Quick hits: 5 things to take away from the weekend in college volleyball

Check out the five things to take away from the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball matches this weekend.


1. BYU moves into first place — No. 5 BYU swept a two-match home weekend series against No. 9 Long Beach State to move into sole possession of first-place in the MPSF. BYU now holds a half-match lead on second-place No. 4 UC Irvine and remains undefeated at home this season.

2. Loyola still perfect — No. 1 Loyola out-hit Penn State .374 to .114 in a four-game non-conference victory on Saturday to remain only undefeated team in the nation. With this win, the Ramblers also finish the non-conference season undefeated for the first time their program’s history.

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3. Mount Olive completes epic comeback — Mount Olive overcame an 8-1 deficit in the decisive fifth game as it defeated Limestone on Friday. In addition, the Trojans fought off four match-points before winning in overtime and closing-out the match on a 6-0 run.

4. Ball State stuns Ohio State — Freshman middle attacker Matt Walsh had a match-high eight blocks as No. 15 Ball State swept No. 12 Ohio State on Saturday. The Cardinals out-blocked the Buckeyes 14.5 to 6 and held Ohio State to less than a .100 attack percentage in two of the three games.

5. UC Irvine survives upset scare — Outside attacker Tamhir Hershko finished with a match-high 22 kills to help No. 4 UC Irvine overcome a one-game deficit and defeat Stanford in five games on Friday. Preseason All-American opposite Zack La Cavera in the victory also had 19 kills and led all players with 13 digs.