Ricky Nelson’s D-III women’s volleyball projected field of 64

The following are my projections for the teams that will be selected to play in the 2012 NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Tournament. Stress the word “projections.”

The selection committee and I have agreed at a steady rate over the years. I projected 19-of-22 at-large teams in 2011, 19-of-21 in 2010, 19-of-22 in 2009, and 20-of-23 in 2008. One of these years the committee will see it my way.

The actual field of 64 will be announced through an online selection show that is scheduled to begin Monday at 11 a.m. (EST). Link to the selection show at the NCAA D-III women’s volleyball page. Refresh that NCAA page with the rest of us.

See this season’s 42 Pool A teams on the Links to all Tourneys (2012) page.

Projected Pool B teams (2): Clarkson Skidmore

Projected Pool C teams (20): Bowdoin Carthage (New Paltz) Chapman Chicago Concordia-Moorhead (Trinity-TX) Connecticut College Dominican Heidelberg Hope La Verne Ohio Northern Otterbein Puget Sound Randolph-Macon Saint Benedict Springfield Washington-St. Louis Wellesley (Southwestern) Wisconsin-Stevens Point Wisconsin-Whitewater

The last handful of projected teams were a nightmare. It would have been easier with 24 Pool C bids. I have thoughts on who will host and where teams will play in terms of moving across regions and flights. But the exercise is futile without knowing which teams submitted hosting bids.

I will not be doing my weekly top 10 as a separate post like I usually do on Sundays. Instead, here is the order of my top 10 heading into regionals: Calvin, Wittenberg, Hope, Emory, Washington-St. Louis, St. Thomas, Christopher Newport, Cal Lutheran, Elmhurst, Mount Union. The AVCA Week 10 poll will come out on Tuesday.

The Standout Stats page is updated like it is every evening. The Standings/Matchups page is done for the season. The Last Team Standing page has been done for weeks.

Need a postseason refresher? See the FAQ page. Need help on your SID staff? See the About Me page.

I will create Guides for any regional that features a Central and/or Midwest region team. Start looking for the Regional Guides on Tuesday. Not sure what I’m talking about? See these examples from past years: 2011 Concordia-Moorhead Regional Guide2011 Calvin Regional Guide2011 Washington-St. Louis Regional Guide2010 Carthage Regional Guide2010 St. Thomas Regional Guide2010 Wittenberg Regional Guide2009 UW Oshkosh Regional Guide2009 Washington Regional Guide2009 Hope Regional Guide

I also do a yearly Nationals Guide. More on that later.

As always, tell me where I went wrong. We had a good dialog last season. I hope to again.

-Ricky Nelson