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Check out all the postseason matches today involving NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams and how to follow them live.
MPSF TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
No. 1 seed BYU (22-3, 19-3 MPSF) vs. No. 8 seed UC Irvine (10-19, 7-15 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Saturday in Provo, Utah
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets, TV (BYUtv)
Season series: BYU leads 2-0
Last MPSF Tournament title: BYU (2014); UC Irvine (2015)
What to know: For all of No. 1/1 BYU’s home court advantages in recent years, No. 14 UC Irvine has been one of the few teams not phased by Smith Fieldhouse. BYU will open the postseason playing host to UC Irvine in the first meeting between the two teams at Smith Fieldhouse since last season’s series when the Anteaters ended the Cougars’ 36-match home winning streak. The Cougars finished the regular season 10-2 at Smith Fieldhouse and won their third MPSF regular season championship in the last four years. In addition, BYU is 19-2 all-time at home during the postseason with its last home loss coming in 2011. The defending-MPSF champions UC Irvine won two of its last three matches to help it clinch the final postseason berth on the last day of the regular season. This MPSF Tournament quarterfinal match will feature two of the top offensive players in the nation. BYU All-American opposite Ben Patch is sixth in the nation with a 4.31 kills per game average. The sophomore also had a combined 33 kills and three attack errors while hitting .555 in the Cougars’ two regular season sweeps against the Anteaters. All-American Outside attacker Tamir Hershko returned to the court two weeks ago for UC Irvine after missing almost two months with an injury. Hershko had a match-high 14 kills on a .458 attack percentage to help UC Irvine sweep No. 13 CSUN last week and remain in postseason contention. One roster change, though, since BYU and UC Irvine last meet in January is Michael Seata moving from setter to opposite for Anteaters. Seata has at least 15 kills in five matches since the midseason postseason change.
No. 2 seed UCLA (23-5, 17-5 MPSF) vs. No. 7 seed Hawai’i (16-11, 11-11 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Los Angeles
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
Season series: Tied 1-1
Last MPSF Tournament title: UCLA (2006); Hawai’i (never)
What to know: No. 3/3 UCLA can further solidify its claim to a possible NCAA Tournament at-large bid if it wins its home MPSF Tournament quarterfinals match against No. 8/8 Hawai’i. The Bruins are projected to earn the No. 3 seed for the NCAA Tournament, according to the latest Off the Block bracketology. However, the gap remains narrow among UCLA, No. 4/5 Long Beach State and No. 5/4 Stanford for a possible at-large bid. UCLA running its 6-2 offense ended the regular season sixth in the nation with a .309 attack percentage, including hitting .337 in a five-game victory against Hawai’i in February. The Rainbow Warriors, though, also held the Bruins to a season-low .138 attack percentage to win the last meeting between the two teams. All-MPSF setter Micah Ma’a in the two regular season matches led the Bruins with a combined 27 kills. In addition, all-conference middle attacker Mitch Stahl had a season-high 11 blocks in the victory against Hawai’i and is fifth in the nation with a 1.25 blocks per game average. The Rainbow Warriors are attempting to win their first postseason road match since 2001. All-MPSF outside attacker Sinisa Zarkovic leads Hawai’i and is eighth in the nation with a 4.07 kills per game average. Freshman opposite Stijn Van Tilburg is also among the MPSF leaders averaging 3.32 kills per game, including having a match-high 21 kills in the victory against the Bruins.
No. 3 seed Long Beach State (23-6, 17-5 MPSF) vs. No. 6 seed Pepperdine (13-10, 12-10 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Saturday in Long Beach, California
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
Season series: Long Beach State leads 2-0
Last MPSF Tournament title: Long Beach State (never); Pepperdine (2005)
What to know: The freshman class that helped turn No. 4/5 Long Beach State in a MPSF title contender will now get its first experience of the MPSF Tournament. Long Beach State will have its first postseason home match in three years as it plays host to No. 7/7 Pepperdine in the conference tournament quarterfinals. The 49ers enter the postseason after having three starting freshmen earn all-conference honors earlier this week, including outside attacker TJ DeFalco who was named the 2016 MPSF Freshman of the Year. DeFalco ended the regular season second in the MPSF and seventh in the nation with a 4.28 kills per game average. The freshman also had a combined 40 kills in both of Long Beach State’s regular season victories versus Pepperdine. Along with DeFalco, freshman outside attacker Kyle Ensing had a season-high 27 kills in the five-game road victory against the Waves on March 31 that clinched home court advantage in the MPSF Tournament quarterfinals. Freshman all-conference setter Josh Tuaniga also
guided Long Beach State’s offense above its season average .331 attack percentage, fourth best in the nation, in both regular season wins against Pepperdine. The Waves are trying to reach the MPSF Tournament semifinals for the third consecutive season but ended the regular season losing three of its last four matches. All-MPSF opposite Matt Tarnatino is in the nation’s top 10 with a 3.94 kills per game average and had a career-high 24 kills in a victory against CSUN earlier this month. In addition, middle attacker Tommy Carmody is third in the nation with a 1.45 blocks per game average.
No. 4 seed Stanford (19-5, 17-5 MPSF) vs. No. 5 seed UC Santa Barbara (21-9, 14-8 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Saturday in Stanford, California
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
Season series: Tied 1-1
Last MPSF Tournament title: Stanford (2010); UC Santa Barbara (2011)
What to know: One of the top setters in the nation will have their college career end tonight as No. 5/4 Stanford plays host to No. 6/6 UC Santa Barbara in the MPSF Tournament quarterfinals. All-American senior setter James Shaw begins his final postseason run after earlier this week becoming the first setter in almost a decade to earn the MPSF Player of the Year. Shaw led the Cardinal offense during the regular season to the nation’s third best attack percentage at .334 and was among the nation’s leaders with a 10.06 assists per game average. The 2014 Lloy Ball Award finalist also added a combined 11 kills and six blocks in the team’s two regular season matches against UC Santa Barbara. All-American setter John Seif in his senior season led the Gauchos to a .293 attack percentage and was among the nation’s leaders for setters with both a 1.76 digs per game average and 68 blocks. The senior also had a match-high 10 digs and helped UC Santa Barbara hit .360 in its regular-season finale victory against Stanford last week. This will be the first postseason meeting between the two teams since 1996. In addition, the Cardinal has not lost a conference tournament home match since 2011.
MIVA TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
No. 3 seed Ball State (20-8, 12-4 MIVA) vs. No. 6 seed McKendree (10-13, 5-11 MIVA)
Match vitals: 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Muncie, Indiana
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
Season series: Ball State leads 2-0
Last MIVA Tournament title: Ball State (2002); McKendree (never)
CONFERENCE CAROLINAS TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
No. 1 seed Erskine (18-6, 15-3 CC) vs. No. 8 seed King (8-23, 5-13 CC)
Match vitals: 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Due West, South Carolina
Follow live: Live stats, Online video
Season series: Erskine leads 2-0
Last CC Tournament title: Erskine (2014); King (never)
No. 2 seed Pfeiffer (15-7, 15-3 CC) vs. No. 7 seed Limestone (10-14, 6-12 CC)
Match vitals: 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Missenheimer, North Carolina
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
Season series: Pfeiffer leads 2-0
Last CC Tournament title: Pfeiffer (2015); Limestone (never)
No. 3 seed Barton (20-6, 14-4 CC) vs. No. 6 seed North Greenville (11-13, 7-11 CC)
Match vitals: 6:30 p.m. in Wilson, North Carolina
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
Season series: Barton leads 2-0
Last CC Tournament title: Barton (never); North Greenville (never)
No. 4 seed Belmont Abbey (16-10, 11-7 CC) vs. No. 5 seed Mount Olive (12-11, 11-7 CC)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Belmont, North Carolina
Follow live: Online video
Season series: Tied 1-1
Last CC Tournament title: Belmont Abbey (never); Mount Olive (2011)
EIVA REGULAR SEASON MATCHES
Harvard (12-10, 8-5 EIVA) vs. NJIT (8-17, 7-6 EIVA)
Match vitals: 4 p.m. in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Follow live: Live stats
Sacred Heart (7-16, 5-8 EIVA) vs. Princeton (3-18, 3-10 EIVA)
Match vitals: 4 p.m. in Fairfield, Connecticut
Follow live: Live stats, In-match tweets
No. 9/10 Penn State (19-8, 12-1 EIVA) vs. George Mason (15-11, 9-4 EIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Fairfax, Virginia
Follow live: Live stats, In-match tweets
St. Francis (17-9, 8-5 EIVA) vs. Charleston (4-23, 0-13 EIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Charleston, West Virginia
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets