VBelo Daily: April 25, 2025

The EIVA finals are set and the Big West opened with a bang. Today it is time for some semifinals!

Josh Schellinger was ready to carry the Tritons across the finish line. (UCSD Athletics)

The semifinal matches today are all worth watching. This is going to be a wild day and I can’t wait to see some of the most competitive volleyball we have seen all season. Who do you think is going to move on to the finals from today’s matches?

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Yesterday's Scores

Big West - Quarterfinals

#4 UC San Diego (61%) def. #5 UC Santa Barbara (39%)
3-2 (20-25, 27-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13)

It took a career night from Josh Schellinger and season-highs from multiple Tritons, but UCSD outlasted the Gauchos. UCSD set a new season-high with 17 blocks in the match.

#3 UC Irvine (78%) def. #6 CSUN (22%)
3-2 (22-25, 25-18, 16-25, 25-23, 19-17)

This match was an incredible way to end the night. In the end, Hilir Henno was THE guy. He finished with 28 kills and 11 of those came in the 5th set!

EIVA - Semifinals

#1 Princeton (73%) def. #4 George Mason (27%)
3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 26-24)

Big players love the big stage. Nyherowo Omene dropped a career-high 28 kills (.457%) to power the Princeton Tigers to the EIVA championship.

#3 Penn State (63%) def. #2 NJIT (37%)
3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21)

In spite of their rough start, there is a reason the projections gave Penn State the second best chance at winning the EIVA title. Matthew Luoma had 17 kills to lead Penn State back to the EIVA finals.

MPSF

#4 Pepperdine (43%) def. #5 Grand Canyon (57%)
3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-17)

Pepperdine opened up their home-court tournament run by dominating from the service line (9 aces to 0 for GCU).

#6 Stanford (31%) def. #3 BYU (69%)
3-2 (25-23, 19-25, 27-25, 19-25, 15-10)

The Cardinal move on behind 15.5 blocks and 10 aces in a thrilling five set victory.

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Today's Match Projections

Big West - Semifinals

#1 Long Beach (89%) vs #4 UC San Diego (11%)

#3 UC Irvine (48%) vs #2 Hawai'i (52%)

ConfCarolinas - Semifinals

#3 Barton (25%) vs #2 Belmont Abbey (75%)

#4 North Greenville (18%) vs #1 Mount Olive (82%)

MPSF - Semifinals

#6 Stanford (33%) vs #2 Southern California (67%)

#1 UCLA (77%) vs #4 Pepperdine (23%)

NEC - Semifinals

#3 Daemen (44%) vs #2 Long Island (56%)

#4 Fairleigh Dickinson (11%) vs #1 Saint Francis (89%)