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The weekend can get a lot hectic during the college men’s volleyball. That’s why Off the Block is providing the top five things to take away from all the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball matches this weekend.
1. UC Irvine sweeps BYU — Opposite Karl Apfelbach had a combined 40 kills in No. 6/5 UC Irvine’s two-match non-conference series sweep against No. 5/3 BYU, including a career-high 25 kills and six aces in the series opener on Friday. In addition, freshman outside attacker Joel Scheidmiller had a match-high 19 kills while hitting .424 to help UC Irvine beat BYU in five games in the series finale on Saturday.
2. Spectacular Ma’a play leads to UCLA overtime win — With No. 2/2 UCLA and No. 3/4 Hawai’i tied at 30 in a fourth-game overtime, UCLA recorded a kill after UCLA All-American setter Micah Ma’a dived into press row on the other side of the net to set a wayward pass. The Bruins then immediately followed that play with match-winning ace to beat undefeated Hawai’i and avoid the series sweep. UCLA, two days after losing the series opener in front of a ruckus road crowd of 4,748 people had Ma’a guide its offense to a .396 attack percentage in the non-conference win.
3. Ohio State offense steamrolls Penn State — No. 3/5 Ohio State finished with a season-best .480 attack percentage as it swept No. 8/8 Penn State on Sunday. Freshman opposite Jake Hanes in the victory led all players with 16 kills, while outside attacker Maxime Hervoir added 10 kills and hit .471.
4. Healthy Pepperdine dominant at Uvaldo Acosta Invitational — Pepperdine all-conference outside attacker David Wieczorek returning to the court after missing the season’s first three matches finished with both a match-high 14 kills and two aces in a road sweep against George Mason on Friday. In addition, Wieczorek led all players with 15 kills as Pepperdine hit a season-high .415 in a four-game victory versus No. 14 Ball State on Saturday.
5. Long Beach State busy sweeping — No. 1/1 Long Beach State swept both Stanford and No. 13 USC during the weekend to extend its streak to six consecutive three-game victories. The 49ers hit more than .400 in both their wins and close out the first month of the season having won all but one game. In addition, Long Beach State, Charleston and Fort Wayne remount he only undefeated teams left in the nation.