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It’s a Midwest thing tonight in college men’s volleyball.
Three matches involving top 10 nationally ranked teams will be played in the Midwest, including No. 9 Ohio State playing host to No. 4 Stanford. In addition, No. 6 Lewis will look to move into the top five of the national rankings next week if it can beat George Mason tonight.
Check out the top five men’s volleyball matches from around the nation to follow tonight.
1. No. 4 Stanford (4-2, 2-1 MPSF) vs. No. 9 Ohio State (6-3, 0-0 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7:30 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio
Follow live: Gametracker, Online video, In-match Tweets
What to know: Stanford will have to defeat Ohio State on its home court to avoid going winless at the Dunlap Invitational. Stanford lost in four games to No. 7 Penn State to open the non-conference tournament Friday. The Cardinal in the loss had a .309 attack percentage and outside attacker Brad Lawson had a team-high 12 kills. Ohio State in its tournament-opener rallied from a first-game loss to defeat Pacific in four games. Outside attacker Shawn Sangrey had a match-high 24 kills — and extended his streak to three straight matches with at least 40 kill attempts.
2. No. 7 Penn State (3-1, 0-0 EIVA) vs. Pacific (3-4, 1-2 MPSF)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio
Follow live: Gametracker, In-match Tweets
What to know: Penn State coach Mark Pavlik always refers to matches against West Coast teams as a measuring stick to assess how the Nittany Lions compare to the top teams in the nation. Pavlik and Penn State are one win away from leaving the Dunlap Invitational pleased with how they compare. Penn State plays Pacific one day after upsetting No. 4 Stanford in four games. Outside attacker Joe Sunder in the victory had a match-high 17 kills and a .640 attack percentage. Pacific in its tournament opener lost to Ohio State in four games. The Tigers have lost four of their last five matches after opening the season 2-0.
3. No. 6 Lewis (5-2, 0-0 MIVA) vs. George Mason (3-3, 0-0 EIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Romeoville, Ill.
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match Tweets
What to know: Two of the top outside attackers in the MIVA and EIVA will face each other after they both struggled in their team’s most recent match. Flyers outside attacker Jay Petty is sixth in the MIVA with a 3.55 kills per game average. The junior, though, did not play Lewis’ sweep against St. Francis on Friday. George Mason outside attacker Mark Jones in three matches is leading the EIVA with a 5.07 kills per game average. However, Jones was held to a season-low 13 kills and .026 attack percentage in a loss against Loyola on Friday.
4. No. 5 USC (3-3, 2-3 MPSF) vs. UC San Diego (2-5, 1-3 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in San Diego
Follow live: Live stats, Online video
What to know: The Trojans will attempt to end one of the most impressive three-match losing streaks in their program’s recent history. After starting the season 3-0, USC lost two road matches to No. 1 BYU last week and lost to No. 3 UC Irvine in four games on Friday. Despite the losses, USC outside attacker Tony Ciarelli remains among the nation’s leaders and is second in the MPSF with a 4.47 kills per game average. UC San Diego is also on a three-match losing streak, including a five-game loss to No. 8 Pepperdine on Friday.
5. Grand Canyon (5-4, 0-0 MIVA) vs. Hawai’i (3-5, 1-3 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Honolulu
Follow live: Live stats, Radio feed
What to know: Hawai’i and Grand Canyon will conclude their two-match non-conference series after the Warriros won the opener in five games Friday. Hawai’i in the victory out-hit Grand Canyon .257 to .230. In addition, Hawai’i outside attacker Steven Hunt had a match-high 23 kills. Grand Canyon in its four-year program history has never defeated a MPSF team on the road.