UC Santa Barbara hires two alumni to be assistant coaches

Photo courtesy of UC Santa Barbara athletics

A former All-American and a member of the last UC Santa Barbara team to reach the NCAA Tournament will both return to the Gauchos as assistant coaches.

Head coach Rick McLaughlin announced Friday that Jonah Seif and Blaine Nielsen were hired to be on his coaching staff for the upcoming season. Continue reading “UC Santa Barbara hires two alumni to be assistant coaches”

Eight moments that led to USC earning final at-large bid

Photo by Jonathan Bates

They may have seemed insignificant at the time but there are several moments throughout the season that contributed to USC edging out UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara for the final at-large to the NCAA Tournament.

Check out the eight moments from this season that if things went differently could have led to a different result in the at-large bid race. Continue reading “Eight moments that led to USC earning final at-large bid”

Bracketology: Team comparisons using selection committee criteria

Two weeks before the start of the college men’s volleyball postseason and the bracketology battle teams remain tight.

Off the Block crunched the numbers using the same criteria as the selection committee to show how the top teams in the nation fare against each other in the race for the two at-large bids and NCAA Tournament positioning. Continue reading “Bracketology: Team comparisons using selection committee criteria”

Bracketology: Team comparisons using selection committee criteria

Yes, Long Beach State and Hawai’i have likely locked-up the top-two seeds for the NCAA Tournament, but there are still plenty of tight races remaining one month before the bracket is unveiled.

Off the Block crunched the numbers using the same criteria as the selection committee to show how the top teams in the nation fare against each other in the race for the two at-large bids and NCAA Tournament positioning. Continue reading “Bracketology: Team comparisons using selection committee criteria”

Harvard to open 2019 season on road against UC Santa Barbara

Photo courtesy of Gil Talbot and Harvard athletics

[Editor’s note: Off the Block in collaboration with the EIVA is presenting The Top 15 EIVA Non-Conference Matches. This list spotlights the best non-conference matches scheduled for EIVA teams in 2019 and will be the first time several of these matches have been publicly announced. Harvard versus UC Santa Barbara is ranked No. 8 on the list.]

Harvard after concluding last season winning its first EIVA championship will open the 2019 season with a chance at another program first. Continue reading “Harvard to open 2019 season on road against UC Santa Barbara”