After it seemed like UCLA was the top-dog in the MPSF, last week saw BYU atop the standings. The question was if they could hold down the fort, which they answered with authority as they took down their two biggest contenders to work themselves into a two match league. Now the question becomes if anyone in the MPSF can come back and overtake them atop the standings, as the Cougars are in command.
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 |
| #5 BYU | 7-0 | 14-4 |
| #6 Pepperdine | 4-2 | 10-4 |
| #7 UCLA | 4-2 | 15-5 |
| #12 Concordia Irvine | 3-3 | 8-8 |
| #13 Grand Canyon | 2-4 | 12-6 |
| #19 USC | 1-5 | 4-13 |
| #20 Stanford | 1-6 | 3-15 |
WEEKLY HONORS:
MATCHES OF THE WEEK:
- Mar. 7: #6 Pepperdine at #7 UCLA
- Mar. 9: #5 BYU vs. #8 Lewis
- Mar. 10: #4 Loyola Chicago at #6 Pepperdine
- Mar. 10: #14 George Mason at #7 UCLA
- Mar. 10: #5 BYU at #2 Hawaii
VOLLEYMOB MPSF POWER RANKINGS:
- BYU
- Pepperdine
- UCLA
- Concordia Irvine
- Grand Canyon
- USC
- Stanford
THREE-PEAT?
- #5 BYU Cougars
The Cougars tied for first in the MPSF in the 2016 regular season and won the regular season portion of the league outright in 2017. After taking down both Pepperdine and UCLA (in sweep fashion), the Cougars picked off their top two contenders and gave themselves a two-match lead in the loss column over both. Of course, they still have to visit both teams, but if they win the rest and lose those, the worst they could do would be another split. Overall though, a two-match lead with five to go sets up pretty nicely for the Cougars.
HALTED BUT STILL ROLLING
- #6 Pepperdine Waves
The Waves dropped a match this past week, ending their five match winning streak, but it doesn’t end the fact that they have things rolling still. In fact, after they fell they still swept Stanford afterwards. That loss was also in five sets on the road at BYU. To maximize their chances at making the NCAA Tournament and sticking around in the league title race though, they’ll need to play well once again in Los Angeles as they head to UCLA this week in a match with national implications.
WHAT’S GOING ON?
- #7 UCLA Bruins
UCLA has now dropped four of its last five after starting 14-1, and they are just 5-13 in 18 sets over that recent lull. At first it was just a loss to the country’s top team. Then it was losses to LBSU again and at Pepperdine while Christian Hessenauer was out with injury. On the bright side they got Hessenauer back this past week and did down Stanford, but they also were swept by BYU. Some error-filled matches and times of poor serve receive have haunted the Bruins who now have a chance to redeem themselves, take down Pepperdine and stick around in the league discussion as well as avoid an even bigger hit to their NCAA Tournament at-large chances (should that be needed).
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