Playoffs Reactions

[Pownage]

Any Surprises at the playoffs this weekend in D2???

[Pownage]

well since no one is responding I guess I'll add a little bit of my thoughts

WPI continues to impress me. I feel they are a good team but very beatable, but it seems like the continually flat out know how to win. In that regard Brown I feel should be able to top them easily but have yet to find a way how too.

Brandies preformed well as expected.

I thought UVM could have put up a better showing

Bryant made a huge leap from last year and played well throughout the tournament

I feel bad for Middlebury losing one of their top OH's in the first game of the tournament and I wonder how that played an effect on their playoff result

Stonehill also went a lot farther than I expected them to go, maybe a case of an easy bracket but I didn't think they would make out of day 1

Any way it was a fun weekend and congrats to all on a good season

[Deis17]

Pownage, what team are you on?

WPI played a great match against us in the semis, and it was a lot of fun. We ended up losing in game 3 to them, and I think the score was 18-16. And I'm a little surprised they ended up beating Brown in the finals, but I could definitely see it happening. Nate is a strong OH, and can pass nails as well as hit. Anyone have the game scores for the finals?

Also, UVM put up a tough fight against us in the quarterfinals, especially in game 2.

Josh

[Pownage]

I play for Bryant...

Right Side Hitter #3

[Bryant 14]

We definitely played well in this tournament, things are looking up for the future of our club team, especially with the talent in our freshmen, 2 of which made the all tournament team. (Pownage you got snubbed, ha)

I too am surprised by WPI. I don't know what it is about them; sure, they have good players, a consistent setter, tough serving, decent passing, but I agree as much as I feel like they are beatable, no one was able to do it this year. I'm not taking anything away from them, they deserve every win they got, and to go undefeated in the strongest Conference in D2, in my opinion, is impressive.

No other surprises really, from my perspective. I expected Brown to make it to the final, and I expected matches against UML and Middlebury to be long and hard fought, which they were.

Congrats to everyone, and goodluck to those who are going to NIRSA Nationals next week.

[Brown7]

Bryant played really well throughout the tournament. If I'm not wrong, I believe many of their matches ended up in the final set. I watched the entire match when they played Middlebury, and they were simply awesome! Also, the outside hitter (#13) is quite talented.

Brandeis is by far my favorite team. #17 is an awesome hitter! He has an excellent attitude in court, and he knows how to attack the other team's weaknesses. His hitting doesn't focus on power, but rather uses blockers to his advantage. In addition, he has the ability to hit the ball to certain spots in the court where it's simply unreachable. Also, both the setter (#1?) and #4 are very good players.

Vermont surprises me a lot. I saw them played UML when their coach was setting (some amazing sets). #7 has always played well, and I'd never seen #3 until the playoff, and he played quite well too. Unfortunately, they ended up in a tough bracket against some of the best teams in D2.

Middlebury certainly has some talented players and overall they played like a team. We had a tough first game against them in the semi. I was informed that they were missing 4 key players when they played us. I'm sure our match against them would be a lot tougher if they had all their starters. I was also told that they wouldn't be losing any players for next season, so I really look forward to playing against them next year.

WPI is an awesome team. They have an amazing outside hitter and an amazing setter (MVP). The final match against WPI was extremely tough. I believe WPI won the first game with 25-(19 or 20ish) and we won the second game with 25-20. I don't remember the score of the final set, but it was somewhere around 15-10. Many of their players are graduating, so I really hope they'll be able to recruit some good players for next season.

For those who watched the final match, I believe many will agree that we put on a good fight against them. We were disappointed for not bringing the championship title home, but we don't feel bad because we all played the best we had. We'll not lose any players for next season, and in fact, we might gain some better players next semester when we have our 2009 tryouts.

Finally, thank you all for a great season and congratulations to those who were nominated to the all tournaments teams. I look forward to meeting all of you guys again soon!


Cheers,
Eric Lim

[Pownage]

Yeah UVM has some talent and #3 is a beast. They gave us the only game that we lost by more than 5 points to I believe. Everything else we were about 5 or less points.

Most teams had at least one really strong middle and that hurt us as we were missing our starting middle hitter.

From the sounds of it other than WPI not many top teams are graduating their best players so even though I'll be gone, I think competition next year will be just as good if not better

Anyword on teams wanting to move up or down?

[Deis17]

Bryant 14:

Ya, we're only losing one of our opposites next year. And I think in terms of moving up or down, I think people will have to wait until next fall to see what new players show up at tryouts, or at least that's what I think people should do. I mean, if anyone gets a few 6'5" kids from California who are amazing, I'm sure that team will be in D1 next year...

Brown 7:

Our setter is #13. Thank you for all of the compliments, I appreciate it. Also, you're a very good hitter yourself.

I agree with much of your analysis of the other teams. Anyone know why UVM's coach played some games, but not others? From what I saw, he looked very good.

[Bryant 14]

Well, teams that want to move up to D1 need to be approved by the board before that can happen. They take into account record against D2 teams, probably performance at the Marty, and potential. Like Fairfield last year was a D2 team, but they are definitely good enough to compete in D1, so they moved up.


The competition this year seemed pretty even in playoffs, obviously teams were there for a reason. The brackets however, seemed to be a bit skewed, but I guess thats the luck of the draw.

Anyone else thinking about hosting a tournament before this school year is over, besides Assumption?

[chad]

WPI is only losing one player nate #13 the outside everybody else is either a freshman or sophmore