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It was another weekend of upsets as two top-five nationally ranked teams lost and several college men’s volleyball teams improved their seeds for the upcoming conference tournaments.
Check out the top five things to take away from this weekend’s action.
1. UCLA sweeps top-ranked BYU — Outside attacker Gonzalo Quiroga had a match-high 15 kills while middle attacker Spencer Rowe added eight kills on a match-high .899 attack percentage as No. 3 UCLA swept No. 1 BYU on Saturday. This loss snapped BYU’s 12-match winning streak and came one day after the Cougars clinched their first MPSF regular season championship since 2004.
2. Long Beach State rallies to beat Pepperdine — No. 4 Long Beach State overcame a two-game deficit on the road to defeat No. 5 Pepperdine in five games on Saturday and remain in contention for the No. 2 seed in the MPSF Tournament. Long Beach State now enters the final week of the regular season tied with No. 2 UC Irvine for second place in the MPSF.
3. Smalzer carries Loyola past Ohio State — Outside attacker Joseph Smalzer had a season-high seven aces and a match-high 15 kills to lead Loyola in a sweep against Ohio State on Saturday. With this victory, the Ramblers are one win away from clinching the No. 2 seed for the upcoming MIVA Tournament.
4. Lees-McRae, Limestone advance in postseason — The 2013 postseason began with Lees-McRae sweeping Belmont Abbey and Limestone beating Erskine in the the Conference Carolinas Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday. Lees-McRae will now advance to play Pfeiffer in the semifinals on Wednesday, while Limestone will play Mount Olive in the other semifinal.
5. Matadors can’t clinch postseason berth — Cal State Northridge enters the final week of the regular season without securing a spot in the MPSF Tournament after losing to USC on Friday. The loss also keeps Hawai’i’s slim postseason chances alive. The Matadors can still clinch a postseason berth if it wins one of its two remaining matches or the Warriors lose one of its remaining matches.