That was fun. Let's do it again!

The First Point Collegiate Challenge lived up to the hype on day 1. How will day 2 go? Also, we have more than 20 matches today!

Ohio State dethrones #1 UCLA in 5. | Ohio State Athletics

Day 1 of the First Point Collegiate Challenge was spectacular. The big matchup was #1 UCLA vs #4 Ohio State, and it delivered. This 5-set thriller ended with the Buckeyes claiming a huge win. UCLA out-hit Ohio State .366 to .305, but the key was Ohio State out-hitting UCLA in the final three sets for the reverse sweep. Jacob Pasteur (OSU) had 23 kills while hitting .500 for the match. He is definitely on the radar for Player of the Year honors, even though we are less than a month into the season.

The best part about this tournament is that we get another day of it today! Since there are so many matches today, I will select three that intrigue me.¹

1. First Point Collegiate Challenge - All of these matches look great. They are all worth watching. I have no complaints, except that I am not in Austin to watch them in person. This event has quickly become one of the premier tournaments on the Men's Volleyball calendar. Well done, First Point!

2. Dominican at Saint Francis - The Dominican Chargers are the last team to start their season (due to some weather issues). I am thrilled that we finally get to see this brand-new team. And we get to see them twice today! Welcome Chargers, we are glad you are here.

3. Lindenwood at Long Island - Last season, the NEC captured four victories against the MIVA. One of those was this same matchup. This could be the NEC's first win of the season against a team not in the Conference Carolinas or the ECC.

What matches are you looking forward to today?

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Match Recaps

First Point Collegiate Challenge

Southern California (29%) def. Ball State (71%)
3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-21)

Ohio State (21%) def. UCLA (79%)
3-2 (19-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-23, 15-13)

Stanford (24%) def. Penn State (76%)
3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-19)

Non-conference

Princeton (78%) def. CSU Northridge (22%)
3-2 (25-23, 28-26, 19-25, 20-25, 16-14)

BYU (73%) def. UC Santa Barbara (27%)
3-1 (28-26, 19-25, 25-22, 25-20)

Grand Canyon (76%) def. UC San Diego (24%)
3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-17)

Erskine (76%) def. Benedict (24%)
3-0 (25-12, 25-10, 25-17)

Roanoke College (31%) def. Lees-McRae (69%)
3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-14, 15-8)

D'Youville (87%) def. American International (13%)
3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-21)

Charleston (88%) def. Emmanuel (12%)
3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-19)

Long Beach (83%) def. George Mason (17%)
3-1 (25-14, 22-25, 25-21, 25-20)

NJIT (55%) def. Lindenwood (45%)
3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-17)

Purdue Fort Wayne (91%) def. Maryville (9%)
3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-22)

Quincy (53%) def. Thomas More (47%)
3-0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-16)

Lewis (94%) def. Merrimack (6%)
3-0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-16)

Loyola Chicago (99%) def. Kentucky State (1%)
3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-10)

Pepperdine (84%) def. McKendree (16%)
3-1 (25-17, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22)

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Match Projections

First Point Collegiate Challenge

Ohio State (82%) vs Southern California (18%)

Ball State (39%) vs Stanford (61%)

Penn State (31%) vs UCLA (69%)

Saint Francis Tri-Match

Dominican (4%) vs Saint Francis (96%)

Central State (78%) vs Dominican (22%)

Central State (13%) vs Saint Francis (87%)

Non-conference

Long Beach (87%) vs NJIT (13%)

BYU (77%) vs UC Santa Barbara (23%)

Erskine (26%) vs Queens (74%)

Lees-McRae (70%) vs Southern Virginia (30%)

Lees-McRae (71%) vs Wittenberg (29%)

North Greenville (24%) vs Lincoln Memorial (76%)

American International (3%) vs Daemen (97%)

Edward Waters (26%) vs Charleston (74%)

George Mason (78%) vs Sacred Heart (22%)

Kentucky State (1%) vs Lewis (99%)

Lindenwood (30%) vs Long Island (70%)

Merrimack (8%) vs Loyola Chicago (92%)

McKendree (14%) vs Pepperdine (86%)

Truett-McConnell (30%) vs Fort Valley State (70%)

Morehouse (24%) vs Truett-McConnell (76%)

1. Since weekends are so jam-packed with matches, I might do this as a recurring section.