2017 Men's MPSF ChampionshipsMar 23, 2017 by Rob Espero
The Stakes Are Huge In This Weekend's Long Beach State, BYU Series
The Stakes Are Huge In This Weekend's Long Beach State, BYU Series
Long Beach men's volleyball travels to BYU this weekend and the two matches have huge implications on the MPSF conference as a whole.
The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation has become synonymous with thrilling finishes in men's college volleyball. As the postseason nears, there is no doubt that we can expect the same this year--especially when it comes to the race between No. 2 Long Beach State and No. 3 BYU to win the MPSF regular-season title and host the conference tournament.
Long Beach State's last loss was in its first MPSF match against USC back on January 11. Since that 3-1 defeat, the 49ers have accumulated the nation's longest current win streak at 14 games. Their remaining schedule after this weekend's two-match series with BYU on Friday and Saturday has them playing current 10th-place MPSF team Cal State Northridge on April 8, a match that by all accounts the Beach should win.
For BYU, its last loss was to fourth-ranked MPSF foe UC Irvine in a five-set thriller on January 27 in Provo, Utah. Since then, the Cougars have strung together the nation's second-longest win streak at 13 games. Their remaining schedule after this weekend's series with Long Beach State has them traveling to current eighth-place MPSF team UC Santa Barbara for back-to-back matches on April 6-7. UCSB is fighting to stay in the top eight in the conference standings and make it into the tournament. Once again, barring an uncharacteristic performance, BYU should take both of these matches.
Assuming that the Beach and the Cougs do what they're supposed to do versus CSUN and UCSB, respectively, the MPSF conference regular season title and the right to host the MPSF tournament will be determined this weekend in Provo. Here's a breakdown of this nail-bitingly intense race.
The simplest scenario is this: If either team sweeps the weekend series, it should win the MPSF regular season title and earn the right to host the MPSF tournament semis and final.
But here's where it gets complicated. If Long Beach State and BYU split, there is an extremely high likelihood that they will finish the MPSF regular season with identical records of 16-2. If that happens we will have to look at Section 505 of the MPSF's Men's Volleyball Regulations--particularly "Section 505.1.3.10 Tiebreakers."
o Head-to-head record in MPSF match play between tied teams.
o Highest percentage of MPSF sets won in the matches played between tied teams.
o Points scored divided by points allowed in MPSF matches between tied teams.
o Percentage of sets won in all MPSF matches.
o Total points scored in all MPSF matches divided by total points allowed in all MPSF matches.
o Coin toss.
Essentially, we could end up going down the above criteria in order to determine the regular season champion and the right to host the MPSF tournament.
In a split, both teams will finish with identical records, so we will then look at sets played between them. For example, if the Cougars take the first match of the series 3-2, then the 49ers take the second match 3-1, this would give the regular season title to Long Beach. But if BYU wins the first night 3-1 and Long Beach wins the second night 3-1, that would result in another tie in the criteria, and we'd have to look to the next criterion: points scored divided by points allowed.
If by some chance the points-scored vs. points-allowed criterion ends in a tie, we move onto the next tiebreaker, percentage of sets won in all MPSF matches--and so on. I think you get the idea.
All this to say that we still don't know who's going to win the MPSF regular-season title and host the MPSF conference semis and final--yet. But we do know that a lot of Beach and Cougs fans will be watching this Friday and Saturday nights at Smith Fieldhouse and on the BYUtv live stream! And, we know that no matter where the MPSF semis and final are hosted, FloVolleyball will be streaming the action live on April 20 and 22.
GET READY FOR AN EPIC BATTLE!
WATCH THE MPSF SEMIS & FINALS LIVE ON FLOVOLLEYBALL, APRIL 20 & 22, 2017
Long Beach State's last loss was in its first MPSF match against USC back on January 11. Since that 3-1 defeat, the 49ers have accumulated the nation's longest current win streak at 14 games. Their remaining schedule after this weekend's two-match series with BYU on Friday and Saturday has them playing current 10th-place MPSF team Cal State Northridge on April 8, a match that by all accounts the Beach should win.
For BYU, its last loss was to fourth-ranked MPSF foe UC Irvine in a five-set thriller on January 27 in Provo, Utah. Since then, the Cougars have strung together the nation's second-longest win streak at 13 games. Their remaining schedule after this weekend's series with Long Beach State has them traveling to current eighth-place MPSF team UC Santa Barbara for back-to-back matches on April 6-7. UCSB is fighting to stay in the top eight in the conference standings and make it into the tournament. Once again, barring an uncharacteristic performance, BYU should take both of these matches.
Assuming that the Beach and the Cougs do what they're supposed to do versus CSUN and UCSB, respectively, the MPSF conference regular season title and the right to host the MPSF tournament will be determined this weekend in Provo. Here's a breakdown of this nail-bitingly intense race.
The simplest scenario is this: If either team sweeps the weekend series, it should win the MPSF regular season title and earn the right to host the MPSF tournament semis and final.
But here's where it gets complicated. If Long Beach State and BYU split, there is an extremely high likelihood that they will finish the MPSF regular season with identical records of 16-2. If that happens we will have to look at Section 505 of the MPSF's Men's Volleyball Regulations--particularly "Section 505.1.3.10 Tiebreakers."
505.1.3.10 Tiebreakers
If two or more teams remain tied, the process shall begin again with head-to-head and on down the list until all ties are broken.o Head-to-head record in MPSF match play between tied teams.
o Highest percentage of MPSF sets won in the matches played between tied teams.
o Points scored divided by points allowed in MPSF matches between tied teams.
o Percentage of sets won in all MPSF matches.
o Total points scored in all MPSF matches divided by total points allowed in all MPSF matches.
o Coin toss.
Essentially, we could end up going down the above criteria in order to determine the regular season champion and the right to host the MPSF tournament.
In a split, both teams will finish with identical records, so we will then look at sets played between them. For example, if the Cougars take the first match of the series 3-2, then the 49ers take the second match 3-1, this would give the regular season title to Long Beach. But if BYU wins the first night 3-1 and Long Beach wins the second night 3-1, that would result in another tie in the criteria, and we'd have to look to the next criterion: points scored divided by points allowed.
If by some chance the points-scored vs. points-allowed criterion ends in a tie, we move onto the next tiebreaker, percentage of sets won in all MPSF matches--and so on. I think you get the idea.
All this to say that we still don't know who's going to win the MPSF regular-season title and host the MPSF conference semis and final--yet. But we do know that a lot of Beach and Cougs fans will be watching this Friday and Saturday nights at Smith Fieldhouse and on the BYUtv live stream! And, we know that no matter where the MPSF semis and final are hosted, FloVolleyball will be streaming the action live on April 20 and 22.
GET READY FOR AN EPIC BATTLE!