2021 Volleyball

[valpotx]

Another 3-0 victory, this time against Toledo!  On to the NIVC Quarterfinals for a second time!

[justducky]

Another 3-0 victory, this time against Toledo!  On to the NIVC Quarterfinals for a second time!

Elite eight and they looked good in doing so. They might get to host another game depending on another outcome.

[IndyValpo]

Already announced Evansville at Valpo in the next round on Dec 6.

[valpotx]

If we win, we would be in the Final Four of this tournament, with a chance to play Troy, North Florida, NC A&T/UConn winner, or Delaware State/Boston College winner. 

[IndyValpo]

UTEP is hosting the next two rounds on the other side of the bracket so I assume we will as well. North Florida bad already advanced. U Conn vs BC today for the other.

[vu84v2]

Valpo wins easily over Evansville and advances to the semifinals. I would guess that they end up playing UConn in Storrs. UConn will be a challenge.

[valpospartan]

VU will be the only team in the final four that has swept all of their games. 

[valpotx]

Another good win.  Evansville must hate us.  Can you imagine going 0-4 against a conference opponent in the same season?

This team has the same feel as our Men's Basketball team that went to the NIT championship.  Veteran-laden and high expectations, and probably just on the outside of getting an NCAA at-large bid with our RPI.

[vu72]

Great win!  No fooling around!  Three sweeps in a row.  Do we host the semi's?

[IndyValpo]

Great win!  No fooling around!  Three sweeps in a row.  Do we host the semi's?

Yes
https://twitter.com/tcvolleyballnit/status/1468343228931862529?s=21

[vu84v2]

Very good news! Not sure what the criteria for home court is for the tournament (UConn is hosting North Florida and North Florida has a better RPI). If they use RPI for determining home court for the finals, only Weber State has a worse RPI that Valpo. The best is Arkansas at 44, but they have not hosted any matches.

[crusader05]

I wonder if some of it is as simple as court availability and facilities for it/central locations to some of the brackets.

[valpotx]

UConn it is!  We should beat them, based on what I watched.  We are better than both UConn and UNF.

[IndyValpo]

UConn it is!  We should beat them, based on what I watched.  We are better than both UConn and UNF.

U Conn beat Butler 3-0 in Indy but lost 3-0 at home. Only common opponent I found.

[vu72]

UConn it is!  We should beat them, based on what I watched.  We are better than both UConn and UNF.

U Conn beat Butler 3-0 in Indy but lost 3-0 at home. Only common opponent I found.

I was just going to report the same finding!  Great minds think alike!  I would expect close to 1000at this game, being on a Friday night and a Big East opponent.  Very exciting, I would think we have a great chance to win this and move on to the title match!

[valpotx]

If you didn't watch the match against UConn, you missed one hell of a volleyball match.  Valpo wins 3-0, but every set was by 2, and had non-stop lead changes/ties throughout.  There had to be at least 1,000 folks at the match, as well, with a great student showing.  We get to host the championship against UNLV.  Let's win it all!

[valpopal]

It appears Cookerly will only need 11 digs on Sunday to tie the all-time NCAA record. Ironically, her quest for the goal has been made more difficult by the excellent efficiency of the team, which has swept its last four matches by 3-0 counts and limited the number of sets played.

[valpotx]

Official attendance says 1,267 fans showed up.  I don't believe that I've seen that many fans at a Valpo Volleyball game previously.  It harkens back to when I was on campus, and we were in the WNIT, hosting against the University of Houston in the Quarterfinal round, as well as our NIT run in Men's Basketball.  It looks like that WNIT game had 1,947 fans show up, which has to be a Women's Basketball record.

[vu84v2]

I was not able to watch, but this is an impressive win. I follow Big East volleyball some and UConn is really good - strong 3rd in the Big East. Sounds like they had a great environment too - and hopefully an even better one on Sunday.

[vu72]

Fantastic performance and can't wait to see the final!  This team has a ton of heart and peaking at the right time.  The turnout and student section was AWESOME to watch!  Volleyball has clearly past women's basketball in the heart of fans.  Even before this tournament the team was getting 600 per match while basketball was drawing about 300.  With the current state of the women's team the fan participation may drop even further.

GO BEACONS!!  BRING HOME A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!

[valpo tundra]

Without the band, or even cheerleaders, the student section was more packed and rowdier than any Men's basketball game in years, including the NIT run. Final exams start on Monday so let's see if they have one more night in them. High quality play for both teams. Men's basketball should note that winning contributes to increased student and community interest. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more fans than the announced 1,267, a Valpo volleyball record. The ticket scanners for athletic events are very fickle and if it doesn't read after a few attempts and there are people waiting behind you they waive you through. This has been going on all semester.

[mj]

Do we know who's calling the game? It would be great to hear Todd call a championship game.

[Brandon]

Do we know who's calling the game? It would be great to hear Todd call a championship game.

Brian Jennings and Renee' Turpa, our primary volleyball broadcast crew. Agreed on Todd, and it's bene fun to have him on a few volleyball matches this season, but Brian has been our primary play-by-play voice for volleyball for several seasons and does and excellent job. With Dave Huseman's departure before this season, Brian now calls all of the home women's basketball on ESPN3/+ as well.

[valpotx]

Great season, and unfortunate end, losing 3-0.  To me, the key point in the match was in set 1, when their 6'2" player (Freeman) basically threw the ball over the net for a point, and you apparently can't challenge such a play in volleyball.  That put UNLV in the lead 16-15 (?), and seemed to suck the air out of the set for Valpo.  No idea how the official missed such a thing, as it was basically a lacrosse throw with her arm.  Cookerly finishes 1 dig shy of the NCAA record, I believe.  UNLV had several big hitters, so it was going to be tough, regardless.  Towards the beginning of the match, the announcers said that there were 2,200+ fans in attendance. 

Great job, ladies!

[justducky]

Disappointed but UNLV certainly demonstrated their abilities! It is fun to watch this level of volleyball! Some great play.