Tournament Preview (The Rest)

This is the third and last installment of my Tournament Previews, and this one covers all the tournaments our Region X teams will be playing after the 2^nd weekend. As a reminder you can find week 1 here and week 2 here. I kind of was a bit of a snob in this article as I tried to determine what is and what is not a tournament. There were a number of weekends where a school would host two schools and facilitate some game action. I didn’t include these in this write-up. It just didn’t pass my snob level, I guess.

There were 31 teams that will not play a tournament past week 2 from Region X. This includes all of the ASC and NWC teams. Now, there will be days where these teams play out-of-conference matches but just not in a typical tournament setting. I still can’t find Mills College or Occidental’s schedules and Centenary’s site seems to be down. The teams I found playing a tournament were UC Santa Cruz, Colorado College, Southwestern, TLU, Trinity, Cal Lutheran, Chapman and CMS.

There are definitely a lot fewer tournaments after the second weekend this season. As I’ve mentioned in other articles, it’s a combination of finances and being cautious with Covid. Still, there are 5 out there and all of them are quite good. (Teams in bold are from Region X.)

Johns Hopkins (Host: Johns Hopkins) – September 17

Colorado College, Ithaca College, Johns Hopkins, Randolph-Macon and Susquehanna

Ithaca really didn’t play a 2020 season although it looks like they got one or two matches in late. They were a 20-win team in 2019 (regional finalist) and are always a powerhouse out of what was the New York Region. I expect them to be ranked this season because, frankly, they almost always are. Johns Hopkins is a poor team from a poor institution. Really nothing to see here. Move along. (Narrator’s voice: They are the defending National Champion.) Randolph-Macon was a 25-win team in 2019 and made the NCAA Tournament. They were 8-5 and lost in the finals to Washington & Lee for the ODAC championship in the spring. Susquehanna was a 32-win team in 2019 and also made the NCAA Tournament. They were 1-2 in the spring. Throw-in Colorado College and you have one of the better group of teams in a tournament you’ll find all year…well, not counting Johns Hopkins. (Narrator’s voice: Idiot.)

Trinity University National Invitational (Host: Trinity) – September 17

Cal Lutheran, Chapman, Northwestern-St. Paul, Southwestern, TLU and Trinity

This is Trinity’s second tournament to host for the year and will be there third straight tournament to play in. Northwestern is the only out-of-region team in the group but they won 24 matches in the 2020 season because they were one of the few (only?) teams to play in a traditional fall season and then play a spring season. That’s right, they got a 2 for 1 year for their team! They were the UMAC champion in the spring and an NCCAA DI finalist in the fall. As for the Region X teams, I won’t go into much detail as the conference previews are out. I expect Cal Lutheran and Chapman to compete for the SCIAC championship this season and it wouldn’t surprise me to see them in that conference’s final. Trinity looks to be an Elite 8 team to me. Southwestern is returning their entire squad so they should be very tough. TLU is probably a notch below these other teams but it’s a great opportunity to raise their program’s reputation and prove me wrong. Regardless, they will not be a pushover in this tournament.

D3VbWest Presents “Whoop Up on New England” (Host: New England Schools) – October 8

Babson, MIT, Trinity, Tufts and Wellesley

Back in 2015, Southwestern did this weird scheduling thing where they flew out to southern California and took on 4 SCIAC teams all on their home courts. Trinity is repeating this trick but this time in New England.

Let me step away and indulge myself in the memories of that 2015 trip. Just skip this paragraph if you wish. The Pirates were coming off their 2014 NCAA Tournament snub but had what we thought was going to be the best team during my daughter’s 4-years. (It wouldn’t be as the team made the Final 4 in her senior year.) It was a tough year for our family as my daughter was part of the rotation in the previous year but suffered an injury in preseason and never really found a role. Being from California we hosted the team prior to the tournament at my sister’s house and had family there to watch the team. My daughter didn’t play much and not at all in their last match where everyone on the team played except her. Frustrating weekend for the family but a successful one for the team as they won all 4 matches and ensured they would not be snubbed again. (In the end, it didn’t matter as the team won the SCAC title.) I remember the Chapman match because they had a group of fans that were really funny. They would stand above the team’s huddle and pretend to be part of it. They would say things like ‘what should we do here’ and then respond ‘hit the ball’. They would then ask ‘what is the ball’ and respond ‘the round thing’. My daughter later said they were laughing in the huddle because they could hear them. Prior to that contest, there was a 5-set epic match against CMS. Down 13-8 in the final set, the Pirates would go on a 7-1 run to win the match. CMS would gain their revenge in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in a match they obviously cheated in.

Alright. Sorry about that. Yes, I still live in the past sometimes. All of you parents will do the same down the road so don’t judge!

This Trinity trip is just really fun to me because it’s something I’ve advocated for a long time. If the West believes they are better than the New England teams and they won’t fly out here then we need to go out there every year and beat them. This strategy works best if it’s a second-tier team but I’m fine seeing how Trinity does. Make no mistake, driving between four schools over two days is tough! Back in 2015, the Pirates almost lost to Chapman due to the previous match going 5 and then being on the road for an hour plus in SoCal traffic. (Travel shouldn’t be an issue here as the schools are all like within 15 minutes of each other.) Still, playing four away matches over two days is unique and very difficult. As for the opponents, all will be regionally ranked this season. All except MIT made the 2019 NCAA tournament although none of them played in the spring. MIT had 25-wins in 2019 but a loss to Emerson in the NEWMAC quarterfinals probably ensured they wouldn’t get an at-large bid. So, a really strong group of teams all playing on their home court against a national power that is Trinity.

One final thing. This isn’t really a tournament but I thought it important to highlight. I decided to give this group of matches a tournament name and I hope it doesn’t offend anyone. Tournament t-shirts can be found on the website’s online store.

Colorado College Invitational (Host: Colorado College) – October 15

Colorado College, Cornell College, DeSales University, Nebraska Wesleyan and UC Santa Cruz

Colorado College will host their third tournament of the season when this one gets underway. Their location just makes this the smart thing to do as long as they can entice other teams into their web that is the Reid Arena. This is a great opportunity for UC Santa Cruz as it’s so difficult to schedule a quality schedule when you don’t play conference matches. As for the out-of-region teams, while not being powerhouses they are all quality teams. Cornell won 17 matches in 2019 and went 4-1 in the spring. DeSales won 15 matches in 2019 and went 2-3 in the spring. They probably are the weakest program in this group. Nebraska Wesleyan was a 20-win team in 2019 but went 3-5 in the spring. None of the out-of-region teams made the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The problem with this group is that these are teams you can’t slip up against and all are capable of beating you. Your win may not be remembered but your loss will, if that makes sense.

Midwest Invitational (Host: Calvin) – October 22

Calvin, CMS, Hope, Millikin and Ohio Northern

Another good one here as CMS will play all of these teams except for Millikin. If you’ve been involved with DIII volleyball for at least a year then you should know about Calvin and Hope. Both are out of the MIAA and typically finish as the top 2 teams. (I actually don’t remember when they weren’t.) Calvin has won three national championships since 2010 while CMS and Hope each have one. Ohio Northern is out of the OAC, which has become one of the deepest and most complete volleyball conferences in the nation. They have made the NCAA Tournament the last 4-years it has been played. I’m a little worried about CMS this year but hopefully their young talent will be firing on all cylinders by the time this tournament roles around. I’m sure it’s a lot easier to schedule when you are CMS but credit to them for the schedule they put together this year. They definitely don’t shy away from competition.