The 2024 NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Tournament was the 53rd edition of the NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship, an annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I and Division II men's collegiate indoor volleyball. The single-elimination tournament, which was expanded to eight teams with the addition of an automatic bid for the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) champion, began with four quarterfinal matches.[1] The entire tournament was hosted by California State University, Long Beach from April 30 to May 4, 2024, at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach.[2]
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 30- May 4 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | UCLA (21st title) |
| Runner-up | Long Beach State |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 7 |
| Attendance | 24,350 (3,479 per match) |
| Most Outstanding Player | Ethan Champlin (UCLA) |
The quarterfinals and semifinals were streamed live on NCAA.com. The National Championship was moved from ESPN2 to ESPN and took place on May 4 with ESPN simulcasting it.[3]
In an unprecedented decision, the SIAC was granted a waiver to be allowed an automatic bid despite not meeting the two-year eligibility waiting period requirement. The SIAC was granted the bid because the conference, consisting primarily of historically black colleges and universities, had been fostering growth and diversity in a community and region that has had little representation in men's volleyball.[4]
With Fort Valley State University receiving the automatic bid for the SIAC conference, the school made history as the first HBCU to compete in the NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship.[5]
Of note, the quarterfinals featured a sweep in every game, the first such occurrence since the 2013 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament, albeit an important difference being that the field was much smaller back then (4 compared to 8).
With UCLA winning its 21st title, it's the first time the school has repeated as champions since the 1995-1996 seasons. Likewise, their win marks the sixth school in a row to repeat as champions, starting with UC Irvine's repeat wins in the 2012-2013 seasons. Ironically, John Speraw, who just won back-to-back titles with UCLA also won with UC Irvine in 2012 season, before leaving to coach at UCLA in 2013.
Bids
editThe tournament field was announced on NCAA.com Sunday, April 21, 2024, at 1 p.m. EDT.
| School | Conference | Record | Berth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Beach State | Big West | 25-2 | Tournament champions | [6][7][8] |
| Belmont Abbey | Conference Carolinas | 21–4 | Tournament champions | [6] |
| Penn State | EIVA | 23–6 | Tournament champions | [6][9] |
| Ohio State | MIVA | 22–8 | Tournament champions | [6][10] |
| Grand Canyon | MPSF | 25–4 | Tournament champions | [6][11] |
| Fort Valley State | SIAC | 17–8 | Tournament champions | [12] |
| UC Irvine | Big West | 19–10 | At–Large | [13] |
| UCLA | MPSF | 23–5 | At–Large | [13][14] |
Bracket
edit| Quarterfinals Tuesday, April 30 NCAA.com | Semifinals Thursday, May 2 NCAA.com | National Championship Saturday, May 4 ESPN | ||||||||||||
| 1 | UCLA | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Fort Valley State | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | UCLA | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | UC Irvine | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | UC Irvine | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Penn State | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | UCLA | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Long Beach State | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Ohio State | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Grand Canyon | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Grand Canyon | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Long Beach State | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Belmont Abbey | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Long Beach State | 3 | ||||||||||||
Schedule and results
edit| Match | Time | Matchup | Score | Attendance | Broadcasters | Referees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterfinals – Tuesday, April 30 | ||||||
| 1 | 11:00 a.m. | UCLA vs. Fort Valley State | 3–0 (25–14, 25–15, 25–15)[16] |
3,024 | Daniel Gillman & Rob St. Claire[17] | Sergio Gonzales, Ron Pelham, Rachel Jensen, Jason Schmidt |
| 2 | 1:30 p.m. | UC Irvine vs. Penn State | 3–0 (26–24, 25–16, 25–19)[18] |
Ron Pelham, Stephen Shepherd, Shane White, John Park | ||
| 3 | 5:00 p.m. | Long Beach State vs. Belmont Abbey | 3–0 (25–18, 25–14, 25–11)[19] |
3,463 | Krystian Krzyzak, Sergio Gonzales, John Park, Shane White | |
| 4 | 7:30 p.m. | Grand Canyon vs. Ohio State | 3–0 (25–23, 25–20, 25–21)[20] |
Stephen Shepherd, Sergio Gonzales, Rachel Jensen, Jason Schmidt | ||
| Semifinals – Thursday, May 2 | ||||||
| 5 | 3:30 p.m. | UCLA vs. UC Irvine | 3–2 (22–25, 25–20, 25–16, 18–25, 15–12)[21] |
3,786 | Daniel Gillman & Rob St. Claire[17] | Ron Pelham, Krystian Krzyzak, Rachel Jensen, Shane White, Jason Schmidt, John Park |
| 6 | 6:00 p.m. | Long Beach State vs. Grand Canyon | 3–2 (24–26, 26–28, 25–18, 25–23, 15–10)[22] |
Krystian Krzyzak, Stephen Shepherd, Rachel Jensen, Shane White, Jason Schmidt, John Park | ||
| National Championship – Saturday, May 4 | ||||||
| 7 | 2:00 p.m. | UCLA vs. Long Beach State | 3–1 (25–21, 25–20, 27–29, 25–21)[23] |
3,804 | Paul Sunderland[24] & Kevin Barnett[17] (ESPN2) Rigoberto Plascencia & Alex Pombo (ESPN SAP) |
Ron Pelham, Krystian Krzyzak, Rachel Jensen, Shane White, Jason Schmidt, John Park |
All Tournament Team
edit- Hilir Henno, UC Irvine
- Camden Gianni, Grand Canyon University
- Skyler Varga, Long Beach State
- Simon Torwie, Long Beach State
- Andrew Rowan, UCLA
- Merrick McHenry, UCLA
- Ethan Champlin, UCLA (Most Outstanding Player)
References
edit- ^ "Eight Teams Compete for the Men's NCAA Title". USA Volleyball. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
- ^ "George Mason, Long Beach, Ohio State, UCLA earns 2023–26 bids to host NCAA Tournament". Off the Block. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- ^ "NCAA men's volleyball quarterfinals begin; surging Mojo win in 5 in PVF". Volleyball Mag. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
- ^ "The BIC Special Edition: SIAC Approved for NCAA Tournament Auto Bid". American Volleyball Coaches Association. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
- ^ "HBCU Volleyball team set to face No. 1 UCLA in NCAA Tournament". Macon Telegraph. April 23, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "GCU, Long Beach, Penn St., Ohio St., Belmont Abbey into NCAA men's volleyball tourney". Volleyball Mag. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ "Long Beach State beats UC Irvine for Big West men's volleyball title". Honolulu Star Advertiser. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ "Long Beach State tops UC Irvine for Big West men's volleyball title". Long Beach Press-Telegram. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ "Kerr gets AVCA player of the week". The Sentinel (Pennsylvania). Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ "Ohio State offense too much, beats Lindenwood in MIVA finals". Off the Block. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ "Blocked and loaded: GCU men's volleyball on a roll as it prepares for Ohio State in NCAA Tournament". Cronkite News. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
- ^ "Fort Valley State sweeps Central State to win SIAC championship". Off the Block. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
- ^ a b "NCAA men's volleyball: Three setters who will set the tone of the tournament". Orange County Register. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
- ^ "UCLA, Long Beach State are top seeds for NCAA men's volleyball tournament". The San Bernardino Sun. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ "2024 NCAA men's volleyball championship: Bracket, schedule, how to watch". NCAA. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
- ^ "UCLA men's volleyball rolls as Fort Valley State makes HBCU history in NCAA tournament". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
- ^ a b c "NCAA.com broadcasters". X, formerly Twitter. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
- ^ "UC Irvine men's volleyball sweeps Penn State to reach NCAA semifinals". Orange County Register. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
- ^ "Long Beach State men's volleyball sweeps Belmont Abbey to reach NCAA semifinals". Long Beach Press-Telegram. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
- ^ "Ohio State men's volleyball swept by Grand Canyon in NCAA Tournament, ends 2024 season". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
- ^ "UCLA defeats UC Irvine in a five-set thriller to reach NCAA men's volleyball final". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
- ^ "Long Beach State rallies to beat Grand Canyon in NCAA men's volleyball semifinal". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
- ^ "UCLA defeats Long Beach State for second straight NCAA men's volleyball title". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
- ^ "Sunderland returns". X, formerly Twitter. Retrieved April 29, 2024.