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March 9, 2011August 13, 2014

My men’s volleyball media poll ballot

The aftermath of No. 1 versus No. 2 resulted in little change to the men’s volleyball media poll.

USC remains the only team to be ranked No. 1 this season after winning both matches in five games against BYU during the weekend, while the Cougars stays at No. 2 following the road losses. Despite little change at the top, the bottom of the ranking saw some movement with UCLA jumping ahead of Penn State to No. 8 and Hawai’i breaking back into the top 10 after a one-week absence.

Check out this week’s top 10 men’s volleyball media poll and my ballot with explanations on why ranked each team where I did.
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March 8, 2011September 23, 2011

The top 5 men’s volleyball stories of the week

It’s your top five men’s volleyball story list, but with a twist.

Every Sunday during the men’s volleyball season I will post the top five best men’s volleyball stories of the week from around the nation. The list, though, is based more on how well the reporter wrote and covered the story rather than just what happened on the court.
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March 5, 2011September 19, 2011

Top 5 men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

Two of the three men’s volleyball conferences will have two of their top teams playing each other tonight.

No. 1 USC finishing its weekend series against No. 2 BYU in the MPSF still highlights all the matches today. The other match, though, that is for sole possession of first place is in the Midwest as No. 4 Ohio State and No. 10 Loyola play with both teams vying to become the first team to go undefeated in MIVA play since 1998.

Check out the top five men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight.
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March 4, 2011September 19, 2011

Top 5 men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

The men’s volleyball spotlight is once again focused brightly on Southern California tonight.

No. 1 USC and No. 2 BYU opening their two-match weekend series in Los Angeles highlights tonight’s schedule. Not to be overlooked, though, are two other matches in Southern California tonight between teams in top 10 national rankings, including No. 3 Stanford playing No. 7 UC Irvine.

Check out the top five men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight.
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March 4, 2011September 19, 2011

Q&A with USC coach Bill Ferguson

USC head coach Bill Ferguson could not have picked a better match to honor two former All-American Trojans.

On the same night the Trojans will retire the jerseys of Dusty Dvorak and Celso Kalache, No. 1 USC will play the finale of its two-match weekend series against No. 2 BYU — the first time this season the top two teams in the nation rankings will face each other.

Dvorak’s and Kalache’s jerseys will be retired in a post-match ceremony Saturday. Prior to this ceremony, the Trojans and Cougars will play the opener of their two-match series Friday night. USC enters this weekend series with the best record in the nation and has been No. 1 in the coaches and media poll since the preseason.

Off the Block conducted an interview earlier this week with Ferguson to discuss his team’s success in the first half of the season and the upcoming match between No. 1 and No. 2.
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March 3, 2011September 19, 2011

Q&A with BYU coach Rob Neilson

For the first time this season the top two ranked teams will be across the net from each other.

No. 2 BYU (13-4, 9-3 MPSF) will travel to play No. 1 USC (13-1, 13-1 MPSF) for a two-match series Friday and Saturday in Los Angeles. Both teams are in first and second place in the MPSF and have been the top ranked teams in the coaches poll and media poll for multiple weeks.

In addition, the Cougars enter this weekend leading the nation with a 3.13 blocks per game average and have won nine of their last 10 conference matches.

Off the Block conducted an interview earlier this week with BYU interim head coach Rob Neilson to discuss his team’s success in the first half of the season and the upcoming match between No. 1 and No. 2.
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March 3, 2011September 19, 2011

What to know about recent No. 1 vs. No. 2 men’s volleyball matches

Consider it the NCAA halfway championship match.

The top two nationally ranked teams will play a two-match series this weekend in Los Angeles as USC and BYU remained No. 1 and No. 2 in the this week’s AVCA top 15 coaches poll and ASICS/Volleyball Magazine top 10 media poll.
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March 1, 2011August 13, 2014

My men’s volleyball media poll ballot

Sometimes change is not needed.

With no upsets and all the top 10 ranked teams winning matches, it made my job as a voter easy this week. For the first time in my three years of voting in the men’s volleyball media poll, I have submitted identical top 10 ballot on back-to-back weeks.
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February 27, 2011September 23, 2011

The top 5 men’s volleyball stories of the week

It’s your top five men’s volleyball story list, but with a twist.

February 26, 2011September 19, 2011

Top 5 men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

It is not as big as No. 1 USC playing No. 2 BYU next weekend, but there is definitely an appeal to tonight’s men’s volleyball matches.

All around the nation there is intrigue as two of the top five nationally ranked teams play each other in California, while No. 9 Penn State and George Mason meet in Virgina to play for sole possession of first place in the EIVA. In addition, off the court there is some intrigue on whether a MIVA coach will continue to bench his former All-American middle attacker.

Check out the top five men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight.
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