VBelo Scouting Report: May 04, 2023

Thursdays are for final fours

Fairfax has been putting on a show for volleyball fans this year. Halfway through the tournament, we finally get to see the top 2 seeds: UCLA & Hawaiʻi. The two semifinal matches are full of talent. These four teams have a combined 27 All-American selections, including 10 1st Team All-Americans. It is not a fluke that any of these teams made it this far.

We also had some big awards revealed the past few days. Coach of the Year went to UCLA’s John Speraw. This was the 2nd time he won the award (also 2006 with UC Irvine). Assistant Coach of the Year went to Milan Zarkovic of Hawaiʻi. This was also the second time he has won the award (also 2020).

The big news yesterday was the announcement of National Player of the Year. Hawaiʻi setter Jakob Thelle beat out some incredibly tough competition to claim the top award in the country. In addition to being a 2x national champion, he is also a 2x Big West Player of the Year. He obviously wants to add a third trophy to the resume but many fans are hoping to see 1 more ace. He is currently tied atop the all-time leaderboard for aces at Hawaiʻi and one more will put him alone at the top.

It’s a great day for volleyball so I hope you are able to watch, in person or online. Unlike every other match this season, today’s matches will be broadcast on the NCAA website. If you have a chance, tune in and show the NCAA that Men’s Volleyball deserves more and better coverage. Sometimes growing the game looks like watching a game on the internet.

---

Updated Tournament Projections

Some of the numbers in yesterday’s graphic were off so they are corrected now. You might notice that the gap between the top 3 teams is even smaller. This tournament is far from a sure thing for any team.

---

Match Projections

Non-conference

Long Beach (36%) vs UCLA (64%)

Hawai'i (52%) vs Penn State (48%)