Schedule is out for volleyball for this season. Nonconference highlights include an exhibition at Purdue, a midweek game at Northwestern, and a neutral site game against Missouri. No Popcorn Classic/home tournament this year. Only the top 6 teams make the MVC tournament this year but it will be hosted by higher seeds across a 7 day stretch instead of the past format of 8 teams in a 4 day, 1 site tournament.
Fully expect this to be a highly successful year for volleyball. Only lost 2 seniors to graduation last year, and no one transferred out, which is incredible in today's college sports environment. Several of last year's stars were freshmen and with a year under their belt, Carin Avery and co. are on the verge of being a Valley contender this year.
Avery and Co currently lead the Northwestern Wildcats 2 sets to 0 in Welsch-Ryan
Yet again, it feels like Valpo Volleyball is pretty legit. They’re off to a 10-4 start, took Northwestern to 5 sets, and took a set from a top 25 team. They pretty easily beat Drake tonight, who is ranked #101 according to Massey Ratings. They have a big MVC test tomorrow at home against Northern Iowa, who is currently ranked the highest of all MVC teams (#42).
Fellow athletes seemed to be helping out in the Student Section. Were definitely a factor
Two big road wins for the Beacons in volleyball over Illinois State and Bradley. Maybe it’s time to go all in on a sport like volleyball. Solid attendance, exciting games for fans, and a winning culture. Could this be the year we break through in the MVC? We’re clearly competitive with the top teams in the league.
Women's volleyball is a great sport. Games are exciting because rallies are longer and there is a great positive spirit about the game.
One thing that I have noticed in women's volleyball is that there are very distinct tiers in D1 programs and programs seem to rarely move up in tiers. There are about 10 top tier teams nationally (e.g., Penn State, Nebraska) that essentially never lose to anyone other than other top 10 teams. Next tier is about 15-20 programs, then there are several more tiers below that. I would argue that Northern Iowa is in the third tier nationally, Valpo and a few other MVC programs are in the fourth tier, and the remainder of MVC teams are below that. It would be a pretty big leap for Valpo to get to that third tier.
Just maybe this is the year they move up one “tier”! Valpo just swept UIC 3-0 at UIC. They have now beaten three of the predicted top 4 teams and lost to UNI in a close 3-1 score. They looked terrific tonight.
Just maybe this is the year they move up one “tier”! Valpo just swept UIC 3-0 at UIC. They have now beaten three of the predicted top 4 teams and lost to UNI in a close 3-1 score. They looked terrific tonight.
The power of continuity in a world that lacks continuity. Pretty sure VUVB didnt loose anybody to the portal. These are all ladies who know each other down to a tee. That match between Valpo and UIC was also nationally televised on marquee sports network
RPI for Women's Volleyball is 167. This is likely due to a weak non-conference SOS. Northern Iowa is 46, while UIC (whom Valpo just beat) is 142. My guess is that Valpo's RPI will improve as the conference season progresses.
Valpo took #64 Northwestern to 5 sets and forced them to win 3 straight after taken the opening 2. Top 100 might have been achievable this season if there was a return game against UNI. That being said, glass half full says that it is great to have a team that is showing promise. Maybe this could be the catalyst for other Valpo squads to turn the corner?
After a couple of big wins, Massey Ratings has Valpo at 117 going into this weekend. Valpo plays at SIU (223) this Saturday. Any conference away game is tough, but another win would be huge for momentum going into a 4 home games stretch.
Volleyball is now on their 5th straight W and second straight reverse sweep. As the BeaconBit master pointed out, this is the first time in Avery's career her squad has had to pull of a reverse sweep in back to back matches. Volleyball is now seated at 15-5 with a conference record of 6-1. The singular loss being to the UNI panthers who are seated at the top of the MVC leaderboard and at #39 on the national RPI scale for NCAA Women's Volleyball.
Valpo is now at #2 in the MVC with #3 Belmont(Their opponent in today's match) sitting at 4-3 on the leaderboard. The ladies will be at it tomorrow at 5pm against Murray.
Valpo is now at #139 on the RPI leaderboard. Behind UNI at #39, and (for some strange reason) Drake, who sits at #110 on the leaderboard with a 6-3 conference record and 8-10 overall record
Volleyball is now on their 5th straight W and second straight reverse sweep. As the BeaconBit master pointed out, this is the first time in Evans' career her squad has had to pull of a reverse sweep in back to back matches. Volleyball is now seated at 15-5 with a conference record of 6-1. The singular loss being to the UNI panthers who are seated at the top of the MVC leaderboard and at #39 on the national RPI scale for NCAA Women's Volleyball.
Valpo is now at #2 in the MVC with #3 Belmont(Their opponent in today's match) sitting at 4-3 on the leaderboard. The ladies will be at it tomorrow at 5pm against Murray.
Valpo is now at #139 on the RPI leaderboard. Behind UNI at #39, and (for some strange reason) Drake, who sits at #110 on the leaderboard with a 6-3 conference record and 8-10 overall record
Please, this is Carin Avery we are talking about. But thanks for the other information.
Volleyball is now on their 5th straight W and second straight reverse sweep. As the BeaconBit master pointed out, this is the first time in Evans' career her squad has had to pull of a reverse sweep in back to back matches. Volleyball is now seated at 15-5 with a conference record of 6-1. The singular loss being to the UNI panthers who are seated at the top of the MVC leaderboard and at #39 on the national RPI scale for NCAA Women's Volleyball.
Valpo is now at #2 in the MVC with #3 Belmont(Their opponent in today's match) sitting at 4-3 on the leaderboard. The ladies will be at it tomorrow at 5pm against Murray.
Valpo is now at #139 on the RPI leaderboard. Behind UNI at #39, and (for some strange reason) Drake, who sits at #110 on the leaderboard with a 6-3 conference record and 8-10 overall record
Please, this is Carin Avery we are talking about. But thanks for the other information.
It's been updated. Was looking at other stats for a different topic and Evans (not Valpo Evans mind you) was the name that was there for research. Multitasking is sometimes not the best option
Another great win, 3-1 over a Murray team that took UIC to 5. Two game lead over third with UI C coming to Valpo next Tuesday for the rematch. Still no Pickett so a great win!
