The BYU men's volleyball team finishes the regular season this weekend in Honolulu, with the fourth-ranked Cougars visiting No. 2 Hawaii for a pair of matches that play into a final push for postseason posturing.
At stake for the Cougars (18-6, 14-6 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) in tonight's and Saturday's matches are much-needed momentum heading into the postseason, the right to host a quarterfinal MPSF Tournament match in Provo and enhanced appeal as an at-large selection for the NCAA Final Four.
After a several-week midseason stretch as the nation's top-ranked team, the Cougars have gone 4-4, including two losses to current No. 1 and MPSF leader UC Irvine (26-3, 19-2) and last week's back-to-back losses at now-No. 5 Long Beach State State (18-9, 12-8).
Eight teams of the 12-member MPSF advance to the tournament, with Nos. 7 and 8 facing off in a play-in game and the No. 1 seed hosting the semifinals and finals and earning a quarterfinal bye.
Seed Nos. 2, 3 and 4 each host an April 22 quarterfinal match — something the Cougars are still chasing. BYU is in third place, ahead of Pepperdine (14-7, 14-7), CS Northridge (18-9, 13-8) and Long Beach.
However, BYU could finish anywhere from third to sixth, depending on its results this weekend and how the other teams fare. A sweep of Hawaii (21-4, 17-3) solidifies the third-place finish and No. 3 seed; a split guarantees at least a tie for third and a quarterfinal home match; and a pair of losses means the Cougars need the other three teams to stumble in hopes of a Provo quarterfinal.
Also, the Cougars need to finish strong — especially against Hawaii — to improve their attractiveness as a Final Four contender.
The winner of the Mountain Pacific tournament earns the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Final Four, with the winners of the two other collegiate conferences also earning automatic berths. The fourth "at-large" spot is usually given to the powerhouse-laden MPSF.
Right now, UCI and Hawaii have the inside edge as the Mountain Pacific's two hottest teams, with Irvine needing a Saturday season-finale victory or a Hawaii loss to clinch the regular-season title and tournament's top seed. The Warriors can still win those two coveted rewards with a sweep of the Cougars coupled with a UCI loss.
The best way for BYU to realize its Final Four aspirations is to win the MPSF tournament, which means going through the Anteaters. If UCI wins the tournament, the Cougars have to be better qualified than Hawaii — and that means this weekend's performance and possible head-to-head play in the league tournament.
BYU's Final Four hopes are all but shot if anyone else besides the Cougars and Anteaters wins the MPSF tournament — that tournament champion and UCI would be headed for the NCAAs.
MISCELLANEOUS VOLLEYS: BYU leads the overall series vs. Hawaii 21-12, including winning the previous six matches . . . Hawaii does have an 8-7 edge in matches played in Honolulu . . . Since arriving at BYU in 2003, Cougar head coach Tom Peterson is 7-1 vs. Hawaii . . . UC Irvine has racked up 20 consecutive victories.
E-mail: taylor@desnews.com