Loyola - Off the Block

April 5, 2011August 13, 2014

My men’s volleyball media poll ballot

No new men’s volleyball teams moved into the top 10 media poll this week but there was a significant amount of movement as five teams changed spots in the rankings.

UC Irvine, Long Beach State, UCLA, Hawai’i and UC Santa Barbara all changed rankings. The most interesting change in this week’s poll, though, was the ranking of the 49ers. Long Beach State made the biggest jump, climbing two spots to No. 5, despite losing both its matches to No. 2 BYU last week.

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.
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April 1, 2011September 19, 2011

Top 5 men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

It’s April fools day, but there are no jokes on the men’s volleyball schedule tonight.

All but one of the top 10 teams play tonight, including two matches between nationally ranked teams as No. 1 USC travels to No. 3 Stanford and No. 2 BYU closes out its home series against No. 7 Long Beach State. In addition, No. 6 Ohio State will attempt to recover from a disastrous West Coast road trip by accomplishing a feat that has not been achieved in more than 40 years

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March 29, 2011September 23, 2011

My men’s volleyball media poll ballot

The bottom of the top 10 media poll remains a revolving door and weekly struggle for this voter.

With all the upsets and top 10 teams losing this week, there were about four teams — Loyola, UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach State and Hawai’i — all vying for the final three spots in the poll. This was without a doubt one of the more difficult voting ballots to compile this entire season as I spent a significant amount of time looking at multiple factors and stats to create a ranking that made sense.

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”

March 25, 2011September 19, 2011

Top 5 men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

This week has been anything but dull in men’s volleyball.

Five top-10 ranked teams will be in action tonight, one day after four teams ranked in the media poll all lost. No. 4 BYU playing No. 6 Hawai’i is the only match between two top 10 teams. However, not to be overlooked is No. 1 USC playing against the only team it lost to this season and a Hall of Fame coach being on the verge of achieving a milestone.

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March 22, 2011September 23, 2011

My men’s volleyball media poll ballot

The madness of March hit men’s volleyball this weekend and the aftermath is now being felt in the polls.

Three top 10 ranked teams dropped in the media poll after losing matches, including BYU and Stanford that both lost to unranked teams. In addition, several teams made significant gains in the poll with Ohio State receiving its highest national ranking in program history at No. 2 and Hawai’i jumping four spots to No. 6.

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”

March 18, 2011September 19, 2011

Top 5 men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

It’s the biggest week of March Madness for men’s basketball but men’s volleyball is in the doldrums tonight.

With most teams having a full or partial bye week, four of the top 10 teams are in action tonight and there is one match between two ranked teams in the media poll. However, tonight also features several intriguing individual match-ups as some of the blockers in the nation will go up against the best offensive players in the nation.

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March 15, 2011August 13, 2014

My men’s volleyball media poll ballot

Weeks featuring a significant amount of non-conference matches can lead to some of the biggest changes in a poll — and last week was no different.

With everything from a top-five team losing to an unranked opponent to UCLA eking out two five-game victories at home against some of the best EIVA and MIVA teams, there was a significant amount of movement in the bottom of my top 10 ballot this week.

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.
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March 11, 2011September 19, 2011

Top 5 men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

It’s Spring Break and the Midwest and East Coast men’s volleyball teams are fleeing to the warm weather of California.

With about five EIVA and MIVA teams playing against California teams this week, Mid-March is typically when teams will schedule non-conference road trips coinciding with its Spring Break. Highlighting this week of non-conference play is the four-team Active Ankle Challenge at Long Beach State, which opens with the only match tonight between teams ranked in the top 10. In addition, No. 8 UCLA tonight plays its final non-conference match at Pauley Pavillion before the stadium later this year for renovations.

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March 9, 2011August 13, 2014

My men’s volleyball media poll ballot

The aftermath of No. 1 versus No. 2 resulted in little change to the men’s volleyball media poll.

USC remains the only team to be ranked No. 1 this season after winning both matches in five games against BYU during the weekend, while the Cougars stays at No. 2 following the road losses. Despite little change at the top, the bottom of the ranking saw some movement with UCLA jumping ahead of Penn State to No. 8 and Hawai’i breaking back into the top 10 after a one-week absence.

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”

March 5, 2011September 19, 2011

Top 5 men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

Two of the three men’s volleyball conferences will have two of their top teams playing each other tonight.

No. 1 USC finishing its weekend series against No. 2 BYU in the MPSF still highlights all the matches today. The other match, though, that is for sole possession of first place is in the Midwest as No. 4 Ohio State and No. 10 Loyola play with both teams vying to become the first team to go undefeated in MIVA play since 1998.

Check out the top five men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight.
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