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Two teams clinching the top seeds for their upcoming conference tournaments and an All-American having more than 30 kills in a comeback victory highlighted the weekend.
Check out the top five things to take away from the weekend in college men’s volleyball.
1. BYU gets top seed for MPSF Tournament — Outside attacker Taylor Sander playing on his senior night had a match-high 23 kills as No. 2 BYU defeated No. 9 UCLA in four games on Saturday to clinch the No. 1 seed and home court advantage for the MPSF Tournament. This was earliest in a season during the MPSF’s 20-year history that a team has clinched the top seed. In addition, the Cougars with their weekend victory finished the regular season undefeated at home.
2. Loyola staying home for postseason — No. 1 Loyola clinched home court advantage throughout the entire postseason and remained undefeated in conference play with a road sweep against IPFW on Saturday. The victory clinched the Ramblers’ a share of the conference regular season title and the No. 1 seed for the upcoming MIVA Tournament. Along with not having to play a road match for the conference tournament, Loyola is playing host to the six-team NCAA Tournament this season.
3. Powell sets career record in Lewis comeback — All-American opposite Geoff Powell finished with a career-high 32 kills to help Lewis rally from a two-game road deficit and defeat Ball State in five games on Saturday. Powell was the only Lewis player to have double-digit kills in the conference victory. In addition, the win moves the Flyers into sole possession of second place in the MIVA.
4. Rise of Cardinal continues — No. 5 Stanford extended its winning streak to a conference-best seven matches and moved into a tie for third place in the MPSF with a sweep against No. 4 Pepperdine on Friday. All-American Outside attacker Brian Cook had a match-high 17 kills, and the Cardinal out-hit the Waves .453 to .256 in the home victory.
5. Penn State takes control of EIVA — Penn State remains in first place in the EIVA and in control of its own fate for the conference regular season title after sweeping Princeton and George Mason during the weekend. Outside attacker Aaron Russell in the two victories had a combined 29 kills, including a match-high 16 kills in the sweep against George Mason on Saturday.
Bah. They can all boast about this all they want. The fact is the Anteaters are smoking hot, as they are at the end of every season, and are the most dangerous team in the NCAA.