I love the tournament and this year's bracket. Two things. One, I don't think it's "right" that Louisville gets to play the entire tournament at home. Playing at Stanford poses travel problems for other teams, and I don't care how much the committee pulls out the RPI and KPI numbers, the whole thing is unfair. Two, how in the world do they put Minnesota against Hawaii in the FIRST round? As an aside, Lee, the parity in NCAA women's volleyball is due to the absolutely amazing growth of club volleyball. Recruiting is, therefore, the real deal when it comes to these kids coming up. I have a close friend whose daughter (6-2) plays for UVA-Wise, and their recruiting has been off-the-charts this year. I fully expect them to compete in Division II on a level they've never had before. There's an enormous behind-the-scenes system in place for these kids to get recognized, and that is what's fueling this entire thing. You will feel the loss of John Tawa from your magazine.
Nebraska got a great draw again this year. Got the weakest 4 seed in Baylor and with Wisconsin's poor back row and still playing a 5-1 they are no threat to the Huskers. ASU is too small for Nebraska. Teams that can beat Nebraska are big teams that can shut down Beason like Texas, Penn State, SMU and Pitt. Dont have to play a threat till final four like last year having with getting GT, UK and Arkansas who were no threat.
So many sleeper teams in this bracket…including the back-to-back champs 🤘🏼
Wonder how SDSU Jackrabbits got in with a weak schedule. They didn't play any ranked teams or power 5 teams.
I love the tournament and this year's bracket. Two things. One, I don't think it's "right" that Louisville gets to play the entire tournament at home. Playing at Stanford poses travel problems for other teams, and I don't care how much the committee pulls out the RPI and KPI numbers, the whole thing is unfair. Two, how in the world do they put Minnesota against Hawaii in the FIRST round? As an aside, Lee, the parity in NCAA women's volleyball is due to the absolutely amazing growth of club volleyball. Recruiting is, therefore, the real deal when it comes to these kids coming up. I have a close friend whose daughter (6-2) plays for UVA-Wise, and their recruiting has been off-the-charts this year. I fully expect them to compete in Division II on a level they've never had before. There's an enormous behind-the-scenes system in place for these kids to get recognized, and that is what's fueling this entire thing. You will feel the loss of John Tawa from your magazine.
No reason to have 1-2 be from same conference in 3 of the 4 regions
Nebraska got a great draw again this year. Got the weakest 4 seed in Baylor and with Wisconsin's poor back row and still playing a 5-1 they are no threat to the Huskers. ASU is too small for Nebraska. Teams that can beat Nebraska are big teams that can shut down Beason like Texas, Penn State, SMU and Pitt. Dont have to play a threat till final four like last year having with getting GT, UK and Arkansas who were no threat.
Oh John ❤