Monday Recommendations

Start your week off with some highlights. I also added in a bonus recommendation of one of my favorite sports data journalists.

T.J. Breshears

Feb 05, 2024

No matches today, so here are some posts from last week (in case you missed them or wanted to read them again.)

Don’t worry, yesterday’s scores are still in this email too.

Let's Talk About the Coaches Poll

T.J. Breshears

Jan 30

Buckle up, because this one is a little longer than usual. I guess I feel strongly about this topic. Go figure! When last week's AVCA poll came out, a new #1 was announced, and I had some things to get off my chest. "Here is my problem with the polls: they have sho…

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This was a really fun look (and rant) about the polls. Let’s be honest, this won’t be the last time the polls come up.

All the Aces!

T.J. Breshears

Jan 31

It seems like every time I turn around, I'm either looking up ace statistics or digging into the record books for aces. This year has already produced record-shattering performances on individual, team, conference, and national levels. But wait, there’s more!

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Dominican tied the NCAA record for most aces in a match (30), with little fanfare. I’m excited to see more great things come out of this first-year program.

And Now for Something Completely Different

I wanted to add a quick recommendation. If you are reading this newsletter, there is a decent chance you enjoy sports and data. One of the best sports data journalists I know is

Neil Paine

. He had a fantastic newsletter over at

Neil’s Substack

that is worth your time if you want fantastic takes on a wide variety of sports. Here is a recent article I particularly enjoyed and thought some of you might as well.

Neil’s Substack

Chiefs-Niners Is One of the Super Bowl's Weirdest Rematches

Thirteen years ago, I called the 2011 NBA Finals the “Strangest Rematch Ever” because, by then, both the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat were already quite different from the versions that had faced off in the Finals in 2006. Fast-forward to 2024, and we can say something similar about the upcoming…

7 months ago · 8 likes · 2 comments · Neil Paine

Match Recaps

MIVA

Ohio State (92%) def. Lindenwood (8%)
3-1 (30-32, 25-20, 25-17, 25-18)

Non-conference

Hawai'i (99%) def. Tusculum (1%)
3-0 (25-15, 25-11, 25-7)

Daemen (95%) def. American International (5%)
3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-22)

NJIT (87%) def. Merrimack (13%)
3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-18)

Fort Valley State (72%) def. Life (28%)
3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-23)

Match Projections

No matches today.