MPSF Tournament Seeds On The Line
April 7, 2014
MPSF Volleyball Release 14
STANFORD (15-7 MPSF/18-7 Overall) penciled in a seventh-straight MPSF Tournament appearance, following two wins over Pacific and Cal Baptist in straight sets. MPSF hitting leader Conrad Kaminski was 15 for an errorless 19 (.786) through the week. The Cardinal, riding a nine-match win streak to equal the longest in the conference this year, concludes the regular season at UC Irvine and UCSD this weekend. One win guarantees a top-four seed and keeps Stanford at home in the quarterfinals. Stanford has tiebreakers over Hawaii and Pepperdine (both 2-0 head-to-head matches), and UCSB (5-3 head-to-head sets).
HAWAII (13-9 MPSF/15-10 Overall) earned a pair of stunning home victories this past weekend over regular season champion BYU. The Warriors dropped the first two sets in match one, had a match point against them in the third, and proceeded for six straight set wins to finish the series and stay in the hunt for a playoff spot. UH is guaranteed an MPSF Tournament bid with two wins at Pepperdine this week, but also has a chance for entry without two wins. UCLA losing twice, or ending up in a two-way tie with the Bruins are examples, as UH holds that two-way tiebreaker (2-0 head-to-head matches).
PEPPERDINE (16-6 MPSF/16-6 Overall) earns the two seed with a pair of home wins over Hawaii this week (Apr 11 & 12). The Waves will stay home for the quarterfinals if they go 1-1 with UH. The two-seed can also be rewarded with a 1-1 week if Stanford loses once this weekend. Matt Tarantino had a career-high 11 blocks in the 3-2 home win over USC last Saturday.
UC IRVINE (14-8 MPSF/17-9 Overall) won a four-set match at UC San Diego last Friday, behind a season-best .561 (63-8-98) offensive performance, tying for the seventh-best in MPSF rally-scoring history. The Anteaters close the regular season at home this weekend with Stanford and Pacific. Multiple scenarios will punch a postseason ticket, including one win, OR one loss for Hawaii or Long Beach State. UCI also secures a top-four seed and quarterfinal home court with two wins this weekend. The Anteaters hold two-way tiebreakers over the 49ers (+ 2 head-to-head points), Hawaii and UCSB (2-0 head-to-head matches), Pepperdine (4-3 head-to-head sets), and USC (+5 head-to-head points).
UC SANTA BARBARA (14-8 MPSF/15-8 Overall) Chad Kingi picked up 24 digs in a five-set comeback win at Long Beach State last Thursday, the most in the conference since Stanford's Erik Shoji had as many in 2009. UCSB is still in contention to stay home for the MPSF Quarterfinals, though can at least solidify a tournament spot with a win this week at home over CBU or BYU, or one Hawaii or LBSU loss. The Gauchos hold tiebreakers over Hawaii and LBSU (2-0 head-to-head matches).
UCLA (13-9 MPSF/16-10 Overall) won in five at Long Beach State this past Saturday, as Steve O'Dell dished a 2014 MPSF-High 67 assists, leading a .316 offense. UCLA holds tiebreakers over Stanford and UC Irvine (2-0 head-to head MPSF matches), USC (4-3 head-to-head sets) and UCSB (+2 head-to-head points). The Bruins will secure a playoff spot with two home wins this week over Cal Baptist and BYU. Two losses by Hawaii this week would also punch a UCLA ticket if it wins just once.
USC (14-10 MPSF/16-10 Overall) finished the regular season at Pepperdine this past Saturday, and will simply watch it all unfold this week. The Trojans can enter the postseason with one Long Beach State loss, one Hawaii loss, or two UCLA losses this week.
CS NORTHRIDGE (9-13 MPSF/10-15 Overall) Sam Holt slammed 37 kills, hitting .484, in an epic five-set home win to snap a five-year slide to UCLA last Thursday, a match featuring a 23-21 set five score. The 37 kills were the most in the MPSF since Stanford's Evan Romero accumulated as many on Apr. 9, 2010. Holt's 40.5 points in the match was a conference-high since Long Beach State's Dean Bittner had as many on Feb. 2, 2010. Holt went on for 18 kills (.333) in a 3-1 win over UCSB.
PACIFIC (2-20 MPSF/3-22 Overall) posted a 3-0 home win over Cal Baptist in the program's final contest in Stockton. Thomas Hodges was 14 for an errorless 19 (.737) with three aces. The Tigers end the year at UCSD and UCI this weekend.
BYU (18-4 MPSF/18-6 Overall) locked up this year's MPSF Championship Tournament's No. 1 seed On March 29, beating last year's Cougar team by all of 24 hours in becoming the quickest all-time to secure it. Worst case, BYU would end up tied with Pepperdine for the top regular season finish, though the Cougars own that tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed (5-3 head-to-head sets). The regular season finishes at UCSB (Apr. 10) and UCLA (Apr. 12). The Cougars will then host the "1-8" MPSF Quarterfinal on Apr. 19, where a win also would keep them in Provo for the semifinals (Apr. 24) and championship (Apr. 26).
LONG BEACH STATE (13-9 MPSF/16-9 Overall) enters the MPSF Tournament with two wins in a home-and-home series with CS Northridge this week. LBSU can also get in with a split, provided Hawaii loses once at Pepperdine. The 49ers hold two-way ties over Stanford (2-0 head-to-head matches), Hawaii (5-3 head-to-head sets), and UCLA (5-4 head-to-head sets).
UC SAN DIEGO (1-21 MPSF/3-22 Overall) defeated first-year program UC Merced in three on Saturday, and hosts Pacific and Stanford to finish the season this weekend.
CAL BAPTIST (2-20 MPSF/4-22 Overall) concludes the season at UCSB and UCLA this week.