2024 Volleyball thread

[TigersTigers]

On what could have been a trap weekend for Towson, they travelled to Stony Brook and won both matches comfortably, setting up a potentially crazy final week of the regular season. There is still everything to play for going into the last two matches, with literally not a single team being fully certain of their place in the standings yet.

T1. Towson, Charleston, Delaware, Hofstra (13-3)

5. NC A&T (10-6)

6. Northeastern (8-8)

7. Stony Brook (7-9)

8. William & Mary (6-10)

Eliminated: Elon, UNCW, Campbell, Hampton

The Tigers play their old buddies Hofstra at home, with possibly first place on the line. They would need help from a few others, but you never know. What we do know is that two losses to the Pride would guarantee the Tigers the 4-seed. All other outcomes are uncertain. No matter what, it won’t be doom-and-gloom; with four teams clearly separating themselves as the contenders, failing to get a bye would not be the end of the world. Even as the 4-seed, they would play A&T first, who is a pretty clear step down from the top 4. After that, it’s just the top 4 left, in any configuration. So there isn’t really going to be an “easier” or “harder” path in the bracket.

Delaware should pick up two wins against already-eliminated Elon and grab a bye in the process, while Charleston will be facing Northeastern in two huge games for both teams. Stony Brook is currently one game out of the playoffs, but they should beat Campbell twice, while Northeastern has a much more difficult road. W&M is *technically* still alive, and they will pick up two wins against Hampton. However, they would need Northeastern to lose twice to Charleston (definitely possible) and Stony Brook to lose at least one match to Campbell (not completely unheard of, but unlikely). Like I said, after 16 matches absolutely nothing has been solved, and this will be another exciting end to a very competitive season.

 

 

[TigersTigers]

A tough but fun final weekend of the regular season comes to a close with Towson grabbing a 1-1 split against Hofstra, a tense 3-2 loss on Friday followed up by a great 3-1 win on Saturday. While a disappointing result, the Tigers showed some grit on Friday, coming back from being down late in the 4th to push the match to 5. The tiebreaker didn’t go their way, but they bounced back on Saturday to earn what we call in volleyball a “winning split” (won by more than they lost by). As a result, they earn the 3-seed over the Pride. The final standings are:

1. Charleston (15-3)

2. Delaware (15-3)

3. Towson (14-4)

4. Hofstra (14-4)

5. NC A&T (12-6)

6. Stony Brook (9-9)

7. Northeastern (8-10)

8. W&M (8-10)

9. Elon (5-13)

10. UNCW (4-14)

11. Campbell (4-14)

12. Hampton (0-18)

Charleston earns the #1 seed over Delaware by virtue of having beaten Towson twice, whereas Delaware only beat them once. The Cougars, while unmistakenly dangerous, also enjoyed the easiest schedule of any of the top 4 teams. Nonetheless, they managed to draw home-court advantage in the tournament from Towson’s grasp, which will become effective in 2025. For now, the Cougars will fight to prove their seed in SECU Arena.

Delaware, to me, is scarier than Charleston, and at the moment I would consider them the favorite-iest of the favorites. In that regard, I’m slightly annoyed that Towson drew Delaware as their potential semifinal opponent.

Towson, while definitely not perfect, is absolutely still good enough to win this thing. They *should* beat Stony Brook, which would set up the rubber match with Delaware. From there, anything can happen.

Hofstra is weird. They are a team of really good players that are sometimes better than the sun if their parts, sometimes worse. They are more battle-tested than Charleston, and I’m not taking anything for granted in a potential semifinal matchup against the Cougars. 

Congratulations to the NC A&T Aggies for making the CAA tournament for the first time. They were picked 11th in the preseason poll, but rattled off some impressive regular season victories to get here, including two wins over Charleston. They don’t stack up talent-wise to the top 4, but volleyball is not played on paper.

There isn’t a ton to say about Stony Brook. Everybody knew they would be trouble, and they proved to be trouble. Towson did just beat the Seawolves twice in their place, but they have wins over Hofstra and Charleston. Ever since joining the conference, Stony Brook has proven to be a team that does more with less, and as long as they’re in the tournament, they’ve got a shot. 

Well, there you have it. The grind of conference play is over, and it’s time for the fun part. This is the toughest tournament to call since 2015, and it’s all no use to try anyway. If you’re in the area (unlike me), head on over to SECU and watch some good volleyball!

[TuTigers2012]

10 hours ago, TigersTigers said:

A tough but fun final weekend of the regular season comes to a close with Towson grabbing a 1-1 split against Hofstra, a tense 3-2 loss on Friday followed up by a great 3-1 win on Saturday. While a disappointing result, the Tigers showed some grit on Friday, coming back from being down late in the 4th to push the match to 5. The tiebreaker didn’t go their way, but they bounced back on Saturday to earn what we call in volleyball a “winning split” (won by more than they lost by). As a result, they earn the 3-seed over the Pride. The final standings are:

1. Charleston (15-3)

2. Delaware (15-3)

3. Towson (14-4)

4. Hofstra (14-4)

5. NC A&T (12-6)

6. Stony Brook (9-9)

7. Northeastern (8-10)

8. W&M (8-10)

9. Elon (5-13)

10. UNCW (4-14)

11. Campbell (4-14)

12. Hampton (0-18)

Charleston earns the #1 seed over Delaware by virtue of having beaten Towson twice, whereas Delaware only beat them once. The Cougars, while unmistakenly dangerous, also enjoyed the easiest schedule of any of the top 4 teams. Nonetheless, they managed to draw home-court advantage in the tournament from Towson’s grasp, which will become effective in 2025. For now, the Cougars will fight to prove their seed in SECU Arena.

Delaware, to me, is scarier than Charleston, and at the moment I would consider them the favorite-iest of the favorites. In that regard, I’m slightly annoyed that Towson drew Delaware as their potential semifinal opponent.

Towson, while definitely not perfect, is absolutely still good enough to win this thing. They *should* beat Stony Brook, which would set up the rubber match with Delaware. From there, anything can happen.

Hofstra is weird. They are a team of really good players that are sometimes better than the sun if their parts, sometimes worse. They are more battle-tested than Charleston, and I’m not taking anything for granted in a potential semifinal matchup against the Cougars. 

Congratulations to the NC A&T Aggies for making the CAA tournament for the first time. They were picked 11th in the preseason poll, but rattled off some impressive regular season victories to get here, including two wins over Charleston. They don’t stack up talent-wise to the top 4, but volleyball is not played on paper.

There isn’t a ton to say about Stony Brook. Everybody knew they would be trouble, and they proved to be trouble. Towson did just beat the Seawolves twice in their place, but they have wins over Hofstra and Charleston. Ever since joining the conference, Stony Brook has proven to be a team that does more with less, and as long as they’re in the tournament, they’ve got a shot. 

Well, there you have it. The grind of conference play is over, and it’s time for the fun part. This is the toughest tournament to call since 2015, and it’s all no use to try anyway. If you’re in the area (unlike me), head on over to SECU and watch some good volleyball!

So what you are getting at (imo atleast) is that the 4 seed woulda been optimal in first and seminal matchups?

[TigersTigers]

16 minutes ago, TuTigers2012 said:

So what you are getting at (imo atleast) is that the 4 seed woulda been optimal in first and seminal matchups?

Maybe slightly. But honestly being 1-4 barely makes a difference at all this year, other than earning first-round byes. Even the byes have been shown to be a double-edged sword historically. I just think that if we did have a semifinal rematch with Charleston, we’d be more likely to win. With Delaware, it’s a total toss-up. It’ll just come down to who woke up on the right side of the bed that day.

[TigersTigers]

An easy 3-dong of Stony Brook sets up the expected semi-final matchup with Delaware. Newly-crowned CAA POTY Victoria Barrett led the way, and the Tigers’ quality was just a bit too much for a Stony Brook team that has gotten wins in the tournament before. Elsewhere, Hofstra dispatched A&T without issue, and the final 4 will be the exact quartet that we expected all along. Tomorrow’s schedule:

#1 Charleston vs. #4 Hofstra - 3:00PM

#2 Delaware vs. #3 Towson - 6:00PM

[TigersTigers]

Rough. Out-attacked, out-served, and out-blocked Delaware just to lose 3 consecutive sets by 2 points. Leading late in every set, the Tigers threw every single lead away. What does that sound like? The Towson of old. Tonight’s 3-1 semi-final loss essentially confirms that the era of excellence is thoroughly behind us, and this program has reverted back to the “should’ve” program that they were from 2014-18. They do return the majority of the starting lineup next season, so they’ll still be in the mix. But being in the mix and being champion are two hugely different levels, and it feels like this group’s ceiling is a couple stories lower than the previous group’s. One thing Don and his staff are is outstanding recruiters. They recruited Barrett (who still has a year of eligibility left, although it doesn’t seem like she’ll use it), they recruited Nina Cajic, they recruited Irbe Lazda, they recruited all of the players that made this team the deepest in CAA history just three years ago. Now, they have to get out there and do it again. “Pretty good” is no longer the bar for Towson volleyball. Don’s salary alone shows that the athletic department is expecting nothing short of greatness from this program. He has to answer the call quickly, or it won’t be his responsibility much longer.

[TuTigers2012]

10 minutes ago, TigersTigers said:

Rough. Out-attacked, out-served, and out-blocked Delaware just to lose 3 consecutive sets by 2 points. Leading late in every set, the Tigers threw every single lead away. What does that sound like? The Towson of old. Tonight’s 3-1 semi-final loss essentially confirms that the era of excellence is thoroughly behind us, and this program has reverted back to the “should’ve” program that they were from 2014-18. They do return the majority of the starting lineup next season, so they’ll still be in the mix. But being in the mix and being champion are two hugely different levels, and it feels like this group’s ceiling is a couple stories lower than the previous group’s. One thing Don and his staff are is outstanding recruiters. They recruited Barrett (who still has a year of eligibility left, although it doesn’t seem like she’ll use it), they recruited Nina Cajic, they recruited Irbe Lazda, they recruited all of the players that made this team the deepest in CAA history just three years ago. Now, they have to get out there and do it again. “Pretty good” is no longer the bar for Towson volleyball. Don’s salary alone shows that the athletic department is expecting nothing short of greatness from this program. He has to answer the call quickly, or it won’t be his responsibility much longer.

Wouldn’t it help that Delaware is gone?

Where would the coach go?

[TigersTigers]

1 hour ago, TuTigers2012 said:

Wouldn’t it help that Delaware is gone?

Where would the coach go?

Help win the conference? Sure. But this team has also beat up on Delaware for 8 years prior to the last two. When the department paid Don $156,000 last year (double what a normal mid-major volleyball coach typically commands), it became clear that just winning the conference isn’t the ultimate goal for them. They have been promised a nationally relevant program, and that’s what it’s going to take for Don to meet their expectations now. They want the 2019 and 2022 type of teams (ranked wins, NCAA tournament wins, undefeated runs, receiving AP votes, etc.). Just winning the conference because the conference got worse and then getting steamrolled in the first round of the tournament once every 5 years isn’t what they are looking for with that type of money. If that is the result of the next few years, then the department will probably make the connection that they can get that while paying somebody else $75,000 a year. Don is making P5 (P4 now, I guess) money at a school that does not have P5 money to give him. The standards have to be different.

[TuTigers2012]

9 hours ago, TigersTigers said:

Help win the conference? Sure. But this team has also beat up on Delaware for 8 years prior to the last two. When the department paid Don $156,000 last year (double what a normal mid-major volleyball coach typically commands), it became clear that just winning the conference isn’t the ultimate goal for them. They have been promised a nationally relevant program, and that’s what it’s going to take for Don to meet their expectations now. They want the 2019 and 2022 type of teams (ranked wins, NCAA tournament wins, undefeated runs, receiving AP votes, etc.). Just winning the conference because the conference got worse and then getting steamrolled in the first round of the tournament once every 5 years isn’t what they are looking for with that type of money. If that is the result of the next few years, then the department will probably make the connection that they can get that while paying somebody else $75,000 a year. Don is making P5 (P4 now, I guess) money at a school that does not have P5 money to give him. The standards have to be different.

This is Towson. He will be here until he decides to leave or the contract runs out 

[TigerFan54]

I watched the third and fourth games last night. Delaware was the better team by virtue of making fewer unforced errors. (How many times did No. 14 serve the ball into the net? Too many for me to count.) We also relied too much on Barrett. Great as she is, she couldn’t do it all.