The BUM Report is back for our session 4 recap and there was piracy and plundered points aplenty!  Booty abounded and the spoils of war were far from equally divided this session.  The Olmec passed out Privateer papers with aplomb to managers that met its fancy last weekend, and the resulting Blowouts, Upsets and More could (and shall!) fill a weekly column's-worth of gems and tidbits for your viewing pleasure!  If you awoke to find your anticipate TMVL scorelines had been pilfered under cover of darkness by the nefarious rune-encrypted black box of unknown material that contains the collected spirits who govern all things Olmec, you are not alone (Occasionally, Olmec, for fun, refers to the actual programming run by Saline-Aqua-Fiber Cable from computer to the Olmec Box and back to the computer with results to post. Typically, Olmec does what it likes and re-writes its own code as it sees fit week-to-week.  Side-note: for those unfamiliar with the Olmec HQ setup, Saline-Aqua-Fiber cabling is a tube filled with the tears of those whose hopes and dreams of victory have been crushed by Olmec over the years, and a special fiber optic adaptor sends light through the tear-filled conduit to the Black Box of Olmec, where match results and player skill rolls are processed and then sent back from the mystical, possibly other-dimensional, land of Olmec to the land of technology and mere mundane probabilities where we presmue we live, usually with a side comment file that merely says, "LOL, love Olmec" and with an attached image of a bat or shrimp or pea pod or other as appropriate for the week).  If you're not already certain that Olmec raided your teams' victory column on the high and lawless seas of TMVL this week, read on and leave it to doubt no longer!

Starting with Blowouts, we had some prior sessions where marks in the 20's might garner attention.  Not this week!  We start with #3, a fitting +33 blowout, by none other than the BUM Report's go-to conference, the Pac 3, er, 8!  Conference match 11 play, Albuquerque traveling to The Spike Dome, where Amy's Spiky Spikers (rated 80) were geared for all-out-brawl with the Trash Pandas (rated 64).  While less than half our top rating differetial for the week (see next two blowouts for the ones that hit 33), it was more than sufficient for Old Pueblo to have their way with the Masked Bandits.  Set 1 started innocuously enough, 18-25 to the home team, and set 2 mirrored that score, 18-25 again.  Most viewers would probably yawn and move on to other channels.  The BUM reporters know better, as the Pac 8 can never be taken for granted that any given set will come out 'normal' when the tallies are all tallied!  And set 3 rewarded our patience!  Randy's Rowdy Raccoons got the first point and then dropped 4, setting the tone for the set as the Tucson No-Touchies had runs of 4, 5, 6 and 5 points around Randy's few retorts, ending with a 6-25 final score for a tie with the second-fewest points scored in a set this season!  Congrats to Amy and the Saguaro for the +33 Blowout, #3 on the week!

In 2nd place, we head to the WGM round 2 match, Starkville @ Nashville.  The 'Hounds, it's safe to say, sent the BloodPups out to be mauled by the Firefoxes.  Eduard's litter was rated 60.  Roy's Red Not-Raccoons tossed out a lineup that tied the highest we've seen this season thus far: 93.  The resulting +33 tied our highest of the week for lopsidedissity (which is absoulately a word).  While Music City didn't have a top-three single-set beat down like Tucson pulled, it was more of a 3-set total overpowering that resulted.  To their credit, the BloodPups managed slight improvement as the match went on, scoring progressively higher points each time: 11, 12, 14.  Even so, the resulting +38 final scoreline didn't seem even that close!  Nashville opened strong, only needing 12 attack attempts to win the set, as they hit .917 (11 kills, no errors) to Starkville's -.211 (19 attempts, 4 kills, 8 errors).  By match's end, Music City was humming to the tune of .661 hitting, .905 serving, and .929 receiving, with 30 digs and 13 blocks.  Starkville, in a "have we seen this before? We don't know and won't know because we can't be bothered to do that much research"-moment, meanwhile had 0 blocks.  Nadda. Zilch.  When facing an 18 setter, and all 6 attackers with Atk skills at 16 or 18 (3 of each), your only hope is really good digging.  Starkville's setter had a 12 Def rating, with no one else higher than 10.  Bing, bang, boom and spike after spike landed like cannon fire from a battleship toward a dinghy, as Roy and the Red Pandas land the #2 Upset of the Week at +38!  Congrats, Roy!

Of course, when you play 93 at home in the conference (match 10) and 93 in the WGM (match 12), what does that leave for the other away conference game in match 11?  Some form of yet-to-be-developed and never-were-developed pine riders were mustered and marched off to their intended demise, herded at possible spear-point onto the bus to travel to the warm and hospitable climes of southern Louisiana, where the Swamp Rats were waiting.  Roy's 57-rated team (lowest rating of the entire session) ran into a rats' nest of 90-rated players, tying Roy's own +33 mark for the session, the 2nd-highest difference of the season behind only T-Town's +34 over Roy way back in match 1!  For some unknown reason, Olmec took offense, perhaps because the offering of freshman was made in the Swamp and not at the foot of a jungle mountain ziggurat.  What happened next was totally unpredictable, because there's never been such a thing seen in all the vast waters of TMVL's seasons-to-date!  We're going to note a few statistical marks to set the stage for the scores to come.  The Firefoxes "hit" a collective -.197 for the match, with just one player having more kills than errors (RS Chambers, 6 kills, 5 errors).  The team collectively had 13 kills to 26 hitting errors, and a set rate of just .203.  They had 7 service errors to just 3 service points (with no aces), though they did muster 6 digs and 2 blocks (with 2 blocking errors).  The Rats had 0 receive errors, 27 digs, 33 blocks (no solo), and finished with 30 kills to 3 errors.  I will spare the set-by-set or point-by-point recap, as there might be children who view this at some point and the horrors of volleyballery that unfolded are unfitting for young and impressionable eyes.  Instead we will simply note Nashville's set points: 7. 8. 5.  That is all.  Three straight sets of single-digit domination, with the "5" matching our season low.  More importantly, the combined +55 Blowout is not only our Blowout of the Week and #1 Blowout of the Season-to-Date, it stands as the highest recorded Blowout of All TMVL Time!  The prior record was +49 (Portland over the rebuilding blue-shirted somebodies who shan't be named due to the still-smoldering yet now-removed shame, Season 11, Match 8), and now that has fallen not by a point yet by 6!  We don't like to raise our own flags upon the Olmec-blown straights of TMVL, so we shall instead offer commisserations to the Red Pandas, as Olmec both gave points and gave more points than they could handle in back-to-back matches this session!  A new mark set for all to challenge, a +55 Blowout!  We've had matches still halfway through set 2 with more combined points than the 95 for this one.  Who shall rise up to challenge this mark in the coming sessions?  We don't know, and look forward to reporting the attempts of all who seek to mercilessly send their foes down any faster to Davey Jones' Locker!

And to the Upsets!  We start with a quick side trek to the treacherous shallow shoals of Upset Sweeps!  We were delighted with this outcome not once, yet twice this session!  Match 12, WGM round 2, Alton @ Antioch.  The Raving Raptors were 84-rated, +1 over the Denizons of the Deep, the Anglerfish.  Though it was close the whole way, 23-25, 22-25, and an extra point at 24-26 in set 3, Rob saw a glimmer of upset hope that didn't get snuffed out with 3 points to play, and not only gets the -1 upset, yet it was an Upset Sweep, tying #3 on the season!  Not to be outdone, we stay with an SEC power and the Do-Ragged Dugongs in match 10 played host to their slightly more inland shallow water opponents, the Swamp Rats.  N'Orleans brought a road-rated 80, and while not top of the week, it was certainly not a bottom 7 roster either.  Mark's Manatees were unimpressed, and always play tough at home.  The Rats couldn't muster any point streaks, and were sent scurrying all over the court trying to keep up with the pressing Sea Cow spikes.  They failed, and the Manatees won soundly, 21-25, 19-25, and 23-25 to pirate away the -2 Upset Sweep and plunder a conference win to stay in the hunt this season!  Congrats to Mark & Rob for the Upset Sweeps of the Week!

Small number (though sweeps!) aside, we turn to larger raids on the Olmec Main, where the privateers were out in force hunting vulnerable treasure-laden galleons.  We'll start with our repeat Captain Upset of the session, Mark and the Manatees!  After whetting their thirst on the Rats upset, they sailed into the WGM Round 2 on a high note and at home versus the Sanity-Challenged Salad Toppers, the C-Town Tomatoes.  Columbia, a perpetual Cup threat, came with an 83-rated road lineup.  Merritt Island mustered just a 78 at home, yet the same 78 that pulled the prior upset.  Whatever Olmec liked about them the first time was true again, as they quickly fired a broadside into Columbia's game plans, taking set 1 19-25!  Columbia fired back at 25-16, only to watch Mark's Manatees maneuver into boarding position at 22-25 for set 3.  By set 4, Columbia was on full defensive and had to rally to keep in it, taking the set 25-21 and forcing a set 5!  It was tight most of the way, with neither team leading by more than 3, back and forth.  As it wound down, Columbia faced match point at 12-14 and survived, forcing a second try where despite a weak pass and bad set, RS Trotter got the tool kill off the block for match point and sealed the -5 Upset for Merritt Island!  This one featured multiple service errors (15 for Columbia & 13 for M.I.), with none bigger than the 2 for Columbia in set 5, the ending margin of loss.  Though Columbia outscored them in points (+2 for the match), they were outscored in sets by the one that mattered.  Congrats to Mark on the #3 Upset of the Week, and on being one of the few teams to now be at .500 or better vs. Columbia!

At our #2 Upset, we return to the SEC, conference play in match 11.  Red Stick @ IronManTown (i.e. Tony Starkville).  The BananaRamaMen were 7-ratings-points under-fern-fruit against the Bloodhounds' top line, 82 v 89, as the Sensational Sniffers were undefeated at home and had just beaten T-Town in a great match the prior session to be within sniffing distance of the conference lead.  Senator Mike and the lesser Louisiana contingent had other items for business on the agenda.  The opening set was close 25-21.  Within reason, given the odds.  Set 2 went all Starkville's way, 17-25.  Set 3 then played out with an early 'Hound lead, and both teams made runs and traded tough points up to 20-19, Baton Rouge.  The Peeled Punchers then won 4 of the next 5 points to take a commanding 24-20 lead and set point #1!  Starkville refused to go down, and got a quick kill.  They followed at set point #2 with a dig/kill combo, and the were gifted a point at #3 when Hawke landed in the net!  Now 24-23, set point #4, and Prishpreed came up with a set-saving block to tie it up!  On the ropes now, Baton Rouge had a hitting error and faced their own set point #1, only to finally get the kill and make it 25-25.  We had another net call, a dig/kill combo, another service error, and various kills off good and bad sets!  The run from 25-25 to 29-28 B.R. had it all!  Now 29-28, Red Stick serving set point try #7, McDunnough made perhaps the worst set of the game for Starkville and Adams slid into position for the block, the point, and set 3 at a final 30-28 score, our second-highest of the week!  Now with limp sails and a compass on the fritz, the Bloodhounds never led in set 4, though they were tied as late as 17-17 (a massive rally featuring 4 digs) and within striking distance 21-20, the Banana defense stepped up with two digs and a block to outrun the Bloodhound rally and come away with the four-set win, our -7 #2 Upset of the Week, and our new #2 mark of the season!  Congrats to Mike (and hello, again, Eduard!) for their point-driven piracy!

At #1, we switch coasts and head over to the land of sun and sand, where in Pac 8 conference play, match 11, the Diminuative Doggies of Santa Clara were hosting the biggest size mismatch of the round, the Mat-Su Mighty Mighty Meese.  Normally, it's Martin's ankle biters that are giving other managers fits.  This time though, it was the Antlered Army rowing to the beat of the upset drum, and overtaking the dugout-sized ships of Santa Clara.  Bryce's boys set the tone early, taking set 1 in extra points at 26-24 and alerting the Chihuahuas that this was not going to be another Pac 8 blowout match.  In set 2, Santa Clara rallied and won at 21-25.  Set 3 saw the Meese raise the antlers high and play stellar defense on the way to the largest win of the match, 25-19 in set 3.  Now pressed for a response, the Tea Pot Terrors faltered and fumbled away any chance of a rally as they ended up with their worst-hitting set of the match, .067 (11 kills, 9 errors, on 30 attempts), while Mat-Su hammered home 13 kills from the crow's nest and just 2 errors splashing off the starboard bow, and the Upset of the Week was landed at 25-21, a four-set Upset at -9 rating points, tying our highest (lowest) of the season!  The Marauding Meese carry off the conference win to bawdy banter and shameless shanty songs, leaving the Chihuahuas to sail to port in a listing vessel of what-could-have-been.  Not only did Bryce break the 8-way tie for 1st in the Pac 8, he now has the sole #1 pole position (5-3) to 6 chasing him (4-4) and only Martin back at 3-5!  Had this not been a season-tying top upset, we'd have a 4-4, 8-way tie for first!  We don't know whether to be thrilled at the Upset for column material, or upset that Mat-Su broke the "What the Heck!" fun of an 8-way tie at the halfway conference mark!  The Pac 8 continues to thumb its collective nose at all sense of reason and logic.  The BUM Report loves you!

At More on the last weekend's festivities, we shall highlight another Santa Clara match, this time Portland @ Santa Clara in match 12 for the WGM round 2 knockout openers.  Though this was also a minor upset (-2) that was not a sweep (5 sets) so it didn't make the top 3 of our recaps, it was notable for three other reasons.  First, it featured our highest-scoring set of the week, set 3 at 30-32 Chihuahuas.  Second, it had not one, yet two sets in extra points, and a 13-15 set 5 final, giving it 234 combined points, our highest total of the week!  It was "Raise the Kills/Match Avg" day in Santa Clara!  Finally, though Portland lost, they still outscored their small foes by 4 points for the match, making it our Anti-Blowout Match of the Week!  Congrats also to Martin after all!

In other news, we return to SEC play, where the Manatees did not pull an upset at T-Town in match 11.  Fielding a 59-rated team does the opposite of upsets, usually.  C-Ball was playing crafty though, and amidst a massive 91 at home for the WGM opener, and a match 10 87-rated away team to challenge Roy's SEC dominance (great effort, Mike, as it lead to our highest combined rating of the week, 180, for the 87 road and 93 home teams!), he played the 65-rated home roster to perfection, just ekeing out the +6 rated team for a ho-hum 3-set conference home match.  We saw what he did though.  And Mark.  And thus we give you both the opposite of congrats for The Opposite of Trying match of the week, a combined 124-rated opposite of performance that still counts as an SEC win for the upstart Dust Devils who seem to think they belong above the Rats in the standings!  Thus the BUM Report is pleased to give you and the (just upset us) Manatees your rightful TOoT award of the week!

And thus we conclude the Match 4 Merriment from the deck of the S.S. Olmec, with a sparkly new Biggest Blowout Ever!, ties of season-highs in upsets, and teams rolling on as power players seeking the golden glory of Trophies this season, Nashville dropping 93s at home, followed closely by T-Town and Mat-Su at 91, and Pekin and the Legume Legion reminding everyone that they don't need to blowout or upset anyone to be the top contender, as they just put out a 93-rated team ON THE ROAD!!  Who amongst us dares challenge the Pod People in VineLand?!  We look forward to finding out, in perhaps a new Upset of the Season still to come!  In the mean time, keep the lookouts alert for the pirates in play, and remember to always wear proper flotation devices on the High Olmecian Seas!