike Hope because they are always so good but they are just too fun.

Sending love to Gabby Houston.

I have had the fortune of talking to Haverford Coach Drew Hargrave a couple of times this tournament. She has been telling me all of the internal workings of the Selection Committee. (Not really, but I want Sam Atkinson to think that.)

Paul Dill (MIT) is also here. He had a plate of food and I asked what the hospitability suite was serving. He responded that he wasn’t at liberty to tell me. Against policy.

Oh!!! Fantasy Volleyball was updated this morning.

I briefly talked with a coach that saw Mya Ray as a freshman and again this year. They were so impressed with her improvement on the back row from her first-year. Very complimentary. I may have heard this wrong, but they told the story of talking to a major DI coach who watched the Juniata/La Verne match and that coach said that Mya could probably play for them. Since La Verne game me a shirt, I will say no more on this and advise Mya to stay at La Verne.

This time last year, we didn’t know who the Player of the Year was!

This time this year, we know who the Player of the Year for next year will be. La Verne will need to make the Elite 8 for that to happen.

I will finish this off with a really cool email I received from a coach in the know. They sent me some interesting facts about the tournament. Maybe the announcing team has mentioned all of this but I think I have a better source so I doubt it.

The DIII Women’s Volleyball Championships were also hosted by the ODAC and the City of Salem in 2005 and 2006. The matches were played at the Salem Civic Center, which has hosted other DIII championships (in other sports). UW-Whitewater won the championship in 2005 and that was Coach Stacy Boudreau’s first season. How fun would it be to get her second in the same city? (Not very say the Juniata fans.)

Juniata won the championship in 2006, which featured now Head Coach Heather Pavlik as an assistant. Associate Head Coach Casey Dale was a student assistant/manager. Since he still looks 16, I can’t imagine what he looked like then.

So, my coach-source made the observation that each team has won a championship in Salem and this one will break the Salem Championship tie they share.

You want more? La Verne has been to the quarterfinals or further 3 times. Twice have been at Salem.

Pure gold observations!

Alright, I did manage to make it to the Pinball Museum in Roanoke this afternoon. My (hot) wife may have enjoyed it more than I did. The Pinball Museum in other cities is called an arcade but they did have some older machines I remembered. We have a nice dinner planned tonight at The River and Rail Restaurant. We can also recommend Montano’s and the Scratch Biscuit Company.

One more sleep. Good luck to both Juniata and Whitewater.