Number of the Day
23 - Zach Rama went off against the #6 ranked team in the country to finish the First Point Collegiate Challenge. His 23 kills are the most this season in a 3-set match. This would be tied for second best last season. So yeah, it was impressive.
Yesterday’s Scores
First Point Collegiate Challenge
Ball State (60%) def. Stanford (40%)
3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 23-25, 25-23)
The MIVA means business. The Coaches’ Poll may call this an upset, but VBelo calls it a likely outcome. Still impressive no matter what way you look at it. Patrick Rogers was looking near unstoppable with his 17-2-26 (.577) line.
UCLA (61%) def. Loyola Chicago (39%)
3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 26-24)
Sure, Zach Rama was good, but what about the rest of the team? The rest of the team hit a combined .422. The whole team (with Rama) hit .506. Against Loyola. UCLA is elite.
Non-conference
Queens (70%) def. Edward Waters (30%)
3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-18)
Queens played 17 players in this match. This is the worst nightmare of every announcer and scorekeeper.
Barton (68%) def. Edward Waters (32%)
3-1 (25-20, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18)
Parfait Mugabo (EWU) went off in his second career match for 24 kills. The 7 digs and 3 aces sure looked nice too.
Queens (60%) def. Barton (40%)
3-1 (28-26, 25-23, 19-25, 25-18)
Kaden Saurer (Queens) with a solid double-double (10 kills and 15 digs). Can’t forget those 3 aces too!
Today’s Match Projections
Non-conference
Missouri S&T (39%) vs St. Thomas Aquinas (61%)
For those paying close attention, this match was rescheduled from yesterday due to snow. Safety first!
Fairleigh Dickinson (26%) vs Roberts Wesleyan (74%)
Fun fact: The first match in program history for RWU was against FDU. The Hawks are still looking for their first win against the Knights and this just might be the year.
Jessup (37%) vs Sacred Heart (63%)
This could be a sneaky good match and you can watch it on ESPN+.
The poll will be in flux or jumbled (depending on who you ask). This weekend showed that parity is there or are teams juggling injury concerns. I feel it is teams are better and talent is spread amongst the program.