Practice

Finally got to 99% of the practice.  It has been a busy few weeks of work with extensive traveling, but finally back on campus for the long haul.  Practice is going great and while we have fewer guys this year, we have a lot of talent!  Pat returns from Australia in a few weeks and there is a possibility of a couple of transfer players that will add to the depth chart.  Looking forward to a great season.

It's been awhile

It has been a long time since my last post, but school has started, the new guys are on campus and the practice has begun.  We have a talented team returning starters and freshmen and should have a great season of men's volleyball.  The recruiting has begun and I have talked to guys in Ohio, Illinois, PA and other states.  Looking forward to a competitive and fun season with the guys!

NCVF Nationals Day One

The Yellow Jackets began the NCVF National tournament in Houston, TX as the #6 overall seed and played like it Thursday. The men beat St. Johns MN, Siena and Brandeis to advance to the Championship Flight for Day two. The men will have some tough matches Friday to reach the Gold bracket and will need to play well to hold up their seed. Jake Barone and Jeh Shamlin played well throughout and will continue to provide the power behind our offense. Defensively, Pat Madden set the tone and continues to be one of the best Liberos in the tournament.

MIVA Championships

B-W at Ohio Stadium (Horseshoe) on the campus of The Ohio State University for the MIVA Championships

What a weekend of GREAT competition.  We played four of the top 10 teams in the Division I ranks over the weekend and despite the outcome, held our own (#2,3,4,7 and 25).  We played hard, with energy and despite missing an unexplained amount of serves, still were in most of the sets.  The highlight of the weekend was beating the University of Kentucky 25-13, 25-15 and hanging with the #2 ranked team and MIVA Champion Indiana University.  A few more practices and on to the NCVF National Tournament.

2nd Place in GMMVC

The men finished 2nd in the GMMVC over the weekend with crucial wins over Miami University and Ohio Northern University. The Yellow Jackets lost in the finals 13-15 in the deciding game to Grand Valley State University and now move on to the MIVA Championships at Ohio State this weekend. We are playing with a lot of positive energy and emotion as we prepare for the MIVA Championships and NCVF National Tournament.

Spring Break is over, home stretch

We had the best practice of the year following spring break! It was energetic, consistent and productive and if we play like the remainder of the season, we will be a tough team to beat! Practice resumes on Wednesday.

Long weekend at IU

When the snow finally cleared, we traveled to Indiana University for the annual Hoosier-Illini Classic.  It draws some of the best teams from around the country and is one of the most competitive tournaments in the nation.  We played averaged to say the least but lost 26-24, 26-24 to #6 St. Louis University.   We had leads in both games (23-19, 23-21) and couldn't close out the sets, but we will work in practice.  Spring Break time and then MIVA League Play.  Only a month left and we are ranked #7 in D-II.

2nd Place at All-Ohio Classic

The Yellow Jackets played hard to finish 2nd at the All-Ohio Classic losing to ONU in the finals.  After defeating Ohio University and Bowling Green State University, the men reached the finals of the All-Ohio for the first time.  While the result wasn't exactly what we had hoped for, we continued to play well as a team and will continue to work in practice to eliminate the minor mistakes it takes to win a championship.  Pool play started slow for the Yellow Jackets as they lost to the defending NCVF National Champions, The Ohio State University, in their first match of the day.  The men rebounded to defeat the University of Dayton and Ohio University and finished as the second seed in their pool.   We have a couple of weeks off before traveling to UD for the first round of MIVA play.

Decent Start to the Season

We finished 4-1 at the Michigan Classic at UM and did some great things along the way.  We haven't turned the corner to get us to that "next" level, but we will get there soon.  We were down 19-11 in a match and ending up winning the game and match.  We lost a close match in the quarter finals to UW Oshkosh B, but showed some great effort (31-33, 25-13, 13-15).  Our serving was excellent and our defense and passing pretty consistent throughout the tournament.  This weekend we head to the All-Ohio Classic.

First tournament of 2011 -- Michigan Classic

Headed to the School Up North after a long week of practice and scrimmaging our alumni.  We are ready to play and begin the season.  The team came away from their spaghetti dinner this week with some goals and general understanding of what it will take to be successful this season.  We talked this evening in the hotel about the energy it takes to be successful on the court, the emotion required to win and the attitude to work towards our long-term goals. Here we go...

PS - Thoughts go out to Kevin Moskal, 2009, who broke his leg this week. Get better buddy, we want to see you at future alumni scrimmages and tournaments!

Practice, practice, practice

Practice has been hot and cold with some great moments and some sloppy ones.  We will be heading to the school up north (Michigan), this weekend to put it all together.  It will be interesting given we have guys coming back from injury and illness, but by mid-season we should be a well oiled machine. 

Starting practice back-up

Preparation for the season began on Sunday and the guys brought their running shoes.  Practice is going well and conditioning is in full swing as we prepare for our first tournament.  We have a few lingering injuries and a few nagging illnesses, but hopefully we can be at full strength by mid-season. 

Winter break

It has been somewhat quiet around these parts!  The guys are at home enjoying their time with family, away from homework and of course tests.  Recruit letters continue to fly outta here in an attempt to bring in a solid group of guys for 2011.  We have a bright future with the right guys and I hope to have some quality wins in 2011. 

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.