Twice this week I tried to write up a livestream only to have my home Wifi crap out on me. So this relative dearth of content hasn't been for lack of trying. We'll try it again this coming week, but first, some rankings.
1. Loyola. Not a whole lot to say about the Ramblers that hasn't been said yet. But for one night in January, all they do is win. They've got probably their second-most difficult week of the regular season coming up (after that MPSF triple-shot) as they host Lewis and Penn State. Both are at home, so you have to expect the Ramblers to win both. Wonder how far they'll tumble if they don't.
2. BYU. The MPSF leaders had no troubles this week, sweeping aside old rivals UC Irvine (one of the matches I tried to watch) and UC San Diego. Pretty normal service. The Cougars' homestand continues this week against Cal Baptist, their lone match of the week.
3. Long Beach State. The 49ers are arguably the hottest team in the nation right now, winners of 12 of their last 13 matches. This past week, that included wins over the Big Ten men's volleyball contingent, Ohio State and Penn State, at their home Active Ankle event. The Buckeyes pushed them to the limit, a 5-setter where Ohio State actually led 2-1, but the Penn State match was a sweep. I wish this team were more easy to see on a regular basis, because they're doing something special. They're on the road the next two weeks, starting this week with matches against Pepperdine and USC.
4. Pepperdine. It's looking very much like the MPSF's NCAA tournament contingent will be BYU, Long Beach, and Pepperdine, though everytime I think I have it figured out something changes. Sounds like a cue for one of those three to go into the tank. The Waves had a good week this past, toppling UCLA and UC Santa Barbara, both on the road. This week they host Long Beach — an important match for NCAA at-large consideration — and Northridge.
5. Stanford. Stanford versus Hawaii, the second night, was the other match I tried to watch this past week. After taking a three-set sweep the first night, the Cardinal and the Rainbow Warriors played a five-setter that I'm sure was a classic just like their pair of five-setters last season that made me a fan of both teams. You can perhaps tell by the ranking that the Cardinal were victorious in that match, too, despite nearly squandering a 2-0 lead. Stanford are finally playing like the team I thought they were going to be (right after I basically gave up on them), and they're just on the fringe of being able to host in the MPSF tournament. They're idle this week but return at home next week against USC and Pepperdine. Keep winning, and who knows what'll happen with regards to the postseason.
6. UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos' loss to Pepperdine snapped a four-match winning streak, and at 13-6, I'm not sure they're really in at-large discussion at this point. (Which says a lot about some of the teams below) They're idle this week but have a chance for a resume-building win next week when they face BYU.
7. USC. The Trojans won the big rivalry match this past week, over the boys in blue and gold from across town. That was coupled with a loss to UCSB, so it still seems best to regard the 'men of Troy' with lukewarm enthusiasm. They're one of any number of teams who could catch fire in the NCAA tournament, but it's tough to predict it happening like you expect it. This week they host Northridge and Long Beach.
8. UCLA. How the mighty have fallen. If the Bruins keep losing, they might not make the postseason at all, and this is for a team who were thought to be huge preseason national championship favourites. Yes, injuries. They've been hit by them bad. Pretty much everyone in their putative starting six-plus-one has gone down at some point, except Quiroga I think. But championship teams find a way to persevere, and the story of Coach Speraw closing practice out of — well, disgust, from the sounds of it — sure doesn't paint the picture of a championship team persevering. Of course, they've got plenty of time to turn it around and will still likely at the absolute least make the MPSF tournament, where anything can happen. But try this factoid on for size — by the time UCLA play again, the only team they'll have beaten in the last month is UC San Diego.
9. UC Irvine. The erstwhile national champions surely do have an uphill battle to get back to that stage. Very much normal service for them this past week, sweeping Cal Baptist and being swept by BYU. Both very expected results. The Anteaters look to be in solid shape to make the MPSF tournament, being a match and a half up on ninth-placed Hawaii, but that'll probably be the high point of their season. Like a lot of teams, they're idle this week.
10. Lewis. The Flyers had a good week this past, sweeping aside Ohio State and George Mason at home. They've got the big one this week, on the road against worldbeaters Loyola. They then return home for two against EIVA competition, Penn State and St Francis.
ALSO UNDER CONSIDERATION (in alphabetical order): Ball State, Hawaii, Penn State
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