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The season’s biggest weekend for non-conference matches has arrived in full force.
Three non-conference tournament all featuring nationally ranked teams will take place tonight, including the defending champions No. 2 Loyola playing No. 6 BYU at the AVCA Showcase. In addition, No. 10 Hawai’i will try to remain undefeated and upset No. 3 Penn State at the Outrigger Invitational.
Check out the top college men’s volleyball matches from around the nation to follow tonight.
No. 2 Loyola (0-0, 0-0 MIVA) vs. No. 6 BYU (0-0, 0-0 MPSF)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. in Palo Alto, California
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
What to know: No. 2 Loyola will begin its national title defense with one of the most anticipated non-conference matches of the season. The defending-NCAA champions Loyola will play the two-time defending-MPSF champions No. 6 BYU to open the AVCA Showcase at Stanford. Loyola returns all but two starters from last year’s team that closed out the season on a 27-match winning streak and won the program’s first national championship. The Ramblers led the nation with three Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Preseason All-Americans, including the top vote-getter outside attacker Thomas Jaeschke. Jaeschke was among the national leaders with a 3.73 kills per game average last season and became one of the first sophomores in the conference’s history to be named the MIVA Player of the Year. BYU reached the 2014 NCAA Tournament semifinals but will have to replace All-American outside attacker Taylor Sander, the 2014 National Player of the Year. BYU coach Chris McGown also said in an off-season interview with Off the Block that he will likely spend the beginning of the season experimenting with various lineup combinations.
No. 5 UCLA (0-0, 0-0 MPSF) vs. No. 15 IPFW (0-0, 0-0 MIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Santa Barbara, California
Follow live: In-match tweets
What to know: Hall of Fame coach Arnie Ball in his final season before retiring will get one more chance to get his first career win against UCLA. The only coach in IPFW’s 35-year program history is 0-5 all-time against Bruins as the two teams prepare to play each during the evening slate of matches at the Asics Invitational. However, the Mastodons have a majority of their starters returning from last season, including All-MIVA selections setter Omar Rivera and opposite Andrew Sellan. IPFW also finished last season reaching the MIVA Tournament semifinals and winning its first postseason match since 2007. UCLA under coach John Speraw has a roster comprised of 16 freshmen and sophomores along with two upperclassmen. The Bruins, though, have both of the nation’s top ranked recruits from the last two years with middle attacker Mitch Stahl and outside attacker Jake Arnitz.
No. 3 Penn State (0-1, 0-0 EIVA) vs. No. 10 Hawai’i (2-0, 0-0 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Honolulu
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
What to know: No. 3 Penn State will attempt to rebound for a season-opening loss and close out its matches at Outrigger Invitational with a victory as it plays the host school No. 10 Hawai’i. Penn State overcame a two-game deficit before losing by eight points in a decisive fifth game against No. 8 UC Irvine on Thursday. All-American outside attacker Aaron Russell in the loss had a match-high 19 kills and added two aces. However, Russell was the only Nittany Lion to finish the non-conference match with more than 10 kills. Hawai’i defeated No. 14 Ohio State in four games in its Outrigger Invitational opener to remain undefeated so far this season. Outside attacker Sinisa Zarkovic led all players with 20 kills against the Buckeyes, while Preseason All-American outside attacker Brooke Sedore had 12 kills.
No. 4 UC Santa Barbara (1-0, 0-0 MPSF) vs. Limestone (0-0, 0-0 CC)
Match vitals: 10 a.m. in Santa Barbara, California
Follow live: Live stats, In-match tweets
No. 5 UCLA (0-0, 0-0 MPSF) vs. St. Francis (0-1, 0-0 EIVA)
Match vitals: 10 a.m. in Santa Barbara, California
Follow live: In-match tweets
No. 12 Long Beach State (0-0, 0-0 MPSF) vs. Princeton (0-0, 0-0 EIVA)
Match vitals: 10 a.m. in Santa Barbara, California
Follow live: In-match tweets
No. 13 Cal State Northridge (0-0, 0-0 MPSF) vs. No. 15 IPFW (0-0, 0-0 MIVA)
Match vitals: 10 a.m. in Santa Barbara, California
Follow live: In-match tweets
Ball State (0-0, 0-0 MIVA) vs. Mount Olive (0-0, 0-0 CC)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Mount Olive, North Carolina
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
No. 8 UC Irvine (1-1, 0-0 MPSF) vs. No. 14 Ohio State (3-1, 2-0 MIVA)
Match vitals: 4 p.m. in Honolulu
Follow live: Live stats, In-match tweets
McKendree (0-2, 0-2 MIVA) vs. Grand View (0-0)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Lebanon, Illinois
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
No. 1 Pepperdine (2-0, 0-0 MPSF) vs. George Mason (0-0, 0-0 EIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Malibu, California
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
No. 4 UC Santa Barbara (1-0, 0-0 MPSF) vs. Princeton (0-0, 0-0 EIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Santa Barbara, California
Follow live: Live stats, In-match tweets
No. 9 Lewis (1-0, 0-0 MIVA) vs. No. 10 Stanford (0-0, 0-0 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Palo Alto, California
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
No. 12 Long Beach State (0-0, 0-0 MPSF) vs. Limestone (0-0, 0-0 CC)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Santa Barbara, California
Follow live: In-match tweets
No. 13 Cal State Northridge (0-0, 0-0 MPSF) vs. St. Francis (0-1, 0-0 EIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Santa Barbara, California
Follow live: In-match tweets
Cal Baptist (0-1, 0-0 MPSF) vs. Holy Names (0-0)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Oakland, California
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets