Many of the west coast teams had time off this past week as MPSF play resumes this week. Not much action remains in league play as BYU can wrap up their regular season crown soon with UCLA and Pepperdine keeping hopes alive but also fighting to improve their at-large status. The battle for the four-seed is still in tact as well, with that team earning the right to host in the first round of the MPSF tournament. All-in-all, plenty still needs to be settled as the regular season winds down.
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 | 8-0 | 18-4 |
| #3 UCLA | 7-2 | 19-5 |
| #6 Pepperdine | 6-3 | 13-6 |
| #12 Grand Canyon | 3-6 | 16-8 |
| #15 Concordia Irvine | 3-6 | 12-13 |
| #19 USC | 2-6 | 6-16 |
| (RV) Stanford | 1-7 | 4-17 |
WEEKLY HONORS:
MATCHES OF THE WEEK:
- Mar. 29: #15 Concordia Irvine at #2 BYU
- Mar. 29: #6 Pepperdine at #19 USC
- Mar. 31: #12 Grand Canyon at #2 BYU
- Mar. 31: #3 UCLA at #19 USC
- Mar. 31: #15 Concordia Irvine at (RV) Stanford
VOLLEYMOB MPSF POWER RANKINGS:
- BYU
- UCLA
- Pepperdine
- Grand Canyon
- Concordia Irvine
- USC
- Stanford
CLOSE TO CLINCHING A SHARE
- #2 BYU Cougars
Remaining regular season schedule:
- vs. #15 Concordia Irvine (3-6)
- vs. #13 Grand Canyon (3-6)
- at #6 Pepperdine (6-3)
- at #3 UCLA (7-2)
The Cougars magic number is just two to clinch at least a share of the MPSF regular season title, with three equating to an outright crown. That means that between the combination of UCLA losses and BYU wins, they need two/three. Therefore, two victories this week in their regular season home finales represent chances to lock up at least a share of the league title. There’s added importance there too, as the last two matches of the regular season are very losable, with road tilts at the other top 10 teams in the conference. They’ll need their top-notch block and defense to keep humming along the way too, as they not just look to wrap things up in the regular season but also keep playing well into the postseason MPSF tournament.
PLENTY MORE TO PLAY FOR
- #3 UCLA & #6 Pepperdine
Even if BYU is able to win both of their its matches this week and knock out Pepperdine from winning the MPSF as well as keeping UCLA from winning it outright, both the Bruins and Waves will have plenty to play for in the final stretch. For one, there is still the MPSF postseason tournament, as these two look to be rolling heading into it. Most importantly though, both teams are in the mix for at-large bids should they not earn an automatic bid from winning the league. For UCLA, there path is a bit more clear, while Pepperdine started behind the eight ball a bit and are now maybe the first team out. Even if they can’t win the league title, a win over BYU would be a huge boost to their resume. Not to mention that these schools have very winnable matches besides their tests with the Cougars.
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