VBelo Daily: January 09, 2026

Top 10 rematch and day 2 of the Asics Invitational. 13 of the top 20 teams are in action today.

The Vanguard Lions held off a strong Rockhurst team to capture their first victory of the season. (Vanguard Athletics)

Number of the Day

11 - Aidan Whitemountain (Maryville) had 11 digs in the tough loss to CSUN yesterday. Aidan also added 10 kills for the double-double. Ooh yeah, and 3 aces, 1 block, and 1 assist. Aidan is listed as a Libero and playing lights out as an Outside Hitter. Get yourself a Libero who can hit .381% against the #11 team in the country.

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Yesterday’s Scores

Asics Invitational (UCSB)

#17 UC Santa Barbara (98%) def. Kentucky State (2%)
3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-12)

#6 UC Irvine (93%) def. Harvard (7%)
3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-13)

The Anteaters might be the first team in history with two players named Micah and two players named Aidan¹ on the same roster. (This has not been fact checked.)

#11 CSUN (69%) def. Maryville (31%)
3-1 (25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21)

Non-conference

Roberts Wesleyan (40%) def. D’Youville (60%)
3-1 (27-29, 25-20, 25-19, 25-22)

#14 Ohio State (96%) def. Central State (4%)
3-0 (25-13, 25-22, 25-16)

Vanguard (26%) def. Rockhurst (74%)
3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-22)

#2 Hawai’i (74%) def. #7 Loyola Chicago (26%)
3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-15)

The people believed in the Rainbow Warriors. And for good reason.

Exhibition

UMES vs La Poly (PR)

I just want to say that I love that UMES went down to PR to start their season. I hope other teams take note.

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Today’s Match Projections

Asics Invitational (UCSB)

CSUN (87%) vs Harvard (13%)

Maryville (26%) vs UC Santa Barbara (74%)

Kentucky State (1%) vs UC Irvine (99%)

Non-conference

#15 McKendree (17%) vs #1 UCLA (83%)

#7 Loyola Chicago (17%) vs #2 Hawai’i (83%)

Lindenwood (5%) vs #3 Long Beach (95%)

St. Thomas Aquinas (9%) vs #4 Pepperdine (91%)

Saint Francis (16%) vs #8 BYU (84%)

Daemen (13%) vs #10 UC San Diego (87%)

#12 Lewis (69%) vs Menlo (31%)

Mount Olive (34%) vs #13 Penn State (66%)

NJIT (14%) vs #14 Ohio State (86%)

Missouri S&T (20%) vs #16 Ball State (80%)

King (1%) vs #20 Lincoln Memorial (99%)

Rockhurst (52%) vs Concordia (48%)

Merrimack (86%) vs Dominican (14%)

1. Lot’s of Aidans today. If I’m not careful this might become an Aidan fan club newsletter.