Top 5 men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

Just consider tonight’s top matches the sequel to Friday.

No. 1 BYU and No. 6 USC headline the night as they conclude their two-match series after the Cougars won the opening match in four games. In addition, No. 5 Penn State continues its Midwest road trip as plays No. 7 Lewis tonight.

Check out the top five men’s volleyball matches from around the nation to follow tonight.

1. No. 1 BYU (5-1, 3-0 MPSF) VS. No. 6 USC (3-1, 2-1 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Provo, Utah.
Follow live: Online video, Pay-per-listen radio feed, In-match Tweets
What to know: BYU and USC will conclude their two-match conference series after the Cougars won the opening match in four games Friday in front of a sold-out home crowd of 5,124 people. Outside attacker Taylor Sander had a match-high 23 kills in the victory. The sophomore outside attacker also was one of four BYU players with at least five blocks as the Cougars out-blocked the Trojans 15-11. USC outside attacker Tony Ciarelli in the loss had a team-high 18 kills. The series opening loss was also the first time the previously undefeated Trojans had lost a game the entire season.

2. No. 5 Penn State (2-0, 0-0 EIVA) vs. No. 8 Lewis (3-2, 0-0 MIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Romeoville, Ill.
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match Tweets
What to know: The two non-West Coast off to the best start of the season will play each other in a non-conference match. Penn State has won the first two matches of its season opening road trip, including sweeping Loyola on Friday. Off the Block Preseason All-American outside attacker Joe Sunder leads the Nittany Lions with a 3.67 kills per game average and had a team-high 11 kills against the Ramblers. This match will also Flyers’ home opener. Lewis returns to the Midwest after going 3-2 on a West Coast road trip that featured upset victories against Pepperdine and Hawai’i. Lewis outside attacker Jay Petty is also sixth in the MIVA with a 3.61 kills per game average.

3. No. 3 UCLA (6-1, 1-0 MPSF) vs. Pacific (3-2, 1-1 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Los Angeles
Follow live: Gametracker, Online video, Radio feed
What to know: This match has trap game written all over it for the Bruins. UCLA one day after sweeping No. 4 Stanford will continue its homestand against Pacific. The Bruins enter on a four-match winning streak. In addition, UCLA this season is hitting .376 while holding opponents to a .179 attack percentage. Pacific defeated UC Santa Barbara on Friday for its first MPSF win and had a season-high 19 blocks in the victory. UCLA leads the all-time series against Pacific 32-2.

4. No. 2 UC Irvine (4-2, 0-2 MPSF) vs. UC San Diego (2-3, 1-1 MPSF)
Match vitals: 2 p.m. in Irvine, Calif.
Follow live: Live stats, In-match Tweets
What to know: UC Irvine will play for the first time since getting swept on its homecourt in a two-match series against then-No. 2 BYU last week. Despite the losses, the Anteaters dropped just one spot in the national rankings. In addition, outside attackers Jeremy Dejno and Carson Clark are among the MPSF leaders each averaging more than 3.80 kills per game. UC San Diego has lost two of its last three matches, including a three-game loss to Grand Canyon in its previous match. However, the Tritons last season pulled one of the upsets of the year when it defeated UC Irvine.

5. IPFW (2-1, 0-0 MIVA) vs. George Mason (2-2, 0-0 EIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Follow live: Live stats
What to know: IPFW and George Mason will play each other for the second time in two weeks, but both teams will have their top outside attacker on the court this time. All-EIVA outside attacker Mark Jones had a match-high 30 kills in his season debut Friday to help George Mason defeat Ball State in five games. Jones missed the first three matches of the season for what he described as personal reasons. In addition, All-MIVA outside attacker Eddie Rivera returned from a knee injury and had nine kills in IPFW’s four-game victory against St. Francis on Friday. For more on Rivera overcoming his injury, check out this story in The News-Sentinel.

BEST OF THE REST
No. 8 Pepperdine (4-1, 3-0 MPSF) vs. Hawai’i (2-4, 1-2 MPSF)
Match vitals: 8:30 p.m. in Malubi, Calif.
Follow live: Gametracker, Online video
What to know: Pepperdine will attempt to complete the two-match series sweep of Hawai’i after winning the series opener in four games Friday. Waves outside attacker Johsua Taylor had a team-high 18 kills in the victory. Taylor also extended his streak to four matches with at least 15 kills.

No. 4 Stanford (4-1, 1-1 MPSF) vs. UC Santa Barbara (2-3, 0-1 MPSF)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Follow live: Live stats
What to know: Stanford and UC Santa Barbara after losing conference matches Friday will play each other today. Stanford lost in three games to No. 3 UCLA for its first loss of the season, while UC Santa Barbara hit a season-low .141 in a four-game loss to Pacific in its MPSF opener.