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

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


Stanford powers past UCLA — Middle attacker Kevin Rakestraw had 11 kills with zero attack errors and a match-high five blocks as No. 4/4 Stanford defeated No. 3/3 UCLA in four games on Sunday. Rakestraw was one of three Cardinal players to finish with double-digit kills. Stanford also out-hit UCLA .400 to .320 to finish its four-match home stand undefeated. With this victory, Stanford moves into a tie with No. 1/1 Long Beach State for first place in the MPSF.

Szerszen too much for Grand Canyon — Outside attacker Nicholas Szerszen had a combined 35 kills on a .627 attack percentage to help No. 6/7 Ohio State complete a two-match series sweep against Grand Canyon during the weekend. In addition, Szerszen had a match-high 19 kills and five aces in the series-finale victory on Saturday.

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No separation at top of MPSF — The top four teams in the MPSF — Long Beach State, Stanford, UCLA and No. 2/2 BYU — went a combined 6-1 during the weekend and all remain within one match of first place in the conference. No other MPSF team is within three matches of the first place.

Harvard outlast George Mason in marathon game — Harvard in a second-game overtime defeated George Mason 40-38 and went on to complete the sweep in their two-match series opener on Friday. The 28-point overtime is the longest overtime in college men’s volleyball so far this season and featured 12 lead changes. The Crimson also defeated the Patriots in four games on Saturday to remain in second place in the EIVA.

Pfeiffer setter, offense shines — Setter Harrison Lutz had a career-high 74 assists and led the Pfeiffer offense to a .461 attack percentage in a five-game conference road victory against Emmanuel on Saturday. The first-year starter also set the Pfeiffer school record for assists in a single-match. The Falcons had four players finish with double-digit kills, including outside attacker Jonathan Martinez who had a team-high 24 kills on a .548 attack percentage.