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After four months of the regular season, the NCAA men’s volleyball postseason is final upon us.
The EIVA, MIVA and MPSF will all begin their conference tournaments Friday and Saturday. Here is the initial look and the historical information you need to know about every conference tournament quarterfinals match before you fill out your bracket.
MPSF Tournament quarterfinals
No. 1 seed USC (21-2, 20-2 MPSF) vs. No. 8 seed UCLA (16-14, 9-13 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Saturday in Los Angeles
Season series: USC leads UCLA 2-0 (won in four games in January and three games in April)
Historical stats to know: USC will become the first team Monday in more than 15 years to be ranked No. 1 from the preseason to the end of the regular season. UCLA has not advanced beyond the MPSF Tournament quarterfinals since winning the 2006 national championship.
No. 2 seed BYU (20-7, 16-6 MPSF) vs. No. 7 seed UC Santa Barbara (14-14, 11-11 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Saturday in Provo, Utah.
Season series: Tied at 1-1 (BYU won in three games and UCSB won in four games in February)
Historical stats to know: BYU has not lost a home postseason match since losing to UC Santa Barbara in the 2005 MPSF Tournament quarterfinals. This is the first time UC Santa Barbara has reached the MPSF Tournament since 2007.
No. 3 seed Stanford (19-8, 15-7 MPSF) vs. No. 6 seed Long Beach State (14-13, 12-10 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Stanford, Calif.
Season series: Long Beach State leads Stanford 2-0 (won in three games in January and five games in March)
Historical stats to know: Stanford is attempting to become the first repeat NCAA men’s volleyball champion since UCLA in 1995 and 1996. Long Beach State in the last 10 years has always won at least one match in the MPSF Tournament when it is the No. 7 seed or higher.
No. 4 seed UC Irvine (18-11, 14-8 MPSF) vs. No. 5 seed Hawai’i (15-12, 13-9 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Saturday in Irvine, Calif.
Season series: UC Irvine leads Hawa’i 2-0 (won in four games and four games in February)
Historical stats to know: The last two times it was an odd-number year the Anteaters won the NCAA championship. The Warriors have won one road match in the MPSF Tournament in the last 15 years — excluding their vacated victories in 2002.
MIVA Tournament
No. 1 seed Ohio State (21-6, 11-1 MIVA)
Bye until the MIVA Tournament semifinals
Historical stats to know: If Ohio State wins the MIVA Tournament it will become the first team to win four consecutive MIVA titles since Ball State in the 1960s. The Buckeyes have not lost a home match in the conference tournament since losing the 2007 MIVA championship match against IPFW.
No. 2 seed Loyola (19-7, 9-3 MIVA) vs. No. 7 seed Grand Canyon (8-23, 0-12 MIVA)
Match vitals: 8 p.m. Saturday in Chicago
Season series: Loyola leads Grand Canyon 2-0 (won in four games and three games in February)
Historical stats to know: Loyola has lost three MIVA Tournament matches at Alumni Gym in program history, and only one of those matches was in the quarterfinals. For Grand Canyon, low seeds have not pulled upsets in the MIVA Tournament. No team lower than a No. 5 seed has ever won a match in the MIVA Tournament.
No. 3 seed Ball State (19-10, 7-5 MIVA) vs. No. 6 seed Quincy (21-13, 3-9 MIVA)
Match vitals: 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Muncie, Ind.
Season series: Ball State leads Quincy 2-0 (won in three games and four games February)
Historical stats to know: Ball State has advanced beyond the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals every year since 1998. Quincy has never won a match in the MIVA Tournament.
No. 4 seed Lewis (19-10, 7-5 MIVA) vs. No. 5 seed IPFW (16-11, 5-7 MIVA)
Match vitals: 8 p.m. Friday in Romeoville, Ill.
Season series: Tied at 1-1 (Lewis won in four games in February and IPFW won in four games in April)
Historical stats to know: Lewis has advanced to the MIVA Tournament semifinals all but one time since returning from its NCAA postseason ban in 2007. IPFW has not won a postseason match since reaching the 2007 NCAA championship match.
EIVA Tournament
No. 1 seed Penn State (22-6, 10-0 EIVA)
Bye until the EIVA Tournament semifinals
Historical stats to know: Penn State has won 12 consecutive EIVA Tournament titles. Coach Mark Pavlik in his 17 years at Penn State has one loss in the EIVA Tournament — the best conference tournament winning percentage of any coach NCAA men’s volleyball history.
No. 2 seed George Mason (16-10, 8-2 EIVA) vs. No. 7 seed NYU (19-8, 5-3 EIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Saturday in Fairfax, Va.
Season series: First meeting
Historical stats to know: George Mason as always advanced to at least the EIVA Tournament semifinals in the last 10 years. NYU has not played in an EIVA Tournament since advancing to the semifinals in 2008.
No. 3 seed Springfield (15-13, 4-6 EIVA) vs. No. 6 seed Juniata (18-11, 8-0 EIVA)
Match vitals: 4 p.m. Saturday in Springfield, Mass.
Season series: Springfield leads Juniata 2-0 (won in three games in February and five games in April)
Historical stats to know: Springfield when it is the higher seed has not won an EIVA Tournament in more than five years. Juniata became the closest Division III team to ever win the EIVA Tournament when it reached the championship match in 2009.
No. 4 seed Rutgers-Newark (16-11, 4-6 EIVA) vs. No. 5 seed St. Francis (10-17, 3-7 EIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Saturday in Newark, N.J.
Season series: Rutgers-Newark leads St. Francis 2-0 (won in three games in February and March)
Historical stats to know: Rutgers-Newark has not won an EIVA Tournament match in more than five years. St. Francis has only advanced beyond the EIVA Tournament semifinals once in its 27-year program history.