EIVA - Off the Block

May 24, 2011September 23, 2011

NCAA penalizes Rutgers-Newark with scholarship reduction for low APR score

For the second conseuctive seaosn, Rutgers-Newark will lose almost half a scholarship because of its Academic Progress Rate score.

The Scarlet Raiders were penalized a 0.43 scholarship reduction after scoring a 892 out of a possible 1,000 points in the annual APR report that the NCAA released Tuesday.

The APR measures a team’s academic scholastic performance during a four-year period based on the retention and eligibility of each athlete on scholarship. Teams with less than 925 score have the potential to receive NCAA penalties ranging from losing scholarships to a reduction in practice time.
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May 12, 2011August 13, 2014

Nittany Lions coach Pavlik says hosting NCAA Tournament success for Penn State

Penn State did not win the national championship, but off the court the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament was a success.

Nittany Lions coach Mark Pavlik said Monday that he was extremely happy with the job the Penn State athletics department did at hosting the four-team NCAA Tournament last week.

“Everything they could do to positively impact the event they did, and everything they did it was to give the student athletes the best possible experience,” he said. “I really believed the guys walked out of the gym saying this is what the national championship should be. I really tip my hats off to their efforts, working with USA Volleyball and making it a celebration of men’s and boy’s volleyball.”
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May 6, 2011August 13, 2014

Final Four live chat: No. 2 seed Penn State vs. No. 3 seed Ohio State

Off the Block will be providing live coverage to the NCAA Tournament semifinals match between the No. 2 seed Penn State and the No. 3 seed Ohio State.

Penn State (24-6, 10-0 EIVA) is playing in its 13th consecutive Final Four and is attempting to become the 12th team in men’s volleyball history to win a national championship when it is also hosting the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State (24-6, 11-1 MIVA) defeated Loyola on Saturday in the MIVA championship match to advance to the Final Four and became the first MIVA team to win four straight conference titles since Ball State in the 1960s.

The match starts at 9:20 p.m. (EST). Check out the live chat below for instant updates and to interact with other fans or pose questions for Off the Block to answer.
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May 5, 2011August 13, 2014

Men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament semifinal matches to follow tonight

After more than four months and 400 matches, determining the two teams in the national championship will come down to one night and two matches.

The No. 1 seed USC will try to reach its second national championship match in three years as it plays the No. 4 seed UC Santa Barbara in the opening NCAA semifinals match at 7 p.m. Thursday in University Park, Pa. In addition, the No. 2 seed Penn State, which is hosting the NCAA Tournament, and the No. 3 seed Ohio State will renew one of the oldest men’s volleyball rivals in the other NCAA semifinals match at 9 p.m. Thursday.

Check the NCAA Tournament matches to follow tonight.
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May 4, 2011August 13, 2014

Q&A with Penn State at the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament

Penn State coach Mark Pavlik along with outside attacker Joe Sunder, setter Edgardo Goas and libero Dennis Del Valle conducted a news conference Wednesday heading into their NCAA Tournament match.

The No. 2 seed Penn State will play the No. 3 seed Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament semifinals at 9 p.m. Thursday. The Final Four is this year is also being held on the Nittany Lions’ home year.

View an abridged version of the news conference below. Continue reading “Q&A with Penn State at the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament”

May 1, 2011August 13, 2014

NCAA volleyball chairman discusses tournament seeding

UC Santa Barbara being the No. 4 seed was a simple matter of the numbers for NCAA men’s volleyball committee chairman Bob Krimmel.

The NCAA released its four-team men’s volleyball championship tournament bracket Sunday pitting UC Santa Barbara against the No. 1 seed USC in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Thursday. It’s one of the few times in the tournament’s 41-year history that two West Coast schools will play each other in the opening round.
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May 1, 2011August 13, 2014

Initial look at the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament semifinals

After four months of regular season matches and conference tournaments, the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament is upon us.

The NCAA announced the four-team tournament field and semifinals pairings Sunday afternoon. Here is an initial look and historical information you need to know heading into the NCAA Tournament semifinals on Thursday at Penn State.
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May 1, 2011September 4, 2014

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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April 30, 2011September 19, 2011

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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April 28, 2011September 23, 2011

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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