Initial look at the EIVA, MIVA and MPSF semifinals matches

And then there were 12 teams left.

After the first round of the conference tournaments last weekend, the MPSF, MIVA and EIVA Tournaments will continue with semifinals matches later this week. Here is the initial look and the historical information you need to know about every conference tournament semifinals match.

MPSF TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS

No. 1 seed USC (23-4, 18-4 MPSF) vs. No. 4 seed UC Irvine (22-5, 17-5 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Thursday in Los Angeles
Season series: Tied at 1-1 (UC Irvine won in four games in January and USC won in four games in April)
Historical stats to know: USC since the formation of the MPSF for the 1993 season has only twice lost in the MPSF Tournament semifinals — when it made it that far in the tournament. UC Irvine is on a four match road losing streak against USC and has not won at the Galen Center since 2009.

No. 2 seed Stanford (21-6, 17-5 MPSF) vs. No. 3 seed BYU (24-6, 17-5 MPSF)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. Thursday in Los Angeles
Season series: Stanford leads BYU 2-0 (Stanford won in four games and three games in February)
Historical stats to know: The only other time Stanford and BYU meet in the MPSF Tournament semifinals was in 1997 — a match Stanford won in three games en route to the NCAA championship. BYU outside attacker Taylor Sander, who missed the two regular season matches against Stanford, is averaging 18.64 kills in a match when plays an opponent for the first time this season.

MIVA TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS

No. 1 seed Ohio State (20-8, 9-3 MIVA) vs. No. 5 seed Ball State (13-11, 5-7 MIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Wednesday in Columbus
Season series: Tied at 1-1 (Ohio Sate won in three games in February and Ball State won in five games in March)
Historical stats to know: Ohio State is on an eight match winning streak in the MIVA Tournament dating back to 2008 that includes three victories against Ball State. Ball Sate coach Joel Walton is 0-7 all-time against Ohio State in the MIVA tournament since becoming the Cardinals head coach in 1999.

No. 2 seed Lewis (24-6, 9-3 MIVA) vs. No. 3 seed Loyola (19-11, 8-4 MIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Wednesday in Romeoville, Ill.
Season series: Tied at 1-1 (Lewis won in three games in February and Loyola won in five games in March)
Historical stats to know: Lewis has lost in the MIVA Tournament semifinals the last four years, but was the lower seed for three of those matches. Loyola has defeated Lewis the only two other times they have meet in the MIVA Tournament since 2001, including in the 2010 MIVA Tournament semifinals.

EIVA TOURNAMENT

No. 1 seed Penn Sate (21-5, 14-0 EIVA) vs. No. 4 seed Princeton (13-9, 7-7 EIVA)
Match vitals: 7:30 p.m. Thursday in University Park, Pa.
Season series: Penn State leads 2-0 (won in three games in February and five games in March)
Historical stats to know: Penn State has won 13 consecutive EIVA Tournament championships and coach Mark Pavlik in his 18 years at Penn State has one loss in the EIVA Tournament. However, that only loss was against Princeton in the 1998 EIVA Tournament semifinals.

No. 2 seed Harvard (18-5, 10-4 EIVA) vs. No. 3 seed George Mason (12-16, 8-6 EIVA)
Match vitals: 5:30 p.m. Thursday in University Park, Pa.
Season series: Tied at 1-1 (George Mason won in three games in February and Harvard won in five games in March)
Historical stats to know: Harvard has never won an EIVA Tournament match in its program’s 22-year history but this will be the first time it will be the higher seed. George Mason the last three years has lost in the EIVA Tournament semifinals, including upset losses to Juniata and Springfield.