Off the Block

Category: Division I-II

  • The five teams that could surprise everyone in 2013

    Tons of teams enter a season with preseason hype, but then there are those teams that enter with little expectations and surprise everyone

    Whether it was Harvard finishing last season ranked in the national coaches poll or UC Santa Barbara’s run to the 2011 NCAA championship match last season, each season always has men’s volleyball teams that surprise everyone.
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  • The dark horse teams that could crash the 2013 Final Four

    Who doesn’t enjoy an underdog team making a surprise postseason run — especially when you have been the person since the start of the season saying they were the team to watch.

    With the regular season starting this week, there are the likely favorites to reach the Final Four. BYU, UC Irvine, Stanford and Pepperdine are the early favorites from the MPSF, while Lewis is the favorite in the MIVA and Penn State is the favorite in the EIVA.
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  • Top 10 non-conference matches to follow in 2013 season

    The 2013 college men’s volleyball season begins this week and there are plenty of intriguing non-conference matches to keep an eye on throughout entire regular season.

    Everything from early season matches that could be previews of Final Four matches to underdog teams traveling out west looking for a signature victory highlights the non-conference lineup this year.

    Off the Block dissected all the NCAA Division I-II teams’ non-conference schedules to come up with the top 10 non-conference matches for fans to follow during the 2013 season.
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  • UC Irvine unanimous No. 1 in preseason coaches poll

    UC Irvine will open the upcoming season in the rankings where it finished last season.

    The defending NCAA champion Anteaters received all 16 first-place votes to finish atop the preseason AVCA coaches poll released Friday afternoon.
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  • Penn State once again picked as favorite to win EIVA championship

    Conference coaches are picking Penn State to win a record 15th consecutive EIVA championship during the upcoming season.

    The Nittany Lions received six of eight first-place votes to finish atop the EIVA Preseason Coaches Poll released Friday afternoon.
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  • MIVA gets new conference logo for 2013 season

    There will be a new look to the MIVA in the upcoming season.

    The MIVA earlier this week as part of announcing its preseason coaches poll and preseason all-conference teams aslo unveiled its new conference logo
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  • Lewis picked to repeat as MIVA championships in 2013

    After reaching the Final Four last season, Lewis officially enters the upcoming season the preseason favorite to repeat as conference championships.

    The defending conference championships Flyers received six of eight first-place votes and had 62 points to finish atop the MIVA Preseason Coaches Poll released Tuesday morning.
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  • Ball State makes big splash with new recruiting class

    Two members of the U.S. Boys Youth National Team highlights Ball State’s three-person recruiting class.

    Ball State announced Thursday that high school seniors Brendan Surane, Alex Pia and Connor Gross have signed national letters of intent to play for the Cardinals beginning in 2014.
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  • McKendree to add men’s volleyball for 2014 season

    Another NCAA Division II college from the Midwest will sponsor men’s volleyball.

    McKendree University announced Tuesday that it will sponsor men’s volleyball as a varsity sport and field a team in time for the 2014 season.
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  • UC Irvine projected to win MPSF in conference’s preseason poll

    UC Irvine was not only projected to win the MPSF championship for upcoming season — it the choice by almost unanimous consensus.

    The defending-NCAA champion Anteaters received all but two of the 13 first-place votes and 143 points to finish atop the MSPF preseason coaches poll released Tuesday afternoon.
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