Quick anecdote: During my club volleyball playing days back at Texas Tech, we would play in tournaments over the weekend that would generally start around 8 a.m. Needless to say, I???d be less than fully awake at the start of some of these matches, and let???s just say I???ve been smacked wide awake, literally, on more than one occasion, by a hard-driven attack???spike???to the face! All that to say, I miss those days.

So, this upcoming weekend, I???ll be making the trip over to Columbus, Ohio, for the National Collegiate Men???s Finals. The conference tournaments wrapped up this past Saturday, which set up this year???s four-team national championship tournament field. First serve of the semifinals is set for this Thursday and the title game will be Saturday, May 5.

In the first semifinal, top-seeded Pepperdine will take on Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, or IPFW for those who prefer acronyms. The other semifinal matchup will pit UC Irvine against Penn State, last season???s national runner-up.

Even as an avid volleyball fan, I wasn???t completely sure how the four-team national tournament was set up, so I did a little research. Three of the four automatic bids go to the winners of the three conference tournaments. Those conferences are the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA), Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). The final spot goes to an at-large selection.

In the EIVA tournament finals, the Nittany Lions swept their way into the national semifinals with a 3-0 (30-28, 30-16, 30-27) win over St. Francis. I suspect Penn St. is eager to return to the title game to take care of some unfinished business.

IPFW also registered a 3-0 (30-22, 30-27, 30-26) victory over Ohio State in the MIVA finals. In winning the match, IPFW had to overcome the advantage the Buckeyes had of playing on their home court.

Over in the MPSF championship game, UC Irvine rallied from a two-game deficit to beat Pepperdine, 3-2 (27-30, 24-30, 30-28, 30-28, 16-14), and earn the conference???s automatic bid. Coincidentally, the teams will be the top two seeds of the national tournament with the possibility of meeting again in the finals.

I wonder how often an at-large team???in this case, five-time champion Pepperdine???has also been the top seed of a tournament.

Of the Waves??? five previous titles, the most recent came in 2004. Penn St. won the national title in 1994 to become the first non-MPSF team to claim the crown. The other two participants, IPFW and UC Irvine, will be looking for their first national titles. Only two teams not affiliated with the MPSF have won national titles???Penn State in 1994 and Lewis in 2003. The title was later vacated from Lewis. UCLA, last year???s champion, has the most titles with 19. (Thanks for enduring that quick history lesson.)

Thursday???s semifinals will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and ESPNU from St. John Arena on the Ohio State campus at 3 and 5 p.m., respectively. The finals can also be seen on ESPN2 on Saturday at 7 p.m. Check your local listings for the appropriate times in your area.

I???ll be front row and center???well, fourth row and a little to the right???taking in all the action in Columbus, which I???m really excited about, so I???m sure I???ll have plenty to say when it???s over. Stay tuned.