Off the Block

Tag: UC Santa Barbara

  • Men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament semifinal matches to follow tonight

    After more than four months and 400 matches, determining the two teams in the national championship will come down to one night and two matches.

    The No. 1 seed USC will try to reach its second national championship match in three years as it plays the No. 4 seed UC Santa Barbara in the opening NCAA semifinals match at 7 p.m. Thursday in University Park, Pa. In addition, the No. 2 seed Penn State, which is hosting the NCAA Tournament, and the No. 3 seed Ohio State will renew one of the oldest men’s volleyball rivals in the other NCAA semifinals match at 9 p.m. Thursday.

    Check the NCAA Tournament matches to follow tonight.
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  • 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. (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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  • 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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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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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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  • 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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