Ohio State rallies to win fourth straight MIVA title, advances to Final Four

Ohio State was able to overcome an early deficit to win its record fourth consecutive conference title and advance to the Final Four.

Ohio State defeated Loyola 21-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-17 in the MIVA Tournament championship match on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, to receive conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
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Penn State wins EIVA championship, gets automatic bid to Final Four

Penn State will play in the Final Four that the school is hosting next week.

Penn State swept Springfield College 25-17, 25-14, 26-24 in the EIVA Tournament championship on Saturday in University Park, Pa., to receive the conference’s automatic bid to the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament for the 13th consecutive season.
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Conference championship men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

After four months of conference matches, it comes down to tonight to determine who gets the three automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament.

The EIVA, MIVA and MPSF championship matches will be play tonight with the winners advance to the Final Four next week. While all the No. 1 seeds remain in the three tournaments, several teams are looking to crash the Final Four, including Loyola and UC Santa Barbara.

Check out the conference tournament championship matches to follow tonight.
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Men’s volleyball bracketology: conference championship matches implications

It’s the weekend of selection Sunday and it remains unclear on who will be the men’s volleyball teams in the Final Four.

The EIVA, MIVA and MPSF conference championships matches on Saturday will make the four-team field for the NCAA Tournament clearer entering selection Sunday. However with the winner of these conference title matches receiving automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament, there are still numerous scenarios that could effect this year’s bracket.

Check out the potential implications each conference tournament could have on the bracket if either team wins.
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AVCA releases 2011 men’s volleyball All-American teams

The American Volleyball Coaches Association announced its men’s volleyball Division I-II All-American teams on Thursday.

USC led all teams with three All-American selections — two First-Team All-Americans and a Second-Team All-American.

The Trojans became the first team in 16 years to be ranked No. 1 from the preseason through the end of the regular season. All six of its starters also received all-conference accolades last week.

Along with USC, Penn State and BYU had three All-American selections. The Nittany Lions and Cougars both had a First-Team All-American and two Second-Team All-Americans.

UC Santa Barbara, Stanford and UC Irvine all had two players named All-Americans.

A voting committee comprised of nine men’s volleyball coaches selected the All-American teams. The committee included Penn State coach Mark Pavlik, George Mason coach Fred Chao, Loyola coach Shane Davis, USC coach Bill Ferguson, Lewis coach Dan Friend, Stanford coach John Kotsy, UC Santa Barbara coach UC Santa Barbara, St. Francis coach Mike Rumbaugh and Ball State coach Joel Walton.

Check out the players who received All-American honors this year.
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Conference tournament men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

From coast to coast the men’s volleyball conference tournaments are in full swing tonight.

Penn State on the East Coast looks to move one win closer to clinching its 13th consecutive EIVA title and a spot in the Final Four. In addition, the two Cinderellas of the West Coast, Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara, play with a chance to advance to the MPSF Tournament championship match.

The winners of these semifinals matches tonight will play in their conference tournament championship match Saturday.

Check out the conference tournament matches to follow tonight.
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Volleyball committee chairman says race tight for at-large bid to NCAA Tournament

Expect discussions to continue for the rest of this week about who should get the lone at-large bid to the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament.

NCAA volleyball committee chairman Bob Krimmel said Monday that this has the potential to be one of the closest races he can recall to determine the at-large bid and seeding for the NCAA Tournament.
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BYU middle attacker Tavana wins Blocker of the Year award

A nationwide voting committee selected BYU middle attacker Futi Tavana as the inaugural winner of the Off the Block Blocker of the Year.

The Off the Block Blocker of the Year award is given to the nation’s best front-row defensive men’s volleyball player during the regular season.

Tavana leads the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and is second in the nation with a 1.50 blocks per game average. The junior also has a nation-best 160 total blocks this season. Tavana was a 2010 All-American after switching positions from outside attacker to middle attacker before the start of that season.
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Conference tournament men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

The madness of April is officially upon us.

Nine of the 10 conference tournament quarterfinal matches in the EIVA, MIVA and MPSF will be played tonight with the winners advancing to the semifinals while the losers’ seasons will likely be finished. These postseason matches to also feature eight of the top 10 ranked teams, including No. 2 BYU and No. 3 Stanford who are battling for the lone at-large bid to the Final Four.

Check out the conference tournament matches to follow tonight.
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