Ramblers with the Five Set Upset

The First Friday definitely brought the frenzy with the first two 5-set matches of the year. It also brought incredible performances of likely and unlikely sources.

Loyola with a statement win early in the season. | T.J. Breshears (VBelo)

We had the first 5-set match of the season! In an absolute barn-burner, UCSB defeated George Mason on the second day of the Asics Invitational. We also had our first 30-kill performance of the year in that match. Geste Bianchi (UCSB) had a career night which is even more incredible because he didn't even play in the first set. These are the stories that I will never get enough of.

But wait, there's more! To end the night (or early morning for the East Coast), Loyola and Hawaii went the distance in a top-10 showdown. Loyola fought back in the final set to upset the reigning national runner-ups. In a match full of serving errors, and high-powered arms on both sides (Van Buren & Chakas), Coach John Hawks found a way to win far from home. Errors may have done in the Rainbow Warriors, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the Ramblers are going to be a problem in the MIVA.

Today, the Asics Invitational will wrap up. On the third and final day, Grand Canyon will face host UCSB in a battle of the undefeated teams. VBelo has this as a super close match with the Lopes having the slight edge against the home team. The continued growth and improvement of Grand Canyon is a great lesson for new programs. Invest in programs and recruit top talent and it will pay off.

Today is the least amount of matches we will have on a Saturday all season (7)! The next closest is 14 matches (3/9 & 4/14). Enjoy the (relatively) calm weekend while you can because this season is just getting started.

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One Great Option or Many Good Options?

In last night's Loyola-Hawaii match, we saw two very different approaches at work. On the Loyola side, they relied heavily on the big arm of Parker Van Buren. He received the bulk of the sets and finished with almost 40% of the Ramblers' attacks. Over on the Hawaii side, the game plan was clearly to divide up the workload as much as possible.

A big part of this difference is personnel. Without a clear dominant hitter, the Rainbow Warriors have the luxury of moving the ball all around. For Loyola, their strength comes at the expense of the other team knowing the game plan. Everyone knew that Van Buren would get the Lion's share of the sets, yet he could still rack up 20 kills while hitting over .400 on the night.

So, what do you think? Would you rather have a legendary hitter who gets a ton of sets or a diversified field of good hitters? Let me know what you think in the comments!

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Match Recaps

Asics Invitational

Grand Canyon (71%) def. UC San Diego (29%)
3-0 (25-19, 26-24, 25-16)

UC Santa Barbara (64%) def. George Mason (36%)
3-2 (15-25, 18-25, 26-24, 25-21, 15-10)

Geste Bianchi (UCSB) with a career-high 30 kills in the 5-set win! He has 51 kills in 2 matches and is averaging 5.25 kills/set for the undefeated Gauchos.

CSU Northridge (50%) def. NJIT (50%)
3-1 (20-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-23)

Non-conference

Loyola Chicago (9%) def. Hawai'i (91%)
3-2 (18-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23, 15-13)

Lewis (82%) def. Central State (18%)
3-0 (25-10, 25-5, 25-15)

BYU (57%) def. Ball State (43%)
3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-20)

Luke Benson (BYU) was unstoppable with 17 kills while hitting .762 in only 3 sets! Patrick Rogers (BSU) was only 1 kill behind (16) and hit .714.

Pepperdine (99%) def. Morehouse (1%)
3-0 (25-3, 25-8, 25-9)

Southern California (94%) def. Fort Valley State (6%)
3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-12)

Purdue Fort Wayne (91%) def. Thomas More (9%)
3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-16)

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Match Projections

Asics Invitational

CSU Northridge (42%) vs George Mason (58%)

NJIT (36%) vs UC San Diego (64%)

Grand Canyon (56%) vs UC Santa Barbara (44%)

Non-conference

North Greenville (37%) vs Purdue Fort Wayne (63%)

Lewis (13%) vs Penn State (87%)

Ball State (37%) vs BYU (63%)

Morehouse (1%) vs Southern California (99%)