2024: By the Numbers
A look at some of the details (and numbers) now that the 2024 season is officially underway.
Congratulations to the Ball State Cardinals, who won the very first match of the 2024 season. Today, we have a small slate of 6 matches. Three of those matches will take place at Ball State in an early season "Tri" between Ball State, Wabash College, and new IVA member Thomas More. We will also get our first glimpse at several teams with their eyes set on the national championship. Volleyball is back!
Since we are in the very early days of the 2024 season, I wanted to take a quick look at some of the numbers that show the landscape of Men's Volleyball. So let’s dive in.
58
This season, 58 teams will compete at the D-I/II level for Men's Volleyball. This is one more team than last season and 13 more teams than we had just 4 years ago! This growth, in the face of a pandemic and economic difficulties for higher education, is incredibly encouraging!
9
A total of 9 conferences are sponsoring Men's Volleyball this season. There is a new conference (ECC) for the third season in a row. This is yet another example of the growth the sport is seeing at the collegiate level. Six of these conference have an automatic bid to the National Tournament.
8
Speaking of the National Tournament, this season there will be 1 more team making its way to the biggest stage. A total of 8 teams will battle it out for the title of National Champion. This is one more team than in recent years, but still short of reaching parity with other collegiate tournaments.
787
As of writing, there are 787 scheduled regular-season matches. This is incredibly close to last year's number (781). Given the fact that other schools have announced plans for Men's Volleyball soon, I don't think it will be too long before we are looking at 1,000 regular-season matches.
20
The longest consecutive days with a match scheduled. From February 27th to March 17th there will be volleyball every single day! Get excited!
25
The busiest volleyball day of the year will be March 30th. With 25 matches scheduled, almost every team in the league will see the court. Since this will be a Saturday, block your calendar so you can enjoy a full day of matches, regardless of your time zone.
Match Recaps
Non-conference
Ball State (98%) def. Wabash (2%)
3-0 (25-9, 25-9, 25-11)
The Cardinals hit a blistering .618 for the match as they cruised to victory.
Match Projections
Non-conference
Loyola Chicago (9%) vs Hawai'i (91%)
North Greenville (15%) vs Ohio State (85%)
Fort Valley State (4%) vs Pepperdine (96%)
Ball State Tri-Match1
Wabash (2%) vs Ball State (98%)
Thomas More (3%) vs Ball State (97%)
Thomas More (65%) vs Wabash (35%)
This last matchup in the Tri is interesting because the model knows so little about both of these teams. For the love of data!
Not an official name. But three teams are all playing at the same place on the same day…