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School records being set and teams expanding winning streaks to double-digits were among the highlights of the weekend.
Check out the five things to take away from this weekend in college men’s volleyball.
1. Hawai’i falls short vs. USC — Opposite Tanner Jansen had a match-high 13 kills to help No. 8 USC defeated No. 9 Hawai’i in three games on Saturday and complete the conference series sweep. The most memorable part of the match, though, was a near five-minute delay in the second game as Hawai’i coach Charlie Wade argued with officials that USC libero Henry Cassiday was in violation of NCAA rules because the player’s shorts were not the same color as the rest of the Trojans’ shorts.
2. Stanford sets school record in win — No. 10 Stanford set a rally-scoring era school record with 21.5 blocks in a sweep against No. 4 UC Santa Barbara on Friday. Middle attacker Conrad Kaminski led all players with eight blocks while the Cardinal held the Gauchos to a season-low .011 attack percentage. With this victory, Stanford also remains in sole possession of eighth place in the MPSF.
3. Penn State keeps winning at home — Penn State closed out its season-long 11-match homstand undefeated as it swept Harvard on Saturday. This victory extended the Nittany Lions’ winning streak to a nation-best 12 matches and moved the team into sole possession of first place in the EIVA. In addition, Penn State has swept in its last six matches and dropped three games throughout the entire homestand.
4. Loyola stays perfect in MIVA — No. 1 Loyola defeated its conference rival IPFW in four games on Saturday to remain one of the two teams in the nation undefeated in conference play. Outside attacker Thomas Jaeschke also had a match-high four aces and 19 kills on a .514 attack percentage against the Mastodons to help the Ramblers extend their winning streak to 11 matches.
5. Princeton’s Kessel dominant in loss — Princeton outside attacker Cody Kessel led all players with a season-high 26 kills and a .553 attack percentage in a three-game loss to Concordia-Irvine at the Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic semifinals. Kessel also had a match-high 14 kills in a sweep against UC Santa Cruz in the third-place match on Saturday and was named to the All-Tournament Team.