Week 2 NEC Women’s Volleyball Power Rankings: Just When You Thought It Was Safe…
When the LIU Sharks won the NEC Coaches Preseason Poll, I understood. It’s the strongest program in the league’s history and they had just added the reigning NEC Coach of the Year in Tony Trifonov. At the same time, I had to wonder:
Who are you voting for?
It had to be the coach and the name on the jerseys, because at that time we didn’t even have a roster- and you didn’t have to look hard in the volleyball circles to get the idea that the roster was going to be shook up. We knew that most of the starters would be moving on. So, who even were the Sharks?
Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water…
LIU’s looked good early in this season and opened up NEC play 2-0. In a weekend with a surprise loss (more on that in a minute), LIU’s going to start firmly in pole position, but I don’t think it’ll be a smooth ride.
Long Island
The Sharks opened up strong against Chicago State, who I suppose could be viewed as something of a rival at the moment. Coach Trifonov left the Cougars to move on to LIU, and his new squad only gave up one set to his old (and last year’s champion) team. Karly Klaer hasn’t missed a beat in the transfer to Long Island- and if anything, she’s actually improved. She’s a candidate for player of the year at best and seemingly first team all conference at worst.
Saint Francis
The Red Flash are looking for their first conference title in their last attempt, and arguably they have the best roster in the conference. Korrin Burns has taken it to another level so far, and while we’ve praised Karly Klaer, Burns is looking like the best player in the conference at this point. They’re 7-6 overall which gives them the best record in the conference, but they got locked into a really tight battle with Central Connecticut State on Saturday. We’re expecting improvement from CCSU in Coach Broccoli’s second season, but as of now it’s a surprising result and probably a less dominant win than you’d expect.
FDU
FDU began the conference season as expected with a sweep over the Mercyhurst Lakers, but on Saturday they were upset by the Lake Show. More interestingly is that it was a 3-1 loss, and so it’s hard to assume anything other than that the Lakers simply outplayed the Knights. I would have hated to be in that locker room on Saturday. We know just how intense FDU is, and that one feels like it would have led to a players-only meeting and the coldest bus ride back to the Garden State imaginable. They’ll bounce back.
4. Mercyhurst
We put the Lakers just behind FDU. Although they were able to knock off the Knights 3-1, they were swept 3-0 in the first contest of the series, so that (along with the home court advantage) gives FDU the slight nod here. The Lakers did lose some pieces this offseason, but it doesn’t look like they’re interested in having the quiet season they had last year. Of course, maybe it’s all fan support. We’ve seen what Erie students can do (see opposite)
5. New Haven
The Chargers were able to go on the road and get their first ever NEC win in women’s volleyball against Stonehill this past weekend, splitting the series 1-1. The games both went into 5 sets, but I do value road wins over home, and so the Chargers will get the split decision over Stonehill to end up at 5th this week. The Chargers have had three different players win NEC Defensive Player of the Week so far. You think New Haven plays defense?
6. Stonehill
The Skyhawks have a bright future if rookie of the week Kendra Sawyer is any indication. She pulled off an exceptionally rare feat this weekend when she opened up Friday by earning the all-time mark for assists in a game for Stonehill (50). Apparently not satisfied, she then topped that number, breaking her own record one day later with 61 on Saturday! I’m really looking forward to seeing how she tops that one.
7. Central Connecticut
While Coach Broccoli will have this team improved this season (I had a conversation just this week with someone in the league office about how much better we think CCSU will be), as of now the best evidence of this is the outstanding fight they showed against Saint Francis. It’ll be very interesting to see how they stack up against Chicago State next week. I do expect a clearer picture of if CCSU will make the league tournament by Sunday.
8. Le Moyne
The Dolphins had the week off. They’ve been able to get Coach Cunningham her first win at Le Moyne but haven’t had success otherwise, riding a 10 game losing streak currently. When the Dolphins head into league play, we’ll get a chance to see how they stack up a little better. For now, the thing to remember about first seasons is that they are temporary and lead to better things- but the downside is that they do usually last an entire season. Jordan Hamlin has continued to be a standout here.
9. Chicago State
Unfortunately, Coach Jones is still looking for her first win as HC of the Cougars. The plus side to this is that her approach to winning volleyball resulted in probably the most fascinating conversation. It was a short turnaround and a race to build a team, and so this start might have been foreseeable. Coach Jones is a competitor and I know she hates this start to the season, but much like Le Moyne, everything takes time.
