Catching up

Good news! I'm back 'in the game' so to speak. Bad news? I'm an idiot. But that's really neither here nor there.

In some ways, this will be like launching the blog all over again. I need to catch a new foothold into current events.

I see BYU did finally lose another match, and it wasn't particularly close either, but with quite literally nothing to play for, I don't think you can hold it against them too much. They're still the top dogs in the MPSF and the massive favorites in the upcoming MPSF tournament. And more on that in a moment.

Kerri Walsh Jennings had her baby pretty much the exact moment I went offline. Congratulations Casey and Kerri, and welcome to the world Scout Margery Jennings. I wonder how the little lady will feel about her conception and the circumstances of her mom's pregnancy being such public news (that Kerri was pregnant at the Olympics), when she's old enough to understand such things. By then, her parents will be long since retired as active volleyball players, so it may not really ever come up. The family's two sons are named Sundance and Joey. I wonder if, 10 or so years down the line, Joey will feel fortunate or left out, having such a comparatively normal name. You know celebrities and their babies, though.

I'm obviously behind on World League/World Grand Prix preview pieces again, but there's time yet to catch up on those. Still a few weeks until World League gets underway, and quite a while yet for World Grand Prix. Interestingly, I had my computer go kaput right before the piece I was most interested in writing.

And when you saw the gauntlet they had to run, you knew this was possible. Cal State Northridge needed just one win over their final two weekends to clinch an MPSF tournament berth, with them holding the tiebreaker over Hawaii. One Hawaii loss would also do the trick, but the Warriors had bottom-ranked UC San Diego their final weekend (the previous weekend was a bye). Suffice it to say the Matadors went in the tank. They had easily the toughest late-season schedule of anyone in the nation, but lost their last five matches, the last three in sweeps, to finish moored on 9 conference wins. They won just one of their last 10 matches. Meanwhile, Hawaii were extended to four sets the first night and a full five the second, but won both against the Tritons to get to 10 wins. After playing some of the worst volleyball I have ever seen (from people who should know what they're doing) in their double-shot with UC Santa Barbara, the Warriors indeed backed into the MPSF playoffs, and will face BYU tomorrow night.

They could lose every set by double digits. I hope they won't, because I do consider myself a fan of theirs, but it's hard to feel like this is merited. It should be Cal Baptist in the playoffs, but rules are rules. In any event, here are the MPSF tournament seeds:

1. BYU
2. UC Irvine
3. Long Beach State
4. UCLA
5. Pepperdine
6. Stanford
7. UC Santa Barbara
8. Hawaii

Quarterfinal matches are held on the home court of the higher seed. Semis and finals are held at the home court of the highest seed remaining (likely #1 BYU).

Remember when Ball State lost 5 straight matches earlier in the year, after an 8-0 start against meager competition? Yeah, those are still the only losses they have all year. The Cardinals have now rattled off 12 straight wins since then, beating Penn State, Ohio State, Lewis, and Loyola over that stretch, the last two matches coming this past weekend. The MIVA tournament also gets underway tomorrow. Lewis have kind of backed into it, losing their last two matches (to Ball State and IPFW) but they remain the #1 seed. Here are the seeds:

1. Lewis
2. Loyola
3. Ball State
4. Ohio State
5. Grand Canyon
6. IPFW
7. Quincy

Remember, Lindenwood aren't eligible, as first-year NCAA members (same as Cal Baptist). Lewis get a bye to the semifinals and will face the Ohio State/Grand Canyon winner. All matches are held on the home court of the higher seed.

The EIVA tournament isn't until next week. The four teams are known — Penn State, George Mason, and the two Ivies, Harvard and Princeton. Harvard and Princeton are currently tied on 9 conference wins. Mason currently have 10. Penn State have clinched the top seed, and home court, with their 12th conference win today. Tomorrow, Mason face Princeton and Harvard face Sacred Heart. The match is at Sacred Heart, so it will be played. Harvard will almost certainly beat Sacred Heart — the Pioneers have just 2 conference wins. That Mason/Princeton match complicates things. If Princeton win, and it's at Princeton, then all three teams could end up tied on 10 conference wins. No matter what, if Mason win, then the seeds will be the same as the order I listed the teams at the beginning of the paragraph. All matches will be held at Penn State.

That about catches us up, I think. It's good to be back. I hope I'll never have to be away that long again.