Volleyball 2017

[VULB#62]

Technologically speaking the answer would be yes ONLY if we could construct and implement a totally separate system and facilities while retaining the old stuff.  I am quite sure Valpo does not have the facilities, IT staff,  or equipment to do that kind of thing.  Remember, the VU IT Department has more than just athletics to support.  This changeover is a VERY big hiccup in the standard scope of work of the IT Department.  I think that if they get the new technolgy and various locations operational by the beginning of the BB season, they should be get a standing ovation.   

BTW. It sounds like we wil be getting baseball and softball feeds as well. Yay!

[agibson]

Honest question: would it have been possible to maintain the old system during installation of the new or did we have to so thoroughly gut our AV infrastructure that such a venture was impossible?

It sounds like we wouldn't have been allowed to broadcast MVC games with the old equipment, in any case. (Non-conference? Who knows?)

[valpotx]

Awesome, baseball video and local games against Dallas Baptist each year!  I always heard that it would cost something like $50k or more to get streaming capabilities in the Eastgate area.  However, that was 10+ years ago, so it has to be much higher by now.

[VULB#62]

Valpo takes down Bradley in 3 straight sets.  MVC record now at 2-3.  Bradley falls to 0-6

[valpotx]

We blew the game at Illinois State today, taking a 2-0 lead, only to fall 3 sets to 2.

[vu72]

We blew the game at Illinois State today, taking a 2-0 lead, only to fall 3 sets to 2.

Totally agree.  Watched it and saw that we were out coached by a first year head coach.  I'm really starting to wonder what is up with Volleyball.  All the 20 win seasons are nice but that number doesn't get you into the NCAAs.  20 wins will be REALLY hard in The Valley.  REALLY hard.

Folks, we haven't been to the NCAA tournament since 2005.  Yes we have a young, short (for Volleyball) team, but still...

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/_amleavitt/status/919948523507994625

[valpotx]

It definitely seems to be a defensive league, though UNI has some really strong hitters.

[FWalum]

Was really impressed, in the couple of games that I watched, with our ability to extend points. However, from the limited sample set that I have seen, we don't have as strong a hitters as many of the MVC teams.

[vu72]

Congrats to the team for absolutely taking third place Drake apart last night.  Was very impressed and it avenged losing to them 3-0 at home.  Now on to #25 UNI.   

[agibson]

Congrats to the team for absolutely taking third place Drake apart last night.  Was very impressed and it avenged losing to them 3-0 at home.  Now on to #25 UNI.   

Wow - it was a bigger demolition show than I realized. 25-12, 25-22, 25-15. I'm not used to seeing these kind of margins. Very impressive!

These dig stats are weird, with Valpo continuing to lead the nation. And the Valley having like five of the nation's top-10. For Valpo you wonder if it reflects our lack of really punishing hitters. Not sure what the story is for the rest of the Valley. And Valpo's stat is strange because, last I checked, our opponents have actually out-dug us.

But, for what it's worth, the #1 and #2 top dig teams in the country square off tonight. Valpo at ranked (#25) UNI. 7 PM. ESPN3.

[VU2014]

Man that what was a tough 4th set. A lot of back & forth at the end there. UNI pulls it out and we're on to the fifth. This would be a statement win if Valpo pull it off on the road against a Top 25 team like UNI.

http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3175606/valparaiso-vs-northern-iowa-w-volleyball

[VU2014]

Dang, UNI dominated that 5th set. Valpo was up 2-1. A really entertaining match though. This Valpo Team has a bright future though. This was a very good UNI team.

[vu72]

Dang, UNI dominated that 5th set. Valpo was up 2-1. A really entertaining match though. This Valpo Team has a bright future though. This was a very good UNI team.

Totally agree. We showed a lot of guts against the #25 team on their court and we only have one senior on the team. The Valley is now firmly aware of Valpo! 

[valpotx]

We are already proving to MVC fans that we belong, and are not outclassed in any sport at this point.  To think, everyone said that we just have Men's Basketball .

[VUGrad1314]

I've been to every Friday home game and I have to say this team looks better and better each time I watch them Don't let the 3-0 result against Illinois State fool you They looked great in that match and easily could have won two of those sets I think once we see a recruiting bump from our membership in the MVC and our current players gain more experience we can easily be a team that finishes in the top 3-4 and contends for titles I hope we take advantage of our MVC membership and start to schedule up and play better competition Let's play some top teams in early season tournaments Let's capitalize on the fact that the nation's best volleyball conference is right in our back yard and measure ourselves against some of the best the sport has to offer It may take us a few years to start beating those teams but I'm sure they'll do a better job preparing us for conference play than Chicago State Fort Wayne Eastern Illinois et Al have As for the upcoming schedule .500 and a respectable fifth place finish are well within reach 2 road 2 home left  3 of the 4 are against teams behind Valpo in the standings (@Indiana State @Evansville Southern Illinois (Nov 18) The other is against MVC leader Missouri State who is right on the edge of the top 25 If we handle our business we can finish 9-9 with 18 wins and make the conference tournament Once we get there who knows what will happen given how well we've played against 2-4 We could make some real noise in year one

[valpopal]

I've been to every Friday home game and I have to say this team looks better and better each time I watch them Don't let the 3-0 result against Illinois State fool you They looked great in that match and easily could have won two of those sets I think once we see a recruiting bump from our membership in the MVC and our current players gain more experience we can easily be a team that finishes in the top 3-4 and contends for titles I hope we take advantage of our MVC membership and start to schedule up and play better competition Let's play some top teams in early season tournaments Let's capitalize on the fact that the nation's best volleyball conference is right in our back yard and measure ourselves against some of the best the sport has to offer It may take us a few years to start beating those teams but I'm sure they'll do a better job preparing us for conference play than Chicago State Fort Wayne Eastern Illinois et Al have As for the upcoming schedule .500 and a respectable fifth place finish are well within reach 2 road 2 home left  3 of the 4 are against teams behind Valpo in the standings (@Indiana State @Evansville Southern Illinois (Nov 18) The other is against MVC leader Missouri State who is right on the edge of the top 25 If we handle our business we can finish 9-9 with 18 wins and make the conference tournament Once we get there who knows what will happen given how well we've played against 2-4 We could make some real noise in year one

I have attended most of the home games, and I agree that this team has improved as the season progressed. In addition, the current team only has one senior; therefore, we can hope the growth seen this year will continue into next season. However, since only one player graduates, we will most likely have to wait a while before we see the full benefit of recruiting as a MVC team.

[agibson]

However, since only one player graduates, we will most likely have to wait a while before we see the full benefit of recruiting as a MVC team.

I've not put together the timing of recruiting, recruit announcements, and MVC negotiations. But, it may be that the timing was unfortunate. Six freshmen may have been recruited (to a roster of about thirteen total players) slightly _before_ we realized they'd be playing four years in the Valley. I'm not sure.

[talksalot]

Nice 3-1 win at Evansville on Friday night (@ Indiana State on Saturday)

Valparaiso 25 18 25 25 3
Evansville 12 25 15 22 1


MVC Standings
     
Missouri State 14-0   22-5
UNI     13-2    23-6
Drake   12-3   23-6
Illinois State   10-5  17-11
Valparaiso     7-8   16-13
Indiana State   6-9    8-19
   Only the Top 6 advance to the Conference Tournament at Illinois State
Southern Illinois    4-10   5-20
Evansville    4-11   10-17
Bradley    2-13  9-20
Loyola   2-13   3-23

After Indiana State, we are home to Missouri State and SIU next weekend.

[agibson]

The nice road win tends to push Evansville out of the tournament discussion, but not entirely.

The tiebreakers look a little complicated, and I can't find up to date documentation.

I suspect this may still be accurate.

www.mvc.org/manual/volleyball.pdf

One more win, with other likely results, may well be enough to clinch a spot. But, of course, we'd like to go in strong! Winnable games today at Indiana State (albeit not easy) and in the home finale hosting Southern Illinois.

And, it would be a great statement to beat Missouri State (undefeated in conference) at the ARC! Should be exciting.

(Looks like no video at Indiana State. Not quite the "HD video for every road game" that I'd somehow been exciting.)

[agibson]

SIU could do is a favor and slip @Loyola. But, otherwise, while there are other possibilities it seems like our last game of the regular season, hosting SIU at the ARC next Saturday, will be a head-to-head battle for the last tournament spot.

It looks like most of the tiebreakers are against us, so we likely need to win a game (and MO State is undefeated in conference) or to get some help (eg Lotola over SIU).

[VUGrad1314]

Missouri State just climbed into the top 25 for the first time this year. This marks the third time our Crusaders will have gone up against ranked competition in conference play. Last time they faced a ranked team they took them to match point in set 4 and lost in 5 sets. Having already clinched the MVC regular season title the Bears are really only playing for potential NCAA tournament seeding and not much else while the Crusaders are still playing for everything This seems like a good recipe for an upset  but we'll see Missouri State is a tough team and has shown well against good competition I believe they lost in 5 sets to both Kansas State and Illinois while beating Ohio State This won't be easy And if it gets to playing Southern Illinois for all the marbles all bets are off I'd like to say that I believe that we'll get in but Southern Illinois just pounded Drake and creamed us back in the early part of conference play in Carbondale It won't be easy If we get in we certainly will have earned it

[talksalot]

2017 MVC Volleyball Standings - three teams playing for 2 spots

SCHOOL   CONF   CPCT.   OVERALL   PCT.   STREAK
Missouri State   16-0   1.000   24-5   0.828   W17
UNI   14-3   0.824   24-7   0.774   W1
Drake   12-5   0.706   23-8   0.742   L2
Illinois State   11-5   0.688   18-11   0.621   W3
Valparaiso   7-9   0.438   16-14   0.533   L1               Home-Missouri State   Home-Southern Illinois
Indiana State   7-9   0.438   9-19   0.321   W2              At Illinois State           At Bradley
Southern Illinois   5-11   0.313   6-21   0.222   L1               At Loyola                    At Valpo
Evansville   4-12   0.250   10-18   0.357   L4
Loyola   3-13   0.188   4-23   0.148   W1
Bradley   2-14   0.125   9-21   0.300   L5


All 6 of the games listed above start at 7pm Central.

[bbtds]

Missouri State just climbed into the top 25 for the first time this year. This marks the third time our Crusaders will have gone up against ranked competition in conference play. Last time they faced a ranked team they took them to match point in set 4 and lost in 5 sets. Having already clinched the MVC regular season title the Bears are really only playing for potential NCAA tournament seeding and not much else while the Crusaders are still playing for everything This seems like a good recipe for an upset  but we'll see Missouri State is a tough team and has shown well against good competition I believe they lost in 5 sets to both Kansas State and Illinois while beating Ohio State This won't be easy And if it gets to playing Southern Illinois for all the marbles all bets are off I'd like to say that I believe that we'll get in but Southern Illinois just pounded Drake and creamed us back in the early part of conference play in Carbondale It won't be easy If we get in we certainly will have earned it

I think Missouri State wins, period! But of course I don't believe you use periods Do you   

[VUGrad1314]

Missouri State just finished off a sweep of Valpo to run their record to 17-0, but my spirits are not dampened in the slightest. Loyola just finished a sweep of their own over the Salukis of Southern Illinois meaning Valpo doesn't have to sweat out tomorrow's match as we are already in the tournament!Great job ladies you've worked hard all season and have improved every week.They have certainly earned this chance to prove themselves and showcase that improvement. This is a terrific result for year one in the MVC and one we can build on for next year. I'm a proud alum today!Here's to even better results in the future. Go Valpo!