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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.
MIVA TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
No. 1 seed Ohio State (28-2, 16-0 MIVA) vs. No. 4 seed Ball State (19-9, 9-7 MIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
Season series: Ohio State leads 2-0
Last MIVA Tournament title: Ohio State (2016); Ball State (2002)
What to know: No. 2/2 Ohio State may be on a nation-best 33-match conference winning streak dating back to last season, but No. 11 Ball State was the last MIVA team to defeat the defending NCAA champions. The only problem for the Cardinals, though, is several of their starters were not alive the last time they beat the Buckeyes in the postseason. Ball State will attempt to end its nine-match postseason losing streak to Ohio State dating back to 1997 as the two oldest Midwest rivals in college volleyball meet in the MIVA Tournament semifinals. Ohio State finished the regular season undefeated in conference play, and it never trailed in a conference tournament quarterfinals sweep against Quincy. The Buckeyes lead the MIVA and are second in the nation with a .369 attack percentage, including hitting more than .400 in both their regular season victories against the Cardinals. All-MIVA opposite Miles Johnson also led all players with a combined 31 kills on a .571 attack percentage in the two previous meetings this season. Outside attacker Nicolas Szerszen, the 2017 MIVA Player of the Year, had a combined eight aces versus Ball State. Szerszen entered this week with a nation-best 0.64 aces per game average. Ball State is fifth in the nation with a 2.48 blocks per game average and has double-digit blocks in four of its last season matches. However, the Cardinals were held to a season-low zero blocks the last time they played the Buckeyes. One change to the Ball State starting lineup since that meeting is the addition of freshman outside attacker Blake Reardon. Reardon has double-digit kills in two of his three starts, including a team-high 11 kills in the four-game quarterfinals victory against No. 12 Loyola. Along with Reardon, All-MIVA middle attacker Matt Walsh leads the nation with a .442 attack percentage and is sixth in the nation averaging 1.19 blocks per game.
No. 2 seed Lewis (23-6, 13-3 MIVA) vs. >No. 3 seed Grand Canyon (18-10, 11-5 MIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Romeoville, Illinois
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
Season series: Tied at 1-1
Last MIVA Tournament title: Lewis (2012); Grand Canyon (never)
What to know: No one needs to remind No. 7/7 Lewis what happened in its last meeting against No. 14 Grand Canyon. The Flyers and Antelopes’ conference semifinal match-up will be the first meeting between the two teams since Grand Canyon upset Lewis in January. Setter Michael Milstein in that five-game home victory guided the Antelopes’ to a .366 attack percentage — their second highest offensive efficiency during the conference regular season. It also was one of the first times in the program’s history that Grand Canyon defeated a top-10 nationally ranked team. Lewis is on a six-match winning streak, including avoiding an upset to beat Lindenwood in five games in the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday. All-MIVA middle attacker Jacob Schmiegelt in the postseason victory had a season-high five aces and from the service line led the Flyers to a 6-0 run as they rallied from a 23-19 deficit to win the opening game. Schmiegelt also is fifth in the conference with a 1.03 blocks per game average and had a combined 13 blocks in the early-season two-match series against Grand Canyon. In addition, All-MIVA outside attacker Ryan Coenen is fifth in the conference averaging 3.24 kills per game. The 2017 Co-MIVA Freshman of the Year also had a match-high 20 kills in his postseason debut against Lindenwood. Grand Canyon reached the conference tournament semifinals for the second time in its program history following a four-game victory against McKendree on Saturday. Opposite Matthew Kinnebrew finished with a match-high 15 kills on a .565 attack percentage. In addition, Kinnebrew led Grand Canyon with 17 kills while hitting .452 in the regular season upset victory versus Lewis.