VBelo Scouting Report: March 21, 2023

Terrible news for the Terriers

Mar 21, 2023

Yesterday, the AVCA Coaches’ Poll came out and Penn State came out on top. For the first time this season, a team not named Hawaiʻi is ranked #1 by the coaches. The Nittany Lions garnered 17 of the 22 first place votes in a major swing from their 8 first place votes last week.

There was also some incredibly disappointing news that came out of Brooklyn yesterday. St. Francis Brooklyn has made the decision to eliminate all athletic programs at the end of the Spring 2023 season. The NEC has made major strides this season (and not just in volleyball) so this news is disheartening. We will be adding several new teams next year, but we will be missing the Terriers. Best of luck to all of the players, coaches, and staff as they begin to think through their next steps.

In the one match yesterday, Benedict College couldn’t seem to get things going as they were swept at Reinhardt (NAIA). Ras Jesse Delancy was the only Tiger who hit above .150%. He finished with a match-high 17 kills.

Today we have a handful of matches. King will travel to North Greenville to see who can take the top spot in the Conference Carolinas. NGU is currently at the top, tied with Erskine. King is only 0.5 matches behind though.

In a matchup of ranked opponents, #15 Ohio State will take on newly #1 Penn State. VBelo sees Penn State as the strong favorite here, especially at home. This season, home teams have won 64% of the time. Last year, home teams won at right around the same rate (63%).