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Check out the five things to take away from the NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball matches this weekend.
Long Beach State and BYU split — No. 1/2 Long Beach State and No. 3/3 BYU split their two-match conference series during the weekend in Provo, Utah. The 49ers hit .477 and committed seven attack errors in a series-finale sweep on Saturday to move back into first place in MPSF. In addition, Long Beach State can clinch the MPSF regular season title and home court advantage throughout the conference tournament if it beats No. 14 CSUN in its season finale. BYU, which had more than 10,000 people attend the two home matches, won the series opener in a fifth-game overtime on Friday. All-American outside attacker Jake Langlois in that victory led the Cougars with a season-high 20 kills.
Patch returns to the court — All-American opposite Ben Patch after not starting for 12 consecutive matches because of an injury was inserted into the series opener with No. 3/3 BYU at match-point in the fifth game against No. 1/2 Long Beach State. Patch had a potential match-winning kill that was dug and participated in several plays before being subbed out midway through the fifth-game overtime. Patch also came off the bench and had seven kills on a .455 attack percentage in a three-game loss to Long Beach State on Saturday.
Ohio State steamrolls Ball State — All-American outside attacker Nicolas Szerszen and All-American opposite Miles Johnson each had a match-high 12 kills on a .500 attack percentage as No. 2/1 Ohio State swept No. 11 Ball State on Saturday. The Cardinals did not have a block in the rivalry match and were out-hit .461 to .159. With this victory, Ohio State is one win away from clinching the MIVA regular season championship and home court advantage throughout the entire postseason.
Limestone stuns Mount Olive — Outside attacker Bruno Kretzschmar had a match-high 15 kills and added five blocks to help Limestone sweep first-place Mount Olive on Saturday. Kretzschmar was one of four Saints with at least five blocks against the Trojans. Mount Olive because of this loss drops into a tie with Barton for second place in the Conference Carolinas and a half-match behind King for first place.
UC Irvine offense balanced and impressive — No. 5/5 UC Irvine had more than a .400 attack percentage and had four players with at least 15 kills in a four-game victory against No. 8/8 Pepperdine on Saturday. Among these Anteaters included outside attacker Tamir Hershko who had a match-high 22 kills on a .474 attack percentage along with 11 digs in the conference victory.