The Big West is still the conference with the slowest start as no team has gone beyond two league matches. That won’t last for long, with some pairings this week as we get into the thick of things. Still, as the schools dipped into non-league action last week, plenty of news and stories emerge for the Big West.
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 Big West table, awards, matches of the week and power rankings:
BIG WEST TABLE:
| TEAM | CONF. | OVERALL |
| #1 LBSU | 2-0 | 17-0 |
| #10 UCSB | 2-0 | 9-5 |
| #3 Hawaii | 1-1 | 13-3 |
| #5 UC Irvine | 1-1 | 13-5 |
| #15 CSUN | 0-2 | 10-7 |
| (RV) UCSD | 0-2 | 9-10 |
WEEKLY HONORS:
- VolleyMob Player of the Week (Austin Matautia – Hawaii)
- VolleyMob Honorable Mention POTW (Keenan Sanders – UCSB)
- VolleyMob Honorable Mention POTW (Arvis Greene – CSUN)
- Big West Weekly Awards
MATCHES OF THE WEEK:
- Mar. 15: #10 UCSB at #1 LBSU
- Mar. 15: #3 Hawaii at #15 CSUN
- Mar. 16: #1 LBSU at #10 UCSB
- Mar. 16: #3 Hawaii at #15 CSUN
- Mar. 18: #3 Hawaii at #8 Pepperdine
VOLLEYMOB BIG WEST POWER RANKINGS:
- LBSU
- Hawaii
- UC Irvine
- UCSB
- CSUN
- UCSD
BATTLE AT THE TOP
- #1 LBSU & #10 UCSB
Only two teams got off to 2-0 starts in the Big West in Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara. The two now meet this week for a pair of matches where either the 49ers can reaffirm their positioning or UCSB can overtake them. The Gauchos could really emerge as a contender in the league should they earn at least one victory too. It was also finally prove that the 49ers can be beaten, which they have avoided thus far. It’ll be a clash of the league’s top offense (LBSU) against the top blocking team (UCSB), where the team that serves and serve receives best will have the advantage.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HOPES
- #3 Hawaii & #5 UC Irvine
Hawaii and UC Irvine are by no means out of the early conference race, as each takes on Long Beach State twice and could still very much so win the Big West. However, should they be unable to crack the difficult puzzle that is the 49ers, both of these teams have legit shots at earning at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament. Right now, Hawaii would likely be in line for one, while UC Irvine might fall short of UCLA – who they lost to twice earlier this season. That means even if these teams fall to Long Beach State later in the season, they need to take care of the rest of their business in bolstering their record and resume as much as possible.
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