Volleyball 2013

[original sin]

..........and turn around and lose to GB, a .500 team. Once again the league will have only the tournament champ advance to the Big Dance. Losses like this will prevent the possible at-large bid should  Valpo not win the conference tournament.

[chef]

There was never a chance of an at-large berth. They entered the night with an RPI in the 70's.

[historyman]

..........and turn around and lose to GB, a .500 team. Once again the league will have only the tournament champ advance to the Big Dance. Losses like this will prevent the possible at-large bid should  Valpo not win the conference tournament.

I think Green Bay was playing better than Milwaukee on Friday. Like many GB teams they seem to play at lot better on their home courts/fields. Maybe some of the fatigue of playing 2 nights in a row might have got to Valpo.

Each set was close but GB was able to pull out the last 2 when Valpo was wearing down. I believe Valpo did a lot more dinking/tapping the ball over the net in the last 2 sets than going for the kills.

Many of the digs by Valpo's libero, Morganne Longoria, were very impressive and really kept Valpo in the match. Even the Green Bay announcer was impressed by Longoria's play mentioning it several times. Unfortunately even if you keep the ball in play impressively it doesn't mean you win the point.

Going 5 sets with GB on their home court when playing the second night in a row and only losing in the 5th set by 2 points is not a bad performance. Valpo just needed a little extra to get over that 5th set hump and couldn't find it.

In case you were wondering what exactly is a libero I looked it up.

What is the libero?

The volleyball libero is a defensive specialist position in indoor volleyball. The position was added to the game in 1999 along with special rules for play in order to foster more digs and rallies and to make the game more exciting. The libero remains in the game at all times and is the only player not limited by rules of rotation. He usually replaces the middle blocker position when they rotate to the back row and never rotates to the front row himself.

The libero is chosen by the team before the match or tournament and that designated player must remain the libero for the entire match or tournament. If the libero is injured, he/she can be replaced by any player who is not on the court, but that player must remain the libero for the remainder of the match.

[KL31NY]

What is the libero?
...
The libero is chosen by the team before the match or tournament and that designated player must remain the libero for the entire match or tournament. If the libero is injured, he/she can be replaced by any player who is not on the court, but that player must remain the libero for the remainder of the match.

Quick clarification for college volleyball: The libero designation is submitted with the lineups prior to each set in NCAA volleyball (quoting NCAA Rule 12.1.1), so you can start a different set with a different libero than was used previously. Not that it happens much, but I saw it happen in a match I covered last weekend. In any case, the only scenario for a change within a set is due to injury.

[talksalot]

So even if Milwaukee loses to someone (like against Youngstown)... they still hold the tie breaker, since they beat us 3-0 and we beat them 3-1.  They need to lose twice for us to host the HL Tournament.

[a3uge]

A little inside humor:

This is Valpo Athletics: Valpo Volleyball

For those of you that don't watch as much TV as me, this was based off of an old sports center commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0iR05lYy1g&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[valpotx]

Another uncharacteristic loss for volleyball against YSU 3-2.  Hopefully we win the last two to finish in second.

[original sin]

On Senior Night no less.

[KL31NY]

#1 UWM and #2 Valpo in the Horizon League Championship Match, live on HLN http://www.horizonleague.org/live/9194

[valpotx]

Another good regular season.  Hopefully we will be able to get over the hump in the HL championship next year, now being 0-3 in the title game since joining.  The girls tried to battle, but it seemed like we gave away way too many free balls.  I don't remember seeing Milwaukee mishit too much that would go to our side, whereas we had a decent amount of serve receipt mishandles that went right to them, and several balls at the net that they would just smack right back.  There is always next year!

[setshot]

Time and time again we seem to lose on back to back days. Tired legs? I also noticed that UWM played at least five fewer matches than Valpo did throughout the season. They were fresher than we were. Perhaps trying to continue the goal of 20 wins seasons is more important to KA than going to the dance Hell, the more matches you play the better the chance of winning 20 games or more. Right?

[Pgmado]

Not sure who KA is.

[bbtds]

Not sure who KA is.

KA=Carin Avery. I believe setshot is not aware that Carin spells her name with a "C."

[setshot]

Right!

[vu72]

Time and time again we seem to lose on back to back days. Tired legs? I also noticed that UWM played at least five fewer matches than Valpo did throughout the season. They were fresher than we were. Perhaps trying to continue the goal of 20 wins seasons is more important to KA than going to the dance Hell, the more matches you play the better the chance of winning 20 games or more. Right?

I actually think setshot might be on to something.  Not the part about wanting the 20 wins but the part about tired legs due to too many matches.  We lost 3 of the last 6 prior to going 1 of 2 in the tourney for 4 and 4 over the last 8.  During the season the team did seem to lose focus in losing to teams they shouldn't have going back to losing 3-0 to Memphis.

Another great year but when they were predicted to win it all and lost to a team that wasn't very good last year, the 20 win thing loses some shine.

[Valpo12]

First off Milwaukee had proven all season to be a very good team their record is not as high as Valpo's but they also played a lot more top level teams before coming into conference. Secondly the only reason they did poorly last year was because their setter and player of the year this year were injured and out all season last year. And I am sure CA is not as worried about the 20 wins as much as she would like to get a conference championship.

[original sin]

Well, here we go again,wellllllllll maybe. Iowa's coach Dingman is out. Iowa reached out and offered Carin the job last time. That resulted in a contract extention for her due to run out in two more years. With the continued success of Valpo's program I'm wondering if Iowa will go back to the well one more time?

[VULB#62]

Well, here we go again,wellllllllll maybe. Iowa's coach Dingman is out. Iowa reached out and offered Carin the job last time. That resulted in a contract extention for her due to run out in two more years. With the continued success of Valpo's program I'm wondering if Iowa will go back to the well one more time?

Does Iowa have a men's soccer program in need of a good coach (or might they be planning to start one?)  ?  If so, we're in trouble.

[IndyValpo]

Iowa won all their non-conference matches except vs Valpo and Ball State.  They lost all their B10 matches except 2 against IU.

[bbtds]

Iowa won all their non-conference matches except vs Valpo and Ball State.  They lost all their B10 matches except 2 against IU.

We're you kidding? Iowa does not have a men's soccer program in the NCAA. They do have a club level program

http://www.dailyiowan.com/2009/07/08/Sports/11976.html

http://www.hawkeyesports.com/index-main.html

Click on the drop down menu for Teams, then look under Men's Teams.  No Soccer!

[covufan]

Does Iowa have a men's soccer program in need of a good coach (or might they be planning to start one?)  ?  If so, we're in trouble.

Not so sure it would have to be just U of Iowa.  If Coe College, Mt Mercy U, Grinnell College, Augustana or St. Ambrose have an opening, all would be a problem for VU.  Also, if the UofI Volleyball job pays an amount that is substantially more than both are making at Valpo, and there is an opportunity to develop an indoor/outdoor facility for coaching soccer in either Iowa City, Quad Cities or Des Moines, we could also be in trouble.  I'm sure the Averys have discussed the possibility of leaving VU for other opportunities in the past, and what criteria would allow one to follow the other. 

This has happened for other coaching couples as well.  Several years ago, Mike and Maggie Lonergan were the Men's and Women's basketball coaches at Catholic University (Div. III).  During the 2004-5 basketball season, while Maggie Lonergan was the coach of CUA, she also did a season long first person perspective column in the Washington Post.  Some of the trials and tribulations of that season included going through the process of her husband accepting an assistant job at Maryland to potentially enhance his possibility of getting a Division I job offer.  She was also coaching and gave birth at the beginning of the season, if I remember correctly.  The series of articles ended with her husband getting the job at Vermont, and her resigning her position - a very bittersweet ending for her.  She was saddened to be leaving her team and the reliationships with her players, but looking forward to the journey of her husband's job, and being a full time mother.  They are now back in Washington, DC, with Mike the HC at GWU. 

I'm sure the Avery's will be in the same situation.  I don't envey their situation, only the individual opportunities that exist for either Avery.  Good luck to them!

[original sin]

I'm just concerned it's an "offer you can't refuse".

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Several years ago, Mike and Maggie Lonergan were the Men's and Women's basketball coaches at Catholic University (Div. III).

Thanks for that memory.  I was not at CUA then, but my little sister was, the year they won the national title.

I went to a game with her and we started a riot, actually, and inadvertently.  Buuuuut that's a story for another day.

Go Cards!

[vu72]

Does Iowa have a men's soccer program in need of a good coach (or might they be planning to start one?)  ?  If so, we're in trouble.

Not so sure it would have to be just U of Iowa.  If Coe College, Mt Mercy U, Grinnell College, Augustana or St. Ambrose have an opening, all would be a problem for VU.  Also, if the UofI Volleyball job pays an amount that is substantially more than both are making at Valpo, and there is an opportunity to develop an indoor/outdoor facility for coaching soccer in either Iowa City, Quad Cities or Des Moines, we could also be in trouble.  I'm sure the Averys have discussed the possibility of leaving VU for other opportunities in the past, and what criteria would allow one to follow the other. 

This has happened for other coaching couples as well.  Several years ago, Mike and Maggie Lonergan were the Men's and Women's basketball coaches at Catholic University (Div. III).  During the 2004-5 basketball season, while Maggie Lonergan was the coach of CUA, she also did a season long first person perspective column in the Washington Post.  Some of the trials and tribulations of that season included going through the process of her husband accepting an assistant job at Maryland to potentially enhance his possibility of getting a Division I job offer.  She was also coaching and gave birth at the beginning of the season, if I remember correctly.  The series of articles ended with her husband getting the job at Vermont, and her resigning her position - a very bittersweet ending for her.  She was saddened to be leaving her team and the reliationships with her players, but looking forward to the journey of her husband's job, and being a full time mother.  They are now back in Washington, DC, with Mike the HC at GWU. 

I'm sure the Avery's will be in the same situation.  I don't envey their situation, only the individual opportunities that exist for either Avery.  Good luck to them!

I would guess that both Avery's are making near the top pay at their respective positions in the Horizon.  That said, a BIG position will be difficult to turn down although moving the family for one spot might be more difficult.

[VULB#62]

Iowa won all their non-conference matches except vs Valpo and Ball State.  They lost all their B10 matches except 2 against IU.

We're you kidding? Iowa does not have a men's soccer program in the NCAA. They do have a club level program

http://www.dailyiowan.com/2009/07/08/Sports/11976.html

http://www.hawkeyesports.com/index-main.html

Click on the drop down menu for Teams, then look under Men's Teams.  No Soccer!

I think Indy was referring to the women's VB team.