And Then There Was One

Grand Canyon is now the last undefeated team in the league.

Harvard with the impressive home win over IVA Lincoln Memorial. | Harvard Athletics

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!

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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)

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Match Projections

No matches today.