2024 NCAA Volleyball Tournament

[flyingMoose]

NIVC - no Rice, no South Florida.

I assume they declined bids.

[WuDrWu]

I dare anyone to read the 4 page thread on the CSU v SJSU Mountain West Conference Final match at Volleytalk.

The mental gymnastics some people go through to validate something this stupid, just because they side against Trump, is stunning. And it's by far the majority of the posts in that thread.

Rational thought has said bye bye to too many people in this once great country.

[WuDrWu]

The NIVC has been announced...a field of 29 (3 of the four 1 seeds get a bye, I'm sure because of a lack of interest).

Rice and USF are not to be found. East Carolina is hosting. Omaha, Northern Colorado and Idaho State (Sean Carter) are teams of interest, to me at least.

Arizona and Virginia are the only 2 power 4 schools I saw, both are 1 seeds, both are hosting, and both are getting a bye. I'm sure they are not leaving home unless they both reach the finals.

The other 1 seeds are Wright State (the last bye #1) and I'm totally guessing on the last #1 who isn't getting a bye, but it's either SFA or Ga Southern as both are hosting.

[BAShocker]

I can’t wait to see what the transfer portal will be like for schools in that conference. No way I would want my daughter to play for any school in the Mountain West.

[ShockerFever]

Per Pablo, SMU 98%

What did Pablo say about WSU's chances of winning the AAC tourney?

[Critter's Pa]

Got my bracket done to the Final Four. Have not looked at the NIVC bracket yet, will probably do it tomorrow.

I really homered my bracket. I have the Shockers beating SMU and Missouri, losing to Minnesota in round of 16. I have Pitt beating Minnesota for a Final Four spot. Picked two other upsets in the quad- TCU over Oregon and Minnesota over Kentucky. These picks will make my bracket horrible or brilliant, probably leaning toward horrible.

I have Kansas beating Florida, Stanford, and Louisville to make it to the Final Four. The only other upset I picked in this quad is Washington beating LMU.

I have Creighton beating Florida State and Texas, losing to Penn State in the Elite Eight match. I didn't pick any upsets in this quad.

I picked Nebraska for the last Final Four spot. The only upsets I picked in this quad were Dayton over Baylor and Arizona State over Wisconsin.

[flyingMoose]

What did Pablo say about WSU's chances of winning the AAC tourney?

Interesting question. Let me think about this. Something less than 50% for sure.

EDIT: Pre-tournament, about 11%. 60% (over Tulsa) x 37% (over USF) x 50% (over Rice). USF and Rice are not 100% to win all their matches before they play the Shocks, so the percentage is higher, but (likely) in the teens. There is probably a way to factor in all the scenarios and use a spreadsheet to find that Pablo percentage - a way that is above my pay grade. By the time the Shockers reach the championship match, they are 64% against Florida Atlantic.

[flyingMoose]

The Bracketology Geek got all 16 of the National Seeds correct. Not having Arizona as an at-large was the biggest perceived snub. Note - the BG is trying to predict what the Committee will do based on their past history, not tell us what the bracket should be based on his personal opinion.

Later, someone compared the RPI+KPI number for all the at-large teams. The cut line was 89. Every team at 89 and higher was awarded an at-large. Every team 90 (looking at you, Rice) and lower was not in the tournament. Coincidence or by design? Who knows.


You will have to Google KPI if interested. It is another number the Committee has been looking at the past few years.

[Critter's Pa]

Later, someone compared the RPI+KPI number for all the at-large teams. The cut line was 89. Every team at 89 and higher was awarded an at-large. Every team 90 (looking at you, Rice) and lower was not in the tournament. Coincidence or by design? Who knows.

Could be a coincidence. There probably is a cut-off number, but it has to be different from year to year because of the rankings of the automatic qualifiers each year. Would be nice to know if there was a hard number that the committee looked at so teams could aim for it.

Illinois, who made the NCAA, was 0.007 KPI higher than Rice (0.257 vs 0.250). I think that if Charlotte, KPI ranked 303 (-0.258) was as good as UTSA, ranked 219 (-0.064), they might have gotten an at-large bid. Rice's KPI for a 3-0 win over Charlotte at home was 0.037, an away 3-0 win over UTSA was 0.228. Heck, beating Charlotte at Charlotte, instead of at home, might have been enough to swap them and Illinois.

Why is Charlotte's KPI (and RPI) so low? A non-con schedule where they played only one team was above 100- Towson (58). Five of the thirteen non-con teams they played have sub 300 KPIs, and they lost to two of them. Their 1-3 loss on a neutral court to Gardner-Webb(330) was -0.941. Charlotte's KPI+RPI number is 605. Crazy.

For perspective, the Shockers' three 0-3 losses to Kansas, Arizona State, and Nebraska was a combined -0.002* KPI (-0.005, -0.002, and -0.000 respectively). UTSA's 3-0 neutral court win over Marist (332) was worth 0.011 KPI. As far a the KPI is concerned, UTSA's one win is barely better than WSU's three losses. If wins against bottom teams are only slightly better that losses to top teams, why schedule a bunch of teams that everyone knows will finish at the back of the pack? Sure, a winning record looks good on paper, but even going 12-0 against sub 300 non-con teams isn't getting you sniff of the post season.

It's all about the scheduling.

Poor scheduling hurts the entire conference. Sure, one could say that Rice should have won another game, but if the conference as a whole scheduled better, they wouldn't have to and we might have gotten more teams in the NCAA tourney.

* -0.002 is -0.005+-0.002+-0.000 divided by 3 games- rounded down from -0.00233...

[flyingMoose]

Here is the VT thread for the SMU match.

[Critter's Pa]

Here is the VT thread for the SMU match.

From one of the posters:

"Freshmen Naala Kasunga (SMU, opp.) and Olivia Brown (WSU, L/DS) went to high school together at Flower Mound HS in the Arlington area and finished 5th at state in 2023."

In her radio interview yesterday Gonzo said she expects to have friends from high school at the match. I hope there is a nice contingent of Shocker fans at Moody.

[Critter's Pa]

You can create a bracket on ESPN's site. Can make five brackets. Supposedly $10,000 in total prizes.

[1972Shocker]

Volleyball Preview: #10 SMU (NCAA First Round)


WICHITA STATE (18-13, 10-6 American)
Thursday, Dec. 5 (7:00 p.m. CT) vs. SMU (24-7, 16-4 ACC)
Dallas, Texas (Moody Coliseum)
Live Stats // Watch

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS:

• The Mustangs enter the tournament at 24-7 overall, including a 16-4 mark in ACC play that is good for fourth in the conference. SMU is ranked 10th in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll and 7th in the latest RPI, bolstered by wins over top-four national seeds Nebraska and Pittsburgh.
• SMU is making their second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and fourth in program history. The Mustangs have first round wins in 2016 and 2023, but have never advanced to the Sweet 16. The #2 seed is the highest in program history.
• The Mustangs are a veteran, experienced team with eight senior transfers on the roster. SMU averages 2.70 blocks per set, 18th in the country, while holding opponents to a .179 hitting percentage.
• SMU middle blocker Natalie Foster played four seasons at Wichita State before transferring to Dallas for her final collegiate season. Foster is one of four Mustangs who were named All-ACC, with setter Celia Cullen and opposite Naya Shime on the First Team, and Foster and outside hitter Tabron on the Second Team.
• Graduate Assistant coach Sina Uluave began her career as a hitter at Wichita State in 2019, playing two seasons in the Black and Yellow before transferring to Toledo and then finishing her career as a libero at SMU.

---

Eight senior transfers on the SMU roster. The best team money can buy. I'm thinking that Natalie having 4 years as a player for Lambo is probably a huge help for the SMU coaching staff.

The Shockers chances appear to be slim indeed. But stranger things have happened. I'm confident the Lady Shocks will play hard and represent Wichita State well and. who knows, perhaps have a special night.

[1972Shocker]

RH: Galligan's All-Out Pursuit Sparks Shocker Back Row

Wichita State junior libero Katie Galligan always played with the speed and acrobatics needed to excel in the back row.

"If she sees the ball, she is going to go and get it," teammate Annalie Heliste said. That's a great mentality to have."

That mentality helped turn the Shockers into an NCAA Tournament team. Galligan's fierce pursuit of volleyballs from the middle of the back row set up the defense for a season-defining performance in the American Athletic Conference Championship.

"When we put (Galligan) in the (libero) jersey, our dig percentage instantly went up," assistant coach Ashleigh Houlton said. "Katie Galligan has done a really good job of shifting us into 'It doesn't need to look a certain way - we've got to create defensive flow; we've got to make plays.'"

But zipping around the court to dig balls isn't everything. Sometimes a fast-twitch athlete needs to use her arms and hands in a calm, consistent manner to pass a serve or kill attempt.

Galligan improved her technical skills and won the libero job on Nov. 1. With her covering ground in the middle of the court, Wichita State's littles took a lead role in carrying the Shockers to the NCAA Tournament.

"People like having a lot of speed at middle back," coach Chris Lamb said. "But you can't just be a runner. You've got to be a good digger. She had work to do with her platform, control. She's improved a lot."

Wichita State leaned heavily on its defense during the tournament. It held Tulsa, top-seeded USF and FAU to a .115 attack percentage, highlighted by USF's season-low .112 in the semifinals.

"When we're in control and in rhythm, we're very supportive of one another and feed off each other," Galligan said. "When the block is set up well and people are making plays, it makes it easy, and it makes it fun. We had that from the first point to the last point."

The Shockers aren't a powerful scoring team, so they relied on their defense to keep rallies going. That led opponents into hitting errors. The Shockers won that battle of patience, ball control and math.

"Our scouting report was really well-executed, so we had faith in that," Heliste said. "We were organized. For this tournament it was simple – 'This is where this hitter hits and we're going to play volleyball.'"

Houlton likes the way the littles – which she coaches – are playing more aggressively in recent weeks. The group is following Galligan's lead.

"I enjoy middle back because I like being the last one back there, the last line of defense," Galligan said. "Less thinking, honestly. Go after it. If you can touch it, you need to play it."

Galligan's speed fits well with Heliste's technical skills as a defensive specialist. When Lamb conducts camps, Heliste is the player he uses as an example of good form.

"She's the demo girl," Galligan said. "Picture perfect. Watching her shape has helped me a lot visualize what I need to do."

Galligan's 356 digs lead the team with Heliste at 354. Sophomore Reagan Anderson and freshman Grace Hett round out the group. In the tournament, Hett had 19 digs and a team-leading four service aces. Anderson contributed 10 digs and one ace.

"Reagan, Grace and Annalie are really good on the wings, and they handle those hard-driven balls," Galligan said. "The way (Hett) carries herself is confident and consistent. Nothing gets to her. (Anderson) is a little stud, she makes plays left and right."

[WuDrWu]

"Picture perfect. Watching her shape has helped me a lot visualize what I need to do."


I'll take things a male coach absolutely cannot say for $600, Alex.


Obviously a difficult task for the Shocks but we have to be one of the better 4s to actually have a punchers chance tonight.