Tier 1 Rankings
1: New York Team LVC (16-3) 44PTS
Team LVC finishes off the 2022 Regular season as the clear cut Tier 1 Regular Season Champions and East Division Champions. A 16-3 Record with its only losses coming from Bounce, Dive and Rukkus, LVC has made themselves the favorite for the VLA Championships in July.
Interesting Stat: Team LVC had a convincing 9-1 record against it East Division Opponents, only losing 1 match in the East Division Cup Semi Finals to Boston Bounce.
Key Players: Opposite Jordan Varee - Middle Blake Leeson - Outside Hitter/Libero Dave Evans - Middle Lansana Rogers
Next Event: May 13-15th - VLA Cup - Angola, Indiana
2: Chicago Icemen (12-5) 36PTS
Icemen end their regular season as the Central Division Champions. Icemen have had high expectations, being a heavy favorite to be the first Tier 1 Cup Champion and falling short both times without reaching a finals. However, Icemen have accomplish a substantial amount considering they have played a very loaded schedule against their Central Division rivals Team Pineapple and Tier 2 upstarts Milwaukee Dive and Chicago Sweed. Despite their struggles in the Cup Events, Icemen are still the 2 time defending Tier 1 Champions and look primed to make it a 3 peat this July.
Interesting Stat: Icemen is 5-1 this season against opposing Tier 1 teams, making them a heavy favorite for the Tier 1 championship.
Key Players: Setter Sanil Thomas - Middle Brandon Poindexter - Outside Hitter Will Craft - Outside Hitter Kyle Overby
Next Event: May 12-15th - VLA Cup - Angola, Indiana
3: SoCal Rising Tide (9-8) 28PTS
Rising Tide finished the 2022 season strong as winning the West Division Championship proved to be a difficult task as it came down to the Final Match between Rising Tide and Ascension. Rising Tide overall had a mediocre season, but really has the potential to come out on top at the VLA Championships in July.
Interesting Stat: Rising Tide was 4-5 against Division Rivals Phoenix Ascension and SportConX for the 2022 season.
Key Players: Middle Kris Johnson - Opposite Davis Cannon - Outside Hitter John Predney - Outside Hitter Miles Evans
Next Event: July 17-18th - VLA Championships - Chicago, IL
4: Boston Bounce (9-8) 27PTS
Bounce solidified its playoff spot going 2-2 at the VLA Cup. Bounce has played consistent the entire season but has not taken advantage of their opportunities to do more. Of all the Tier 1 teams, they have had the best chance to claim a Cup Title and came up short. The Championships will be a good place for Bounce to amend that issue as they will finally be able to square off against Tier 1 teams that aren't LVC and Force.
Interesting Stat: Bounce found themselves facing Team LVC at the VLA Cup for the 6th times this season (1-5).
Key Players: Opposite Neil Ferraro - Setter Collin Ritter - Outside Hitter Ryan Love - Middle Skyler Kaufman
Next Event: July 16-17th - VLA Championships - Chicago, Illinois
5: San Francisco SportConX (9-6) 26PTS
SportConX was in control of the entire league after their 2nd Event. However, since February, the squad suffered a ridiculous amount of injuries and failed to bring a strong enough squad to maintain their dominance not only in the league, but ultimately the West Division. SportConX had the West Division Championship in the bag until a 3 set loss to Ascension erased their hopes.
Interesting Stat: Since starting the season 6-2, finished the season a dismal 3-4.
Key Players: Opposite Colin Hackworth - Outside Hitter Madison Hayden - Middle Conrad Kaminski - Libero Thomas Nelson
Next Event: 2023 Season - Unable to compete in Championships despite qualification.
6: Phoenix Ascension (8-10) 25PTS
Ascension could have claimed the West Division Championship after an amazing VLA Cup Run. However, going 1-3 in their last event and losing the Title Deciding match to Rising Tide in 4 was all they could come up with to wrap up their regular season. Ascension isn't walking away empty handed. The squad was able to grab their first ever victory over SportConX to solidify themselves as the 6th place team and guarantee an invitation to the VLA Championships.
Interesting Stat: 3-5 against their West Division opponents on the season.
Key Players: Opposite Bryan Lewis - Middle Jonathan Bishop - Outside Hitter Zach Robinson - Libero Cody Montagno
Next Event: July 17-18th - VLA Championships - Chicago, IL
7: Indiana Team Pineapple (7-9) 22PTS
Indiana Team Pineapple is clearly on the way up. A much more complete roster had them finally knock the figurative Icemen monkey of their back. The Central Division is the most brutal considering each event has sprinkled in a bit of Tier 2 (Sweed and Dive) to spice them up. Indiana Team Pineapple has split 1-1 with both of those teams which really says more about the strength of the Central Division Tier 2 teams than it does Team Pineapple. Expect a strong showing in their home event at the VLA Cup May 12-15th.
Interesting Stat: Team Pineapple went 2-2 in the Central Division Event #2. Every single match went to 5 sets resulting in Pineapple playing a record of 20 sets in a regular season event.
Key Players: Libero Shaun Dryden - Opposite Kyle Radde - Outside Hitter Evan Gebert - Middle Matt Harpenau
Next Event: May 12-15th - VLA Cup - Angola, Indiana
8: Northeast Force (5-13) 17PTS
Force is still suffering from the 1st year learning curb that was expected of them this season. Regardless, Force still appears to be on the cusp of a solid outing and it very well could come from their performance at the VLA Cup. They may be the lowest seed in the VLA Rankings but they are plenty capable of putting together an end of the season run to put them in position to claim a playoff spot.
Interesting Stat: Force is 1-8 against their East Division Rivals. They are most likely looking forward to the opportunity of competing against a few teams outside of their division at the VLA Cup.
Key Players: Outside Hitter Brad Borsay - Opposite Clay Paulin - Setter Kevin Goncalves - Libero Tim McIntosh
Next Event: May 13-15th - VLA Cup - Angola, Indiana
2022 Tier 2 Rankings
1: Chicago Sweed (12-9) 45PTS (50) Tier 2 Champions
Chicago Sweed is the Tier 2 Champs! Not only were they able to claim the Tier 2 Title but they did it against Central Division Rival Milwaukee Dive. The icing on the cake, they did exactly what they needed to do to be the first team to ever earn a Tier 1 Promotion by earning a collective 50 Points. Sweed will be joining the VLA Central Division with Indiana Team Pineapple and Chicago Icemen. They have had consistent success against both teams and have definitely shown that they belong. With the addition of Sweed, its very possible that the Central Division will become the strongest Division in the VLA now that Sweed has joined the party.
Interesting Stat: Sweed had lost two 5 set matches to Milwaukee Dive before getting a 3-0 Sweep against them in the Tier 2 Championships.
Next Event: 2022/23 Season
2: SoCal Rukkus (13-1) 40PTS (40) 2 Cups
Rukkus was finally thwarted at the VLA Cup by their brother club Hawaii "Imi Ola. The run of dominance wasn't considered a shock as the team began to look vulnerable in the Central Division Cup and without the dominance of Michael Wexter, they were missing a key piece to the puzzle. Rukkus elected not to participate in the 2022 VLA Tier 2 Championships, therefore Rukkus will remain on the fringe of another Tier 1 invitation. If they decided to, it wouldn't be surprising if Rukkus continues to be the most dominant and feared team in the VLA for 2023.
Interesting Stat: Rukkus found themselves faced up against 'Imi Ola in all 3 Cups they both participated in this season, finishing 2-1 against them.
Next Event: 2022 -23 Season
3: Hawaii 'Imi Ola (9-5) 30PTS (30) 1 Cup
'Imi Ola had a sprinkle of youth to add in with their veteran core of Srdjan Nadazdin and CJ Suarez. The result was a VLA Cup title. Hardly an underdog, the squad came in as the 5th seed in their Pool to storm through Team Pineapple in their first match, taking down NE Force in QuarterFinals and finally on Championships Sunday, on ESPN took down both SoCal Rukkus and Milwaukee Dive. An exciting display of dominace from the youth and experience that made the team successful. 'Imi Ola elected not to compete in the Tier 2 Championships so we will see in 2023 if 'Imi Ola will pick up where they left off? Or will they continue to be an average performing Tier 2 team like they were prior to the cup.
Interesting Stat: The victory over Rukkus in the Semi Finals of the VLA Cup was their first win over them in 3 attempts.
Next Event: 2022-23 Season
4: Cleveland Team ECV (6-11) 25PTS (25) 1 Cup
Team ECV is currently looking like a 1 hit wonder after struggling to muster more than 2 wins in their last 8 matches. Team ECV continues to leave a lot on the table as 6 of their 11 losses this season were in 5. Overall Team ECV had a very complete season, they will sit on top of the Tier 2 East Division Rankings with their East Division Cup Victory, however, it wont mean as much if they cannot catch up to River City Flow in points in their quest for Tier 1 Promotion
Interesting Stat: Team ECV is 2-8 since winning the East Division Cup
Next Event: 2022/23 Season
5: Milwaukee Dive (13-6) 44PTS (44)
Milwaukee Dive had an outstanding first season. VLA Cup and Tier 2 Championship Runner up finishes is nothing to be disappointed about.Chasing Sweed for the Central Division promotion was a tall order for any team and Milwaukee Dive almost pulled it off. Dive needs an even better 2022/23 campaign if they are hoping to get the bid for next season. It actually is a strong possibility that if Dive stays motivated and active in the extended Tier 2 Season, the odds are in their favor they could be sitting where Sweed is by next June.
Interesting Stat: Dive Maintains a winning record against all Central Division Opponents Tier 1 and Tier 2
Next Event: 2022/23 Season
6: River City Flow (9-6) 32PTS (36)
River City Flow has been consistent and steady for the duration of their 2022 campaign. They have a solid squad that can compete and beat any team in the VLA and they are addressing their depth issue moving forwards. The VLA Cup was an impressive showing, making it to Championship Sunday and being featured on ESPN. Expect Flow to continue to build moving into next season. They are still a few pieces and probably 2 seasons away, but they are definitely a favorite to be the first team in the Tier 2 East Division to be promoted to Tier 1.
Interesting Stat: .Flow played 4 of their 7 matches in the VLA Cup against East Division opponents going 3-1 and only losing to New York Team LVC.
Next Event: 2022-23 Season
7: Illinois 630 Slunkers (6-12) 16PTS (16)
Slunkers were able to sneak into the Tier 2 Championships after a few higher ranked teams elected not to play. Once they were there, they definitely made the most of it, grabbing a 3rd place finish and two 5 set wins over Team ECV. The 2022 season was a successful one overall as they established themselves as a consistent and formidable competitor throughout the year. A little more fire power and size will help the Slunkers in 2023, the question is, will they get what they need in time to compete with Milwaukee Dive to be the next Central Division Team to earn promotion?
Interesting Stat: Slunkers are absolutely deadly in 5 set matches going 4-1 for the season in them.
Next Event: 2022-23 Season
8: New York Pride (4-9) 14PTS (17)
Pride definitely had one of the toughest schedules in the VLA Cup, starting off with Milwaukee Dive followed up by NE Force. Only to play the next day against Team LVC and Team Pineapple. Ultimately, Pride fared well bnly grabbing 2 points in the 5 set loss to Team LVC. The key for Pride to continue to have success will be to eventually have a breakout match against a top ranked competitor. Pride consistently beats the teams they are ranked above, but has a tendency become a push over against the top ranked teams. That match almost came against Team LVC, but instead, it will have to wait until next season for them to have that breakout performance.
Interesting Stat: Pride's loss to Milwaukee Dive was their first 1st match loss in either of the 3 Cups they competed in. Previously they were 2-0 in the their first matches.
Next Event: 2022-23 Season
9: West Coast Brigade (4-14) 11PTS (11)
Brigade has had various ups this season but they definitely came across a few tough times as the season went on. A heart breaking 5 set loss to Madison Inferno to start off tthe VLA Cup set the tone for the weekend. Though, unlike a few of their Tier 2 counterparts, Brigade was able to grab a few points and a victory of MICA in their consolation bracket match. Brigade was able to learn a lot in the 2022 season, expect them to continue to grow as they build their foundations in the Southern California volleyball scene.
Interesting Stat: Brigade has played the most matches in the VLA this season at 18
Next Event: 2022-23 Season
10: NorCal Tall Ones (3-7) 7PTS (7)
Just like in the West Division Cup, Tall Ones waited until the end of the Event to grab their first win. Only this time they did it twice, grabbing back to back 5 set victories over Madison Inferno and Team ECV. Tall Ones continues to be a consistent competitor and has created a solid foundation to build on a move forward into the next season. They finish the season at 3-6 as the Central Division Cup was their last Event for 2022. Look to see them pick up where they left off in the Tier 2 West Division for the 2022/23 season.
Interesting Stat: 2-0 in their final match of an event.
Next Event: 2022/23 Season
11: Madison Inferno (2-6) 7PTS (7)
Inferno started off exactly how they wanted to at the VLA Cup, taking the first match in 5 against West Coast Brigade. Taking Team LVC to 4 was another solid performance and something to be proud of. Unfortunately, that was the end of the good fortune. Inferno matched up against Force who almost allowed Inferno to make it to a 5 setter, but they were no match for Sweed who had just been upset in their first round matchup. Inferno put up a good fight as they tested the waters in the 2022 season. The group from Madison, Wisconsin continues to be highly motivated and they building a solid consistent product to compete against anyone in the VLA. Time and experience is the most valuable thing for them as they move into the 2023 season.
Interesting Stat: Inferno has a higher point ratio than their Tier 2 Rival 630 Slunkers, the key for them is simply getting more matches played if they want to be considered for Tier 1 in the future.
Next Event: 2022/23 Season
12: Niagara Frontier VBC (1-3) 3PTS (3)
Frontier made a huge splash in the East Division Cup by taking down Tier 1 Team Northeast Force in the first round of the bracket play. The East Division Cup was a trial run in the VLA for the club, but after the results from Day 2 of the event, they are hungry for more and all in to compete in the VLA. The East Division of the VLA is starting to look more and more dangerous with each passing event. Niagara Frontier fits right in and will make the division progression that much more interesting in the coming seasons.
Interesting Stat: Frontier may have went 1-3 for the tournament but they took sets off of Team LVC, Sweed and Flow. With a bit more experience, we could be looking at a new contender in the Tier 2 East Division.
Next Event: 2022/23 Season
13: Michigan MICA VC (0-4) 1PTS (1)
MICA VC came into the VLA relatively unknown outside of the Central Division Community. They put up a solid fight throughout the entire VLA Cup and even walked away with a point after a 5 set loss in their consolation match against West Coast Brigade. An exciting new chapter for the VLA to have MICA compete is that there is now another team from another state represented in the growing league. MICA's dedication to the VLA and their tier 2 progression is still to be seen. However, there is a lot of optimism surrounding the MiCA camp and we wouldn't be surprised to see them as a permanent fixture amongst the Tier 2 Central Division teams next season.
Interesting Stat: MICA VC played Central Division Tier 1 Champs Chicago Icemen and took a set off of them. Icemen was the only Central Division Team to play MICA.
Next Event: 2022/23 Season
14: Seattle Riptide (0-4) 0PTS (0)
The squad from the Pacific Northwest started off their VLA debut with the tall order of playing 2nd seed Phoenix Ascension followed by the top ranked Tier 2 team in the East NY Pride. Seattle fared well, including taking sets from both Pride and Brigade, but their inexperience and lack of depth kept them from being able to walk away from the West Division Cup with any points. Riptide's next event is the VLA Cup where nothing will get any easier for them. With the addition of some depth on the pin, they will have an opportunity legitimize themselves as a threat in the VLA Tier 2.
Interesting Stat: Played two Tier 2 West Division Rivals at the West Division Cup. The NorCal Tall Ones VS Seattle Riptide has the potential to develop into an interesting rivalry in the North West.
15: Toronto Indocan VBC (0-0) 0PTS (0)
The club that made the VLA an International League. Indocan Volleyball Club out of Toronto, Canada, will make its VLA debut at the East Division Cup in Buffalo, New York April 9-10th.
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