And Then There Was One
Grand Canyon is now the last undefeated team in the league.
With UCLA’s defeat of Long Beach, there is now only one undefeated team in the country. Grand Canyon had the week off, but they are sitting at 9-0. They will take their perfect record to Provo to start MPSF play against BYU on Friday.
If we have learned anything from this fantastic Long Beach/UCLA series, it might be that home court matters. I probably talk about home-court advantage too much, but it significantly impacts the game. That is why it is factored into the model. I know it is early, but it is worth noting that the 2024 National Tournament will take place at Long Beach. This might become an important factor.
No matches tomorrow but I wanted to give a quick shoutout to some teams that had some big VBelo upsets yesterday.
Queens (35%) defeated Purdue Fort Wayne - There were some big question marks on how Queens would adjust to the level of play in the MIVA. So far they are 2-2 and making a big impact. I’d say they are adjusting just fine.
USC (25%) defeated UC Irvine - UCI came into the season with a lot of hype. At times they have lived up to it. At other times, they seem to come up just shy. I could see USC pulling off some conference upsets to make things even muddier in the MPSF.
Harvard (12%) defeated Lincoln Memorial - LMU is one of the most underrated teams in the country. Harvard pulling off this win is incredibly impressive and bodes well for their program. The Crimson finished 2-8 in conference play last season, so they are looking to rebound from that.
Sacred Heart (8%) defeated Princeton - The NEC continues to make big waves this season. This win snaps an 8-match losing streak for Sacred Heart against Princeton. This is what parity looks like and I love to see it!
Match Recaps
ConfCarolinas
King (63%) def. Barton (37%)
3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 28-26)
Belmont Abbey (74%) def. Emmanuel (26%)
3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 27-25)
North Greenville (59%) def. Erskine (41%)
3-2 (22-25, 25-16, 25-23, 22-25, 15-12)
Mount Olive (81%) def. Lees-McRae (19%)
3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-18)
MIVA
Ball State (61%) def. Lindenwood (39%)
3-2 (22-25, 28-26, 25-23, 18-25, 21-19)
Queens (35%) def. Purdue Fort Wayne (65%)
3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 16-25, 25-23, 15-12)
Non-conference
UCLA (64%) def. Long Beach (36%)
3-1 (29-27, 27-29, 25-19, 25-20)
Southern California (25%) def. UC Irvine (75%)
3-1 (12-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-14)
Pepperdine (76%) def. UC Santa Barbara (24%)
3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-23)
D'Youville (87%) def. St. Thomas Aquinas (13%)
3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-19)
Saint Francis (46%) def. Charleston (54%)
3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 19-25, 26-24)
Harvard (12%) def. Lincoln Memorial (88%)
3-2 (25-22, 22-25, 19-25, 25-22, 17-15)
Penn State (97%) def. Fairleigh Dickinson (3%)
3-1 (25-21, 32-34, 25-16, 25-21)
Sacred Heart (8%) def. Princeton (92%)
3-2 (22-25, 25-27, 25-21, 33-31, 15-10)
Missouri S&T (61%) def. Central State (39%)
3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-17)
BYU (85%) def. Long Island (15%)
3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-21)
Concordia (94%) def. Master's (6%)
3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-21)
Carolina (43%) def. Benedict (57%)
3-1 (25-17, 25-12, 20-25, 25-15)
Midway (53%) def. Kentucky State (47%)
3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-22)
St. Mary-of-the-Woods (64%) def. Kentucky State (36%)
3-0 (25-13, 25-11, 25-18)
Thomas More (68%) def. Roberts Wesleyan (32%)
3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-14, 25-20)
Maryville (85%) def. Talladega College (15%)
3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-12)
Thomas More (72%) def. Roberts Wesleyan (28%)
3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-15)
Maryville (85%) def. Talladega College (15%)
3-0 (25-6, 25-17, 25-7)
Match Projections
No matches today.
Many will state illness and injury are reasons for some of these upsets but I'd counter that many teams are closer than ever due to 5th year players on a great number of teams. This year will be wild .
At the end of the day, a win is a win.