Volleyball 2013

[valpopal]

Great to see the team go 2-0 yesterday and a good crowd for the second match. BIG 10 foe Iowa today. Gonna have to go to another level to win.

Celebrating the winning point last night!

[vusupporter]

Valpo beat Iowa in a thrilling 3-1 match tonight to win the tournament title.  IIRC, this is the second straight year the team has beaten a Big Ten team (Indiana last year).  The website also says this matches the best start in program history.  Congrats ladies!

[KL31NY]

Great start to the season and a fantastic intro video. "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark" seems more-or-less like the go-to intro music. I've heard a lot of teams in different sports use it already in 2013. Keep it going, ladies!

[vu72]

The Iowa win was against a very experienced team from probably the best conference in the country. Eight Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 25 with another receiving votes.  While Iowa isn't one of those I would think if they can get some wins in conference it could lead us to getting some votes down the line.

[historyman]

I don't want to be Debbie Downer here but I think we need some perspective. I watched the Iowa match and the Hawkeyes have great spikers. They were not like other Big Ten teams on making digs. Valpo really came out against Iowa strong and their play at the net was extremely good. Iowa finished 2-18 in the Big Ten, dead last last year. It was a great win for Valpo. But I'm not sure it was any better than winning a Horizon League tournament and getting to the NCAA tournament. Which I think this Valpo volleyball squad will do this year.

[valpopal]

Despite work, Popcorn Festival activities, a last summer visit to the beach, and other family events, I managed to watch three of the volleyball matches, and I was impressed by the team, especially against Iowa since that was their fourth match in two days, while the other teams only played three. The Valpo players must have been depleted by the end of the tournament.

In addition to appreciating their good play, the team is a pleasure to watch because they are constantly displaying energy, enthusiasm, and enjoyment. I have finally had time and posted a set of 35 photos from the tournament to Valpo Sports Photography, including the two below. They can be viewed at the following: http://www.flickr.com/photos/96208998@N05/sets/72157635438520961/

[valpopal]

... and congratulations to Morgan Beil, Popcorn Festival Tournament MVP:

[valpopal]

... and a salute to #6 Kelsey Victor, Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week:

[vu72]

... and a salute to #6 Kelsey Victor, Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week:





I have no idea what your background is or anything else about you.  So I'll just say this:  your photography is as good as any I have ever seen, and, you should be nominated for a Pulitzer!!  Nicely done!

[valpopal]

... and a salute to #6 Kelsey Victor, Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week:





I have no idea what your background is or anything else about you.  So I'll just say this:  your photography is as good as any I have ever seen, and, you should be nominated for a Pulitzer!!  Nicely done!

Thanks very much! The photography is just a hobby I do for fun, though I donate my time and work for some nonprofit organizations. Your comment is much appreciated.

[original sin]

Unfortunately their out of conference schedule lacks the top tier teams needed (except Ohio State) to have victories over to make it as an at-large team. For example, I don't see Cleveland St. making it last year if they didn't win the conference tournament.

[vusupporter]

It will be almost impossible for a HLVB team to earn an at-large bid - the bottom half of the conference really drags down the RPI.  Look back to our first year in the league, 2007, when we knocked off Milwaukee in the league semis.  That loss dropped Milwaukee to 26-3 (other losses to Wisconsin and Cleveland State), no at-large bid for them.

[valpotx]

There is such a large difference between the good teams (Valpo) and the elite in volleyball (Nebraska, UCLA, UT, Penn State, etc), that conferences like ours will never receive an at-large bid in the sport

[original sin]

2-1 this weekend. Really rolling now. NOW comes the litmus test this upcoming weekend with Valpo being the small fish in a big pond. Buffalo undefeated and Ohio State, a perennial top 15 team. Keep it going ladies!

[bbtds]

http://www.valpoathletics.com/volleyball/news/2013-14/12922/volleyball-earns-pair-of-wins-saturday/

After the 3-0 slamming by Memphis on Friday, the volleyball squad rebounded really nicely by routing SIUE and handling Evansville fairly easily 3-1, with the 3 winning sets being 25-17 or 25-18.

[VULB#62]

Memphis didn't really slam Valpo.  21-25, 28-30 and 18-25

[bbtds]

Memphis didn't really slam Valpo.  21-25, 28-30 and 18-25

If Valpo had beat Evansville by those scores wouldn't you consider that a slamming? Any time in volleyball you beat a team 3 sets to none I consider that a slamming unless all sets go beyond  25 points.

[original sin]

1-2 this weekend. The loss to OSU was kind of expected but thought the Buffalo match coulda/shoulda been won.

[valpopal]

1-2 this weekend. The loss to OSU was kind of expected but thought the Buffalo match coulda/shoulda been won.

I watched the Buffalo match, and Valpo started well, winning the first game easily. However, Buffalo is a very strong team, which is why they were undefeated (12-0) before losing to Ohio State in the tournament. Buffalo was also the home team, and the crowd was loudly into the play, especially in the later games.

In addition, there seemed to be a couple of strange decisions by the officials that created conflict with Valpo, causing the fans to become even more vocal and vociferous against the visiting team. I believe some of the Valpo players were angry and emotionally upset by the situation. In the end, I think losses to Ohio State and Buffalo on the road should not deter the team, perhaps will even toughen them for conference play.

[valpospartan]

VB starts the HL season by beating UIC 3-1  (25-20, 25-17, 19-25, 25-16).  A nice away game win.

[valpopal]

Tremendous 3-2 comeback victory for Valpo in the Horizon League home opener against Green Bay. The team started the evening as flat as possible and lost the first set 9-25. They were also behind in sets 2-1 before winning the final two sets in tense and exciting fashion, 25-23 and 18-16. As my photo from tonight shows, these women have lots of fun playing together, and they are great fun to watch!

[valpopal]

The women showed great character in their comeback victory against Green Bay last night, even after being down to facing a match point for the loss. I have now entered a set of 20 pictures, including the two below, from the evening in my photo archive at the following: http://www.flickr.com/photos/96208998@N05/sets/72157636215543703/

[vu72]

The women take it on the chin from Milwaukee, 3-0 at the ARC.  Really bad as they actually only got 5 points in the first game.  They played pretty bad against Green Bay and barely won it in 5, now this.  Something is not going right.

[valpopal]

I couldn't make it to the Milwaukee match today, but I did watch it online. Valpo started flat just as they had against Green Bay yesterday, and that is the only part that appears to not be right. However, on Friday the Crusaders managed to come back strong enough to win 3 of the final 4 sets. The loss to Valpo is Green Bay''s only blemish in the league thus far, since they are now 3-1. In fact, they beat an admittedly weak UIC team today in three straight sets.

Today, that repeat of a poor first set seemed to strengthen Milwaukee's confidence. Still, Valpo played well enough to create two tight sets (25-22, 25-19) against a Milwaukee team that may be the best in the league, perhaps along with Cleveland State, at this point and still the only undefeated team at 4-0. Perhaps if Valpo had won the first set they would have had more confidence and less pressure than Milwaukee in the other sets and committed fewer unforced errors.

In any case, the league seems to have some strong teams this year, and Valpo will have difficulty with them. But those teams will have difficulty with Valpo as well. No matter who wins, the road to a league championship should be a good battle all season.

[historyman]

Milwaukee didn't make many mistakes. While Valpo spikes well but they were making errors of "no, you take it" and the sets were too close to the net. Whatever that coach at Milwaukee is doing during practices it's translating to the court extremely well. We also seemed to be getting blocked at the net too easily.