Spikers volleying for shot at title

By JOSH DAECHE
Collegian Staff Writer

With just over a month left in Spring Semester, men's volleyball teams across the country have already begun jockeying for postseason play. Though no one knows for sure which team will be left standing May 8 after the NCAA Championship game at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion.

Chances of the winner coming from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation are pretty good, as the division currently includes four of the top five schools in the country.

However, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 6 Indiana Purdue at Fort Wayne and No. 11 Penn State are still long shots for the title. The problem with these three is that they have not yet beaten any of the top four MPSF conference opponents.

Though it may be hard to believe that a team can start off the season 0-7 and still be a contender, Penn State may have put itself in position to do just that.

Before the season the Lions (14-10) were considered to be one of the toughest teams on the East Coast. They may have regained that dubbing after winning seven straight matches. The Lions have not dropped a game since Feb. 21, when they lost to Ohio State in four games.

Penn State can wrap up the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association with a win against New Jersey Tech at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Rec Hall. The Lions have out-hit their opponents .473 to .190 over the last seven matches while outscoring their opponents, 317-123.

Penn State goes into its weekend matches against New Jersey Tech and No. 8 Lewis with the hopes of extending its winning streak to nine matches.

Meanwhile, No. 1 Long Beach State (16-1) returned to the top spot after a seven-year hiatus.

The 49ers moved up two spots after knocking off previously undefeated BYU in five games (15-13, 15-9, 7-15, 9-15, 16-14). Long Beach State had to overcome a pair of match points to survive the victory. The 49ers were led by AVCA Player of the Week outside hitter Dave McKienzie, who had 58 kills during the five-game defeat of the Cougars. McKienzie set an NCAA season high this year in that category.

Next up for the 49ers is No. 10 USC Saturday.

No. 2 Pepperdine (17-1) is on a nine-match win streak. The Wave will ride into Provo, Utah, this weekend where they will play BYU.

Pepperdine outside hitter George Roumain had 37 kills and 15 digs in a three-game win against No. 4 Ohio State last Monday.

No. 3 BYU (19-1) hopes to get back on track against Pepperdine this weekend.

No. 4 Ohio State (15-4) will be hoping to continue its dominance in the Mid Volleyball Intercollegiate Association when it takes on Clarke tomorrow and Loyola (Chicago) Saturday. The Buckeyes' loss to Pepperdine Monday cost them their 12-match win streak.

No. 5 UCLA (15-4) is coming off a sweep of NAIA Cal St. Baptist last Friday. The exhibition match lasted under an hour and saw Adam Naeve lead the Bruins with 11 kills. UCLA's next task is Hawaii on April 2.