As expected, defending national champion UCLA and host Long Beach State received the top two seeds for the NCAA men’s volleyball tournament when the field for the expanded eight-team event was revealed on Sunday.
UCLA, which was upset by Grand Canyon in the MPSF title match on Saturday night, received an at-large bid and was named the No. 1 seed for the tournament, which will he held from April 30-May 4 at LBSU’s Walter Pyramid. The Bruins (23-5), the MPSF regular-season champs, are making the program’s 30th appearance in the NCAA tournament and chasing their record 21st national title.
UCLA will face No. 8 seed Fort Valley State (13-7), the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) regular-season and tournament champion, in the first quarterfinal on Tuesday, April 30 at 11 a.m.
Second-seeded Long Beach (25-2), the Big West Conference regular-season and tournament champ, will meet Conference Carolinas regular-season and tournament champ Belmont Abbey (21-4) the same day at 5 p.m. Long Beach, which is 17-0 on its home court this season, is chasing its fourth national title.
Big West runner-up UC Irvine (19-10) received the other at-large berth and was seeded fourth. The Anteaters will take on No. 5 seed Penn State (23-6), the champion of the Eastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (EIVA) in April 30 at 1:30 p.m. In the final quarterfinal, No. 3 seed Grand Canyon (25-4) will meet No. 6 seed Ohio State (22-8), the winner of the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) Tournament.
The semifinals are Thursday, May 2, with the early session winners squaring off at 3:30 p.m. The evening session winners will meet in the second semifinal at 6:30 p.m. The national championship match is Saturday, May 4 at 2 p.m. and will be televised live on ESPN2.
UCLA and Long Beach split their two regular-season meetings in February, each winning in four sets on its home court.
UCLA, which defeated Hawaii in four sets to win the title last year in Fairfax, Virginia, is trying to replicate what the previous five NCAA championship teams have accomplished by winning back-to-back titles. Hawaii (2021 and 2022), Long Beach State (2018-2019), Ohio State (2016-2017), Loyola-Chicago (2014-2015) and UCI (2012-2013) all repeated. There was no tournament in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
NCAA MEN’S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
All matches at LBSU’s Walter Pyramid, all times are PT
April 30 – Quarterfinals (stream on ncaa.com)
No. 1 seed UCLA (23-5) vs. No. 8 seed Fort Valley State (13-7) – 11 a.m.
No. 4 seed UC Irvine (19-10) vs. No. 5 seed Penn State (23-6) – 1:30 p.m.
No. 2 seed Long Beach (25-2) vs. No. 7 seed Belmont Abbey (21-4) – 5 p.m.
No. 3 seed Grand Canyon (25-4) vs. No. 6 seed Ohio State (22-8) – 7:30 p.m.
May 2 – Semifinal Matches (stream on ncaa.com)
Semifinal 1 (April 30 early session winners) – 3:30 p.m.
Semifinal 2 (April 30 late session winners) – 6:30 p.m.
May 4 (TV: ESPN2)
National championship match – 2 p.m.
