Most of the MPSF teams took a break from conference action this past week and instead took on foes coming from the EIVA and MIVA. One exception was UCLA and Pepperdine, as the Bruins earned a victory that clears up a bit of the conversation to who will be BYU’s biggest threat to winning the league. That race continues again this week with plenty more conference matches to come to begin the final stretch of the regular season.
With new story-lines emerging and a new season of sorts in league play commencing, VolleyMob will be giving conference updates. Below is analysis as well as the weekly MPSF table, awards, matches of the week and power rankings:
MPSF TABLE:
| TEAM | CONF. | OVERALL |
| #2 BYU | 7-0 | 17-4 |
| #4 UCLA | 5-2 | 17-5 |
| #8 Pepperdine | 4-3 | 10-6 |
| #14 Concordia Irvine | 3-3 | 9-10 |
| #11 Grand Canyon | 2-4 | 15-6 |
| USC | 1-5 | 5-14 |
| #20 Stanford | 1-6 | 4-16 |
WEEKLY HONORS:
- VolleyMob Honorable Mention POTW (Jaylen Jasper – Stanford)
- VolleyMob Honorable Mention POTW (Daenan Gyimah – UCLA)
MATCHES OF THE WEEK:
- Mar. 14: #14 Concordia Irvine at #4 UCLA
- Mar. 15: #14 Concordia Irvine at #8 Pepperdine
- Mar. 15: USC at #2 BYU
- Mar. 16: #11 Grand Canyon at #4 UCLA
- Mar. 17: #11 Grand Canyon at #8 Pepperdine
VOLLEYMOB MPSF POWER RANKINGS:
- BYU
- UCLA
- Pepperdine
- Concordia Irvine
- Grand Canyon
- USC
- Stanford
HOME SWEET HOME
- #4 UCLA & #8 Pepperdine
The common theme in this week’s biggest matches are that Grand Canyon and Concordia Irvine head to UCLA and Pepperdine. The Bruins and Waves play host to both teams on the week and will look to keep at least in striking distance toward the top of the league. Beyond just a conference perspective though, both of these teams are in situations where they need to win out – even if they don’t win the MPSF – in the regular season to bolster their at-large bid cases should BYU still collect the league title. That starts this week, as they face two lose-able matches in top 15 opponents, but need to hold serve at home.
TOUGH ROAD AHEAD
- #11 Grand Canyon & #14 Concordia Irvine
The antithesis of UCLA and Pepperdine looking to be strong at home this week is Grand Canyon and Concordia Irvine – two teams on the outskirts of the top three in the MPSF and the top 10 of the nation with two road matches ahead. For Grand Canyon it would avoid burying them in the standings, while Concordia Irvine could even move into a tie for second with a pair of wins. And although it seems unlikely they’d have a strong chance at an at-large bid, if they were to finish in second of the MPSF, they would be right up there in consideration. Both of these will have to be road warriors to accomplish their goals of moving up the tables and garnering more national prominence.
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