VBelo Scouting Report: February 11, 2023
VBelo Scouting Report: February 11, 2023
Tough tests at the top of the table
So many matches yesterday, but I will do a very quick (and non-thorough) recap. The big upset out of the Conference Carolinas was Belmont Abbey sweeping Mount Olive. In terms of pre-season VBelo ranking, this was the #6 team beating the #2 team in straight sets, but also at home. The IVA was all chalk and Nate Meyer out of Missouri S&T continues to impress with his offensive power. In the MIVA, Lindenwood pulled off a huge win over Purdue Fort Wayne. The parity in the MIVA is really incredible right now.
In non-conference matches, #1 Hawai’i handled #8 Stanford in straight sets and #4 UCLA got the road win against #2 Long Beach. We also had #5 Grand Canyon join Charleston at 11-0. #7 UC Irvine was able to complete the series sweep over #6 Pepperdine. All of these matches will likely weigh heavily in voters’ minds for the coaches’ poll and the media poll next week. The biggest upset of the night went to CSUN getting the 5 set win over NJIT. Northridge has been a little all over the place this year but they clearly can compete with the best teams in the country. The real question for them in consistency.
Today we have another busy day of matches. Conference Carolinas, IVA, and MIVA will all see conference action. In addition to those important matches, Hawai’i and Stanford will play again. Although the first match was a sweep, I have a feeling (not backed up by an data) that tonight’s match will not be 3 sets. But hey, I’ve been wrong before…many times. I am also very intrigued by the CSUN/Fairleigh Dickinson match. VBelo has this as a toss up, which would probably be surprising to most casual fans. Even though the Matadors were able to defeat a good NJIT team, I think FDU might give CSUN some issues. I could see this one going either way but an NEC win against the Big West would be huge.
Match Recaps
ConfCarolinas
Lees-McRae (47%) def. Erskine (53%)
3-0 (28-26, 25-23, 25-12)
King (64%) def. Emmanuel (36%)
3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 25-15)
Belmont Abbey (31%) def. Mount Olive (69%)
3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-22)
Matteo Miselli (BAC) was lighting it up last night with 18 kills and hitting .452 in the sweep.
North Greenville (92%) def. Barton (8%)
3-0 (25-21, 25-8, 25-17)
NGU was firing on all cylinders. They hit .543, had only 4 attack errors, and out-aced Barton 7-1 to get their first conference win of the season.
IVA
Lincoln Memorial (72%) def. Queens (28%)
3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-23, 27-25)
Missouri S&T (67%) def. Alderson Broaddus (33%)
3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-16, 19-25, 15-12)
Nate Meyer( MST) continues to kill it1 for the Miners. He finished with a match high 22 kills.
Limestone (65%) def. Tusculum (35%)
3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 26-24)
MIVA
Lindenwood (28%) def. Purdue Fort Wayne (72%)
3-2 (25-17, 19-25, 25-23, 27-29, 15-11)
Carter Stenmark (LWU) and AJ Lewis (LWU) powered the Lions with 18 kills each in the 5 set win.
Loyola Chicago (83%) def. Quincy (17%)
3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-19)
NEC
Daemen (78%) def. D'Youville (22%)
3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-14)
Saint Francis (48%) def. Fairleigh Dickinson (52%)
3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-17)
Non-conference
Master's (36%) def. Concordia-Irvine (64%)
3-1 (19-25, 25-21, 28-26, 25-19)
St. Andrews (76%) def. Morehouse (24%)
3-0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-20)
UC Irvine (46%) def. Pepperdine (54%)
3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17)
Hilir Henno (UCI) served up 8 aces in route to the Anteaters home win against Pepperdine.
Hawai'i (77%) def. Stanford (23%)
3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 26-24)
Guilherme Voss (UH) looked world-class with his 6 kills on 7 errorless attacks (.857%) , 5 blocks, 1 ace, 1 dig, and 1 assist.
BYU (56%) def. UC Santa Barbara (44%)
3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-20)
Rees Barnett (UCSB) had a double-double (19 kills & 11 digs) in the loss to BYU.
UCLA (48%) def. Long Beach (52%)
3-1 (18-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-23)
Mason Briggs (LBSU) came up one assist shy of the double-double (9 assists & 13 digs), which is pretty incredible for a Libero.
CSU Northridge (24%) def. NJIT (76%)
3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 22-25, 28-26, 17-15)
Taylan Cook (CSUN) provided 16 digs to power the Matador defense over NJIT in 5.
King's (59%) def. American International (41%)
3-1 (23-25, 27-25, 25-19, 25-23)
Grand Canyon (90%) def. Arizona Christian (10%)
3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-21)
GCU had 11 players record at least 1 kill in this match. They also had 3 additional players with at least 12 assists.
Maryville (58%) def. Central State (42%)
3-0 (25-19, 26-24, 25-22)
Match Projections
ConfCarolinas
Erskine (26%) vs King (74%)
Emmanuel (57%) vs Lees-McRae (43%)
Barton (24%) vs Belmont Abbey (76%)
Mount Olive (33%) vs North Greenville (67%)
IVA
Limestone (30%) vs Lincoln Memorial (70%)
Alderson Broaddus (18%) vs Maryville (82%)
MIVA
Lewis (46%) vs Ohio State (54%)
Purdue Fort Wayne (82%) vs Quincy (18%)
McKendree (30%) vs Ball State (70%)
Loyola Chicago (70%) vs Lindenwood (30%)
Non-conference
Hawai'i (78%) vs Stanford (22%)
UC Santa Barbara (40%) vs BYU (60%)
St. Francis-Brooklyn (27%) vs Princeton (73%)
CSU Northridge (48%) vs Fairleigh Dickinson (52%)
Penn State (82%) vs Saint Francis (18%)
Kentucky State (38%) vs St. Andrews (62%)
Central State (56%) vs Missouri S&T (44%)
Kentucky State (31%) vs Reinhardt (69%)
Alderson Broaddus (25%) vs Central State (75%)
Tweet of the Day
Pun 100% intended.