BYU netters close out home slate with Pacific

PROVO — With postseason posturing on the minds of both nationally ranked men's volleyball teams, BYU plays host to Pacific in a pair of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches as the Cougars conclude their regular-season home slate this weekend.

Second-ranked BYU (16-4 overall, 12-4 MPSF) meets No. 15 Pacific (7-15, 5-11) at 7 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday. Both matches will be in the Smith Fieldhouse.

Following Saturday's regular-season finale, the Cougars five seniors — libero Brian Rowley, middle blocker/outside hitter Victor Batista, outside hitter/opposite Taylor Evans, setter Rob Neilson and reserve opposite Josh Brecheisen — will be honored.

However, BYU is hoping for at least one more home match for the MPSF Tournament. Eight of the league's 12 teams advance to the playoffs, with the Nos. 7 and 8 meeting in a play-in game.

The top-seeded tournament team — the top finisher in the MPSF standings — earns a quarterfinal bye and hosts the semifinals and finals. Seeds Nos. 2, 3 and 4 host quarterfinal matches against the Nos. 7/8, 6 and 5 teams respectively.

The MPSF tournament winner earns the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Final Four, with a second MPSF team usually afforded the one at-large spot in the four-team national championships.

While ranked second nationally, the Cougars are third in the current MPSF standings, behind top-ranked UC Irvine (21-3, 14-2 MPSF) and third-ranked Hawaii (16-4, 14-3).

The Cougars are one of our teams having clinched a MPSF tournament berth. But with three weeks and six matches left in the regular season, BYU hasn't guaranteed itself of hosting its quarterfinal match.

And while the Cougars still have a slim chance of still winning the league and hosting the MPSF semis and finals, BYU would not only have to finish strong the last two weeks on the road but also hope for UCI and Hawaii to suffer late-season stumbles.

Meanwhile, Pacific is battling to make tournament, with the Tigers currently 10th in the powerhouse-packed MPSF.

After this weekend's pair of matches against Pacific, BYU concludes the regular season with a pair of two-match road trips — next week at No. 6 Long Beach State and the following week at No. 3 Hawaii.

The Cougars are 14-5 all-time against Pacific, including 9-0 in Provo. The two teams split the two matches last year in Stockton, Calif.

BYU is coming off a pair of non-league victories against then-No. 11 Ohio State and Rutgers-Newark in last week's Long Beach State Active Ankle Classic. Pacific suffered a pair of 3-0 home losses to Hawaii.

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