Weekend Wrap-Up

Crazy weekend as I drove out to Centenary to watch the Colorado College / Southwestern match. I had hoped to stay for more but real-life took control and I had to drive back. I was again very impressed with Colorado College as they are hard to beat if they stay in system. They use a quick passing/attack philosophy that’s fun to watch. They have the hitters to punish you and a setter that does a really good job keeping things running smoothly. Southwestern hit their stride in games 3 and 4 and frankly if they can play that way consistently then another Final 4 run is possible. Just a fun match that featured a number of long rallies. I made it back home to find that a wasp nest had hatched in our chimney and most of them were now in the house. As I proceeded to rain death (sorry PETA), there was one lone resistance fighting wasp that took action and struck back stinging me right under the eye. I never knew I could still do a high pitched scream but scream I did. My ongoing wasp battle will continue but let’s see if I can squeeze out a wrap-up, too.

The big news of the week was the regional rankings that came out, which I talked in length about here. I focused on the West RAC but in general it appears that the RACs put a lot of focus on SOS as opposed to head-to-head results, which is troubling to me. I like results. I like proven outcomes between two teams. I like less statistics that can be manipulated through scheduling and even less if they are taken at face value as opposed to looking deeper into how teams achieved those statistics. Ranked wins is another criterion (that can also be manipulated) that was not considered in the first regional rankings. I wrote a post herethat shows what West Region teams will benefit this upcoming week when that criterion gets added into the discussion. Finally, I’ve updated the Watch List as I removed a team and updated the in-depth blubs on the teams that remain. But enough of all of that and let’s take a stroll through the West Region conferences…

Starting with the ASC as most teams only have one more conference match left to play after this week. UTD had hoped to nail down the East Division title and tournament hosting gig but dropped a 4-setter to UTT at Tyler. They hold a one game lead over UTT and only have LeTourneau at home left to play. UTT has ETBU away left on the schedule. The tiebreaker (if needed) is confusing because the ASC uses divisions and has ineligible teams counting in the conference record. I’ll worry about it if it comes into play, which it shouldn’t. UTD did fly off to Oshkosh with a real chance to improve their national reputation and maybe get the West RAC to take notice and move them into the top 8 but it wasn’t to be. A tough 5-set loss to Illinois Wesleyan and then 4-set losses to UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater have virtually ended their Pool C chances. ETBU swept their three matches for the week and will be the 3^rd seed from the East Division. Belhaven has really fallen off the charts in the last few weeks but will hold off LeTourneau (winners of 3-straight) and Louisiana College (still winless). Over in the West Division, UMHB clinched their division title and have now won 7 straight. McMurry (6-straight) isn’t eligible for the conference tournament but moved into a second place tie with Concordia and will face off against them Tuesday for bragging rights. Concordia already has the 2^nd seed in the West wrapped up but have to be disappointed that they couldn’t touch UMHB in the two matches they played them this week. Hardin-Simmons did enough this week to ensure the 3^rd seed from the west division. Howard Payne lost 3 straight and fell out of the ASC tournament race for that 3^rd seed and Sul Ross State brings up the rear.

In the NWC it’s all about Pacific Lutheran as the Lutes took down Lewis & Clark and Linfield which means they have 4 matches left with a 2 match lead (plus hold the tiebreaker). Their first chance to secure the first bid to the NCAA tournament will come Friday (remember the NWC does not hold a postseason tournament). Whitworth is the only team that can catch the Lutes but a loss to Whitman this week really hurt their slim chances. Pacific, George Fox and Whitman are tied for 3^rd followed by Puget Sound, Willamette, Linfield and Lewis & Clark. George Fox has really been playing some nice ball of late as they enjoy a 5 match winning streak in conference.

There are a couple of matches still being played in the SCAC as I write this but the conference tournament seeding is done. Colorado College swept through the weekend (as they have done all season) to take the regular season title and the #1 seed. Trinity and Southwestern both lost to CC, which leaves them in a tie for second. I believe Trinity will capture the #2 seed based on the SCAC tiebreaker. This means that for the first time in 5-years we will not have a Trinity/Southwestern final in the SCAC. I will do conference tournament write-ups next week so I won’t dive into them here. I will say that there is not much difference between these three teams although it was a little surprising to see CC sweep Trinity this weekend. TLU took down Austin College this weekend for the season sweep and will claim the #4 seed followed by Austin College and Centenary. Centenary had a really nice season for them and it’s good to see them get rewarded with a SCAC tournament appearance. Dallas and Schreiner finish out the SCAC order of teams.

The SCIAC is clear at the top with Claremont Mudd-Scripps hitting their stride and have now won 11 straight. The only team that can catch them is Whittier as CMS hold the tiebreaker on La Verne. While CMS does have tough matches to close out the season (Oxy, away to Whittier and Cal Lutheran), I just don’t see them letting go of this spot. Another tough week for La Verne as they drop both of their matches (5-setters to CMS and Chapman). They close with Pomona-Pitzer, away to Oxy and Whittier. Speaking of Whittier, they sit in a tie with La Verne but fresh off their West RAC love (ranked 3^rd) they dropped a 4-set match against Cal Lutheran before sweeping the Redlands. The Poets really struggled against Cal Lu and we’ll have to see how that impacts the West RAC rankings this week. The Poets finish away to Caltech, CMS and away to La Verne. The 4^th and final spot in the SCIAC tournament is down to three teams – left for dead Cal Lutheran, finding their feet Chapman and don’t mind us Occidental. Cal Lu (8-5 in conference) has now won 5 straight including matches against Chapman and Whittier and end the season away at Redlands, Caltech and away at CMS. You have to figure they will end the conference season with 6 losses. Unfortunately for Chapman and Oxy, they are already at 6 losses but Chapman has Caltech, away at Pomona-Pitzer and then Oxy. Three matches they should win but with their struggles the last two may be difficult. I believe a tie between Cal Lu and Chapman would go the Regals way based on set records as the teams split their head-to-head. Oxy has the toughest finish as they are away at CMS, La Verne and away at Chapman. If they sweep then that’s a statement but they also lose the tiebreaker to Cal Lu. The final three teams in the SCIAC are Pomona-Pitzer, Redlands and Caltech and all three have chances to play the spoiler. To circle back a bit, there is still a chance either Whittier or La Verne could drop two of their last three matches and end with 6 losses, too. All year long the SCIAC has been the most competitive conference in the west and it appears it will finish that way.

Big weekend coming up as we should see the first NCAA tournament bid going to Pacific Lutheran and the wonderful anarchy that is the SCIAC will be decided. Enjoy those senior days if they are still on the schedule. Make sure you give those parents an extra hug and tell them they can always start a DIII Volleyball blog.