(Photo by Bill Pesci)

by Jac Coyne | MCLA.us

LA CROSSE, Wis. – A two-day U-16 volleyball tournament in Rochester has sapped me of my usual screen time, so we’re going in notebook form for this week’s Reverb.

We’ll get the Fives out of the way first to set the mood. Division I just keeps grinding along while the D-II applecart was flipped upside down in Dayton this weekend.

#monday : Jodi Vosika pic.twitter.com/WtnJ1VYTFG
— MCLA (@MCLA) April 8, 2024

MY TOP FIVES

Division I

1. Texas (12-0) – Complacency is the only thing standing in the way of UT now.
2. Brigham Young (9-0) – Three of the final four games on the road. Good tests.
3. Virginia Tech (12-1) – Too many goals allowed at home. Rocky Top upset?
4. San Diego State (11-1) – Thinking the ASU loss came at a good time to refocus.
5. Indiana (9-0) – The Hoosiers just won’t go away. Only Purdue left.

Division II

1. Grand Valley State (9-0) – Lakers checked all the boxes this weekend. Scary team.
2. Montana State (11-1) – ‘Cats were up 8-1 after one versus WWU. Could have been ugly.
3. Air Force (7-0) – Only 11 more days left on Spring Break ’24!
4. Rhode Island (8-1) – Have to think the Rams are quite fine with a 2-1 trip to Dayton.
5. Florida Atlantic (12-2) – The Owls are just taking care of business. Can they beat KSU?

Norm & The Gang@49erLacrosse pic.twitter.com/e2D6ljgbO0
— Nick N. (@TheCanadianJack) April 8, 2024

- Grand Valley State can’t savor the weekend for too long with another three-in-three weekend coming up in Springfield, Mo. The first two contests against Drury and Missouri State will be warm-ups for the big one against UNC-Charlotte on Sunday. If the 49ers are fully healthy, they can pose problems for anyone, so they’ll provide the Lakers a quality test heading into the postseason.

- Who would be your Coaches of the Year at this point? Anyone who finishes in the Top 10 are all worthy, and the eventual national championship will likely get the honor. But for me it should go to the coach who led the most unlikely team to national success. As such, I’m thinking Kevin Riordan (Coastal), Tom Blanchard (Northwest Nazarene) and Dave Skaug (Denver) would be solid choices in Division II. Kelton Clarke at Loyola Marymount is another guy who has exceeded expectations and deserves recognition.

In Division I, Bryan Bome’s work with San Diego State has been exemplary while Tyler Burgasser’s first season in Boulder is worthy of praise. Tennessee’s Jake Noel and Indiana’s Brent Balek would have to be in the discussion, as well. I don’t think anyone expected Texas to post this kind of season, so include Kyle Hartzell in that mix. And James Madison’s Owen Willison.

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- Simon Fraser is now in the driver’s seat for the top seed in the PNCLL tourney after the Red Leafs’ 12-9 triumph over Oregon. Granted, they still have two games to go and a neutral-field playoff doesn't offer much of an advantage being No. 1, but just the knowledge they own Oregon is huge. Elsewhere in the PNCLL, Oregon State jumped up and assured itself a tourney spot by beating Washington. With the tiebreaker over the Huskies and Washington State, even an 0-2 close to the season has the Beavers in the No. 4 slot.

- What is the takeaway from St. Thomas’ 1-2 weekend in Ohio? For a team with championship dreams, taking a pair of losses this late in the season is never optimum. On the bright side, the Tommies learned they can play with anyone. All of the games – both wins and losses – were one-goal affairs and now UST has three overtime games against Top 5 opponents (they beat Montana State in OT earlier). They also could get another crack at GVSU, which might very well be No. 1 if/when they meet again. The Tommies are licking their wounds, but not dead yet.

- A shoutout to the Chapman seniors. They were ready to be honored on Saturday against Santa Clara, but a freak snowstorm that shutdown a section of the I-5 known as “The Grapevine,” didn’t allow the Broncos to finish the trip. One of the special parts of the season is getting that Senior Day walkout with family, but Mother Nature wasn’t having it. You seniors had a great run, along with all of this year’s seniors. Keep your heads up.

- After a four-game midseason skid, Arizona needed to win out and make it to the SLC title game for any at-large consideration. The Wildcats are still on track after upending No. 15 Cal Poly on the road Saturday. Arizona finishes with a home game against San Diego State and a road tilt at archrival ASU. The ‘Cats will be underdogs in both, but each game is certainly winnable. Still a lot to play for in the desert.

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D-I NOTES: Florida State took it to Florida to grab the top spot out of the SELC South. Can the Noles beat Auburn/Georgia Tech in the semis?...rough weekend for Michigan State. Sparty had a chance to lock up the top seed in the UMLC East and ended up slotted third after losing to Indiana and Purdue. MSU gets Iowa State in the first round of conference playoffs…If Northeastern wins out (as it should), the Huskies will be 11-4 with wins over South Carolina and Liberty…Colorado State has to go 1-1 this week.

D-II NOTES: During most years, we’d slot Dayton in the third seed out of the UMLC East and be done with it. This year with the addition of Central Michigan to the roll, the Flyers need to down the Chips in order to solidify that final spot…it’ll be North Florida versus Georgia Southern with the winner filling out the SELC-II bracket…Virginia Tech D-II will be headed to the ALC tourney in its first year…Saint Mary’s and UC Davis are locked into the WCLL playoffs. If both win out, the Gaels will be the top seed…Denver’s win over MSU Denver has locked up an RMLC tourney berth for the Pioneers.

- Conference tournament brackets will be constantly updated HERE. Check back to see who has qualified and which spots are still up for grabs.

If @uconnlacrosse played @PurdueMensLax in a neutral site game in Glendale, Ariz., tonight, who would win? #mcla24
— MCLA (@MCLA) April 8, 2024

- Nominations for Warrior Player of the Week and PEARL Goalie of the Week are due by noon, as usual.