2017 schedule

[dmksioux]

UND is playing in a tournament at UTEP along with New Mexico and Youngstown.

http://elpasoheraldpost.com/utep-volleyball-announces-2017-slate/

anyone know if we are hosting a tourney again this year?

[Dustin]

http://www.undsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=211605695

Opener against the Bison.

[jdub27]

Quote

"Our first home match will be against the Bison, during Potato Bowl week, so I have a feeling that we might have an okay crowd for that one at the Betty," said Pryor. "That match is always a great event for the volleyball community in the entire state, regardless of whether you support UND's Kelly Green or that other shade of green that resides a little south of us. This is also the last time that we will play them in a non-conference setting. We are looking forward to playing them home and away once we enter The Summit League in 2018. That's just a win-win for the state."

Translation: Getting one game a year was an absolute process and NDSU flat out refused to do an annual home and home each year that would have made a ton of sense for each team because their volleyball team has been a dumpster fire and they didn't want to risk getting embarrassed twice. Now the don't have a choice.

Looks like a solid home schedule, will be very interested to see what kind of gauntlet Pryor has set up for their away schedule. Guessing he isn't going to shy away from anyone. 

[SiouxVolley]

UND will play in the Ole Miss Invitational  Aug 25-26, which will also have La Tech, Chattanooga, and Florida A&M.

[nodak651]

Nice looking home slate I suppose.  4 home d1 games vs 5 the last two years.  Not the end of the world.  OOC schedule will be exciting.

[SWSiouxMN]

Pryor really likes to needle NDSU doesn't he . I hope UND can lock him up for a long, long, long time.

In all seriousness, with what this team has coming back, at minimum I could see 25 wins, a BSC title and a return to the NCAAs.  If things break right maybe running the conference table or winning 30 games isn't out of the realm of possibility.

 

[Teeder11]

On 5/24/2017 at 11:37 AM, nodak651 said:

Nice looking home slate I suppose.  4 home d1 games vs 5 the last two years.  Not the end of the world.  OOC schedule will be exciting.

Ran into Coach Pryor the other day. Said he's excited about the away slate and they should be announced soon. Really looking forward for the chance at some payback against Ol' Miss at their house.  Also of note: said he really likes Merselli as she will be one to watch this year. Thinks she might be one of , if not THE best player that's come through UND.  I agree. For a relatively smaller package, she's got a gun for an arm and can attack from back row at will. The other Serbian, Teo, also has got a serve that is one of the toughest to handle that I've seen in a while. Excited for what is to come!

[SiouxVolley]

Disappointing that the Gophers didn't schedule us.  But they somehow scheduled powers such as UTSA, Idaho St, Denver, and A&M Corpus Christi.

Looks like UND plays at Ga Tech when they fly back through Atlanta from the Oxford Ole Miss tourney.

Also UNLV and NMSU at Las Cruces before they play in the El Paso tournament.  UCLA is also in Las Cruces for that tournament but appears they seem to refuse to play us.

And at Green Bay for their tournament with Cal Poly and IUPUI.

USD is also missing from the schedule.

The full schedule seems to be up on UNDsports.

 

[SWSiouxMN]

I think they can win 30 (regular + postseason)

who's with me?

[lawkota]

1 hour ago, SWSiouxMN said:

I think they can win 30 (regular + postseason)

who's with me?

Me.  They have talent, experience and depth at every spot on the court. 

[SiouxVolley]

Didn't see the Iowa State at Ames game later.  There seem to be plenty of 30-100 rated teams, so wins over them could put UND in a position for an at large.  But an almost undefeated season would be necessary.

Can see the wisdom on not playing elite squads like Minnesota and UCLA.  

[undVBfan]

20 hours ago, SiouxVolley said:

Didn't see the Iowa State at Ames game later.  There seem to be plenty of 30-100 rated teams, so wins over them could put UND in a position for an at large.  But an almost undefeated season would be necessary.

Can see the wisdom on not playing elite squads like Minnesota and UCLA.  

I wish it wasn't true, but the Big Sky, and the Summit, are AQ conferences. Regardless of how well we do, both in pre-season and conference, there will always be enough weak conference teams to kill our RPI. It's pretty rare that an at-large bid goes to a team with an RPI greater than the low 40's. The lowest RPI I remember seeing for a Big Sky or Summit team has been in the neighborhood of the 70's or 80's. Years ago South Dakota State had a pretty good run with the coach who went to Washington State, *maybe* they had a pretty good RPI, but I still doubt it would have been enough for an at-large bit. And until we win a few matches in the tournament I wouldn't expect the program to get any breaks.

I suspect it's the same for basketball as well. 

[SiouxVolley]

2 hours ago, undVBfan said:

I wish it wasn't true, but the Big Sky, and the Summit, are AQ conferences. Regardless of how well we do, both in pre-season and conference, there will always be enough weak conference teams to kill our RPI. It's pretty rare that an at-large bid goes to a team with an RPI greater than the low 40's. The lowest RPI I remember seeing for a Big Sky or Summit team has been in the neighborhood of the 70's or 80's. Years ago South Dakota State had a pretty good run with the coach who went to Washington State, *maybe* they had a pretty good RPI, but I still doubt it would have been enough for an at-large bit. And until we win a few matches in the tournament I wouldn't expect the program to get any breaks.

I suspect it's the same for basketball as well. 

Can't argue with that, but at least UND needs top 100 wins so it can actually get a better seed in the tournament and avoid a top 10 seeded team like Minnesota.  The MVC actually gets at large because UNI and others have powerful programs.

[undVBfan]

6 hours ago, SiouxVolley said:

Can't argue with that, but at least UND needs top 100 wins so it can actually get a better seed in the tournament and avoid a top 10 seeded team like Minnesota.  The MVC actually gets at large because UNI and others have powerful programs.

I agree with everything you say, but I fear it won't matter. The NCAA only seeds the top 16 for volleyball. Then they try to keep all the other teams within 400 miles so they don't have to fly the teams, if at all possible. So until the NCAA starts seeding all the teams (as they do in basketball) or we make the top 16, UND is almost guaranteed to go to Minnesota. However, not getting them in the first round would be nice. :-)

[Dustin]

UND actually had a #52 RPI in 2011 (and NDSU was #42!).  UND was ineligible for the NCAA Tournament that year (last year of transition), and NDSU won the Summit League.  I wonder if either would/could have been an at-large bid.  http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/weeklyrpi/2011WVBrpi1.html

[SiouxVolley]

http://www.valleynewslive.com/content/sports/From-Serbia-to-Grand-Forks-UND-Seniors-finding-way-5000-miles-away-from-home-435728393.html

[SiouxVolley]

As expected, the defending champions are big favorites to repeat as Big Sky champions according to the coaches poll.

http://goviks.com/news/2017/8/11/vikings-selected-fifth-in-big-sky-volleyball-coaches-poll.aspx

[SWSiouxMN]

Not surprising to see them as heavy favorites going in to repeat.  If there is one concern I have for this team it is this

Is Jordan Vail ready to take over the middle after the graduation of Moser?  

Another dynamic I will watch is how much time Mattson gets at setter over the season, it will more than likely be her job next year (unless Veldman is the heir apparent) so how much action will she get? Hard to take an All-American in Griffin off the court, but you also need to look ahead to 2018 as well.  

I am very bullish on this team and think that they can do even better than last year.  I think they could have a 14-2, 15-1 conference record and win 30 games overall when it is all said and done. It gets off to a tough start as they have the 2nd 3rd and 5th preseason ranked teams within the first 6 games.   If they can get through that, they should run wild through the middle part until the NAU/UNC finale.  

*I should clarify that when I mean win 30 games, I am including the 3 BSC tourney games in GF as well )

[SiouxVolley]

5 hours ago, SWSiouxMN said:

Not surprising to see them as heavy favorites going in to repeat.  If there is one concern I have for this team it is this

Is Jordan Vail ready to take over the middle after the graduation of Moser?  

Another dynamic I will watch is how much time Mattson gets at setter over the season, it will more than likely be her job next year (unless Veldman is the heir apparent) so how much action will she get? Hard to take an All-American in Griffin off the court, but you also need to look ahead to 2018 as well.  

I am very bullish on this team and think that they can do even better than last year.  I think they could have a 14-2, 15-1 conference record and win 30 games overall when it is all said and done. It gets off to a tough start as they have the 2nd 3rd and 5th preseason ranked teams within the first 6 games.   If they can get through that, they should run wild through the middle part until the NAU/UNC finale.  

*I should clarify that when I mean win 30 games, I am including the 3 BSC tourney games in GF as well )

With everybody back sans Moser, this team should be outstanding.  Make hay while the suns shines.  Would be interesting to hear Pryor's goals this year.  Undefeated in conference play, 30 victories, and a 1st round NCAA win are my stretch goals if Griffin, Dooley and Merseli stay healthy.  A lot of matches should be dedicated to the second string play so they get plenty of playing time, as there are weak teams on the schedule.  Will be interesting if Merseli comes out even stronger, as she became such a bona fide force later in the season which drove much of UND's success.  Last year, the team didn't start out very strong, and that should not be a problem this season.

[SWSiouxMN]

3 hours ago, SiouxVolley said:

With everybody back sans Moser, this team should be outstanding.  Make hay while the suns shines.  Would be interesting to hear Pryor's goals this year.  Undefeated in conference play, 30 victories, and a 1st round NCAA win are my stretch goals if Griffin, Dooley and Merseli stay healthy.  A lot of matches should be dedicated to the second string play so they get plenty of playing time, as there are weak teams on the schedule.  Will be interesting if Merseli comes out even stronger, as she became such a bona fide force later in the season which drove much of UND's success.  Last year, the team didn't start out very strong, and that should not be a problem this season.

If they can get through that UNC/SAC/PSU road swing in the first 6 games of conference play, I'd give them a decent shot of running the table.  

[Smoggy]

11 hours ago, SWSiouxMN said:

Not surprising to see them as heavy favorites going in to repeat.  If there is one concern I have for this team it is this

Is Jordan Vail ready to take over the middle after the graduation of Moser?  

Another dynamic I will watch is how much time Mattson gets at setter over the season, it will more than likely be her job next year (unless Veldman is the heir apparent) so how much action will she get? Hard to take an All-American in Griffin off the court, but you also need to look ahead to 2018 as well.  

I am very bullish on this team and think that they can do even better than last year.  I think they could have a 14-2, 15-1 conference record and win 30 games overall when it is all said and done. It gets off to a tough start as they have the 2nd 3rd and 5th preseason ranked teams within the first 6 games.   If they can get through that, they should run wild through the middle part until the NAU/UNC finale.  

*I should clarify that when I mean win 30 games, I am including the 3 BSC tourney games in GF as well )

Vail has hops for being a middle so I'm not worried there.  She can block and that's all you really need out of a middle.  We've just been spoiled with Dooley.  The schedule though.  Tough.  Something like 10 matches in 8 or 9 days and through how many states?  5?  won't be easy.  I also agree that Mattson needs reps.

[SWSiouxMN]

Anybody check out the scrimmage tonight?

[SIOUXFAN97]

gonna be nice to see the band at women's volleyball games instead of the women's hockey games...should make for more of a home court advantage!

[Dustin]

10 hours ago, SWSiouxMN said:

Anybody check out the scrimmage tonight?

I normally attend and give an analysis, but I had other commitments last night.  Wish I could have!

[Dustin]

I did hear that Sydney Griffin was jump serving.  Not sure if she intends to do that during actual games, or just a little showboating for the scrimmage.