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Check out the five things to take away from the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball matches this weekend.
1. USC rallies to beat Hawai’i — No. 2 USC overcame a three-point deficit late in the decisive fifth game before defeating No. 6 Hawai’i in overtime on Friday to split their two-match road series. USC All-American setter Micah Christenson in the victory had a team-high five aces and 17 digs to help the Trojans remain in first place in the MPSF.
2. Concordia-Irvine stuns Stanford — Concordia-Irvine defeated No. 14 Stanford in four games on Saturday for the program’s first victory against a NCAA Division I-II nationally ranked team. The Eagles, which reached the NAIA national championship match last season, are in the first year of a three-year transition to NCAA Division II.
3. King shocks Conference Carolinas — Outside attacker Eddie Moushikhian had a match-high 19 kills as King upset Mount Olive in four games on Saturday. This was the first time in their program history that the Tornado had defeated the Trojans. King despite having never reached the postseason before is now in fourth place in the Conference Carolinas.
4. Penn State offense keeps rolling — Penn State finished with a season-high .500 attack percentage in a non-conference home sweep against Erskine on Friday. Every Penn State starter who had at least one kill attempt hit more than .400, including All-American outside attacker Aaron Russell who had a match-high 12 kills.
5. The Sequel shines for BYU — BYU freshman outside attacker Brenden Sander had a combined 21 kills in a two-match series sweep against Cal Baptist during the weekend. With these two victories, No. 7 BYU and USC are tied for first place entering their weekend series against each other.