College - Off the Block

February 12, 2011September 19, 2011

Scraping the wreckage of a historical upset Friday

The oddity of Friday night may be a first in the 41-year history of NCAA men’s volleyball.

All of the top five ranked teams in the ASICS/Volleyball Magazine Men’s Division I-II Media Poll — No. 1 USC, No. 2 Long Beach State, No. 3 BYU, No. 4 Stanford and No. 5 UCLA — lost Friday.

With a majority of the top 10 nationally ranked teams being in the MPSF, it is not unusual for one or two of the top five teams to lose a match during a weekend. However, I can never recall or find another incense when all five of the top ranked teams lost in a single day.
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February 10, 2011September 19, 2011

Q&A with Long Beach State coach Andy Read

One of the biggest surprise teams this season has been No. 2 Long Beach State — just don’t tell that to any of the 49er players or coaching staff.

After being projected in the preseason poll to finish the MPSF in ninth place, Long Beach State (6-3, 5-1 MPSF) is in second place in the conference and swept the defending NCAA champions Stanford in its most recent match. That victory also extended the 49ers’ winning streak to four matches.

The early season success has surprised most people, except for 49ers interim head coach Andy Read and his players.

Following a bye week and with Long Beach State preparing for its match against Cal State Northridge on Friday, Off the Block conducted an interview with Read to discuss the team’s recent success.
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February 9, 2011October 1, 2011

My men’s volleyball media poll ballot

There isn’t a whole lot of question about who are the top four teams. USC, Stanford, BYU and Long Beach State have clearly established themselves as the four best teams in the nation during the first month of the season.

However, the question who are the other six teams remains unsettled.

Some teams such as a Ohio State have shown significant improvement since the start of the season, while teams like UCLA have struggled in recent weeks. These streaks continue to create a fluid voting ballot with the final few slots every week in the ballot feeling like a revolving door of teams.

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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February 5, 2011September 19, 2011

Top 5 men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

It’s not often that MPSF schools travel outside the West Coast.

However, this weekend four MPSF schools have traveled to the Midwest and East Coast to play in non-conference matches against EIVA and MIVA teams. This is by far the best non-conference weekend of the season with matches ranging from three nationally ranked teams meeting up in University Park, Pa., to No. 4 Stanford playing Loyola in the dreadful Alumni Gym where numerous road teams have struggled in recent years.

Check out the top five men’s volleyball matches you need to follow tonight.
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February 2, 2011August 13, 2014

Q&A with Penn State coach Mark Pavlik

For the first time in five years, the No. 7 Penn State men’s volleyball team will play a regular season home match against a team from the MPSF.

The Nittany Lions will play No. 8 UC Irvine at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Cal State Northridge at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. In addition, No. 9 Ohio State will travel to University Park, Pa., this weekend to play these two West Coast teams at Rec Hall.

Penn State (6-1, 2-0 EIVA) traditionally travels to the West Coast twice per season to play top ranked MPSF schools. However, UC Irvine and Cal State Northridge this weekend will become the first MPSF teams since Long Beach State in 2006 to play a regular season match at Penn State.

Off the Block conducted an interview with Penn State coach Mark Pavlik earlier this week to discuss the upcoming home matches this weekend.
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February 1, 2011August 13, 2014

My men’s volleyball media poll ballot

There are some weeks when you wish your ballot was larger to include more teams, and than there are some weeks like this one when you just can’t seem to find 10 teams who deserve to be in the top 10.

The top teams in the nation have quickly emerged. USC is unanimously the best team in the country both on the court and in the media and coaches polls. In addition, Long Beach State, Stanford, BYU and UCLA have separated themselves as top tier teams in the MPSF, while Penn State remains the best team east of the Mississippi River.

Everyone else still has a lot left to prove to be considered an elite team this season.
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January 30, 2011September 19, 2011

Final 2 spots on my media poll ballot this week leaves room for debate

It’s about 1 a.m. Sunday and I’m sitting at my computer desk, shaking my head with all the match results now in for the weekend.

The top eight spots are set for my voting ballot this week in the ASICS/Volleyball Magazine Men’s Division I-II Media Poll. It’s the final two spots that have me pondering late into the night as I get ready to go to sleep.

Parity doesn’t make it easy for a poll voter and I have about five teams who could move into my top 10 ballot this week.
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January 28, 2011September 19, 2011

The top 5 matches to follow this weekend

The rivalry match in Los Angeles between No. 1 USC and No. 4 UCLA is by far the biggest match of the weekend. However, there are several other intriguing matches all around the country that have big implications on the conference standings and national rankings. Check out the top five matches you need to keep an eye on during the next few days before you start your weekend.
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January 27, 2011August 13, 2014

My men’s volleyball media poll ballot

Well it took a bunch of hours going over box scores, game articles and videos, but I finally have my first ballot of the year for the ASICS/Volleyball Magazine Men’s Division I-II Media Poll.

The first few weeks are always a little bit difficult to rank because you are still balancing preseason expectations with how the team is actually playing and who it has beat. Some teams like USC and Stanford have lived up to the preseason hype setting themselves above everyone else. While other teams like UC Irvine and Hawai’i are beginning to play well after horrific starts.

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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January 22, 2011August 13, 2014

My media poll voting philosophy

I received an e-mail earlier this week inviting me to vote this season’s ASICS/VBM Men’s Division I-II Media Poll.

The weekly poll is comprised of 11 voters, and this is my third season to get the opportunity to vote in this national poll. The men’s volleyball media poll is also a little more exclusive than other polls because it’s only a top 10. In comparison, the American Volleyball Coaches Association coaches poll is a top 15.

The top 10 media poll is released every Tuesday evening during the regular season. Once the media poll is made public, I plan every week to release how I voted on this blog.

As I am currently going over stat sheets and match results to create my first media poll ballot of the year, I thought I would explain my voting philosophy.

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