And then there were four.
The NCAA men's volleyball semifinals will take place tonight at The Pyramid at Long Beach State University in Long Beach, Calif. Pepperdine will square off against Lewis in the first match at 9 p.m., and Penn State will take on BYU at 11 p.m. The winners will meet for the National Championship on Saturday at 7 p.m.
No. 1 BYU
BYU enters the semifinals as the nation's hottest team, having earned an automatic berth and a No. 1 seed by winning the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) postseason tournament.
The Cougars had probably the most difficult road to the final four, as they swept No. 3 Hawaii in the MPSF semifinals and fought back from an 0-2 deficit to defeat former No. 1 Pepperdine, 3-2.
The Pyramid at Long Beach State has been kind to BYU in the past, as it was the site of the team's last national championship in 2001. The Cougars defeated Penn State in the NCAA semifinal in 2001 before capturing the national title. BYU is led by junior opposite hitter Jonathan Alleman, who was named AVCA National Player of the Week for the second time this season for his performance in the MPSF Tournament. Alleman is averaging 3.93 kills per game, and tallied 22 kills against Pepperdine and 13 against Hawaii.
No. 2 Pepperdine
The Waves (24-5) come into the National Tournament by getting the lone at-large bid and the No. 2 seed. Pepperdine, which was upset in the MPSF Tournament by BYU on Saturday, won't get a chance to avenge that loss without a win tonight against Lewis. Pepperdine is led by sophomore Sean Rooney, who has recorded 459 kills and 2002 AVCA player of the year, and senior Brad Keenan, who leads the team with 200 blocks. This is a team that has plenty to play for as it is looking to rebound after last year's championship match loss to Hawaii in four games, not to mention its most recent defeat to the No. 1 seeded Cougars of BYU.
Behind the bench for the Waves sits one of the foremost legendary minds in the game, Dr. Marv Dunphy. Dunphy has won four National Championships during his 19-year tenure in California, while also coaching the U.S. men's national team in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea.
No. 3 Lewis
The third-seeded Flyers (27-5) come into the tournament after gliding through the MIVA Tournament by beating both No. 14 IUPFW and No. 11 Loyola-Chicago in straight sets. Lewis runs its offense through junior phenom and MIVA Tournament MVP Fabbiano Barreto, who led the team with 481 kills and 29 aces this season. The Flyers returned all of last season's starters, including 27-year-old co-captain Jose Martins. Defense is where Lewis may have some problems, as they average the least amount of blocks per game of the four teams in Long Beach. Penn State coach Mark Pavlik said that while Lewis is probably the best team in the tournament offensively, it is the worst team defensively. The Pepperdine-Lewis match is scheduled to start at 9 p.m.
No. 4 Penn State
Nine years ago, Penn State men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik and current BYU coach Tom Peterson walked off the court together in Ft. Wayne, Ind., as NCAA champions.
Peterson was Penn State's head coach and Pavlik an assistant for the 1994 team, the only Penn State squad to win a men's volleyball national championship. The win shocked the volleyball world, as Penn State became the first team from anywhere other than California to win the national championship.
Now, Petersen and Pavlik find themselves on opposite sides of the net, facing off tonight in the NCAA semifinal.
What was Penn State's biggest question at the beginning of the season remains its biggest concern now. Freshman setter Dan O'Dell, who assumed the starting position early in the season, was pulled from Penn State's EIVA semifinal match against Princeton in favor of senior co-captain Nate Matthews. O'Dell bounced back in the EIVA final to notch 61 assists. While O'Dell will start again in tonight's match, Pavlik said that he will make whatever moves necessary for Penn State to win.
"There will be pressure on Dan and people saying that freshman setters are not supposed to win national championships," Pavlik said "He just has to forget about errors and go out to win."
The Lions have faced BYU twice this year during a spring break weekend, with each team winning one match. Senior Carlos Guerra said that in the team's first loss to BYU, Penn State didn't really believe it could win. However, the second night, the Lions came out not only to compete, but to win the match.
Senior Zach Slenker said he has been pleased with his individual play during the last two weeks. Slenker was named the Most Outstanding Player for his play in the EIVA tournament. Slenker, Penn State's co-captain, will look to lead the Lions against teams from the West, who don't always take Penn State seriously.
"Traditionally, not a lot of those teams have respected us," Slenker said. "But over the last two years, we've proven that we can play with them."
