March 17, 2025
We are 5 weeks away from the 2025 season concluding at the NCAA D3 tournament at the Cregger Center in Salem, Virginia. We expect a fantastic tournament in 2025 with the top talented teams battling for final championship honors. We already know that many lower ranked teams will be gaining access to the tournament by winning automatic bids in the conference tournaments. And that the new NPI ranking system will be in place to measure the top participants that don’t win conference tournaments or who are independents. The overall rankings of teams based on the new system will also affect seedings top to bottom.
The NPI renders all of the current ranking websites irrelevant for the NCAA tournament function. There currently are some disparities between the major “rankers” in some areas but not most. Each system uses different methods and who is to say which is better. But fans can look at each website, blogs, or regulatory body view on things and weigh it however you wish. It always makes for spirited discussion as everyone has their own opinions.
The biggest discrepancies we see thus far from our formula and others is the high value our algorithm gives to Southern Virginia vs NYU. Every other major “ranker” has NYU as number one. AVCA has it unanimous with all 30 votes going to NYU. In our world, SVU has been a clear number one from day one. The depth and pure dominance over their opponents have registered astronomically high scores in our system. Maybe the coaches are trying to use the new NPI ranking system as their guide when voting. No one knows how the season will play out in the next few weeks. Inside Hitter made a bold statement in pre-season assessments predicting SVU would go 32-0 in 2025. The coaches obviously have their own opinions but not one out of 30 favoring SVU is rather mind boggling. The team has obliterated their schedule. They have yet to lose a single set. Their straight set dismantling of Juniata in Huntingdon may start turning some of the AVCA coaches heads. Taking nothing away from NYU here. Our formula has them solidly ahead of the rest of the nation, with one exception.
The other major discrepancy we see is how Misericordia consistently has been seen as a top 15 team. The math doesn’t support this on our end but other sources including the AVCA has them consistently 10 ranks higher than our algorithm. Misericordia has a very solid team with at least 2 premier players on the attack. They have some solid wins, beating Lasell (who they also lost to earlier in the season), Nazareth, Mount Union, New Paltz, and MIT. They have also lost to some lower ranked teams most notably Westminster 3-1 who is ranked by most in the 60’s. We have them at #70. They have dropped sets to Lancaster Bible (2), Buffalo State, Nichols, MIT (2), Lasell, New Paltz (2), Marymount, and Elizabethtown. When facing SVU, NYU, Stevens, and Vassar, they could not generate a set win. We have had Misericordia in the mid 20’s on average. Their overall set W-L is now 61-41. I guess we will all find out on 4/8 in the MAC semi’s to see if they can prove their worth and we eat some tasty crow or if they have been over ranked all season.
Carthage is on an 11-game win streak since losing to Stevens in a 5-set screamer in Kenosha. During the current run, they have knocked off Aurora, Augustana, Loras, North Central, North Park, Baldwin Wallace, Dominican, Benedictine, and others. 5 more CCIW matches ahead before tournaments.
Other data points:
Springfield and Messiah have just one loss at D3 this season.
SVU remains the only team in the country not to lose a set.
Hobart has lost 4 of their last 5 matches and have slipped to #17. They are 18-6 overall and 1-4 in the UVC.
MIT and Elmira have yet to win a UVC conference match and are 0-5 and 0-4 respectively.
Lancaster Bible is statistically the highest favored team to gain access to the NCAA tournament.
Watch for a late season run from NJCU. They have been dealing with a plethora of injuries and expect to be healthy come Skyline tourney.
The NJAC winner will be determined in the Rutgers at Kean matchup on the 28th. Both teams are 2-0 coming to the last match in the conference. This will also be an important CVC matchup to determine entrance and seeding in the conference tournament.
Thiel has taken a strong hold on the PAC title…
Randolph Macon looks well on their way to win the first ever ODAC league championship at 9-0.
The MCVL has become a wide-open affair with 5 teams battling for the conference championship. Baldwin Wallace, Trine, Wittenberg, Mount Union, and Wabash will be battling for league honors, conference tournament, and entry into the NCAA’s.
Stevenson has lost 3 of 4 games, dropping a straight set loss to LBC Saturday.
Wentworth at 17-4 and 8-0 in the NAC looks solid.
Baruch 10-0 in conference play so far this season.
D3 men’s volleyball has played 1,294 matches thus far this season.
D3 teams have a record of 32-31 against NAIA teams, 8-5 against NCCAA teams, and 13-27 against D1/D2 teams as of 3/17/25.
Three D3 teams have yet to win a set this season. Carlow (0-24), Medgar Evers (0-33), and Maranatha Baptist (0-51) are in this group. Hats off to these teams for staying the course on these developmental squads and building character for the future outside of volleyball.
Player rater coming this week…
Conference playoff schedules coming as well…
Please, if you see any missing games, incorrect scores, or any other discrepancies, please give us a heads up at insidehitter@gmail.com.
Make sure to connect on instagram @vbinsidehitter and sign up for alerts on the website.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all the green teams… 🙂
