Number of the Day
5 - The final 5 automatic tickets to the NCAA Tournament will be punched today. For some of these teams, this is the only way to get to the tournament. For others, they want to win, obviously, but they don’t need to win. After today, the NCAA Men’s Volleyball committee will meet to select the 5 at-large bids to the tournament. All these teams will join Fort Valley State and Belmont Abbey in the 12-team 2026 NCAA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Tournament. What an amazing and stressful day across the country.
Yesterday’s Scores
Big West Semifinals
#1 Hawai’i (84%) def. #5 UC San Diego (16%)
3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 25-13)
#2 Long Beach (58%) def. #3 UC Irvine (42%)
3-0 (29-27, 25-16, 25-18)
ECC Semifinals
#1 Roberts Wesleyan (98%) def. #4 American International (2%)
3-0 (25-19, 28-26, 25-9)
#2 St. Thomas Aquinas (78%) def. #3 Dominican (22%)
3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-20)
NEC Semifinals
#1 Saint Francis (82%) def. #4 Long Island (18%)
3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-19)
#2 Fairleigh Dickinson (42%) def. #3 UMES (58%)
3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-23)
Today’s Match Projections
🏆🎟️Big West Championship🎟️🏆
#1 Hawai’i (37%) vs #2 Long Beach (63%)
🏆ECC Championship🏆
#1 Roberts Wesleyan (75%) vs #2 St. Thomas Aquinas (25%)
🏆🎟️EIVA Championship🎟️🏆
#1 Penn State (93%) vs #6 Princeton (7%)
🏆🎟️MIVA Championship🎟️🏆
#1 Ball State (76%) vs #2 Loyola Chicago (24%)
🏆🎟️MPSF Championship🎟️🏆
#1 UCLA (85%) vs #3 Southern California (15%)
🏆🎟️NEC Championship🎟️🏆
#1 Saint Francis (83%) vs #2 Fairleigh Dickinson (17%)
GLVC Semifinals
#4 Roosevelt (12%) vs #1 Maryville (88%)
#3 Missouri S&T (51%) vs #2 Rockhurst (49%)
Thanks, T.J. for your insight, diligence and boundless enthusiasm for the underappreciated NCAA men's volleyball game over the course of the season. I greatly look forward to the expanded 12-team NCAA Tournament.
The day has come. There is a triple header of sorts on ESPN+ (NEC, MIVA, BIG West). Plenty of drama in the non AQ conference tournaments.