And with this post, we're caught up on the to-date action in the four men's volleyball automatic qualification conferences. People, don't sleep on Conference Carolinas. Will they supply the national champions? No. But is it volleyball well worth watching? Hells yeah.
Once again, we visit the teams in alphabetical order.
Barton
What we expected: Being that they finished last in 2013 and came into 2014 with a rather small roster (though not quite so small as I initially thought).
What we''ve been getting: A team with a good chance to move out of the cellar. Right now, they're at 5-8 overall, and 3-6 in conference. They've already beaten Limestone twice, with their other conference win coming over Lees-McRae. It looked from the preseason like they'd have trouble competing with much of anyone, but that has not been the case. They've taken sets in four of their losses, including one each against NJIT and George Mason.
Going forward: Maybe pencil them in as a bit more competitive against teams like Quincy and Lindenwood. IPFW, Ball State, and Princeton are probably still a bridge too far, but with modest incremental growth from a difficult 2013, the Barton Bulldogs have already exceeded expectations for this season. Finishing out of the cellar will be a win for 2014, even if it's just by the one spot in which they're currently ahead. Hey, piece by piece and bit by bit will get you there eventually. Just ask Loyola.
Belmont Abbey
What we expected: A mid-low tier finish, just like in 2013. Some new players filling holes left open the possibility for a fall.
What we've been getting: Brief entry time, because Belmont Abbey have struggled mightily in 2014. They've got just two wins on the season, one over the aforementioned Barton, and one over erstwhile CC members Coker. Of their 11 losses, 7 have been sweeps.
Going forward: There's just not a lot of bright spots on a season like this, except for devotees/alumni (the kind of fans who stick with a program through even the leanest of times and can find bright spots where others don't necessarily see them). Hard to imagine the Crusaders will be particularly competitive against anyone more than Coker and Barton in their return matches, and whatever Alderson-Broaddus is (I'll usually favour a school I've heard of in a match against one I haven't). I don't think Belmont Abbey were realistically thought to be looking up at everyone in the Conference Carolinas standings, so, if by a bit, you'd have to say they've fallen short of expectations.
Erskine
What we expected: Plenty of talent, but with something of a paucity of experience, this would probably be a team for 2015 (and 2016).
What we've been getting: The Flying Fleet lead Conference Carolinas outright as of this writing. At 5-1, they're a half-match better than Mount Olive. They've actually already played the Trojans twice, and split with them. The first tiebreaker is usually net sets head-to-head (after, of course, overall head-to-head results) and if it is, it favours the Flying Fleet, as they won 5 sets in the two matches between the two sides to 4 for UMO. A whale of a non-conference schedule makes them 6-5 overall (their lone non-conference win is over whatever Warner University is), though you have to see taking sets off Lewis and St Francis as potentially meaningful. You may recall that I voted Erskine outside hitter Michael Michelau as a second-team All American on my preseason ballot. It's true that I wanted to include a Carolinas player simply for the sake of having one, but I also genuinely thought Michelau deserved it, and he's putting up another fine season this year. He's at a prodigious four and a half kills per set, on .272 efficiency (that's fine for a pin), being fed his fill by probable all-conference setter Corey Marks, to the tune of nearly 12 assists per set. Add in some good secondary options, and that's a viable offence. The team's biggest weakness, and what likely proves their undoing against traditional-conference teams, is size up the middle. They have no one over 6-foot-5 on the roster, and the blocking suffers for it.
Going forward: It's exciting to see the Flying Fleet arrive ahead of schedule, as they certainly have. This team has a core of sophomores, giving them three potential seasons together (three unless someone transfers or quits volleyball). I thought it would take them another year to become one of the top players in Carolinas, but I was wrong. That means Erskine have exceeded expectations to this point in 2014. They could well end up as the conference's first NCAA tournament representatives. It's gonna be really interesting to see how they stack up against a mediocre West coast team like Cal Baptist, on 15 March. Chances are the Lancers win that match, but who knows?
King
What we expected: Coolest nickname ever aside, this team had just too many question marks to project anything but a lower-level finish.
What we've been getting: They've managed to be competitive. Currently they're 6-6 overall, 3-3 in conference. They have definitely lost the matches they "should" lose, coming up short against St Francis, and in conference play Limestone and Mount Olive. Hard to say if they've won all the "should win" matches, but as noted, there weren't really expected to be very many of those. They've already swept Belmont Abbey, and with the win in their first of two matches with Barton they're middle-of-the-pack in the conference.
Going forward: Don't know. Belmont Abbey and Barton aren't exactly the teeth of the conference schedule, so I think mid-low finish still is probably feasible. Given how nebulous and how modest they were, it's fair to say that the Tornado have no less than met expectations so far; arguably, they've slightly exceeded them. They're gonna struggle against Mount Olive and Erskine, and also in their mid-March Midwest trip. Staying anywhere near .500 will be a win for 2014.
Lees-McRae
What we expected: A senior-laden roster leading to a bit of a peak for the Bobcats, though the height of that peak seemed undetermined. SWAG of fourth place.
What we've been getting: A fourth-place team. At 8-4 overall, with non-conference wins over St Francis and Quincy, you have to call that a good showing. A surprise five-set loss to Barton is the only thing keeping them from holding a higher current conference rank. Despite seven seniors on the roster, it's sophomore outside hitter Brady Markle who's been leading the scoring, ticking up towards four kills per set. Didn't mention him in my CC preview piece back in December. Senior middle Matt Harpenau is also putting up some good offensive numbers this year. There doesn't seem to be any particularly glaring statistical weakness for this team, aside from maybe serve receive, so it's easy to feel confident about them going forward.
Going forward: They've got an interesting road trip this weekend, visiting the EIVA's New Jersey contingent (Rutgers and NJIT). Matches like that of course don't ultimately mean a whole heck of a lot, but it's a good measuring stick against teams in traditional volleyball conferences. Would it be a colossal upset to the Bobcats win either? I really don't think so. They've got further non-conference play against Sacred Heart, Coker, Ball State, and IPFW lined up. The Midwest matches are probably losses, but no worse than puncher's chance against Sacred Heart. I can only say the Bobcats have met expectations so far, thanks to the Barton loss making them 3-2 in league (other loss is to Mount Olive — normal service there). It's absolutely there for them to exceed the expectations later on.
Limestone
What we expected: An eclectic mix of effective holdovers and new incoming talent likely leading to a middle-of-the-road conference finish, with an upward trajectory for 2015.
What we've been getting: It's looking like that was pretty spot-on, though there are a few odd results on the Saints' season ledger to date, both good and bad. The good is a five-set win over Mount Olive, at Mount Olive. The bad is a loss to Barton the next night (and also at home against Barton in their return match). Their non-conference shows wins over Quincy, Coker, and future Carolinas foes Emmanuel, with losses to Lindenwood and NJIT. A pretty ho-hum schedule. Junior outside hitter Eric Zaun has led the way in scoring for the Saints, as he looks to improve upon his third-team all-conference selection in 2013.
Going forward: It's still a pretty ho-hum schedule, the highlight of which is a double double-shot against Grand Canyon and NAIA UC Merced. It's a double triangle round robin — that's a lot of volleyball in two days! The goal for Limestone in their conference season will be to secure a conference tournament berth. It's there for them to take, having met expectations to this point.
Mount Olive
What we expected: Prohibitive Carolinas favourites, and the conference's first NCAA tournament representatives.
What we've been getting: It hasn't quite been that easy. After getting their season underway with a win over Barton, the Trojans then proceeded to lose six in a row. As highlighted in the preseason preview piece, they did have (and still do have) a very strong non-conference schedule, but only four of those matches were non-conference. Mingled in with matches against Lewis, Loyola, Penn State, and St Francis were conference counters with Limestone and Erskine, both of which went against the homestanding Trojans. They've since won six of seven, including return matches with both Limestone and Erskine, but are currently looking up at the Flying Fleet in the conference standings (albeit by only half a match). The Trojans' all-everything guy Angel Dache has more or less been as-advertised, ticking up towards four and a half kills per set (including one of the most impossible kills I've ever seen in the UMO/Lewis match), putting himself in contention for conference player of the year honours.
Going forward: They're still serious contenders for the conference title, but I think most of us expected they'd run away with it this year. And that hasn't happened, so you have to say that they've, if only modestly, fallen short of expectations. Erskine probably await them again in the conference tournament, and I for one wouldn't be opposed to that. The Trojans have already played the majority of their regular season, as they clustered matches together in the early part of it — they play only twice in the next two and half weeks, the Ball State/IPFW run.
Pfeiffer
What we expected: A drop-off from the championship season of 2013, but probably not a huge one. SWAG of second place.
What we've been getting: Close to that (Pfeiffer are currently tied for third). The Falcons currently sit at 5-6, 3-2 in conference. Losses to Limestone and Lees-McRae weren't really the plan, but then again neither was the win over Mount Olive. It's not as cut-and-dried as "winning the matches you're supposed to win and losing the matches you're supposed to lose" but the sum total is pretty much what was expected. Sonny Hirini has done yeoman's work shouldering the offence, but the shadow left by departed conference player of the year Caleb Brophy was always going to be tall one.
Going forward: There's two additional non-conference matches for Pfeiffer, against Sacred Heart and home against Princeton (credit to the Tigers for being just about — if not literally — the only traditional-conference team to travel to CC sites this year). And then it's very much a conference slog. Most everyone so far has played someone in conference the full twice already, but not Pfeiffer. They haven't played Erskine even once yet, so they've got substantial opportunities to improve their lot. As is, they've met expectations — or maybe fallen short by a fraction of a hair — so they should be feeling moderately good about 2014 to this point.
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