College - Off the Block

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 30, 2011September 23, 2011

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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April 29, 2011August 13, 2014

Men’s volleyball bracketology

With the conference tournament semifinals now complete and selection Sunday three days away, Off Block is releasing its most updated projections of the NCAA Tournament bracket.

The men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament is comprised of four teams. Automatic bids are awarded to the winners of the EIVA, MIVA and MPSF conference tournaments, and the NCAA Men’s Volleyball National Committee chooses one team for an at-large bid.
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April 29, 2011August 13, 2014

Deeper look at NCAA Tourney selection criteria after conference semifinals

Stanford and BYU can breath a sigh of relief.

With No. 1 USC defeating No. 4 UC Irvine to advance to the MPSF Tournament championship match on Thursday it means the lone at-large spot to the NCAA Tournament remains open.

Both BYU and Stanford losing in the first round of the conference tournament appeared to open the at-large bid to teams like UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara. However, a closer look at the NCAA selection committee criteria says otherwise.
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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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April 28, 2011September 19, 2011

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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April 27, 2011September 19, 2011

Conference tournament men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

The men’s volleyball spotlight returns to the Midwest tonight as the MIVA Tournament resumes.

The MIVA regular season champions Ohio State will play Lewis in the first semifinal match as the Buckeyes attempt to reach their fifth straight conference championship match. In addition, Quincy will look to pull off another upset as it plays the No. 2 seed Loyola in the second semifinals match.

The winner of these two semifinal matches will play each other in the MIVA championship match Saturday at the home court of the highest remaining seed.

Check out the conference tournament matches to follow tonight.
Continue reading “Conference tournament men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight”

April 25, 2011August 13, 2014

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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April 25, 2011September 23, 2011

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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April 24, 2011August 13, 2014

Men’s volleyball bracketology

With conference tournaments underway and the men’s volleyball Final Four weeks away, Off the Block will continue its weekly projected NCAA Tournament bracket.