The top-four seeds of the MPSF conference tournament proved why they were ranked the way they were, winning their matches to move onto the semifinals.
Semifinal Match-ups
- Long Beach State vs. UC Irvine
- BYU vs. Hawaii
#1 seeded Long Beach State took on #8 seed USC, taking them down in four sets. Leading the Beach was TJ DeFalco who put down 12 kills on a .355 hitting percentage. The Beach recorded eight service aces in the match, the most in a conference tournament match since 2009.
BYU, the #2 seed in the tournament, took on #7 seed Stanford, taking them down in three sets without star hitter Ben Patch. Stepping up for the Cougars was Tim Dobbert who put down 13 kills in the match.
The third seeded Hawaii Warriors defeated #6 seed Pepperdine in a three set sweep. The Warriors were led by senior outside hitter Kupono Fey with 14 kills, eight digs and a career-best six blocks. Stijn van Tilburg contributed a double-double in the match with 14 kills and 10 digs to help the Warriors along.
In the final addition to the semifinal line up, UC Irvine ended UCLA changes at the conference title with a four set victory. Aaron Koubi led the Anteaters with 19 kills in the match.
This season, BYU has faced Hawaii twice, with the Cougars coming out on top both times in three set sweeps, with Long Beach State has taken down UC Irvine in their two meetings this season, as well.
The semifinals will be played on April 20 at Long Beach State, with the winners advancing to the finals on April 22.
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