Every day at VolleyMob we will preview several of the most notable and interesting matches in NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball. We will offer an inside look at some of those top matchups each day as we carry along through the 2017 season.
*Note: The VolleyMob Top 25 Power Rankings are utilized for a team’s ranking
*The entire week’s schedule can be seen here.
THE BIG MATCH:
#25 Northern Iowa (23-6, 13-2) at (RV) Missouri State (22-5, 14-0) – 1 pm ET
- How to follow: ESPN3/Northern Iowa Radio/Live Stats
Missouri State hosts Northern Iowa in a match that goes beyond teams at the fringe of being ranked, as a Bears win would clinch them at least a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title while a Northern Iowa win would keep them on their heels with a few games left.
Missouri State won the first go around – with it even coming on the road. It was an extremely tight four set match though, as they won all three of their sets by three or less, with one going to extra points. The difference may have been likely All-American Lily Johnson, who logged 22 kills and 18 digs in the match while hitting .313 as she now looks for an encore performance.
For Northern Iowa, their RPI isn’t as high as their ranking. While the NCAA Tournament committee does value the eye test and should take into account the Panthers huge wins, they do something over-emphasize that RPI. It would be huge for Northern Iowa to win this match as Bri Weber will look for another big-time performance just like Johnson after she racked up 14 kills and 23 digs in the first go-around.
OTHER NOTABLE MATCHES:
#18 Baylor (20-5, 10-2) at #10 Kansas (21-4, 10-2) – 2 pm ET
- How to follow: ESPN3/Kansas Radio/Baylor Radio/Live Stats
Two teams tied for second in the Big 12 meet up in Lawrence for their second meeting of the season. The first went in the Jayhawks favor, as Kansas went down to Waco and earned a dominant three-set sweep. Beyond the winner of this sitting alone in second and boosting their first/second round hosting resume, they also stay alive for a Big 12 title – although need help with Texas at zero losses atop the table.
#17 Colorado (19-7, 9-6) at #12 USC (19-7, 11-4) – 4 pm ET
- How to follow: Pac-12 Networks/Live Stats
Colorado came into the week winners of seven eight. That one loss came to UCLA, and sure enough their first opponent in this Los Angeles trip in the Bruins downed them again. We will see if it’s more of a bad matchup or if the hot streak is coming to a close as USC looks to continue taking off for second-place in the Pac-12 as both teams could use this win for their first/second round hosting resumes.
#5 Texas (20-2, 12-0) at #20 Iowa State (18-5, 8-4) – 6 pm ET
- How to follow: Cyclones TV/Live Stats
With just four matches to go in Big 12 play for both of these squads, it’s a big opportunity for Iowa State to stay on the tail of the loser of Kansas/Baylor for third while Texas can move closer to another Big 12 crown. Last year Iowa State upset Texas in Ames as well, as beyond Big 12 implications, this would be huge for Iowa State from a first/second round hosting perspective and for getting a top four ranking for Texas.
BEST OF THE REST:
UC Irvine (21-5, 9-4) at #21 Cal Poly (23-2, 13-0) – 5 pm ET
- How to follow: Big West TV/Live Stats
#23 Colorado State (25-2, 15-0) at San Jose State (16-10, 8-7) – 5 pm ET
- How to follow: Mountain West TV/Live Stats
#14 Wisconsin (17-7, 8-7) at (RV) Purdue (19-7, 9-6) – 7 pm ET
- How to follow: BTN Plus/Purdue Radio/Wisconsin Radio/Game Tracker
#2 Stanford (21-3, 14-1) at Washington State (15-12, 4-11) – 10 pmET
- How to follow: Pac-12 Networks/Live Stats
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