Men's Volleyball 2018

[pelagius]

Off the block. That's a kill, bro.

Yeah, off of Skabelund. Falafel going full clown show.

[falafel]

Off the block. That's a kill, bro.

My eyes are not attuned to VB, but it didn't look off the block to me.

Yeah, off of Skabelund. Falafel going full clown show.

[Topper]

So BYU wins the conference tourney 3-1 over UCLA and is looking for a bye. Any report on the final match?

[mtnbiker]

So BYU wins the conference tourney 3-1 over UCLA and is looking for a bye. Any report on the final match?

It was pretty much a matter of which team got on a roll, since they were pretty evenly matched. UCLA put BYU on their heels in the first set when one guy kept his serve for 7 or 8 consecutive serves and won the set. The other sets were each fairly even until the teams got to about 12 points, then BYU managed to get and keep a lead in each. Passing, or lack thereof, was the key every time.

[Topper]

It was pretty much a matter of which team got on a roll, since they were pretty evenly matched. UCLA put BYU on their heels in the first set when one guy kept his serve for 7 or 8 consecutive serves and won the set. The other sets were each fairly even until the teams got to about 12 points, then BYU managed to get and keep a lead in each. Passing, or lack thereof, was the key every time.

The UCLA website focused on the home court advantage.

[pelagius]

It was pretty much a matter of which team got on a roll, since they were pretty evenly matched. UCLA put BYU on their heels in the first set when one guy kept his serve for 7 or 8 consecutive serves and won the set. The other sets were each fairly even until the teams got to about 12 points, then BYU managed to get and keep a lead in each. Passing, or lack thereof, was the key every time.

Yeah, quality wise they are very similar. This may be equivalent to what you said but my view of it was BYU's serving pressure was just more consistent than UCLA which lead to BYU getting more runs. Both teams have passing weaknesses that the other team took advantage of: OH2 for BYU (Cyrus/Storm combo) and Jake Arnitz for UCLA (the tall OH for UCLA).

Couple of other things: Hendrickson (BYU libero) had a rough first set, but really settled down in sets 2-4 and played well. Also, BYU adjusted their block after set 1 and it really helped with Gyimah (UCLA MB ... the good one) and Arnitz. I couldn't figure out the adjustment watching in the stands (my angle's not great to catch changes in blocking), but on the broadcast they said Slabe told them to quit worrying about going as high with their hands (surely a response to Gyimah's insane reach) and just penetrate with their hands like normal (standard pike). Looking back that's exactly what it was, and it makse sense that adjustment really bottled up Arnitz more so than Gyimah.

[pelagius]

The UCLA website focused on the home court advantage.

It's not irrelevant. I think you have to favor UCLA when they play in the semi-finals of the ncaa tournament because UCLA is at home.

[pelagius]

Here is the ncaa bracket:

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[Topper]

Here is the ncaa bracket:

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SoBYU has to go through UCLA at Pauly Pavilion where they were swept a couple of weeks ago.

[LiveCoug]

SoBYU has to go through UCLA at Pauly Pavilion where they were swept a couple of weeks ago.

Yup, and they are gonna whoop em at Pauly pavilion on their way to whooping lbsu in the championship game

[pelagius]

Yup, and they are gonna whoop em at Pauly pavilion on their way to whooping lbsu in the championship game

My optimistic estimate of the probability of that: 13% chance
My pessimistic estimate: 6% chance

[Pelado]

Here is the ncaa bracket:

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Looking just at their records, it seems like Harvard should be in the first play-in game on the top side of the bracket. What's up with that?

[pelagius]

Looking just at their records, it seems like Harvard should be in the first play-in game on the top side of the bracket. What's up with that?

Cost considerations. Men's volleyball is not exactly a cash cow. King (Tennessee) is like 350 miles from Columbus. So Ohio St. hosts a play in this year. I don't see it as a big deal; The King v. OSU and Harvard v. UCLA are probably both nice to have just for those teams to keep sharp. I would surprise me if on this Saturday BYU doesn't hold a blue/white scrimmage for the same reason.

But the more general issue is that technically the volleyball tournament is a 4 team tournament, but they've stretched it to 7 with 3 play in games. Volleyball can only have a 4 team tournament because of the number of teams that play volleyball (43). This structure leads to some weirdness. I think they should just have a 5 team tournament with a play in for the 4/5. Just take the conference champions. BYU had the better regular season than UCLA and beat them in the tournament. Another single elimination reset of that matchup is silly. Same for Long Beach and UCI.


For a more authoritative source on the play in considerations here is the interview with a committee member today:

OTB: How much was geography a factor in determining that Ohio State would play host to King in the NCAA Tournament play-in match?

JO: The committee has latitude with who we select for the at large selections, but opening round match-ups will be determined by geographic proximity.

http://www.offtheblockblog.com/2018/...at-large-bids/

[pelagius]

VolleyFour matches tonight: Long Beach St v. Ohio State and BYU v. UCLA

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[Donuthole]

Men's Volleyball 2018

Down 23-22 late in the first set, BYU got a free ball on a return error over the net by UCLA. Instead of passing and setting up a play, the outside hitter went for the kill. But he swung and nearly whiffed. The ball went softly over the net and UCLA ended up winning the point, and ultimately the first set. Huge missed opportunity.