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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. 3/2 Stanford (19-3, 17-3 MPSF) vs. No. 4/4 UCLA (21-5, 15-5 MPSF)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. in Los Angeles
Follow live: Live stats, Radio feed, In-match tweets, TV (Pac-12 Network)
What to know: This late-season match means more than conference tournament seeding — it could very well shape the NCAA Tournament field on Selection Sunday. No. 3/2 Stanford will travel to No. 4/4 UCLA in a match between two teams projected to make the NCAA Tournament in the latest Off the Block bracketology. However, the gap remains narrow between these two teams and the projected last team out No. 5/5 Long Beach State. Stanford is on a four-match winning streak and tied with No. 1/1 BYU for first place in the MPSF. In addition, the Cardinal hold the tiebreaker over the Cougars and will win the MPSF regular season title and home court advantage throughout the MPSF Tournament if it wins its remaining two matches. All-American setter James Shaw is in the nation’s top 10 with a 10.30 assists per game average and has guided the Cardinal offense to third best attack percentage in the nation at .344. The senior also was named the National Player of the Week after he had three aces and Stanford hit .391 in a four-game victory against Long Beach State on Saturday. Along with the team’s offense, middle attacker Conrad Kaminski is third in the nation with a 1.53 blocks per game average, including having a season-high 10 blocks in a win against No. 10 CSUN last week. UCLA continues its four-match home stand after losing two matches versus BYU during the weekend to be eliminated from MPSF regular season championship contention. A victory against the Cardinal, though, would clinch the No. 3 seed for the Bruins and keep the team ahead of Long Beach State in the NCAA Tournament projections. UCLA running its 6-2 offense was held below its season average of a .305 attack percentage in both losses versus BYU. Freshman setter Micah Ma’a continues to lead the nation with 52 aces and has a conference-best 0.53 aces per game average. In addition, Ma’a had two aces and was one of four Bruins with double-digit kills in the team’s four-game road loss to Stanford in February.
No. 10 CSUN (13-14, 6-14 MPSF) vs. No. 15 UC Irvine (9-18, 6-14 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Irvine, California
Follow live: Live stats, Online video, In-match tweets
What to know: The postseason begins tonight for No. 10 CSUN and No. 15 UC Irvine as the teams meet in a de-facto elimination match for the final spot in the MPSF Tournament. CSUN and UC Irvine enter the final week of the regular season in a three-way tie with No. 15 Cal Baptist for eighth place in the conference. In addition, if the Anteaters lose to the Matadors they would become the first defending MPSF regular season champions to not reach the postseason since 2013. CSUN with a loss could still potential reach the postseason for the program’s first time since 2012 but it would take an extensive tiebreaker scenario and help from other teams. The Matadors are on a four-match losing streak but are 10-1 this season against teams ranked outside of the top 10, including a four-game victory against the Anteaters in February. Outside attacker Jakub Ciesla is among the conference leaders with a 3.34 kills per game average. The junior also had a match-high 25 kills on a .310 attack percentage in the two teams’ previous meeting. UC Irvine swept USC on Sunday to snap a three-match losing streak. That match featured the return of All-American outside attacker Tamir Hershko after he missed almost the last two months of the season with an injury. Hershko in limited playing time finished with six kills on a .625 attack percentage against the Trojans. In addition, Michael Saeta continuing to play at opposite instead of his typical setter position had 14 kills and hit .667 in the victory. Seata since the position switch last month has finished with double-digit kills in seven matches.
George Mason (11-10, 5-4 EIVA) vs. NJIT (8-14, 7-4 EIVA)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Fairfax, Virginia
Follow live: Live stats, In-match tweets