Monday, March 30, 1998
After sweep of Stanford,
By Cindy Luis
UH in driver’s seat in
Pacific Division
Star-BulletinThe University of Hawaii earned some breathing room in the Pacific Division, while it got a little crowded at the top of the Mountain Division of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's volleyball standings over the weekend.
Courtesy of Saturday's 15-5, 15-5, 17-15 sweep of Stanford, the Rainbows have a 112-game lead over the Cardinal with four league matches remaining. The schedule, odds and tiebreaker favor Hawaii in its bid to win the division title and the critical No. 1 seed in the Pacific.
The Rainbows (18-5, 12-3) will host UC Irvine (5-9, 9-10) Friday and No. 3 Brigham Young (11-3, 11-3) Saturday. Hawaii finishes the regular season at home against Pacific (4-10, 9-13) April 10-11.
Barring any major upsets, the Rainbows should win at least three of their remaining four matches. Third-ranked BYU has the best shot at knocking off Hawaii, but the Cougars have to play at Stanford on Wednesday before making the trip to Honolulu.
Stanford could overtake Hawaii in the Pacific race. But the Cardinal would have to win at least two of its last three matches (BYU, Long Beach State and Southern Cal) and the Rainbows lose at least three of their four. Hawaii wins the head-to-head tiebreaker if the teams are deadlocked.
In the Mountain Division, just 1-12 games separates the top three rated teams in the country: UCLA (13-2), Pepperdine (12-2) and BYU (11-3). The Cougars, the preseason No. 1 pick, can't be overlooked, but the division title might be decided April 10, when Pepperdine travels to UCLA.
The top three teams in each division, as well as the two teams with the next-best records advance to the MPSF Tournament. The Nos. 1 and 2 teams in each division host first-round matches, with the highest-seeded team remaining after the first round hosting the MPSF semifinals and championship.
Based on current standings, if the tournament opened tomorrow, the Rainbows would face UC Santa Barbara on April 18. The Gauchos (6-8) are in a battle for one of the two at-large berths, fighting it out with Loyola Marymount (7-7), Southern Cal (5-9) and UC Irvine (5-9).
Hawaii has an outside chance at hosting the MPSF final four, but the Rainbows would need to defeat BYU on Saturday and have the Cougars win the Mountain Division title. Hawaii would lose the head-to-head tiebreaker with the two other Mountain title contenders, UCLA and Pepperdine.
The 29th NCAA Championship Tournament is scheduled April 30 and May 1 at the Stan Sheriff Center. It is the second time Hawaii has hosted the national championship. UH also hosted in 1991, with Long Beach State defeating Southern Cal at Blaisdell Arena.
1997-98 UH Men’s Volleyball
Schedule and Recordhttp://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
