Follow
Check out the five things to take away from the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball matches this weekend.
1. BYU stuns Hawai’i twice — No. 6 BYU swept a two-match home series against No. 1 Hawai’i during the weekend to end the Rainbow Warriors’ nation-best 16-match winning streak. Freshman outside attacker Brenden Sander in the two victories had a combined 30 kills, while opposite Phil Fuchs had a career-high 22 kills in a five-game victory Saturday to complete the sweep. With these two losses, Hawai’i dropped out of first place and will be the No. 2 seed for the upcoming MPSF Tournament.
2. Lewis rolls into postseason — No. 2 Lewis had a conference season-high 18.5 blocks as it swept No. 10 Ohio State on Friday to secure the No. 1 seed and home court advantage throughout the MIVA Tournament. The Flyers have now won at least a share of the MIVA regular season championship in two of the last three years.
3. UC Irvine clinches title — For the first time in more than five years, No. 3 UC Irvine is the MPSF regular season champions. UC Irvine swept UC San Diego in its regular season finale on Saturday to clinch the regular season title along with the No. 1 seed and home court advantage throughout the upcoming MPSF Tournament.
4. USC gets playoff home match — All-American setter Micah Christenson on his senior night had a team-high two aces and nine digs to help No. 8 USC sweep Cal Baptist on Saturday and clinch the No. 4 seed for the MPSF Tournament. With the No. 4 seed, USC in the conference tournament quarterfinals will play host BYU in its first postseason home match since the 2012 NCAA Tournament championship match.
5. EIVA Tournament set — Princeton, Harvard and George Mason with victories this weekend all clinched berths to the four-team EIVA Tournament. This will be the fourth consecutive year the conference tournament will consist of Penn State, Princeton, Harvard and George Mason.