VBelo Daily: January 31, 2026

Great matches across the country to close out the first month of the 2026 season.

The Trojans earned the win the hard way, in 5, against a tough Ohio State side. (USC Athletics)

Number of the Day

211 - With yesterday’s matches in the books, we have now crossed the two hundred match threshold for the 2026 season. We have had 211 matches played so far this season. Last year, we had 187 matches at this same point. This is a 12.8% increase, year over year. This is what we get when we grow the game. More matches. More parity. More volleyball.

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Yesterday’s Scores

Non-conference

Princeton (64%) def. Merrimack (36%)
3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-17)

Charleston (30%) def. Queens (70%)
3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-22)

Tusculum (83%) def. Thomas More (17%)
3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-15)

Ball State (88%) def. UMES (12%)
3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-15)

Benedictine (37%) def. UC Merced (63%)
3-0 (25-22, 38-36, 25-18)

Benedictine is the #10 ranked team in the NAIA in their preseason poll.

NJIT (82%) def. Long Island (18%)
3-1 (25-18, 25-20, 22-25, 25-19)

George Mason (56%) def. Mount Olive (44%)
3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-18)

Lincoln Memorial (98%) def. Northern Kentucky (2%)
3-1 (23-25, 25-11, 25-18, 25-15)

Barry (17%) def. Fort Valley State (83%)
3-0 (26-24, 25-23, 25-18)

Bucs with brooms. Barry earned their first win in program history over a team receiving any votes in the coaches’ poll. This is a great milestone for the sophomore program!

Emmanuel (71%) def. Newberry (29%)
3-1 (25-23, 31-29, 23-25, 25-17)

Lees-McRae (41%) def. Central State (59%)
3-1 (25-22, 25-13, 19-25, 25-23)

Lees-McRae is going to be a contender in the Conference Carolinas. Mark my words.

Maryville (73%) def. Barton (27%)
3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-17)

Hawai’i (47%) def. Penn State (53%)
3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-15)

Sacred Heart (49%) def. Dominican (51%)
3-2 (27-29, 21-25, 25-23, 27-25, 15-5)

Saint Francis (70%) def. Roberts Wesleyan (30%)
3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11)

Southwest Baptist (39%) def. Avila (61%)
3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-18)

Loyola Chicago (96%) def. Manhattan (4%)
3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-16)

Missouri S&T (12%) def. McKendree (88%)
3-1 (16-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-21)

(Jaw drops to floor) Missouri S&T starts this season with 8 road matches in a row. This was the 6th match and it will go down as the biggest. This is the first win against a ranked opponent in team history. Did someone say parity?

UC San Diego (21%) def. Lewis (79%)
3-2 (22-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-12)

Can’t wait for the next College Volleyball Weekly to hear from both of these coaches. If you don’t listen or watch already, it is definitely worth it!

Lindenwood (85%) def. Rockhurst (15%)
3-1 (24-26, 25-14, 25-19, 25-20)

CSUN (96%) def. Edward Waters (4%)
3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-19)

UC Irvine (98%) def. Stanford (2%)
3-1 (27-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-13)

These odds are wild to me…but also the Anteaters got the win.

BYU (66%) def. UC Santa Barbara (34%)
3-0 (29-27, 25-20, 25-20)

Southern California (73%) def. Ohio State (27%)
3-2 (25-19, 21-25, 25-27, 27-25, 15-11)

A clash of titans! We should expect nothing less at this point.

Long Beach (58%) def. Pepperdine (42%)
3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 30-28, 27-25)

St. Mary-of-the-Woods (83%) def. Kentucky State (17%)
3-1 (25-13, 25-23, 19-25, 25-18)

Kentucky State (26%) def. Soka (74%)
3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-17)

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Can the Miners strike gold again with another ranked win today? (Missouri S&T Athletics)

Today’s Match Projections

3 Intriguing Matches

Missouri S&T (37%) vs Lindenwood (63%)

Edward Waters (52%) vs Vanguard (48%)

UC San Diego (31%) vs Loyola Chicago (69%)

Uvaldo Acosta Memorial Tournament

UMES (14%) vs George Mason (86%)

Ball State (59%) vs George Mason (41%)

Non-conference

Dordt (66%) vs Jamestown (34%)

Central State (39%) vs Lees-McRae (61%)

Roberts Wesleyan (24%) vs Saint Francis (76%)

Barry (44%) vs Fort Valley State (56%)

Benedict (43%) vs Truett-McConnell (57%)

St. Thomas Aquinas (28%) vs Princeton (72%)

Fairleigh Dickinson (14%) vs NJIT (86%)

Barton (38%) vs Roosevelt (62%)

Concordia (56%) vs Master’s (44%)

UC Merced (43%) vs Arizona Christian (57%)

Hawai’i (65%) vs Penn State (35%)

Dominican (22%) vs Sacred Heart (78%)

Manhattan (4%) vs Lewis (96%)

Rockhurst (9%) vs McKendree (91%)

Stanford (2%) vs UC Irvine (98%)