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After the chaoticness of three top-10 teams getting upset on Friday, college men’s volleyball is entering a slight doldrum for Saturday.
No. 7 Stanford attempting to upset No. 1 BYU on back-to-back nights highlights all the matches, while on the East Coast No. 5 Penn State and No. 9 Ohio State look to close out the Penn State Invitational undefeated.
Check out the top five men’s volleyball matches from around the nation to follow tonight.
1. No. 1 BYU (6-2, 4-1 MPSF) vs. No. 7 Stanford (6-2, 3-1 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Provo, Utah
Follow live: Gametracker, In-match Tweets
What to know: Life without All-American outside attacker Taylor Sander did not get off to a good start for the Cougars. BYU lost to Stanford in four games Friday at home to open their two-match conference series. The loss snapped a six-match winning streak and was the first time the Cougars lost a home regular season match in almost two years. Without Sander — who is out four to six weeks with a hand injury — Stanford out-hit BYU .358 to .267. All-American middle attacker Futi Tavana in his season debut led BYU with 13 kills, while Stanford outside attacker Brian Cook had a match-high 20 kills.
2. No. 5 Penn State (5-1, 0-0 EIVA) vs. Cal Baptist (1-6)
Match vitals: 7:30 p.m. in University Park, Pa.
Follow live: Gametracker, Pay-per-view online video, In-match Tweets
What to know: Penn State will conclude its home tournament with a match against Cal Baptist after blowing out Mount Olive in its opener at the Penn State Invitational on Friday. The Nittany Lions swept the Trojans and allowed 18 combined points in the final two games — including a 25-6 victory in the second game. That 19-point win was most lopsided game in the nation this season. Cal Baptist in its tournament opener lost to No. 9 Ohio State in four games. The Lancers are 0-5 against nationally ranked teams this season.
3. Hawai’i (5-5, 2-3 MPSF) vs. Pacific (3-6, 1-3 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Stockton, Calif.
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match Tweets
What to know: Pacific will attempt again to defeat Hawai’i for the first time since 1997 after blowing a two-game lead against the Warriors on Friday. Hawai’i rallied after losing the first two games to beat Pacific in five games to open their two-match conference series. Hawai’i outside attacker Steven Hunt in the victory had a match-high 25 kills as the Warriors out-hit the Tigers .310 to .234. Outside attacker Taylor Hughes led Pacific with 22 kills. The loss also extened Pacific’s MPSF losing streak to four matches.
4. No. 9 Ohio State (7-4, 0-0 MIVA) vs. Mount Olive (2-5, 1-0 Conference Carolinas)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. in University Park, Pa.
Follow live: Gametracker, In-match Tweets
What to know: Outside attacker Shawn Sangrey has a chance to have four consecutive matches with at least 20 kills as Ohio State plays Mount Olive at the Penn State Invitational. Sangrey has 79 combined kills in the Buckeyes last three matches, including a match-high 23 kills in against Cal Baptist on Friday. The senior All-American on Friday also became the first player in nation to have more than 400 kill attempts this season. Mount Olive enters today’s match after getting swept by Penn State on Friday in its most lopside loss of the year. In addition, Conference Carolins teams are winless this season against the MIVA.
5. Harvard (3-0, 0-0 EIVA) vs. MIT (5-1)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Boston
Follow live: Live stats, Pay-per-view online video
What to know: Harvard as the only undefeated Division I-II team left in the nation will attempt to remain perfect as it plays MIT. This will be the fourth consecutive Division III opponent that the Crimson will play to open the season. Harvard in its first three matches has dropped one game and out-hit its opponents .372 to .123. In addition, outside attacker Matt Jones is among the EIVA leaders with a 4.40 kills per game average. MIT is ranked No. 6 in the Division III national coaches poll.