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Check out all the matches today involving NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams and how to follow them live.
No. 1/1 Long Beach State (18-2, 12-2 MPSF) vs. No. 5/5 Ohio State (16-2, 9-1 MIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Long Beach, California
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, Radio feed, In-match tweets
What to know: What has emerged as the biggest non-conference match of the season and possibly the most critical match to the bracketology has arrived in full force. No. 1/1 Long Beach State with its nation-best 12-match winning streak will play host to No. 5/5 Ohio State and its conference-best eight-match winning streak to conclude the Asics Tournament. Both the 49ers and Buckeyes are among the eight teams still in contention for a NCAA Tournament at-large bid if either loses in their conference tournament next month, according to the latest Off the Block bracketology. Among the criteria the selection committee uses to determine the NCAA Tournament field and seeding includes head-to-head record, non-conference record and record against teams under NCAA Tournament consideration. Beyond the bracketology, this non-conference match will feature two of the front-runners for the Karch Kiraly Award, which is presented to the nation’s top outside attacker. Ohio State outside attacker Nicholas Szerszen is among the national leaders with both a 4.27 kills per game average and a .401 attack percentage. The sophomore also had a season-high 22 kills on a .528 attack percentage in a four-game victory against No. 14 UC Irvine on Friday. Long Beach State outside attacker TJ DeFalco is in the nation’s top 10 with a 4.45 kills per game average. In addition, DeFalco earlier this week earned the Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this season after having more than 20 kills in an road non-conference victory against No. 6/6 Penn State last week. He also had a match-high 25 kills as Long Beach State defeated No. 13 Lewis in four games on Friday.
No. 3/3 Stanford (15-2, 13-2 MPSF) vs. No. 9/10 Pepperdine (9-6, 8-6 MPSF)
Match vitals: 4 p.m. in Stanford, California
Follow live: Live stats, In-match tweets, TV (Pac-12 Network)
What to know: No. 8/10 Pepperdine less than one week after being unable to slow down No. 3/3 Stanford’s offense will get a second attempt. The Cardinal enter this home match following a road sweep against the Waves on Sunday and finished with a .432 attack percentage. This was the fourth time during Stanford’s eight-match winning streak that it hit more than .400. Outside attacker Madison Hayden in the victory led Stanford with 11 kills, while middle attackers Conrad Kaminski and Kevin Rakestraw each added eight kills and more than a .500 attack percentage. In addition, both middle attackers entered the week in the conference’s top five for attack percentage. Another victory versus the Waves would also expand the Cardinal’s first-place lead in the MPSF. Stanford has a half-match lead against No. 1/1 Long Beach State, No. 2/2 BYU and No. 4/4 UCLA, which will all resume MPSF play next week. Pepperdine defeated No. 15 Cal Baptist on Thursday to move into fifth place in the MPSF. Opposite Matt Tarantino in the conference victory led the Waves with 18 kills. In addition, Tarantino began the week sixth in the MPSF with a 3.49 kills per game average.
No. 8/9 Hawai’i (11-9, 6-9 MPSF) vs. No. 11 CSUN (12-8, 5-8 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Northridge, California
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
What to know: All-American outside attacker Sinisa Zarkovic will try to continue to bring No. 8/9 Hawai’i back from the brink of possibly missing the postseason as the team concludes its two-match road series against No. 11 CSUN. Zarkovic had a match-high 21 kills on a .526 attack percentage in the four-game series-opening win on Friday. With this victory, the Rainbow Warriors ended their five-match losing streak and surpassed CSUN for seventh place in the MPSF. Both teams entered this conference series holding the final two spots for the eight-team MPSF Tournament next month and had a two-match lead on ninth-place No. 14 UC Irvine in the standings. CSUN outside attacker Jakub Ciesla in the loss to Hawai’i had a team-high 18 kills, while freshman outside attacker Dimitar Kalchev added 16 kills. In addition, it was the fifth time in the last eight matches that Ciesla had at least 15 kills.
Quincy (14-17, 3-7 MIVA) vs. Park (14-7)
Match vitals: Noon in Canton, Missouri
Follow live: N/A
Limestone (6-9, 4-7 CC) vs. Eastern Mennonite (9-9)
Match vitals: 2 p.m. in Arlington, Virginia
Follow live: Live stats, Online video
Limestone (6-9, 4-7 CC) vs. Marymount (14-7)
Match vitals: 4 p.m. in Arlington, Virginia
Follow live: Live stats, Online video
NJIT (4-13, 3-3 EIVA) vs. Charleston (4-15, 0-8 EIVA)
Match vitals: 4 p.m. in Newark, New Jersey
Follow live: Live stats
St. Francis (10-6, 4-3 EIVA) vs. King (5-16, 2-10 CC)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Loretto, Pennsylvania
Follow live: Live stats,
No. 13 Lewis (11-9, 6-5 MIVA) vs. No. 14 UC Irvine (6-13, 5-11 MPSF)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. in Long Beach, California
Follow live: Live stats, In-match tweets
McKendree (6-7, 4-5 MIVA) vs. Grand Canyon (10-9, 3-6 MIVA)
Match vitals: 6 p.m. in Phoenix, Arizona
Follow live: Live stats, In-match tweets