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Three spots in the NCAA Tournament will be decided by the end of the night.
Conference Championship Friday is here as the EIVA Tournament, MIVA Tournament and MPSF Tournaments will conclude with their championship matches.
Check out the postseason college men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight.
EIVA TOURNAMENT FINALS
No. 1 seed Penn State (19-9, 12-0 EIVA) vs. No. 3 seed George Mason (15-12, 7-5 EIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in University Park, Pennsylvania
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
Season series: Penn State leads 2-0
Last EIVA Tournament title: Penn State (2014); George Mason (1988)
What to know: The Penn State dynasty will be put to the test. The Nittany Lions will attempt to win their win 17th consecutive EIVA Tournament championship as it plays host to George Mason in the conference tournament finals. Penn State was the only team in the nation to go undefeated in conference play, including two regular season sweeps against George Mason. All-American outside attacker Aaron Russell also led the conference with a 4.70 kills per game average and won the 2015 Karch Kiraly Award as the nation’s top outside attacker. In addition, Russell had a combined 32 kills against the Patriots earlier this season. George Mason upset Harvard in the EIVA Tournament semifinals on Wednesday to reach its first conference tournament finals since 2012. All-conference outside attacker Jack Wilson had a season-high 26 kills in the semifinals victory.
MIVA TOURNAMENT FINALS
No. 1 seed Lewis (26-2, 15-1 MIVA) vs. No. 2 seed Loyola (24-2, 14-2 MIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Romeoville, Illinois
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
Season series: Lewis leads 2-0
Last MIVA Tournament title: Loyola (2014); Lewis (2013)
What to know: Now it’s known what is bigger than the MIVAgeddon — a rematch of the MIVAgeddon in the MIVA Tournament championship match. Loyola and Lewis for the third consecutive year will play each other for the conference title. Both teams enter the match projected to make the NCAA Tournament field, according to the latest Off the Block bracketology. However, the winner of this match could be in better position to possibly earn the No. 1 overall seed. Loyola All-American outside attacker Thomas Jaeschke had a conference-best 4.04 kills per game average and repeated as the MIVA Player of the Year. Jaeschke was also named on Friday the 2015 Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Server of the Year after leading the conference with a 0.58 aces per game average. Along with Jaeschke, Lewis middle attacker Bobby Walsh received a national award this week as he was named the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. national Blocker of the Year. Lewis all-conference outside attacker Greg Petty is in the conference’s top five averaging 3.41 kills per game, including having a season-high 21 kills in a four-game victory against the Ramblers in March. In addition, All-American outside attacker Geoff Powell led Lewis with 14 kills in their most recent win versus Loyola in April.
MPSF TOURNAMENT FINALS
No. 1 seed UC Irvine (27-4, 20-3 MPSF) vs. No. 3 seed Pepperdine (23-5, 17-5 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Irvine, California
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
Season series: Tied at 1-1
Last MPSF Tournament title: UC Irvine (2012); Pepperdine (2005)
What to know: Pepperdine hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament all comes down to its match against UC Irvine in the MPSF Tournament championship match. The Waves enter Conference Championship Friday projected to not receive an at-large bid and need to win the conference title to make the NCAA Tournament field, according to the latest Off the Block bracketology. Pepperdine advanced to the MPSF Tournament finals after overcoming a one-game deficit to beat Hawai’i in the semifinals on Thursday. All-American outside attacker Josh Taylor had a match-high 22 kills on a .417 attack percentage in the victory. UC Irvine reached the conference finals for the first time since 2012 after surviving an upset scare and beating USC in five games in the semifinals. This championship match will also feature two of the top offensive players in the nation. UC Irvine opposite Zack La Cavera, the 2015 MPSF Player of the Year, was second in the conference with a 3.73 kills per game average and had a match-high 25 kills in the semifinals victory. In addition, Pepperdine opposite Parker Kalmbach had a conference-high 4.10 kills per game average and won the Bryan Ivie Award as the nation’s top opposite.