Eventful week this past. I tried to watch the second match of the Hawaii/BYU double-shot, but the stream was too choppy to follow along. And for once, I know it wasn’t just me having that problem; everyone else following the match on Volleytalk reported the same problems (if they even got that far). It’s disappointing, because I very much became a fan of Hawaii last year because of their great webcasts, and then this season they mucked them up. I didn’t see even one complete Hawaii match this year.
But let’s get to it, shall we?
1. Loyola. Nothing really left to say about Loyola. Wins over Lindenwood and Quincy are the latest notches in the Ramblers’ belt. One more regular season date awaits, against Ohio State, prior to the MIVA tournament, where they’ll be heavily favoured. They’re a fascinating team this year. There’s reasons to be bearish of them in the NCAA tournament, and there’s reasons to quite confident of them. The match with Ohio State on Friday will more than likely finish off a perfect season away from home. All their postseason play, however much there is, will be at the Gentile Arena.
2. BYU. Predictably, BYU lost ground in the real poll after their two losses at Hawaii this past weekend (though they fell only to #3). But body-of-work, it’s tough not to see them as one of the top two teams in the country, and together with Loyola the only ones assured of making the six-team NCAA tournament regardless of how the conference tournament plays out. They had nothing tangible to play for against the Rainbow Warriors, so the losses simply don’t matter. They close out the regular season this week against UCSB and UCLA, on the road. Once again, those matches matter more for the opposition than they do for the Cougars.
3. Pepperdine. The Waves nipped two first-place votes in the real poll this week, after their five-set win over USC in their only match. That sets the stage for their homestanding double-shot with Hawaii this weekend, the brace of matches which will go the longest towards deciding the MPSF tournament seedings and pairings (beyond the top line).
4. Stanford. It’s not long ago that I said over on VolleyTalk, and I quote, “I’ve given up on Stanford.” I trumpeted them all last season and most of this season that I’ve been around for as major players in 2014. A little over a month ago, after a four-set loss at Long Beach State, the Cardinal were just 9-7 overall and a scant 6-7 in conference, looking like they may not even make the MPSF tournament. Nine straight wins (and only two of them against conference bottom-feeders) later, and we’re looking at national contenders all over again. Don’t ask me, because clearly I don’t know. They travel to UC Irvine and UC San Diego this week, making it the better part of likely that they’ll end the regular season on this undefeated run and wind up hosting an MPSF quarterfinal. It’s a case of better late than never, because the Cardinal absolutely can still make a run at the national title at this rate.
5. UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos continue to overachieve, at least relative to most everyone’s preseason expectations. Whether it will be enough to make any real postseason noise I’m not sure. They split this past week, knocking off Long Beach State before falling to the oddly surging Cal State Northridge Matadors. They’re in that big mess of teams in the MPSF’s breadbasket, teams that could still either host in the MPSF quarters or miss out entirely. They’ve got Cal Baptist and BYU at home to finish off the regular season.
6. Long Beach State. The 49ers have hit a major dry spell, losing five of their last six (victors only against the hapless UC San Diego Tritons over that time frame) to fall from heavyweights in the conference to “ehhh, I don’t know” status. They sustained twin five-set defeats this past week, against UCSB and UCLA. To close out the regular season, they’ve got a two-fer with CSUN, who, as mentioned, and as odd as it sounds, are as hot as anyone right now. If they lose both of those they could end up out, as they lose tiebreakers to most everyone in the conference.
7. UC Irvine. The two-time defending national champs, after a really blah first couple of months of the season, have now won eight of their last nine. Just when you write a team off… They belong squarely in this mishmash of the middle ranks of the MPSF, one which will only sort itself out by sorting itself out. They host the Norcal boys — Stanford and, one last time, Pacific — this week.
8. Hawaii. The Rainbow Warriors made massive strides towards securing their postseason future this week with two victories over the conference-leading BYU Cougars. The first night, which was not webcast, they overcame a 0-2 deficit to win in five sets. The second night was a sweep, one which featured a 39-37 first set. I once called a 41-39 set on PA, but that was under 30-to-win; I don’t think I’ve ever seen a set go 14 points beyond the winning score before. Just like everybody who seemed irreparably out of it at one point this season, the boys from the islands are right back in the thick of things, and could still even host an MPSF quarterfinal. They’ll need to win both against Pepperdine on the mainland to have that chance, but winning both will also guarantee them an MPSF tournament placement of some kind.
9. Lewis. Acting as Loyola’s scheduling-buddies, the Flyers also faced Quincy and Lindenwood this week, and also dispatched with them both. It’s been a pretty predictable season for Lewis — one of few across the nation this year — as they’ve won the matches they should win and lost the matches they should lose. They’ll host Grand Canyon for a two-fer to close out the regular season. They must win the MIVA tournament to make the NCAA’s; they have no case for an at-large.
10. UCLA. Yeah, the Bruins are still kicking around. A five-set win over Long Beach State gives them a pulse, ahead of two at home to close out the season — one a relative gimme (Cal Baptist) and the other, maybe not (BYU). Just like pretty much everyone, if they win both, they’re in. Lose both, and they’re in trouble. 1-1, and it depends on a lot of things. It’s still disappointing to see such a highly-touted team fall so far, but it almost seems like missing the postseason entirely would only be fitting at this rate.
ALSO UNDER CONSIDERATION (in alphabetical order): Ball State, Penn State, USC.
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