VBelo Scouting Report: April 30, 2023

First opening round match: Ohio State vs. King

Apr 30, 2023

The day has finally arrived. The 2023 NCAA Men’s Volleyball National Tournament is here! Today we have the first of 6 matches this week. So let’s dive into a preview of what we can expect from these two teams.

Tournament Projections

Here is the longer preview I did of the tournament a few days ago.

VBelo Scouting Report: April 28, 2023

T.J. Breshears

April 28, 2023

We are just 2 days away from the first match in the 2023 NCAA Men’s Volleyball National Championship Tournament!!! Yes, I am excited, thanks for asking. Today I’m going to release the tournament projections and a look at what a 12 team tournament could look like (in my dreams). Tomorrow I plan on taking a closer look at the first matchup (Ohio State and …

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This is looking to be a great tournament and it hasn’t even started yet. I also did a fun preview for Off The Block for the 2023 national tournament.

Off The Block Article

Matchup Preview

Ohio State

The Buckeyes made it into the tournament as the automatic qualifier from the MIVA. While technically they are unseeded1, they are effectively the #6 seed in the tournament. So let's look into Ohio State by the numbers.

Record: 22-9
Current Streak: 11 wins
AVCA Ranking: 9
Media Poll: 10
VBelo Ranking: 7
RPI: 6
Offense: 12.9 kills/set (4th), .322 % (9th)
Defense: 8.56 digs/set (25th), 2.03 blocks/set (23rd)

King University

The Tornado earned their second trip to the NCAA tournament after winning the Conference Carolinas title. While technically unseeded, they are the de-facto #7 seed this year. Let’s look at King by the numbers.

Record: 16-15
Current Streak: 3 wins
AVCA Ranking: Received votes
Media Poll: Unranked
VBelo Ranking: 23
RPI: 32
Offense: 11.6 kills/set (32nd), .239 % (37th)
Defense: 8.76 digs/set (21st), 2.03 blocks/set (24th)

Matchup Notes

This will be the 3rd overall meeting between these two teams. Both previous matches were played at Ohio State and the Buckeyes won 3-0. Looking at VBelo, this is a fairly one-sided match with Ohio State being the favorite at 71%. This leaves room for King to pull off the upset but they will have to get past a stellar offense.

Both of these teams have an uphill battle to get to the tournament finals. VBelo is giving it a 6% chance that one of these teams makes it to the final.

Match Projections

Non-conference

Ohio State (71%) vs King (29%)

The NCAA only gives a seed to #1 and #2 in this tournament.