Volleyball Thread

[MuggsyB]

Congrats to Penn St. Women's 🏐. 

[Billy Hoyle]

MU takes a hit in the Portal losing Molly Berezowitz to Kentucky.

[WhiteTrash]

MU takes a hit in the Portal losing Molly Berezowitz to Kentucky.

$EC. 

[Billy Hoyle]

$EC. 

SEC, ACC, Big Ten. A BE coach at the VB championships told me the entire Louisville team was getting $100k in NIL from the collective. Nebraska has a collective just for VB that has $5 million to distribute. There's a reason we see the same teams making title runs every year. That MU made the round of 16 and Creighton the round of 8 (and should have beaten PSU) by knocking off high major programs is ridiculously impressive.

[StillAWarrior]

SEC, ACC, Big Ten. A BE coach at the VB championships told me the entire Louisville team was getting $100k in NIL from the collective. Nebraska has a collective just for VB that has $5 million to distribute. There's a reason we see the same teams making title runs every year. That MU made the round of 16 and Creighton the round of 8 (and should have beaten PSU) by knocking off high major programs is ridiculously impressive.

In fairness, there wasn't a lot of variety in the VB FF prior to NIL.

This is so, so true.  I have to laugh because the Georgetown board has a volleyball section, and there was a poster last year that was complaining that Georgetown wasn't competing for national championships in volleyball.  While I agree that Georgetown needs to get better, competing for national championships is just an absurd goal (competing for a spot in the Big East tourney was a nice start).  There are about a half-dozen teams that are legitimately competing for national championships in volleyball.  And, as you said, the gap between them and the next level of teams is enormous.  Creighton and Marquette were outstanding teams this year and undeniably head and shoulders above the rest of the conference.  But it would be an absolutely earth-shattering "Douglas beats Tyson" upset if they won the title.  Probably even bigger than that.

I was really disappointed when Stanford and Nebraska won in the semis because I would have really liked to see some new blood.  And even BYU and Illinois -- either of which would have been seen as a real surprise -- are among a group that has been hanging around the top for years.  I just took a look at the last 10 final fours and it's amazing how few teams have been involved:

• Only 18 teams have played in the FF:  Tex (7); Penn St. (6); Stanford (4); Nebraska (4); Minnesota (3); BYU (2); Illinois (2); USC (2); Florida (1); Kansas (1); Wisconsin (1); Washington (1); Oregon (1); Michigan (1); UCLA (1); FSU (1); Cal (1); Hawaii (1).
• Only 11 teams have played in the championship match:  Penn State (4); Texas (4); Nebraska (3); Stanford (2); Florida (1); BYU (1); Wisconsin (1); Oregon (1); UCLA (1); Illinois (1) and Cal (1).
• Ony 5 teams have won titles:  Penn State (4); Stanford (2); Nebraska (2); Texas (1) and UCLA (1).

So, even this year's "underdogs" in the Final Four (Illinois and BYU) are among the truly elite with both having played in the championship match and multiple final fours in the past decade.

I would love to see someone -- anyone -- from a conference other than the BIG or PAC (and Texas) win a title.  But, it will be an extraordinary upset when it happens.  It looked like maybe BYU had a shot this year, but they had some bad luck down the stretch with injuries.

In the six years since that post, we've had the following in the FF:

• Wisconsin - 4 (2019, 2020, 2021, 2023)
• Pittsburgh - 4 (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
• Texas - 3 (2020, 2022, 2023)
• Nebraska - 3 (2021, 2023, 2024)
• Louisville - 3 (2021, 2022, 2024
• Stanford - 1 (2019)
• Minnesota - 1 (2019)
• Penn State - 1 (2024)
• Washington - 1 (2020)
• Kentucky - 1(2020)
• Baylor - 1 (2019)
• San Diego - 1 (2022)

Obviously, Louisville and Pittsburgh are new at the top since NIL, but there are a lot of pre-NIL familiar faces remaining.

[Billy Hoyle]

In fairness, there wasn't a lot of variety in the VB FF prior to NIL.

In the six years since that post, we've had the following in the FF:

• Wisconsin - 4 (2019, 2020, 2021, 2023)
• Pittsburgh - 4 (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
• Texas - 3 (2020, 2022, 2023)
• Nebraska - 3 (2021, 2023, 2024)
• Louisville - 3 (2021, 2022, 2024
• Stanford - 1 (2019)
• Minnesota - 1 (2019)
• Penn State - 1 (2024)
• Washington - 1 (2020)
• Kentucky - 1(2020)
• Baylor - 1 (2019)
• San Diego - 1 (2022)

Obviously, Louisville and Pittsburgh are new at the top since NIL, but there are a lot of pre-NIL familiar faces remaining.

I mentioned that in a post earlier in this thread. Only 12 schools have won titles overall and there have been only four first time champs since 1992 (three of those only winning once - Washington, Kentucky - in the COVID year, and Bucky).

When I was at the MU/Purdue tourney game last year I noticed they'd made the round of 16 18 times since 2004 (and no conference titles in that time) but have only advanced to the regional finals twice. The hill to climb in VB is massive. Men's college hockey is more competitive - we've seen programs like Union, Providence, UMass, Yale, and Quinnipiac win titles in the past few years

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I mentioned that in a post earlier in this thread. Only 12 schools have won titles overall and there have been only four first time champs since 1992 (three of those only winning once - Washington, Kentucky - in the COVID year, and Bucky).

When I was at the MU/Purdue tourney game last year I noticed they'd made the round of 16 18 times since 2004 (and no conference titles in that time) but have only advanced to the regional finals twice. The hill to climb in VB is massive. Men's college hockey is more competitive - we've seen programs like Union, Providence, UMass, Yale, and Quinnipiac win titles in the past few years

And QU has been to the Frozen 4, 3 times.

[Billy Hoyle]

And QU has been to the Frozen 4, 3 times.

I was glad to see them finally get over the hump and win it all in 2023 after two previous finals losses (including the first one to Yale).

The craziest champ is Union. A school of 2k students that's D3 in everything else winning the D1 title. They've only been back to the tourney once since.

[JWags85]

I was glad to see them finally get over the hump and win it all in 2023 after two previous finals losses (including the first one to Yale).

The craziest champ is Union. A school of 2k students that's D3 in everything else winning the D1 title. They've only been back to the tourney once since.

College hockey is crazy like that.  You obviously have the blue bloods like BC, BU, ND, Denver, and Minnesota, but then the contenders rise and fall really quick.  Its truly wild.  Union obivously, but Providence also had been to like 2 tourneys in like 25 years and then won a title in 2015 out of nowhere.  Made another FF the year before COVID, and then have stunk.  I went to Miami U and we were a perenial top 5 team when I was there.  Made 2 FFs in 3 years in the late 00s/10s, including a runner up, and then haven't made a tourney in almost a decade.  Hell, MSU won a title in 07 and then only made 1 other tourney since then until this past season.

Its been awhile, but Lake Superior State is even tinier than Union, like 1500 kids, and they were an absolute monster in the early 90s.  Ferris State has had the same coach for 30+ years, has a lifetime losing record, only made 2-3 tournaments ever...but randomly made a championship game and lost to BC like 7-8 years ago.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Diverging from hockey in Volleyball thread, a shout out to my younger daughter's college, UVM for winning the NCAA Soccer championship.  First time any school from America East won anything.

[WhiteTrash]

MARQUETTE HOCKEY. I'm in!