Off the Block

Category: Division I-II

  • Q&A with Ohio State at the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament

    Ohio State men’s volleyball coach Pete Hanson, along with setter Steven Kehoe and middle attacker Kevin Heine held a news conference Wednesday to discuss its upcoming NCAA Tournament match.

    The No. 3 seed Ohio State will play the No. 2 seed Penn State in the NCAA Tournament semifinals at 9 p.m. Thursday in University Park, Pa.

    The Buckeyes (24-6, 11-1 MIVA) reached their four consecutive NCAA Tournament after winning the MIVA championship, but have failed advance beyond the semifinals during that stretch.

    View an abridged version of the news conference below. (more…)

  • Top 5 storylines to follow during the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament

    Almost 24 hours away from the men’s volleyball Final Four and the anticipation is continuing to grow.

    The four-team NCAA Tournament will be played at Penn State with the No. 1 seed USC playing the No. 4 seed UC Santa Barbara in the opening semifinals at 7 p.m. Thursday. In addition, the host school and No. 2 seed Penn State will play the No. 3 seed Ohio State in the second semifinals match at 9 p.m. Thursday.

    The winners of these two matches will play in the national championship on Saturday.

    Check out the top five storylines to follow during the NCAA Tournament.
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  • Trend continues of non-traditional powerhouses reaching Final Four

    Parity is alive more than ever in college men’s volleyball.

    For the fifth consecutive season, the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament is comprised of four teams that combined have less than one-fifth of the total amount of national championships in the sport’s history.
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  • UC Santa Barbara coach McLaughlin says fine with No. 4 seed, wants to play USC

    One person not complaining about the seeding for the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament is UC Santa Barbara coach Rick McLaughlin.

    McLaughlin said Monday on The Net Live podcast that despite some fans wanting UC Santa Barbara to be seeded higher he prefers the No. 4 seed because he wants to play to the No. 1 seed USC in the semifinals.
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  • NCAA volleyball chairman discusses tournament seeding

    UC Santa Barbara being the No. 4 seed was a simple matter of the numbers for NCAA men’s volleyball committee chairman Bob Krimmel.

    The NCAA released its four-team men’s volleyball championship tournament bracket Sunday pitting UC Santa Barbara against the No. 1 seed USC in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Thursday. It’s one of the few times in the tournament’s 41-year history that two West Coast schools will play each other in the opening round.
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  • Initial look at the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament semifinals

    After four months of regular season matches and conference tournaments, the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament is upon us.

    The NCAA announced the four-team tournament field and semifinals pairings Sunday afternoon. Here is an initial look and historical information you need to know heading into the NCAA Tournament semifinals on Thursday at Penn State.
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  • Gauchos crash the party, win MPSF title to receive automatic bid to Final Four

    The Gauchos have upset all the way to crashing the Final Four party.

    The No. 7 seed UC Santa Barbara as it defeated No. 1 USC 20-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 16-14 on Saturday to win the MPSF championship and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
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  • Ohio State rallies to win fourth straight MIVA title, advances to Final Four

    Ohio State was able to overcome an early deficit to win its record fourth consecutive conference title and advance to the Final Four.

    Ohio State defeated Loyola 21-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-17 in the MIVA Tournament championship match on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, to receive conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
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  • Penn State wins EIVA championship, gets automatic bid to Final Four

    Penn State will play in the Final Four that the school is hosting next week.

    Penn State swept Springfield College 25-17, 25-14, 26-24 in the EIVA Tournament championship on Saturday in University Park, Pa., to receive the conference’s automatic bid to the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament for the 13th consecutive season.
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  • Conference championship men’s volleyball matches to follow tonight

    After four months of conference matches, it comes down to tonight to determine who gets the three automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament.

    The EIVA, MIVA and MPSF championship matches will be play tonight with the winners advance to the Final Four next week. While all the No. 1 seeds remain in the three tournaments, several teams are looking to crash the Final Four, including Loyola and UC Santa Barbara.

    Check out the conference tournament championship matches to follow tonight.
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