March 20, 2024
Updated rankings were posted on Sunday night of this week and after two full months of play in the regular season, we have three undefeated teams. Southern Virginia remains on top in our algorithm having not lost a set all season. They showed off their dominance on their recent north road trip by taking down Vassar, St. John Fisher, Hobart, and Nazareth, all in straight sets over three days. Does anyone think any other team in the country could have accomplished that success? We don’t think so. The Knights are a power!
How good is Loras? Everyone expected North Central and Carthage to again dominate the CCIW. The rise of Augustana has muddied the waters and the perfection that the DuHawks have shown over their season journey has been spectacular. They have dominant wins over Carthage, North Central, Augustana, and Cal Lutheran. They possess perhaps the best pairing of pin hitters in the country with Corey Mayotte and Dorian Fiorenza coupled with a dynamic 5th year setter in Joe Horn. Let’s not let the past reputation of other premier teams confuse the success this team has this season. Could Loras host the Championship final game in April?
Wentworth is also undefeated. They have arguably the best player in the country in Jacob Labouliere. The have beaten last year’s champs Stevens who clearly has one of the most talented and deep teams on the D3 landscape. Jacob Waga and Brandon Dunz have just been outstanding for the Leopards along with serve specialist Ryan Roller. They are top notch. Their early schedule showed their strength. Their recent schedule leaves them a bit exposed playing most teams outside the top 20. We will see if this approach will facilitate them being at top form in the playoffs and beyond.
Defending Champs!! Stevens is the cream of the crop. So deep with talent that coach uses 20+ different players in his rotations. On paper, they appear ready and able to repeat. Based on this year’s performance, they have lost 14 sets this season. Does it mean anything? Maybe not. But it is a distinct reason they are #4 rather than 1, 2 or 3. The 14 sets can all be part of the cruise control mentality of the Ducks. But as far as the math goes, it slides them back. Moran, Sherman, Lancia, Bickford, Huyke, Feulner, Hoke, Varseveld, Knuckles, Ho, and others represent a team of all-stars. But you can only put 6 on the floor at any given time.
We saw a new team step into the arena of consideration of the NCAA tourney. Augustana has had a top-notch season thus far, but a win over North Central tonight joined with a 16-4 record will certainly influence a rise into the top 15.
Cal Lutheran, St. John Fisher, and Springfield are all top-notch teams and have proven they belong in the tourney. The slots will be decided before you know it as regular seasons wind down over the next few weeks and conference playoffs start up.
Efforts have been made to increase the field size of the tournament. For us, it still seems undersized. 16 or 18 teams out of 124 D3 schools equated to under 15% of the teams able to make the year-end tournament.
Let’s look at pro sports as an example. The percentage of teams able to participate in “playoffs” is much higher in the 4 majors:
NFL 32 teams, 14 make playoffs. 44%
MLB 30 teams, 12 make playoffs. 40%
NHL 32 teams, 16 make the playoffs. 50%
NBA 30 teams, 16 make playoffs. 53%
And in college….
NCAA March Madness 351 teams, 68 make bracket. 19%
I think we all would like to see the field continue to expand in the years to come. 32 would be the dream, but 24 seems more likely, with the first 8 teams getting first round byes.
Currently, 1/3 of players would like to see the playoff determination change. That’s a preliminary number from our player survey launched last week.
The Player survey has been very well received. We have sent links to at least 2 members of each team (some up to 6) through IG. We have asked team members to share the link through your teams group chats. We have over 200 responses thus far and we are trying to reach a goal of 500 completed or roughly 25% of the player population at D3. The players who submit responses are kept completely confidential. The information will be used for numerous upcoming articles on a wide variety of topics. The survey is estimated to take 30 mins to complete but most responses have been done in less than 15. If you are a current D3 player and would like to complete the survey and get your voice heard, reach out to us on IG at VBInsideHitter or email us at insidehitter@gmail.com for the link.
The IH Player Evaluator is now updated. Every player in the country is rated for their overall contribution to the team. Here is the link… Updated Player Evaluator, 3/17 – InsideHitter.com
A few accolades from the past week:
Geneva senior captain Carter Milroy became the Golden Tornados all-time leader in blocks this past week.
Derek Wills of Marian is now part of the 1,000 career kill club.
Randolph Macon outside Ian Wagenhauser has surpassed 500 career kills, 600 career points, and 100 career blocks. Not a bad trifecta!!
Dominican junior middle blocker James Kougan achieved his 100th career block this week.
Vassar senior setter Jacob Kim has surpassed 2,000 career assists for the Brewers.
North Park Head Coach Michael Sopocy now has 50 career wins.
Luke Morris of Marymount ripped his 100th career ace for the Saints.
Congrats to all of these fine players. Have more to mention from your team? Let us know through IG or email.
Have a great night.
IH