A pessimist will note the Warriors have never won the MPSF tournament, and their appearances in the final four — in 1995, 1996 and 2002 —came through at-large invitations.

The Warriors have won three of their past four matches in Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins have a 4-1 advantage in the postseason.

Of his team's approach, UH coach Mike Wilton said, "this edition ... is just as good or bad as it thinks it wants to be. That's the end-all answer. We've got a blend of guys who look at the glass as half-full and some who look at it as half-empty."

As the most dominant of the NCAA's three conferences, the MPSF should receive the at-large berth in the final four at UH's Stan Sheriff Center. But although Brigham Young is the nation's top-ranked team and MPSF regular-season champion, coach Tom Peterson said there are no guarantees.

"If we lose this (opening-round) match," Peterson said, "I don't think we go anywhere."

UCLA coach Al Scates said it is difficult to gauge the NCAA selection committee.

"It's up to three men who vote on this thing," Scates said. "I'm not sure who they are."

Wilton believes the Warriors, even as the sixth seed in this eight-team tournament, can earn the NCAA at-large berth if they win two matches and play BYU in the MPSF final. In that scenario, the Warriors would have beaten No. 3 UCLA and No. 2 Long Beach State.

"If somebody spent some time at it, he could make that argument for us," Wilton said. "Win two, and you have just eliminated Long Beach State from the situation because you've beaten them two out of three times (including a split during the regular season). And so, where's the final four being played? Hawai'i, that's right. And how many more tickets would that sell?"

For now, Wilton said, "That's not the way to contemplate things. If we win the tournament (and earn the accompanying NCAA berth), we don't need to have that argument. The goal is to win it, to take it out of the hands of the NCAA committee."

Here's a look at the other quarterfinal matches:

• No. 8 UC Irvine at No. 1 BYU: Last week, the NCAA cleared BYU opposite hitter Joe Hillman and middle blocker Victor Batista over questions about their eligibility. But the accusations, originally filed by an MPSF coach, forced the Cougars to bench Batista and placed the program under scrutiny. "I wish we could get everybody back to focusing on what's on the court," BYU's Peterson said. "We can't let it become a distraction."

BYU middle blocker Chris Gorny, who missed extensive time because of torn ligaments in his ankle, was cleared to play this week. Hillman, despite missing three practices this week because of strep throat, also will play.

Irvine won three matches in a row to overtake Stanford for the final playoff spot. Three weeks ago, the Anteaters lost in three games to UH. In the next night's rematch, they lost the first two games and fell behind 7-2 in the third. But they rallied to win the match. "We had gotten our butts kicked for five straight games, so that comeback really was big for us and our season," coach John Speraw said. "It gave us the confidence we needed."

• No. 7 UC Santa Barbara at No. 2 Long Beach State: Despite ending the regular season with four consecutive losses, the Gauchos returned to the playoffs after a year's absence. "We reached our first goal," coach Ken Preston said, "unfortunately, we're not going in with a lot of momentum." Next on the to-do list is stopping 49er outside hitter Scout Touzinsky. The Gauchos had success blocking Touzinsky in a three-game sweep last month, but could not slow the 49ers' middle attack in a recent four-game loss. Middle blocker Michael Kennedy has been the Gauchos' most consistent player.

49er coach Alan Knipe acknowledged Touzinsky is the go-to hitter. "Our goal is to be as balanced as possible," he said.

• No. 5 Cal State Northridge at No. 4 Pepperdine: CSUN opposite hitter Dan Rhodes, a cousin of Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry, has provided a spark for this season's most surprising team. Ty Tramblie sets one of the league's quickest offenses.

The Waves had hoped to redshirt middle blocker Tom Hulse, who suffered from mononucleosis in the fall. But injuries forced the Waves to activate Hulse, and now he is starting in place of John Parfitt, who suffered a sprained ankle against UH last week. James Ka has stepped in at opposite hitter, although he does not hit out of the back row. It doesn't matter. Outside hitters Sean Rooney and Fred Winters take the majority of swings.