We are getting some exceptional volleyball and it isn’t even the middle of January. This is what happens when you grow the game. More matches. More teams. More awesome.
Number of the Day
22 - Yesterday, not one but two players set the new season-high mark for kills in a match. Dallas Birkenbeuel (Merrimack) and Phinehas Wiley (Dominican) scored 22 kills in a five-set thriller.
Honorable mention
722 - UCLA started their 2026 season off with an unreal hitting line in the first set. With 14 kills, 1 error, and 18 attacks, the Bruins hit .722! They fell back to earth (only a little) and finished the match at .533.
Yesterday’s Scores
Asics Invitational (UCSB)
#11 CSUN (87%) def. Harvard (13%)
3-1 (25-16, 25-19, 26-28, 25-18)
#17 UC Santa Barbara (74%) def. Maryville (26%)
3-1 (25-10, 24-26, 25-19, 25-19)
#6 UC Irvine (99%) def. Kentucky State (1%)
3-0 (25-9, 25-7, 25-5)
Non-conference
#1 UCLA (83%) def. #15 McKendree (17%)
3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-22)
🚨Loyola Chicago (17%) def. Hawai’i (83%)
3-1 (25-23, 25-22, 24-26, 29-27)
#3 Long Beach (95%) def. Lindenwood (5%)
3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-20)
#4 Pepperdine (91%) def. St. Thomas Aquinas (9%)
3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-12)
#8 BYU (84%) def. Saint Francis (16%)
3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-18)
#10 UC San Diego (87%) def. Daemen (13%)
3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-18, 25-15)
#12 Lewis (69%) def. Menlo (31%)
3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-23)
#13 Penn State (66%) def. Mount Olive (34%)
3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 20-25, 25-18)
#14 Ohio State (86%) def. NJIT (14%)
3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-21)
#16 Ball State (80%) def. Missouri S&T (20%)
3-1 (26-28, 25-22, 25-14, 25-20)
#20 Lincoln Memorial (99%) def. King (1%)
3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-11)
🚨Dominican (14%) def. Merrimack (86%)
3-2 (25-20, 27-29, 23-25, 25-21, 15-13)
Rockhurst (52%) def. Concordia (48%)
3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 21-25, 29-27, 15-13)
I love it when the match odds are tight and so is the actual match.
Today’s Match Projections
Asics Invitational (UCSB)
Maryville (9%) vs #6 UC Irvine (91%)
#11 CSUN (99%) vs Kentucky State (1%)
Harvard (12%) vs #17 UC Santa Barbara (88%)
Non-conference
McKendree (8%) vs #3 Long Beach (92%)
St. Thomas Aquinas (10%) vs #5 Southern California (90%)
Saint Francis (12%) vs #8 BYU (88%)
#12 Lewis (48%) vs #9 Stanford (52%)
Manhattan (1%) vs #13 Penn State (99%)
NJIT (24%) vs #16 Ball State (76%)
Catawba (24%) vs #19 George Mason (76%)
North Greenville (5%) vs #20 Lincoln Memorial (95%)
Missouri S&T (27%) vs Purdue Fort Wayne (73%)
D’Youville (19%) vs Roberts Wesleyan (81%)
Dominican (18%) vs Merrimack (82%)
Tusculum (52%) vs Queens (48%)
UC Santa Cruz (16%) vs Menlo (84%)
Lindenwood (59%) vs Vanguard (41%)
The Chaos has begun. A top team lost but to another team that many feel could win their Conference. So it begins