BYU volleyball: Crown on the line for BYU spikers

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Third-ranked BYU and fourth-ranked Long Beach State, the top two teams in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's volleyball standings, square off for a pair of matches this week that could determine the conference crown and the right to host the MPSF tournament.

The Cougars (17-2 overall, 12-2 MPSF) face the 49ers (17-3, 12-2 MPSF) tonight and Friday night.

Both teams are coming off losses last weekend that dropped them in the CSTV/AVCA national coaches top 15 poll — BYU was ranked No. 1 and Long Beach State No. 3 last week.

The Cougars swept UCLA in three games last Thursday before falling in four to the Bruins the following night, while the 49ers fell to Penn State in five in their own two-day, four-team nonleague tournament.

With the losses, Cal State Northridge — a team BYU beat twice earlier this season — is the new top-ranked team, followed by Penn State at No. 2. Long Beach State holds the series record over BYU, 16-15, but the Cougars have gone 12-8 over the 49ers since the 1999 season. 1999 was BYU's first of three NCAA title years.

However, Long Beach won the last three meetings on the 49ers' court, all in 2006.