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Check out the five things to take away from the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball matches this weekend.
Stanford atop MPSF — No. 3/3 Stanford finished with a .432 attack percentage as it swept No. 10/10 Pepperdine to extend its winning streak to nine matches and move into sole possession of first place in the MPSF. This is the fourth time in the last five matches that the Cardinal hit at least .400 In addition, middle attackers Conrad Kaminski and Kevin Rakestraw each had eight kills, more than a .500 attack percentage and five blocks in the victory.
Szerszen lifts Ohio State into first place — Outside attacker Nicholas Szerszen led Ohio State with a combined 29 kills and six aces in home conference victories against No. 11 Loyola and No. 13 Lewis this weekend. Szerszen now has at least 15 kills in all but three matches during the Buckeyes’ seven-match winning streak. Ohio State also moved into sole possession of first place in the MIVA on Saturday after No. 9/7 Ball State lost to Grand Canyon.
Penn State stumbles at home — The nation’s longest winning streak ended as No. 6/5 Penn State at home lost to both No. 12 CSUN and No. 1/1 Long Beach State in four games during the weekend. With these losses, the Nittany Lions are now 1-3 against the MPSF this season. Long Beach State outside attacker TJ DeFalco also had a match-high 21 kills on a .410 attack percentage in the non-conference win versus Penn State.
UC Irvine remains in postseason contention — No. 14 UC Irvine despite blowing a two-game lead rebounded to beat last-place UC San Diego in five games on Saturday. The Anteaters defeated the Tritons on back-to-back nights to move into ninth place in the MPSF and a match behind eight-place Hawai’i for the final berth to the conference tournament.
Hot streak continues for Erskine’s Michelau — All-conference outside attacker Mike Michelau finished with a match-high 25 kills on a .455 attack percentage as Erskine defeated Coker in four games on Friday. This was the third match in a four-day span that Michelau had more than 20 kills and a .300 attack percentage.