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The weekend can get hectic during the college men’s volleyball season. 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. Long Beach shuts down UCLA — No. 1/1 Long Beach State held No. 2/2 UCLA to a season-low .191 attack percentage in a four-game non-conference victory between the top-two ranked teams in the nation. All-American setter Josh Tuaniga guided the 49ers to a .343 attack percentage and was serving when Long Beach State went on an 8-0 run to erase 18-15 deficit in the fourth game. In addition, All-American outside attacker TJ DeFalco led all players with 17 kills, 12 digs and five blocks against the Bruins.
2. Ball State bounces back — Ball State ended its two-match conference losing streak with two victories against top-10 ranked teams as it swept No. 8/8 Lewis on Friday and beat No. 6/6 Loyola in four games on Saturday. Outside attacker Mitch Weiler in the two home victories had a combined 26 kills and had season-high 12 digs against the Ramblers.
3. Jasper delivers upset for Stanford — Freshman opposite Jaylen Jasper had a season-high 20 kills on a .633 attack percentage to help Stanford upset No. 10/10 Grand Canyon in four games on Saturday. The conference road victory was the Cardinal’s first win against a top-10 ranked team this season and ended a three-match losing streak.
4. Bedlam in the rankings — Five of the top-10 nationally ranked teams lost last week — No. 2/2 UCLA, No. 4/4 UC Irvine, No. 6/6 Loyola, No. 8/8 Lewis and No. 10/10 Grand Canyon. These loses came after there was zero movement last week in the top 10 of the national coaches poll and national media poll. The new coaches poll will be released Monday afternoon, while the new media poll will be unveiled Tuesday morning on the Off the Block website.
5. Mount Olive still perfect in ConfCarolinas — All-conference opposite Robert Poole had a match-high 15 kills on .462 attack percentage to help Mount Olive sweep Belmont Abbey on Friday. With this victory, Mount Olive remains undefeated in conference play and tied with Barton and King for first place in the conference.