VBelo Daily: April 24, 2026

Postseason drama is in full gear. What will today hold for the semifinals Friday?

The Trojans keep their national postseason hopes alive. (USC Athletics)

Number of the Day

3 - Lower seeds had quite the day yesterday! Of the 6 matches, 3 of them were won by lower seeds. #6 Princeton continued their Cinderella story by taking down #2 NJIT in five. Then #3 USC took down #2 Pepperdine in the MPSF semifinals in another five set barn-burner. To really make a point, #5 UCSD went ahead and swept #4 UCSB to open the Big West Tournament. That would be the only sweep of the day!

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Quick RPI Update

Here is what RPI looks like headed into the final two match days before Selection Sunday.

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Yesterday’s Scores

EIVA Semifinals

Penn State (95%) def. Charleston (5%)
3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 25-16, 22-25, 15-8)

Princeton (27%) def. NJIT (73%)
3-2 (35-37, 25-16, 22-25, 25-19, 15-11)

MPSF Semifinals

Southern California (24%) def. Pepperdine (76%)
3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 22-25, 16-14)

UCLA (82%) def. BYU (18%)
3-1 (20-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-18)

Big West Quarterfinals

UC San Diego (37%) def. UC Santa Barbara (63%)
3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-22)

UC Irvine (91%) def. CSUN (9%)
3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-16, 25-23)

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Today’s Match Projections

Big West Semifinals

Hawai’i (84%) vs UC San Diego (16%)

Long Beach (58%) vs UC Irvine (42%)

ECC Semifinals

American International (2%) vs Roberts Wesleyan (98%)

Dominican (22%) vs St. Thomas Aquinas (78%)

NEC Semifinals

Long Island (18%) vs Saint Francis (82%)

Fairleigh Dickinson (42%) vs UMES (58%)