VBelo Daily: April 27, 2025

It was a bad day to be a #1 seed...unless you are a Rambler.

If a team posts VBelo odds, I feel obligated to give them a shout out. (Daemen Athletics)

With conference tournaments wrapped up, we now wait until May 2 for the Opening Round match.

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🏆Championship Saturday🏆

Big West 🎟️

#2 Hawai'i (38%) def. #1 Long Beach (62%)
3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 25-22)

Adrien Roure was unstoppable this weekend. Yesterday, he finished with 11 kills and ZERO errors for a .579% hitting percentage.

Conference Carolinas 🎟️

#2 Belmont Abbey (42%) def. #1 Mount Olive (58%)
3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-22)

Mount Olive seemed unstoppable, but Belmont Abbey had plans to become the first Conference Carolinas repeat champion. Zach Puentes hit .500% on 12 kills to lead the way.

EIVA 🎟️

#3 Penn State (42%) def. #1 Princeton (58%)
3-0 (25-20, 27-25, 25-19)

This might be the biggest turn-around season in recent memory. Matthew Luoma has been on another level for the EIVA tournament. He had 18 kills to lead all players.

MIVA 🎟️

#1 Loyola Chicago (62%) def. #3 Ohio State (38%)
3-0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-21)

The Ramblers are proof that #1 seeds can win tournaments. They didn’t just win, they dominated by hitting .487% with 12 blocks in the sweep.

MPSF 🎟️

#4 Pepperdine (53%) def. #2 Southern California (47%)
3-1 (26-24, 25-20, 21-25, 25-21)

Ryan Barnett. Need I say more? This dude just carried the Waves into the NCAA tournament. On Saturday, he put up a double-double (23 kills and 11 digs).

NEC 🎟️

#3 Daemen (25%) def. #1 Saint Francis (75%)
3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-15, 25-22)

The Wildcats will be the first NEC team to go dancing! To get there, they had to take down the #2 and #1 seed teams, but that didn’t stop them. World, meet your Cinderella.

NCCAA Championship

Jessup (53%) def. Roberts Wesleyan (47%)
3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-19)

In just their first season, Jessup competed in the NCCAA Tournament and took home the hardware. Jan Lopuch led the Warriors with 15 kills, 6 blocks, 2 aces, and 5 digs.