7 main storylines of the 2022 DI Women's Volleyball Tournament
Опубликовано: 1-12-2022, 17:00, , 680, 0
The 2022 DI Women's Volleyball Tournament is here, with games starting on Thursday, December 1st. We have something to look forward to and the action will start pretty soon. In the meantime, here are the seven major storylines that I'm looking forward to watching in the postseason.
The biggest of all is the year of Logan Eggleston? Throughout the season, everyone said that she lost the Player of the Year award. But that's not the only thing she's missing...she's back in Texas for the national title. That is the title they have been looking for for the last three seasons, and in all three of them they have failed. If you have read any of my articles or watched me talk about volleyball in videos this season, you may have heard me say it before. This year the Texas team reminds me a lot of last year's Wisconsin team. The Badgers, too, have been knocking on the door for a national title for years, failing each time, and their star Dana Röttke and team are back for their fifth and final season. Looking for the AVCA NPOY award and of course a trophy and a fabulous finale. I remember, as he wrote those exact words in his 2021 pre-season op-ed: “Will this be the year of Dana Rettke?” And in my post-season review, I wrote the following: "Dana Rettke's prophecy has come true."
If you don't see any similarities between the stories of these two teams, you might want to look deeper. The Longhorns are bringing back all of their items from last season and then adding more. Eggleston, Molly Phillips and Asgia O'Neal are back, adding a huge out in Mady Skinner and then beefing up their defense with the addition of Zoe Fleck. They literally have what it takes to win a national title and it seems like this is their year to do so. The Longhorns have a really tough grid quadrant - a bit harder than you'd expect from the No. 1 seed overall. But it is still possible that they will get out. Let's see if this is their year.
Another big and exciting question this season is how will San Diego perform in the tournament? The Toreros burst onto the scene this year with some BIG wins at the start of the season. They made their way into the top 10 and then stayed there as the teams battled through their hectic conference schedules. They did the best they could with what they had, but ultimately it wasn't enough to place in the top four overall. Instead, Stanford got the nod, and the main reason for that was because San Diego just didn't have the strength of the schedule.
However, the stars aligned so perfectly that the Toreros would have a chance, if they both took the lead, to take on Stanford in the regional finals. They will have a chance right here and now to prove the committee wrong. Some might think that they will lose because they haven't played top 10 opponents for several months. Some people think they are real. Only the tournament will tell - can't wait to see how it plays out.
Louisville has been a force to be reckoned with over the past few years. It all started with them rocking the world with their Texas hype while Dani Busboom-Kelly rocked her sparkly red blazer on the sidelines. Aiko Jones was on this list, and now such a victory will not be a shock. It was expected. The Cardinals have set this level of excellence not just in the ACC but nationally, and Busboom-Kelly is looking forward to his first national title as a head coach. They made it to the national semi-finals last season and were THAT close to making it to the national championship game, but Wisconsin narrowly won five games and ended up winning them all. This season they lost several key figures, but did not miss a single chance. Claire Chaussy has been a special player to them all year, and she can lead them to the national title. without a doubt. Anna DeBeer has missed most of the season due to injury, but has been back to the lineup for several weeks now.
So the big question is, can they win their first title? The trophy will go down in history - no woman has ever won a championship as head coach of Women's Division I Volleyball. Is always. To make it even crazier, they might have to beat Nebraska in the regional finals, Busbum-Kelly's alma mater, and then Wisconsin again in the national semi-finals. How amazing would it be to witness history?
This event is of particular importance among bookmakers, so 1win's volleyball line at DI 2022 is very wide
Is this the year of Logan Eggleston and the Texas Longhorns?
The biggest of all is the year of Logan Eggleston? Throughout the season, everyone said that she lost the Player of the Year award. But that's not the only thing she's missing...she's back in Texas for the national title. That is the title they have been looking for for the last three seasons, and in all three of them they have failed. If you have read any of my articles or watched me talk about volleyball in videos this season, you may have heard me say it before. This year the Texas team reminds me a lot of last year's Wisconsin team. The Badgers, too, have been knocking on the door for a national title for years, failing each time, and their star Dana Röttke and team are back for their fifth and final season. Looking for the AVCA NPOY award and of course a trophy and a fabulous finale. I remember, as he wrote those exact words in his 2021 pre-season op-ed: “Will this be the year of Dana Rettke?” And in my post-season review, I wrote the following: "Dana Rettke's prophecy has come true."
If you don't see any similarities between the stories of these two teams, you might want to look deeper. The Longhorns are bringing back all of their items from last season and then adding more. Eggleston, Molly Phillips and Asgia O'Neal are back, adding a huge out in Mady Skinner and then beefing up their defense with the addition of Zoe Fleck. They literally have what it takes to win a national title and it seems like this is their year to do so. The Longhorns have a really tough grid quadrant - a bit harder than you'd expect from the No. 1 seed overall. But it is still possible that they will get out. Let's see if this is their year.
Who will embark on an inevitable run?
Breakdowns are bound to happen. After all, this is a sport. No matter how much better a team is, they can always be beaten on any given night for a variety of reasons. With a single elimination, a chalk brace is incredibly unlikely. Last season, we saw Kansas run with Caroline Crawford, now a star on Wisconsin's roster. The Jayhawks upset Oregon in the first round before knocking Creighton down. Illinois was also heavily upset by No. 7 in Kentucky. Who will make noise this season?How's San Diego doing?
Another big and exciting question this season is how will San Diego perform in the tournament? The Toreros burst onto the scene this year with some BIG wins at the start of the season. They made their way into the top 10 and then stayed there as the teams battled through their hectic conference schedules. They did the best they could with what they had, but ultimately it wasn't enough to place in the top four overall. Instead, Stanford got the nod, and the main reason for that was because San Diego just didn't have the strength of the schedule.
However, the stars aligned so perfectly that the Toreros would have a chance, if they both took the lead, to take on Stanford in the regional finals. They will have a chance right here and now to prove the committee wrong. Some might think that they will lose because they haven't played top 10 opponents for several months. Some people think they are real. Only the tournament will tell - can't wait to see how it plays out.
Stanford is back to stay?
Cardinal is one of the highest scoring volleyball programs in the NCAA. If you want to argue with this, justify it with all their national titles. They won back-to-back in 2018-19 before disappearing from the map entirely in 2020. They looked on the rise in 2021, but this year was different. The Cardinal are back in the top 10 and are looking to become a national championship level team once again. They finished in the top four overall and out of all the quadrants in the draw, they may have the best path to Omaha. I'm happy to see them return to the national semi-finals this year and whether that level of success continues.Can Louisville win its first national title?
Louisville has been a force to be reckoned with over the past few years. It all started with them rocking the world with their Texas hype while Dani Busboom-Kelly rocked her sparkly red blazer on the sidelines. Aiko Jones was on this list, and now such a victory will not be a shock. It was expected. The Cardinals have set this level of excellence not just in the ACC but nationally, and Busboom-Kelly is looking forward to his first national title as a head coach. They made it to the national semi-finals last season and were THAT close to making it to the national championship game, but Wisconsin narrowly won five games and ended up winning them all. This season they lost several key figures, but did not miss a single chance. Claire Chaussy has been a special player to them all year, and she can lead them to the national title. without a doubt. Anna DeBeer has missed most of the season due to injury, but has been back to the lineup for several weeks now.
So the big question is, can they win their first title? The trophy will go down in history - no woman has ever won a championship as head coach of Women's Division I Volleyball. Is always. To make it even crazier, they might have to beat Nebraska in the regional finals, Busbum-Kelly's alma mater, and then Wisconsin again in the national semi-finals. How amazing would it be to witness history?
Can Wisconsin win with an almost completely different roster?
We have seen many volleyball teams repeat for the national title in history. But how often do you see it after they've lost their core? Dana Rettke, Sidney Hilley and Lauren Barnes anchored the Badger team last season, and this year the team is performing equally brilliant feats with a new look. Not only are there so many new faces, but also a completely new attack system. The Badgers went from being one of the best setters in the country to winning 18 consecutive Big Ten games on a 6–2 system. It would certainly be a great story if the Badgers could do it in back-to-back seasons.Can Ohio State finally make it out of the Final 16?
Ohio State is another team that has become famous in recent years. But for the last two years in a row, their tournament streak was interrupted in the 1/8 finals. I spoke to Mac Podraza at the Big Ten Media Days before the start of the season, and she said that this team was sick of it. They knew they could do better, they wanted to win the national title and that was their goal throughout the season. Just a month ago it seemed more than likely... I would have been sure that they would be in the top four in the overall standings of the tournament. If that were the case, they would obviously have a much better chance of making it into the top eight teams in the country and breaking the curse. The Buckeyes looked like a championship-caliber team in their mid-season kit before losing four games in a row to end the season. Two of these losses were completely unexpected in Maryland and Indiana. Just like that, four losses later, this team went from battling for a Big Ten title and top four seed in the tournament to being in the Texas quadrant. This means that this team will have to go through Minnesota (probably) to get out of the third round and then go through Texas if they want to reach the national semi-finals. So... their long goal for the season just got a lot harder. Let's see if they can overcome the rut and pull off something wonderful. This is certainly possible. and then go through Texas if they want to make it to the national semi-finals. So... their long goal for the season just got a lot harder. Let's see if they can overcome the rut and pull off something wonderful. This is certainly possible. and then pass through Texas, if they want to advance to the national semi-finals. So... their long goal for the season just got a lot harder. Let's see if they can overcome the rut and pull off something wonderful. This is certainly possible.This event is of particular importance among bookmakers, so 1win's volleyball line at DI 2022 is very wide
