The NCAA men’s volleyball title game is set — and it should be a thriller.
No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 Long Beach State, two of the best volleyball teams in the country, will square off on Saturday afternoon, May 4, at the Walter Pyramid, with the national championship on the line.
The Bruins (25-5) are searching for their second title in a row. The Beach (27-2) are looking for their first since going back-to-back in 2018-19.
It should be an intense game, with the Walter Pyramid, on the LBSU campus, poised to be packed with boisterous fans on both sides and the two teams having blueblood credentials.
Here are five things to know about Saturday’s title match.
The matchup
From a neutral perspective, this was the ideal pairing for the tournament final.
UCLA finished the season ranked No. 1 in the nation, while Long Beach State was third, despite having a better overall record than both the Bruins and No. 2 Grand Canyon University.
LBSU also won the Big West Conference regular season and tournament championships. UCLA fell to GCU in the finals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation’s conference tournament.
But for the NCAA Tournament, the Bruins and LBSU got the top-two seeds — so they could only face off in the title match.
There are even more intriguing storylines than just the top-two seeds playing in the finals.
The Bruins, for example, are trying to win back-to-back titles. The Beach, meanwhile, will likely have strong support among the crowd, given that they are the hosts. The Beach are undefeated at the Walter Pyramid this year and the last time they won the national title, in 2019, they were also the tournament’s hosts.
The two teams played home and away matches earlier this year. They split the pair, with the home team winning each one in four sets.
And one more wrinkle: UCLA knocked LBSU out of last year’s NCAA Tournament semifinals, en route to the 2023 title — so the Beach will be looking for some revenge.
How we got here
The NCAA Tournament featured only…
Read the full article here
