B-W Tournament

Despite being short handed due to illness and injury, the guys played awesome and finished 3rd.  Missing a 6'5" middle hitter to illness, we shuffled the line-up and defeated several top men's teams from NE Ohio.  We raised a significant amount of money for the season and now have a month break before starting the regular season in January.  Have a Happy Holidays!

And the Season begins (pre-season)

Saturday marked the annual beginning to our tournament competition with a pre-season tournament at Grove City College.  The men went 6-0 in pool play defeating a varsity bound program 2-0 and sweeping two other teams.  On their way to the finals the men defeated the Grove City Alumni, won by forfeit in the first round and lost in the championship to finish 2nd.  The men played extremely well and provided a bright look to the future of the team this year.  Practice this week and home tournament Sunday.

Starting to come together

The team is starting to come around, but we do have a lot if injuries to begin the year which creates a challenge.  We will play our first tournament in a month, so the guys have some time to get healthy and ready to play.  We certainly have the talent to be a great offensive team, so we spend a lot of time working on our defensive position and technique.  Stay tuned.

Practice begins

Through four practices or so the team is getting back into shape and working on the fundamentals to ensure we are successful this season.  We have a good core of talent and work hard at each practice.  Looking forward to the year and returning to campus from my recruiting trips in Florida and Chicago, IL.  Be back soon.

The recruiting trail

After a long, whirlwind summer which included the new little boy, Cameron Ross Grippi, I finally updated the recruit flyer and began sending information to men all over the country.  We hope a few of them will be future Yellow Jackets and help us compete for a National Championship.  Good luck to all of you who are seniors in high school, we hope to see you on campus soon.

Season nears...

The guys have been working tremendously hard and we had our "Leadership Lunch" on Tuesday to discuss the season and share some general thoughts before we begin practice on Sunday.  We have a good group of men this year who are determined to win and be successful.  Jake is slowly getting back into playing and we are hopeful he can return to his old form.  We talked a bit in my office today about volleyball, jobs and of course his injury from last year...I wish him the best.

And recruitment for 2011 begins

The summer has come and gone and fall is here which means we officially begin to see applications for admission.  I am on the recruiting trail in Chicago recruiting students to B-W and spreading the news about our Men's Volleyball Club.  We will have a great year and future with our current roster and hope to continue to build on that success over the next few years.

Nationals

The official announcement for nationals is here and it will be...

...Houston, TX.  Houston will be a good, competitive time as it will draw teams from across the country and numerous teams from Texas.  The preparation begins in a month as official practice will be underway by then.

A new member of the team.

On August 29, 2010 a new member of the B-W Men's Volleyball team was formed.  Cameron Ross Grippi, was born at 9:27 a.m. and 7 lbs 4oz.  Who knows, maybe he will be a Yellow Jacket in the future.

New year begins!

One week of school done and the excitement builds as does our potential for 2010-2011.  We have begun scheduling our fundraisers and appointed the leadership team for the club.  Antoine Pastor, Club President.  Zach Beatty and Jehu Shamlin, Co-Captains.  Now we await the announcement of the 2011 NCVF National Championship Tournament.  Should be another great year!

Season in review part I

After a month or so to reflect here are some final thoughts on our season. We play some of the toughest competition among collegiate club teams including four Division I Gold Bracket teams, defeating the Division IAA National Runner-Up and of course the top Division II teams in the country. Our schedule throughout the season prepares us to compete among the best teams in the country because we attend the largest tournaments and compete in one of the toughest leagues (MIVA). We have a solid core of men returning for 2011 and a few young recruits joining us next season. I am proud of what all of the guys accomplished this season and we have a lot to look forward to next year!

NCVF National Men's Club Volleyball Tournament FINAL DAY

Well the odds were stacked against the B-W Men's Volleyball Club to win it's first national championship. In our side of the bracket there were five top nine teams which made for a difficult road for a young team. Senior outside hitter, Jeff Thompson, played his heart out and while he deserved a first team all-tournament, settled for honorable mention. Had the Baldwin-Wallace College Men's Volleyball Club been able to defeat Grove City College, he certainly would have been honored as one of the best hitters in the tournament. As the season came to a close with a 2-0 defeat to GCC, the men held their heads high and look forward to competing for a national club volleyball championship in 2011. Congrats on a great season men and looking forward to next year.

NCVF National Club Volleyball Tournament Day Two

We haven't lost a set since our first loss versus Villanova and face our best competition tomorrow morning as we play local rival Grove City College. The Baldwin-Wallace Men's Volleyball Club defeated UW-Stout and St. Olaf College 2-0 in fairly easy fashion this afternoon and again played with the necessary energy and desire to win. Senior outside hitter, Jeff Thompson, is having one of the best tournaments of his career and certainly has established himself as one of the best players in the tournament. Playing four freshmen, two sophomores, a junior and a senior has been great as they have all stepped up their games since the first day of competition. More to come tomorrow!

NCVF National Men's Club Volleyball Tournament Day One

On the first day of the NCVF National tournament the Baldwin-Wallace College Men's Volleyball Club started slow with a loss to a very competitive Villanova College team. After losing the first set 23-25, the men rebounded for a 25-10 win and led the 3rd set 8-3 after switching sides. The game slowly slipped away and the Baldwin-Wallace College Men's Volleyball club would fall in their first match at Nationals. The Yellow Jackets rebounded to defeat Winona State in their second match 2-0 and needed a straight set win versus Army to advance to the championship brackets on the second day of competition. A fast start and energetic team quickly jumped out to a 14-3 lead on Army and finished the 1st set 25-8. That confidence was the only thing Baldwin-Wallace needed to secure its place in the championship bracket on Friday as they defeated Army 25-17 in the second set and won 2-0. More to come on Friday's matches at the NCVF National Tournament!

MIVA Championships

A brutal day against some of the top teams in the entire country, but we showed a lot of promise and gained some confidence heading into Nationals. Horrible back to back calls didn't help a 2-1 loss to Minnesota...with the score tied 12-12 two calls went the other direction, but we still fought to the finish. The men beat Marquette University and lost to #8 Lakeland College in the afternoon, but on Saturday morning beat the University of Michigan. We ended the day losing to Notre Dame, but down 20-24 in the second game we fought to tie the game at 24-24. It was one of the best defense and blocking displays we have put on all year and gave us the confidence needed to compete for a national championship. Onto Louisville, KY for the NCVF National Championship.

GMMVC-3rd Place

After finishing the league play in the middle of the pack due to some injuries and average play, the men rebounded to finish in 3rd place in the Great Midwest Men's Volleyball Conference (part of MIVA). The men beat the University of Cincinnati in the 2nd round and lost to eventual champion GVSU in the semi-final match. We head to the MIVA Championships in Oshkosh, WI this weekend and then to NCVF Nationals in Louisville, KY. Also, continuing on the recruiting trail for the upcoming seasons of men's volleyball at Baldwin-Wallace College.

FINALLY BEAT ONU

For the first time in a long-time and possibly the history of men's volleyball at B-W, we beat Ohio Northern University! We played with a tremendous amount of energy and played excellent defense throughout the match. While we struggled in the second game and didn't match the energy, we bounced back and closed out the match in the third and deciding game. On to the GMMVC Championships on Sunday. Congrats fellas, great match!

Spring Break

Well, spring break has come and gone and so has the quiet campus that goes along with it. The guys headed home to Chicago, Hilton Head, West Virginia and of course greater Cleveland while some traveled to Mexico and Las Vegas (wish I could have gone there). Seems like everybody had a week to rest up for the final stretch of practice, MIVA league play and the NCVF National Tournament. Home stretch here we come.

Hoosier-Illini Classic

We were among the smallest two schools in attendance and one of the three Division II schools to compete this weekend so needless to say the competition is real. We played well and through a crucial injury to our MH. With a 3-4 point cushion versus GVSU, our MH sprained his ankle and we went on to lose the match. Jeff Thompson did a nice job rotating to the MH position and we played competitive the remainder of the tournament despite being short handed. We beat UIC and lost to UW-Milwaukee 18-16 in the third game...they went on to win the silver bracket. With a 14-13 lead and the serve, we couldn't pull out a victory. We are close to being a championship caliber team and we played great defense throughout the tournament. Spring break is coming up so stay tuned.

Oh the ups and downs of the season...

With injuries, sick players and even the recent death of my grandmother (February 13, 2010, just hours short of her birthday on Valentines Day), we are still plugging away and working on the fundamentals. If the guys continue to work on their ball control, we can be a dangerous team at the NCVF National Tournament at the end of the season. We resume practice on Thursday after a few days of calling hours and a funeral.

MIVA First and Second Round

Well, the first round of MIVA becames an interesting day as we got up at 5:15 a.m. last weekend to check the weather and make a decision on the safety of getting to the University of Dayton. The weather was a winday, snowy Sunday that had players stuck in snow at their apartments, me getting stuck on campus and others having to shovel in the early hours of the morning just to get to the recreation center. So YES, we were snowed out of the first day of our conference play. We did make it to Dayton leaving later Saturday afternoon when the weather cleared and competed in three matches on Sunday. We won versus Western Michigan and lost a close match to the University of Dayton. In the third game we were down 8-3 at the switch and fought back with a chance to tie the game at 12-12. We ended up losing that point and losing the third game and match 15-13. Looking forward to our next tournament in a few weeks as we play in the Hoosier Illini Classic.

All-Ohio

We came out strong at the All-Ohio Tournament last weekend easliy defeating BGSU and Youngstown State University 2-0. Of course the road got tougher against an Ohio State club loaded with a few former varsity players. In both sets the Yellow Jackets were tied or in the lead at 16s only to lose 25-21 in both matches. The holds true against a very good ONU team as we played tough and kept it close until late in the match. Overall, we played well and can take a lot away from this experience as we will continue to improve our ball control and work on our on-court communication. First round of the MIVA conference play is coming-up. Stay tuned...

First Tournament Preparation

After a long day of playing with my men's team consisting of mostly B-W Alumni, it is time for our first tournament of the year. We play at the All-Ohio which brings the best teams from around the state to compete each year. Stay tuned for updates and highlights.

2010

Whew! I cannot believe our winter break is over, those four months went by quick. We began practice after a few weeks off and now are ready for the 2010 season. We will play a pretty competitive schedule beginning with the All-Ohio Classic at the end of the month. Over the break I took some time to enjoy the holidays, work on some projects around the house and even catch-up on some volleyball recruiting (spent a few days in Chicago shopping and watching some guys in Naperville). Hope everybody enjoyed their holiday break!