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The men’s volleyball spotlight returns to the Midwest tonight as the MIVA Tournament resumes.
The MIVA regular season champions Ohio State will play Lewis in the first semifinal match as the Buckeyes attempt to reach their fifth straight conference championship match. In addition, Quincy will look to pull off another upset as it plays the No. 2 seed Loyola in the second semifinals match.
The winner of these two semifinal matches will play each other in the MIVA championship match Saturday at the home court of the highest remaining seed.
Check out the conference tournament matches to follow tonight.
MIVA Tournament semifinals
No. 1 seed Ohio State (21-6, 11-1 MIVA) vs. No. 4 seed Lewis (19-10, 7-5 MIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio
Follow live: Live stats, Online video
Season series: Tied at 1-1 (OSU won in three games in March, Lewis won in four games in April)
What to know: Ohio State is two wins away from becoming the first team in more than 40 years to win four consecutive MIVA titles. The Buckeyes have not lost in the conference tournament since the 2007 MIVA championship match but have never played the Flyers during their six match winning streak in the MIVA Tournament. Lewis advanced to the MIVA semifinals for the fourth consecutive year after defeating IPFW in five games in the quarterfinals Friday. This match will also feature Ohio State outside attacker Shawn Sangrey and Lewis outside attacker Jay Petty, both First-Team All-MIVA selections. Sangrey finished the regular season fourth in the MIVA averaging 3.76 kills per game and was among the nation’s leaders before undergoing an emergency appendectomy in March. Petty was third in the conference with a 3.94 kills per game average, including a match-high 30 kill in its quarterfinals victory against IPFW.
No. 2 seed Loyola (20-7, 9-3 MIVA) vs. No. 6 seed Quincy (22-13, 3-9 MIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Chicago
Follow live: Gametracker
Season series: Tied at 1-1 (Quincy and Loyola split a two-match series in April)
What to know: Quincy will attempt to continue the greatest postseason run for a low seed in MIVA Tournament history with its semifinals match tonight against Loyola. Quincy upset the No. 3 seed Ball State in four games Saturday to become the first No. 6 seed to win a MIVA Tournament match. Loyola swept Grand Canyon in the MIVA quarterfinals to secure coach Shane Davis’ sixth 20-win season in his eighth season as head coach. Loyola and Quincy split a two-match series on the final weekend of the regular season. However, Loyola was resting several starters for those matches, including First-Team All-MIVA outside attacker Mike Bunting. Bunting led the MIVA with a 4.23 kills per game average. This also has the potential to be the final match in Alumni Gym as Loyola prepares to move into its new arena for the 2012 season.