Posts

Posted on

Q&A with UC Santa Barbara at the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament

UC Santa Barbara coach Rick McLaughlin along with outside attacker Jeff Menzel, libero Andy McGuire and middle attacker Scott Slaughter conducted a news conference Wednesday heading into their NCAA Tournament match.

The No. 4 seed UC Santa Barbara will play the No. 1 seed USC in the NCAA Tournament semifinals at 7 p.m. Thursday in University Park, Pa.

The Gauchos (17-14, 11-11 MPSF) defeated three top-five ranked teams in the conference tournament to become first No. 7 seed to ever in the MPSF Tournament and advance to the Final Four.

View an abridged version of the news conference below. Continue reading “Q&A with UC Santa Barbara at the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament”

Posted on

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

Penn State coach Mark Pavlik along with outside attacker Joe Sunder, setter Edgardo Goas and libero Dennis Del Valle conducted a news conference Wednesday heading into their NCAA Tournament match.

The No. 2 seed Penn State will play the No. 3 seed Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament semifinals at 9 p.m. Thursday. The Final Four is this year is also being held on the Nittany Lions’ home year.

View an abridged version of the news conference below. Continue reading “Q&A with Penn State at the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament”

Posted on

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. Continue reading “Q&A with Ohio State at the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament”

Posted on

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.
Continue reading “Top 5 storylines to follow during the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament”

Posted on

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.
Continue reading “UC Santa Barbara coach McLaughlin says fine with No. 4 seed, wants to play USC”

Posted on

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.
Continue reading “NCAA volleyball chairman discusses tournament seeding”

Posted on

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.
Continue reading “Initial look at the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament semifinals”

Posted on

The final men’s volleyball bracketology

With selection Sunday upon us, Off Block is releasing its final projections of the NCAA Tournament bracket after Ohio State, Penn State and UC Santa Barbara won their conference championships Saturday.

The men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament is comprised of four teams. Automatic bids are awarded to the winners of the EIVA, MIVA and MPSF conference tournaments, and the NCAA Men’s Volleyball National Committee chooses one team for an at-large bid.
Continue reading “The final men’s volleyball bracketology”

Posted on

Deeper look at NCAA Tourney selection criteria after conference championships

UC Santa Barbara has not only crashed the Final Four, it has changed the landscape the entire equation into deciding the NCAA Tournament.

With the No. 7 seed UC Santa Barbara defeating No. 1 USC to win the MPSF Tournament and receive the conference’s automatic bid, it took away a spot in the NCAA Tournament from another team.

While USC will now without a doubt receive the lone at-large bid to the tournament, it may seem like UC Santa Barbara conference tournament success means it should be higher than a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. However, a closer look at the NCAA selection committee criteria says otherwise.
Continue reading “Deeper look at NCAA Tourney selection criteria after conference championships”