Session 12 has come and gone and with it we bid a fond adieu to Season 12!  By now, you should all know that Steve and Columbia have come out of a thrilling 5-set National Championship with the hardware, as Roger and the Legume Legion had to settle for 2nd this season (and a shiny TMVL Cup as consolation prize), with Steve overcoming nearly half the Big East along the way (Mendon, Cinci, Alton) to the final.  The BUM Report was slightly let down by our Pac 8 friends, as we only ended with a 2-way first place tie instead of a QuadChamp, yet we appreciate the effort to keep it that close until the finale! In addition to Bryce & Vick in the Pac 8, congrats are due to Roger (Big 8), Roy (SEC), and James W (Big East) for their impressive conference seasons.  Eduard's successful Shield defense was also fun to track, as he pulled some upsets along the way.  We had considered just doing an end-of-year recap, yet this is the BUM Report, so we'll stick to our theme here. We'll get our crack editorial team to do a recap and some records notes in another forum post, hopefully before season 13 starts... Oh! and maybe some polls about who Olmec loves and loves to hate for this season. Polls are fun.

On to the blowouts!  We have two to note this session, starting in the Cup consolation matches, with the Alton Screaming Mimis facing the Albuquerque Trash Pandas.  On paper, Alton had the edge at +7 in average ratings.  In the match, that edge turned into the whole shebang, as Kelsey's Masked Bandits had no answer for the Eagles' high-flying game.  Set 1 came and went in a hurry, 25-14 to Alton.  Set 2 was in near fashion, 25-15.  Set 3?  Albuquerque upped their game yet again, coming in at 16 points!  At this pace, Kelsey had them improving and no doubt would have won if this had gone to best of 27 sets.  Sadly, it ended in set 3 for them, and Alton won their season-ending match with a 30-pt combined blowout, our #2 of the week. Congrats, James W!

And in the prior match, we stay with a Big East feature for the week, with Manitowoc ending the conference season on the road at Porkopolis. James' Porcine Posse has not forgotten the Walltoppers' multiple upsets in the past few seasons, and poured it on in this one.  In what was our most lopsided matchup of the week, Cinci was +25 average rating at home, 94 to 69.  Set 1 was actually the mildest, at 18-25.  Then it got progressively worse, at 14-25 and ending with a doubled-up beatdown at 12-25.  12 points tied the fewest scored in a regular set for the weekend, as there was no mercy or quarter given.  Congrats to James T for the +31 Blowout of the Week!

A few side notes before we move on to the Upsets.  While the Pac 8 failed to get us a top upset or blowout this week, they did have a match worth watching if you're in the mood.  Conference play, match 44, Albuquerque at Mat-Su.  Bryce had the co-conference title on the line, and played a 90 at home, +8 over the Trash Pandas' 82.  Kelsey laughs at such trivialities as projected winners, and nearly pulled the upset here.  First set went out to 32-30, our highest scoring set of the weekend, and the combined 225 points was our top scorer as well!  While you already know the winner from the Mighty Meese nod above, it didn't come easy and made for good entertainment as the fifth set rolled to completion.  On the Set 5 front, we had another high-scoring affair, this time in Match 46, Shield consolation clashes, and again featuring our long-legged friends from The Matanuska-Susitna Valley.  This match saw them facing a fellow Northwestern resident (allegedly, actual domicile never photographed or proven beyond reasonable doubt) in the Spokane Sasquatch.  After the Meese took a two-set lead, the 'Squatch battled back to even it up, including a narrow 25-23 set 4 win.  That built to a set five where it looked like the 'Squatch would be able to complete the 2-sets down rally, when they led 13-10.  Instead, Mat-Su pulled a 3-pt run to even it up, before SasquaSilva got the kill to set up match point #1. The Meese fending off the match point and then promptly served it out to pass the ball back to the Hairy Ones.  Match point #2, and the Meese spike was dug!  To be immediately followed by a dig-in-kind and then the kill to stave off the loss as the 'Squatch missed another chance. Mat-Su continued the defensive effort, digging another spike and setting up their own Match point at 15-16! No dice.  Spokane rolls two points and now served for Match Point #3 for them, at 17-16. Nope, Moose kill. Swap some points, now point #4, 18-17, and another Moose kill. Now 18-18, red shirt Guy Fleegman took over on serve and put enough on it that Colavita couldn't handle it well.  Bad pass, though Figueroa recovered well, yet the timing appeared off and Hinrichs picked a horrible point for his third hitting error, ball out, now Match #2 for Mat-Su.  Fleegman did one better at 18-19, serving the ace for the Match win, and ending set 5 at 18-20!  That was our highest set 5 of the weekend and a great watch.  Many appreciations for Bryce from the BUM Report for their efforts to provide us with a column's worth of matches to highlight!

And for our Upsets, we have to note a very minor upset, almost inconsequential, if not for the match number involved.  Match 47 happens to be the National Tourney Final.  It also featured our highest combined team ratings for the weekend, with favored Pekin (93) taking on Columbia (92), setting the combined 185 rating as our 2nd highest of the season (behind only the 187 set by Pekin & Nashville in the semis). By now, you know the outcome, a 5-set slugfest, where Olmec saw fit for Columbia to pull the -1 Upset, which is far from our top of the week, yet may well be the most consequential!

We head now to Match 45, Cup consolation rounds, 5th place match. Craig was particularly hyped for this one, based on his match comments.  Even so, the Dallas Pound Puppies were the favored team on neutral court over the Bratburg Bloodsuckers, 83-79.  Our faithful reader(s) surely know that John H is never deterred by stats and probabilities.  If any team's bus were to be powered by an improbability engine, my money's on Sheboygan.  In set 1, it played out exactly the opposite of the odds.  25-18 to the Bats.  Dallas put up a significantly better fight in set 2, taking it to an extra point before the Bats finally prevailed 26-24.  And in set 3, Dallas pulled within one at 23-22, only to have Chala get off his lead and end up in the net, and then Adama get his spike dug before the Bats' D+ rated setter finished off his improbable .600 setting day with his final assist, and the Sheboygan win!  This wasn't just an upset, BUMmers, it was an Upset Sweep at -4, tying the third highest (or lowest?) sweep of the season!  Congrats to John for making one more BUM Report appearance before this season came to a close!

At #2 on the week, we head to Schenectady, where Brian's Arboreal Rodents were hosting Jason's Hairy Men, who appreciate a good stroll through the woods themselves.  A special shout out is in order for Jason's excellent use of "sibilant" and subsequent sterling sibilance in the match comments!  The BUM Report approves and salutes such selective style.  It appears Olmec did as well, with Spokane (79) a five-point UnderHominid to their Fuzzytailed Foes (84).  Beerman's crew put out a strong effort, with a 31-29 set 2 win and then taking set 3 to build a 2-1 set lead.  Spokane got back in it with a 25-20 set 4 win and setting up a set 5 to close out their respective conference seasons.  The Squirrels came back from snack time fired up, and hit .455 for the set, their highest of the match.  Spokane though, hit .700 for the set (10 attempts, 8 kills, 1 error), and played strong defense at key moments to pull out the 15-10 set 5 win and all the -5 #2 Upset!  Congrats to Jason, who is starting to build a BUM-worthy reputation as a manager whose matches always merit extra attention.

And topping our weekend upsets we will stay in conference play, and head to Pekin, where the Legume Legion was on the cusp of the first ever 14-0 conference season.  Al and the Rabbids hold the only 13-1 conference seasons, and had the record tied with themselves, having done it more than once.  Roger's Pod People faced a road match against last season's National Champs, the Portland Flanneled Fellsmen.  As the starting lineups were called, Pekin had the clear edge, rated 93 on the road versus Jim's 'Jacks at a home 86.  It's in the BUM Report, so you know where this is going.  To highlight the highs of this low-reaching upset, Pekin's Setter Duffy has a 19 Set skill.  Portland's Cooper was at 13.  Pekin's OH Flores has a 20 Rcv, and their other OH and L were at 17.  Only the 'Jack's Brady (L) was at 17, with the OHs at 15 & 11. Portland's attacking MBs had the edge with 19 ratings, though all of Pekin's hitters were rated 16-18 in Atk.  Portland had a pair of servers at 12, and topped at 17.  Pekin had one server at 14, one at 16, and the other five at 17 or 18.  By match end, Pekin hit .443 with 13 errors on a .636 setting rate.  Portland hit .544 (with MB Gentry a perfect 15-for-15 for the match) on a .701 setting rate.  It was a tight match the whole way, ending 27-29 in set 1 to Portland's favor.  Set 2, and the Pod People again failed to assimilate their opponents in time, falling 23-25.  Set 3 and Pekin continued to rally, yet couldn't pull away. They led 11-10, and kept it tied soon after, only to fall behind 18-22.  Then the conference champs pulled a four-point run to 22-22, with Flores serving three consecutive aces! On the next serve, L Brady finally got in good position for the pass, then watched in disbelief as Cooper made a lousy set to Gentry. Gentry used every bit of his attacking talent to adjust mid-air and get a tool kit off the three-man blocking front and stop the rally there.  After exchanging points, Portland now led 24-23 and at match point.  Gentry again put the team on his back and launched an ace to win it, and nail down the Upset of the Week, the only team to beat Pekin in conference play, and tied our season-high Upset Sweep at -7!  Jim's team may not have hit their season goals, yet this match showed their potential for a season 13 rebound and was certainly worthy of the Upset of the Week!  It's buttered scones with tea for everyone!  Roger will have to reset a 14-0 season as a season 13 goal, though we personally think season 14 would be more fitting. By then, his latest 5* recruits (at S and OH no less) will be in full swing and the Pod People will be rising to dominance once again.

And thus concludes the Season 12 BUM Reports!  Our end-of-season recap special will hopefully be on the way in the near future, before our lousy recruiting skill rolls sink our spirits for a brief spell.  Only briefly though.  Could there be anything better for the BUM Report than an Unlucky Season 13 on the horizon?  We're already hyped for our best BUM season ever!  Until then, enjoy the break and much-needed scheming time in your secret lairs. Someone is going to have to rise up to take down the conference powers. Someone will undoubtedly find out that he or she is Olmec's new Upset Darling, and the kingpins will fall with fury! Will it be your turn next? Only Olmec knows, and the BUM Report tells all!