The Place for College Men's Volleyball
Rematch is the theme of tonight
All of the top five nationally ranked men’s volleyball teams are in action tonight, with three of them playing teams who they have previously defeated this season. However, as this season has already proved sometimes the most difficult thing to do is defeat a team multiple times in the same year.
Check out the top five men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight.
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What a difference a year makes deciding who is No. 1 in the rankings.
For most of last season there was a revolving door at the No. 1 spot with three teams having the top ranking by late February. However, this season USC has maintained the No. 1 spot since the preseason and is receiving all but one first-place vote in the coaches and media poll for the second consecutive week.
Continue reading “My men’s volleyball media poll ballot”
After two weeks of teams primarily playing non-conference matches, the conference season has returned in full force this weekend.
Already two of the top five teams have lost this week and three more of the top-five teams have conference matches tonight. In addition, tonight features No. 5 Ohio State and Ball State renewing the oldest Midwest men’s volleyball rivalry and two conference leaders playing each other in one of the few non-conference matches.
Check out the top five men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight.
Continue reading “Top 5 men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight”
Everyone in the top five of the national rankings picked a good week to lose.
For the first time in NCAA men’s volleyball history, all five of the top ranked teams Friday lost on a single night. It was one of the biggest oddities in my time covering men’s volleyball and created an interesting situation for this week’s poll.
Continue reading “My men’s volleyball media poll ballot”
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.
Continue reading “Scraping the wreckage of a historical upset Friday”
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.
Continue reading “Q&A with Long Beach State coach Andy Read”
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.
Continue reading “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.
Continue reading “My men’s volleyball media poll ballot”
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.
Continue reading “The top 5 matches to follow this weekend”
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.
Continue reading “My men’s volleyball media poll ballot”
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