MPSF Seeds Determined This Week
April 13, 2015 MPSF Volleyball Release 15
HAWAII (18-2 MPSF/23-3 Overall) extended its win streak to 16 matches with a pair of 3-0 home wins over Stanford (Apr. 10-11). A crowd of 7,296 showed up on senior night, the largest for UH since Feb. 28, 2004. Hawaii hit .330 in the first win and .408 in the second, and totaled 28.5 blocks in the series (4.75 B/S).Taylor Averill, one of the seven seniors, hit a collective .577 in the series (17-2-26) with 11 blocks (1.83 B/S). He passed Costas Theocharidis (2000-03) for fifth all-time at UH in total blocks (384). Kolby Kanetake combined for 27 digs through the six sets (4.50 D/S), while Davis Holt totaled 13 blocks (2.17 B/S). Hawaii will be seeded one or two in the MPSF Tournament, and can lock in the No. 1 with two wins this weekend at BYU (Apr. 17-18).
UC IRVINE (18-3 MPSF/24-4 Overall) won two on the road, 3-2 at UCSB and 3-1 at UCLA, making it 15 wins in the last 16 matches. Zack La Cavera turned in another huge week, combining for 42 kills (match-highs of 22 and 20) with a .444 cumulative attack (42-6-81). The Anteaters conclude the regular season at home vs. UC San Diego (Apr. 18). A win in that match, coupled with one Hawaii loss at BYU would give UCI the MPSF's No. 1 seed. UCI holds a two-way tiebreaker over UH (4-3 head-on MPSF sets) and Pepperdine (+2 head-on MPSF points). UCI would be the two seed should Hawaii win twice in Provo.
PEPPERDINE (17-4 MPSF/22-4 Overall) defeated UCLA in straight sets (Apr. 7), and hosts its regular season final Wednesday (Apr. 15) against UCSB. The Waves are locked in to the MPSF Tournament's No. 3 seed, and will host an MPSF Quarterfinal (Apr. 25) against the to be determined six seed (UCSB, Long Beach State, BYU, or USC). The win over the Bruins marked a school record 20th straight in Firestone Fieldhouse, and ninth consecutive win overall. Josh Taylor recorded a double-double on 10 kills (.500) and 12 digs. MPSF kill leader Parker Kalmbach also had a 10-kill match.
USC (13-7 MPSF/16-8 Overall) Alex Slaught had 19 kills to lead a 3-1 win over NAIA's No. 6 ranked Concordia (Apr. 7). Jack Wyett added a career-high 15 kills. Cristian Rivera had the same output at .407. The Trojans close the regular against Cal Baptist twice this week, Thursday (Apr. 16) at CBU, and Saturday (Apr. 18) at home. Two wins in the series guarantee the four seed for the Trojans and quarterfinal home court. One win would also do the trick, provided Hawaii beats BYU once.
BYU (12-8 MPSF/15-9 Overall) secured a spot in the MPSF Tournament when it won 3-0 at CSUN (Apr. 10). The Cougars went on for another sweep on night two (Apr. 11). Matt Underwood combined for 30 kills (5.00 K/S) with a .421 series clip. BYU still has a chance for the last quarterfinal home court entering the final week. Two home wins over Hawaii (Apr. 17-18; BYU TV), coupled with one Cal Baptist win over USC would secure it (BYU over USC on tiebreaker, 5-4 head-on sets). Otherwise, as the five or six seed, the Cougars would be traveling in the quarterfinals for just the third time in the rally scoring era.
UC SANTA BARBARA (11-9 MPSF/15-9 Overall) clinched a spot in the MPSF Tournament with a 3-0 home win over UC San Diego (Apr. 10). Jonah Seif had a 29-assist, 16-dig double-double, while also serving four aces. The Gaucho playoff seed can still be anywhere between four and seven, the widest range of possibilities of any team in the conference. The seed will be determined this week by visits to Pepperdine (Apr. 15) and Stanford (Apr. 18), as well as other conference results. UCSB holds two-way tiebreakers over USC and BYU (both 5-3 head-on sets).
LONG BEACH STATE (10-11 MPSF/14-12 Overall) was off last week and plays its regular season finale in the Walter Pyramid Saturday (Apr. 18) vs. CSUN. The 49ers clinched a postseason bid sitting back and watching things unfold this past Friday (Apr. 10), as Stanford, UCLA, and CSUN all lost. Long Beach State earns the six seed with a win Saturday, along with two UCSB losses (tiebreaker to LBSU with +2 head-on points). Otherwise, the 49ers will be seeded seventh.
UCLA (8-13 MPSF/12-13 Overall) won 3-0 over UC San Diego in its home finale (Apr. 11). Clay Paullin and Trent Kersten were a collective 13 for an errorless 17 in their final match in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins are one of two teams seeking the eighth and last ticket to the postseason (as the eight seed), which would be granted with a win at Stanford Friday (Apr. 17). If UCLA does not win at Stanford, and Long Beach State beats CSUN, the Bruins would need two specific results: stay within nine total points if swept in that match (or win a set), in addition to a UCSB win over Stanford (Apr. 18). UCLA won 3-0 over Stanford at home (Jan. 29), and totaled nine more points, thus would have the two-way tiebreaker in the preceding sentence. If CSUN picks up an eighth conference win and creates a three-way tie by the end of Saturday, points and sets become irrelevant. UCLA would enter the MPSF Tournament by virtue of a 3-1 combined record this year against Stanford and CSUN.
STANFORD (7-13 MPSF/10-16 Overall) Gabriel Vega had a match-high 14 kills in the first match at Hawaii, before Madison Hayden had a match-high of 12 in the second match. Stanford is one of two teams looking for the eighth and final seed for the MPSF Tournament. Two home wins this week on Pac-12 Networks over UCLA Friday (Apr. 17) and UCSB Saturday (Apr. 18) would secure a spot. The Cardinal is in a must win situation against the Bruins, but could still earn an MPSF playoff spot with a loss to the Gauchos, provided Stanford swept UCLA on Friday by at least 10 total points. That scenario assumes CSUN does not pick up an eighth conference win. If CSUN beats LBSU, the only way Stanford enters the MPSF Tournament is with two wins this week.
CSUN (7-14 MPSF/10-17 Overall) was eliminated from postseason contention with the second loss to BYU (Apr. 11), along with UCLA's win the same night. Greg Faulkner, on his final home weekend, was 10 for an errorless 21 in the series (.476). Jakub Ciesla combined for a series second-best 24 kills (4.00 K/S). CSUN closes the season at Long Beach St. Saturday.
CAL BAPTIST (2-18 MPSF/6-20 Overall) plays its final two matches of the year this week, taking on USC back-to-back, at home Thursday (Apr 16) and on the road Saturday (Apr. 18). Enrique Garcia is fifth in blocking in the MPSF (1.21 B/S).
UC SAN DIEGO (0-21 MPSF/2-25 Overall) plays its season finale at UC Irvine Saturday (Apr. 18). Shayne Beamer had five blocks at UCSB (Apr. 10), and Bryan Zhu a pair of aces and four for an errorless seven swinging at UCLA (Apr. 11).