VBelo Scouting Report: April 20, 2023
So many semifinals and the Big West too
Another great day of postseason volleyball in the books. Let’s get right to it.
EIVA - Both matches went to 5 sets! You can’t ask for anything more than that. George Mason outlasted Harvard and their reward is the heavy conference favorite, Penn State. NJIT (#6 seed) was able to pull the upset off over one of the greatest stories this year, Charleston. This will be the end of the road for the Golden Eagles in what has been an absolutely phenomenal season. The Highlanders will now face off against Princeton, the 2022 EIVA tournament champion.
MIVA - We are getting a classic matchup for the finals: Ball State and Ohio State. McKendree was able to get a set off of Ohio State, but the Buckeyes then turned on the boosters to take the next set 25-9. Ball State looked strong throughout their match with Lewis. The finals are sure to be a great one this weekend and some “state” team is definitely going to win.
MPSF - All the higher seeds were able to win. BYU dropped their first set but then took care of business. The home court advantage seemed to be enough for Stanford. Lastly, Grand Canyon was able to sweep Pepperdine and end the Waves’ hopes of making it to Fairfax, Va. The real question remains: who can beat UCLA?
NEC - For a first year conference, this is veteran postseason action. Long Island (a second-year team) defeated Merrimack (a first-year team) in 4. Sacred Heart handed St. Francis-Brooklyn their final loss. This was the last match in program history for the Terriers as St. Francis-Brooklyn is discontinuing all athletics at the end of this school year. Thank you, Terriers, for everything. You will be missed.
Right back at it today with matches in 5 conferences: Big West, EIVA, MPSF, NEC & SIAC.
Match Recaps
EIVA Quarterfinals
George Mason (60%) def. Harvard (40%)
3-2 (22-25, 25-14, 25-12, 21-25, 15-12)
NJIT (34%) def. Charleston (66%)
3-2 (25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 15-11)
MIVA Semifinals
Ohio State (83%) def. McKendree (17%)
3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-9, 25-15)
Ball State (69%) def. Lewis (31%)
3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-18)
MPSF Quarterfinals
BYU (84%) def. Concordia (16%)
3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-15)
Stanford (61%) def. Southern California (39%)
3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-15)
Grand Canyon (53%) def. Pepperdine (47%)
3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-20)
NEC Quarterfinals
Long Island (73%) def. Merrimack (27%)
3-1 (26-24, 17-25, 25-13, 25-20)
Sacred Heart (55%) def. St. Francis-Brooklyn (45%)
3-0 (29-27, 25-23, 25-21)
Match Projections
Big West Quarterfinals
UC Santa Barbara (60%) vs UC San Diego (40%)
CSU Northridge (19%) vs UC Irvine (81%)
EIVA Semifinals
George Mason (11%) vs Penn State (89%)
NJIT (31%) vs Princeton (69%)
MPSF Semifinals
Grand Canyon (20%) vs UCLA (80%)
BYU (61%) vs Stanford (39%)
NEC Semifinals
Daemen (58%) vs Long Island (42%)
Sacred Heart (25%) vs Saint Francis (75%)
SIAC Quarterfinals & Semifinals
Kentucky State (23%) vs Fort Valley State (77%)
Benedict (87%) vs Morehouse (13%)
Edward Waters vs Fort Valley State/Kentucky State winner
Central State vs Benedict/Morehouse winner
