Ohio State
Of these six teams, the top two seeds (No. 1 and also title holders Ohio State /30-2/ and No.2 Long Beach State /27-3/) already found their way to the bracket as semifinalists, while the remaining four teams will compete in the Opening Round for the last two spots in the semis.
The Opening Round sets off on May 2 where No. 3 Brigham Young University – BYU (24-4) face No. 6 Barton. Winners of this duel will advance to the semis and meet Long Beach State. A better side from a duel between fourth seed Hawai’i (26-5) and fifth seed Pennsylvania State – Penn State (21-10) will play Ohio State in the other semifinal. Both semis will be held on May 4, while Championship Final is on May 6.
All matches as from Opening Round to the great final will be played at „St. John Arena“, Columbus, Ohio.
Road to the F6:**
No.1:
The Ohio State Buckeyes advanced to the 2017 NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championships by sweeping Grand Canyon University (GCU) Antelopes in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) tournament finals 25-16, 25-22, 25-11 to seize the 16th MIVA tournament title in school history, which is a league record. In the final, The Buckeyes were pushed by senior opposite Miles Johnson with 11 points and .348 hitting. This season, Ohio State nearly broke all-time NCAA Men’s Volleyball record in number of consecutive wins.
No.2:
Long Beach State earned the trophy intended for the best team in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), which was the first-ever conference championship won for the 49ers in any sport. Long Beach defeated Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors in the Final 3-1 (17-25, 25-20, 25-13, 25-23) leaving rivals to the mercy of the NCAA Men’s Volleyball Committee to award them one of the two at-large bids for the Final Six, which eventually happened. The 49ers relied on offensive display of sophomore opposite Kyle Ensing, who finished the match with 15 kills on .367 hitting.
No.3:
Brigham Young University (BYU) secured an at-large bid to the 2017 NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championships by receiving the No. 3 seed. The Cougars lost MPSF tournament semifinals to Hawai’i 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-22) but earned at-large bid for the F6. BYU leading scorer throughout Regular Season was senior outside hitter Jake Langlois with 405.5 points, making .357 attack.
No.4:
Hawai’i fell in the MPSF tournament final to Long Beach 3-1, as we already mentioned, but got al-large bid. The Rainbow Warriors went to the conference finals by beating BYU in the semis 3-0 thanks to senior outside hitter Kupono Fey, who collected 16 kills, hitting .464.
No.5:
Penn State Nittany Lions became the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) champions for the 28th time in progam history by wrecking Saint Francis Red Flash 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-20) in conference title match. Senior outside hitter Chris Nugent highlighted Penn St. with nine kills on 16 swings, hitting .438.
No.6:
Barton Bulldogs earned their first Conference Carolinas tournament championship as they defeated University of Mount Olive Trojans in the final by 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-17). Sophomore outside hitter from Greece Vasilis Mandilaris led Barton’s way with a match-high 13 kills and a .647 hitting percentage.
**Conferences receiving automatic qualification include Conference Carolinas, Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The remaining two teams were selected at-large without geographical restrictions.
These players stood out at the end of NCAA Men’s Volleyball Divison 1 Regular Season:
Scoring – Lucas Yoder (senior outside hitter, University of Southern California – USC) 5.22 per set
Kills – Lucas Yoder (senior outside hitter, University of Southern California – USC) 4.85 per set
Blocks – Amir Lugo-Rodriguez (Mexican senior middle blocker, Long Beach State) 1.30 per set
Aces – Dimitar Kalchev (Bulgarian sophomore outside hitter, California State University, Northridge – CSUN) 0.63 per set
Assists – Josh Tuaniga (sophomore setter, Long Beach State) 11.13 per set.
See full individual statistics.
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