UCLA rebounds from early upset scare to beat Harvard

Photo by Jonathan Bates.

UCLA coach John Speraw leading up the NCAA Tournament called his offense a work in progress that could initially struggle in its opening-round match because of the 10-day layoff since the conference tournament.

The Hall of Famer was onto something.

UCLA had to rally from an opening-game loss to defeat the EIVA champions Harvard 23-25, 25-21, 25-11, 25-21 on Tuesday in Los Angeles to advance to the VolleyFour. Continue reading “UCLA rebounds from early upset scare to beat Harvard”

Bracketology: Team comparisons using selection committee criteria

All the matches are done, and now it’s up left to the NCAA men’s volleyball committee to determine the NCAA Tournament field.

Off the Block has crunched the numbers using the same criteria as the selection committee to show how the top teams in the nation fare against each other in the race for the two at-large bids and NCAA Tournament seeding. Continue reading “Bracketology: Team comparisons using selection committee criteria”

Wicked Awesome! Harvard beats Princeton to win EIVA championship

Photo courtesy of Harvard athletics.

The first EIVA Tournament finals between two Ivy League schools featured no lack of offense.

Harvard running its 6-2 offense finished with a .403 attack percentage as it defeated Princeton 25-20, 26-24, 17-25, 25-23 on Saturday in Fairfax, Virginia, to win its first EIVA championship and NCAA Tournament berth in program history. Continue reading “Wicked Awesome! Harvard beats Princeton to win EIVA championship”