Saturday, May 4
Long Beach, CA
2:00 PM
UCLA
vs
Long Beach State
Walter Pyramid is the site of the 2024 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship
Photo by: Jan Kim Lim
MVB To Battle Beach For NCAA Title on Saturday
May 03, 2024 | Men's Volleyball
Bruins Look to Defend Title vs. No. 2 seed Long Beach State — Top-seeded UCLA (25-5), which has won 14 of its last 15 matches and is coming off of a third straight Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) regular season title, will play No. 2 seed Long Beach State (27-2, champion of the Big West Conference) on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Long Beach's Walter Pyramid in the NCAA Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship match to be televised by ESPN. It is a battle of the No. 1 (Beach) and No. 2 (UCLA) AVCA-ranked (American Volleyball Coaches Association) teams in the country.
May 4 - NCAA Championship - 2 p.m. PT
Walter Pyramid - Long Beach, Calif.
ESPN: https://www.espn.com/watch/
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=526099
UCLA and Long Beach split a pair of four-set decisions earlier this season with each squad winning on its home court. The Bruins' last win over the Beach in the Pyramid came on Feb. 10, 2023 in four sets. It was Long Beach's last home loss as Beach has currently won 27 straight home contests. The teams will now meet in the NCAA tournament for the third straight year. In 2023, UCLA defeated the Beach in the semifinals. In 2022, the Beach knocked off UCLA in the semifinal round. The teams have met twice before for the national championship -- Long Beach defeated UCLA in 2018 while the Bruins outdueled the Beach in the 1970 NCAA title match. The Championship matchup also features the last two head coaches to lead the U.S. Men's National Team into the Olympic Games in Long Beach's Alan Knipe (2012 London) and UCLA's John Speraw, the current national team coach (2016 Rio, 2020 Tokyo) who will direct the U.S. squad in the upcoming 2024 Paris Games. The Bruins will be looking to replicate the back-to-back pattern of the previous five programs to win the men's national championship (UC Irvine 2012-13, Loyola-Chicago 2014-15, Ohio State 2016-17, Long Beach 2018-19, [covid 2020], Hawai'i 2021-22), UCLA 2023).
The Bruins have won at least two sets in all but one match this season, that 1-3 loss at top-ranked Long Beach State in February when it hit a season-low .214 percentage. With the home win over top-ranked Long Beach earlier this season (Feb. 10), UCLA has defeated the AVCA's No. 1-ranked team in each of the last four seasons -- 2024: Feb. 10 Long Beach (3-1 at home); 2023: March 6 Hawai'i (3-1) in Fairfax, Va.; 2022: Feb. 19 vs. Long Beach (3-2) at home; 2021: Feb. 4 at BYU (3-1).
UCLA'S NCAA Tournament History — This marks the 30th appearance by the Bruins in the NCAA MVB Championship event (59-10 overall record after defeating Fort Valley State and UC Irvine in this year's tournament) and the 28th time in the NCAA Championship match ... UCLA last won the NCAA title in 2023 ... This is the fifth NCAA Tournament appearance for the Bruins under head coach John Speraw who has compiled a 13-4 all-time record in NCAA play while coaching at UCLA and UC Irvine --- 2024 at Long Beach: d. Fort Valley St. (3-0) in quarterfinals, d. UC Irvine (3-2) in semis; 2023 at George Mason: d. Long Beach (3-0) in semis and Hawai'i (3-1) in title match; 2022 at UCLA: UCLA d. Pepperdine (3-1) in an Opening Match and lost to Long Beach (2-3) in the semis; 2018 at UCLA: UCLA d. Harvard (3-1) in an Opening Match; d. BYU (3-1) in semis; lost to Long Beach (2-3) in championship; 2016 at Penn St.: UCLA lost to Ohio State (2-3) in semis ... while at UC Irvine, (2006-lost in semis to Penn St.; 2007-won title over Purdue Fort Wayne; 2009-won title over USC; 2012-won title over USC) ... UCLA has now advanced to the NCAA MVB Championship match 28 times (20-7 record). The Bruins have won the NCAA title in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1982,1983, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2006, 2023 ... UCLA lost in the title match in 1978, 1980, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2018.
Player Notes — Merrick McHenry, who paced the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) in attack %, has hit at least .400 in 26 of the last 27 matches (22 of 27 have been at least .500) ... Ethan Champlin owns the team lead with 15 double-digit kill matches this season and also tops the team in digs ... Cooper Robinson has double-digit points in 13 of the last 18 matches he's played in and at least one ace in 8 of the last 10 matches ... Andrew Rowan has multiple aces in 12 matches and the team has hit at least .350 in 18 matches he has started this season ... Grant Sloane has at least one ace in 10 of the last 12 matches he has played in.
UCLA and Rankings — UCLA was listed at No. 2 in the final regular season AVCA coaches poll. After starting out 2024 as the top-ranked team in the AVCA pre-season poll and first two listings of the regular season, the Bruins have now been ranked as high as No. 2 in the poll at some point in seven of the last eight seasons (not in 2021) ... The Bruins have risen as high as No. 1 in the AVCA poll in five seasons under John Speraw -- 2024,2023, 2022, 2016, 2014 ... UCLA has ended a season ranked No. 1 in the AVCA poll a record 10 times (1987, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995,1996, 1998, 2000, 2006, 2023) over the years.
Ranking Notes — UCLA began the Championship week ranked among the nation's top 10 as a team in hitting % (1st-.370), aces/set (3rd-1.97), blocks/s (4th-2.52), set assists (5th-12.00), and kills/s (6th-12.74) ... So far in 2024, UCLA has 14 double-digit total block efforts (Lewis, Loyola,Ohio St., UCSB, UCI, Long Beach 2x, Pepp, BYU, USC, GCU, at USC, GCU in MPSF, UCI in NCAA semis), five double-digit ace performances (Lewis-14, UCI-10, Pepperdine-10, Stanford-11, GCU-10) and has hit at least .400 in 15 matches (Ft. Valley St., Morehouse, UCSD, UCI, Pepp, BYU, at USC, Ohio St.-h, Stanford, GCU, at CUI, CUI-h, at USC, Ft Valley St. in NCAA, UCI in NCAA) ... Setter Andrew Rowan rates among the nation's top 10 in set assists -- 9th (10.15) ... Merrick McHenry ranks 15th in blocking (0.97) ... After recording a block solo in this year's home match against Long Beach, McHenry moved past Garrett Muagututia (2007-10, 44), and has risen to the top of the school list for career block solos (currently has 48) ...McHenry's current .516 career attack percentage would be a school record and make him the first Bruin in the rally scoring era (2001-present) to finish above .500 ... the Bruins have climbed into the top spot nationally in hitting percentage (.370 to begin the NCAA's) and are looking to lead the nation in the category for a third straight season (2023 hit .382; 2022 hit .374).
May 4 - NCAA Championship - 2 p.m. PT
Walter Pyramid - Long Beach, Calif.
ESPN: https://www.espn.com/watch/
Live Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=526099
UCLA and Long Beach split a pair of four-set decisions earlier this season with each squad winning on its home court. The Bruins' last win over the Beach in the Pyramid came on Feb. 10, 2023 in four sets. It was Long Beach's last home loss as Beach has currently won 27 straight home contests. The teams will now meet in the NCAA tournament for the third straight year. In 2023, UCLA defeated the Beach in the semifinals. In 2022, the Beach knocked off UCLA in the semifinal round. The teams have met twice before for the national championship -- Long Beach defeated UCLA in 2018 while the Bruins outdueled the Beach in the 1970 NCAA title match. The Championship matchup also features the last two head coaches to lead the U.S. Men's National Team into the Olympic Games in Long Beach's Alan Knipe (2012 London) and UCLA's John Speraw, the current national team coach (2016 Rio, 2020 Tokyo) who will direct the U.S. squad in the upcoming 2024 Paris Games. The Bruins will be looking to replicate the back-to-back pattern of the previous five programs to win the men's national championship (UC Irvine 2012-13, Loyola-Chicago 2014-15, Ohio State 2016-17, Long Beach 2018-19, [covid 2020], Hawai'i 2021-22), UCLA 2023).
The Bruins have won at least two sets in all but one match this season, that 1-3 loss at top-ranked Long Beach State in February when it hit a season-low .214 percentage. With the home win over top-ranked Long Beach earlier this season (Feb. 10), UCLA has defeated the AVCA's No. 1-ranked team in each of the last four seasons -- 2024: Feb. 10 Long Beach (3-1 at home); 2023: March 6 Hawai'i (3-1) in Fairfax, Va.; 2022: Feb. 19 vs. Long Beach (3-2) at home; 2021: Feb. 4 at BYU (3-1).
UCLA'S NCAA Tournament History — This marks the 30th appearance by the Bruins in the NCAA MVB Championship event (59-10 overall record after defeating Fort Valley State and UC Irvine in this year's tournament) and the 28th time in the NCAA Championship match ... UCLA last won the NCAA title in 2023 ... This is the fifth NCAA Tournament appearance for the Bruins under head coach John Speraw who has compiled a 13-4 all-time record in NCAA play while coaching at UCLA and UC Irvine --- 2024 at Long Beach: d. Fort Valley St. (3-0) in quarterfinals, d. UC Irvine (3-2) in semis; 2023 at George Mason: d. Long Beach (3-0) in semis and Hawai'i (3-1) in title match; 2022 at UCLA: UCLA d. Pepperdine (3-1) in an Opening Match and lost to Long Beach (2-3) in the semis; 2018 at UCLA: UCLA d. Harvard (3-1) in an Opening Match; d. BYU (3-1) in semis; lost to Long Beach (2-3) in championship; 2016 at Penn St.: UCLA lost to Ohio State (2-3) in semis ... while at UC Irvine, (2006-lost in semis to Penn St.; 2007-won title over Purdue Fort Wayne; 2009-won title over USC; 2012-won title over USC) ... UCLA has now advanced to the NCAA MVB Championship match 28 times (20-7 record). The Bruins have won the NCAA title in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1982,1983, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2006, 2023 ... UCLA lost in the title match in 1978, 1980, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2018.
Player Notes — Merrick McHenry, who paced the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) in attack %, has hit at least .400 in 26 of the last 27 matches (22 of 27 have been at least .500) ... Ethan Champlin owns the team lead with 15 double-digit kill matches this season and also tops the team in digs ... Cooper Robinson has double-digit points in 13 of the last 18 matches he's played in and at least one ace in 8 of the last 10 matches ... Andrew Rowan has multiple aces in 12 matches and the team has hit at least .350 in 18 matches he has started this season ... Grant Sloane has at least one ace in 10 of the last 12 matches he has played in.
UCLA and Rankings — UCLA was listed at No. 2 in the final regular season AVCA coaches poll. After starting out 2024 as the top-ranked team in the AVCA pre-season poll and first two listings of the regular season, the Bruins have now been ranked as high as No. 2 in the poll at some point in seven of the last eight seasons (not in 2021) ... The Bruins have risen as high as No. 1 in the AVCA poll in five seasons under John Speraw -- 2024,2023, 2022, 2016, 2014 ... UCLA has ended a season ranked No. 1 in the AVCA poll a record 10 times (1987, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995,1996, 1998, 2000, 2006, 2023) over the years.
Ranking Notes — UCLA began the Championship week ranked among the nation's top 10 as a team in hitting % (1st-.370), aces/set (3rd-1.97), blocks/s (4th-2.52), set assists (5th-12.00), and kills/s (6th-12.74) ... So far in 2024, UCLA has 14 double-digit total block efforts (Lewis, Loyola,Ohio St., UCSB, UCI, Long Beach 2x, Pepp, BYU, USC, GCU, at USC, GCU in MPSF, UCI in NCAA semis), five double-digit ace performances (Lewis-14, UCI-10, Pepperdine-10, Stanford-11, GCU-10) and has hit at least .400 in 15 matches (Ft. Valley St., Morehouse, UCSD, UCI, Pepp, BYU, at USC, Ohio St.-h, Stanford, GCU, at CUI, CUI-h, at USC, Ft Valley St. in NCAA, UCI in NCAA) ... Setter Andrew Rowan rates among the nation's top 10 in set assists -- 9th (10.15) ... Merrick McHenry ranks 15th in blocking (0.97) ... After recording a block solo in this year's home match against Long Beach, McHenry moved past Garrett Muagututia (2007-10, 44), and has risen to the top of the school list for career block solos (currently has 48) ...McHenry's current .516 career attack percentage would be a school record and make him the first Bruin in the rally scoring era (2001-present) to finish above .500 ... the Bruins have climbed into the top spot nationally in hitting percentage (.370 to begin the NCAA's) and are looking to lead the nation in the category for a third straight season (2023 hit .382; 2022 hit .374).
Players Mentioned
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