2024 NCAA men's volleyball tournament explained

NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Tournament
Year:2024
Dates:April 30- May 4
Num Teams:8
Winners:UCLA (21st title)
Second:Long Beach State
Coach:John Speraw
Coachcount:5th
Matches:7
Attendance:24,350
Award Title:Most Outstanding Player
Award:Ethan Champlin (UCLA)
Prev Season:2023
Next Season:2025

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]

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

The tournament field was announced on NCAA.com Sunday, April 21, 2024, at 1 p.m. EDT.

SchoolConferenceRecordBerthSource
style= Long Beach State25-2 Tournament champions [6] [7] [8]
style= Belmont Abbey 21–4 Tournament champions
style= Penn State23–6 Tournament champions [9]
style= Ohio State22–8 Tournament champions [10]
style= Grand Canyon25–4 Tournament champions [11]
17–8 Tournament champions [12]
style=UC Irvine Big West 19–10 At–Large [13]
style= UCLAMPSF 23–5 At–Large [14]

Schedule and results

All times Pacific.[15]

MatchTimeMatchupScoreAttendanceBroadcastersReferees
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, April 30
111:00 a.m.UCLA vs. Fort Valley State3–0
(25–14, 25–15, 25–15)[16]
3,024Daniel Gillman & Rob St. Claire[17] Sergio Gonzales, Ron Pelham, Rachel Jensen, Jason Schmidt
21:30 p.m.UC Irvine vs. Penn State3–0
(26–24, 25–16, 25–19)[18]
Ron Pelham, Stephen Shepherd, Shane White, John Park
35:00 p.m.Long Beach State vs. Belmont Abbey3–0
(25–18, 25–14, 25–11)[19]
3,463Krystian Krzyzak, Sergio Gonzales, John Park, Shane White
47:30 p.m.Grand Canyon vs. Ohio State3–0
(25–23, 25–20, 25–21)[20]
Stephen Shepherd, Sergio Gonzales, Rachel Jensen, Jason Schmidt
Semifinals – Thursday, May 2
53:30 p.m.UCLA vs. UC Irvine3–2
(22–25, 25–20, 25–16, 18–25, 15–12)[21]
3,786Daniel Gillman & Rob St. ClaireRon Pelham, Krystian Krzyzak, Rachel Jensen, Shane White, Jason Schmidt, John Park
66:00 p.m.Long Beach State vs. Grand Canyon3–2
(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
72:00 p.m.UCLA vs. Long Beach State3–1
(25–21, 25–20, 27–29, 25–21)[23]
3,804Paul Sunderland[24] & Kevin Barnett (ESPN2)
Rigoberto Plascencia & Alex Pombo (ESPN+ SAP)
Ron Pelham, Krystian Krzyzak, Rachel Jensen, Shane White, Jason Schmidt, John Park

All Tournament Team

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Eight Teams Compete for the Men's NCAA Title. USA Volleyball . 2024-04-30. en.
  2. Web site: George Mason, Long Beach, Ohio State, UCLA earns 2023–26 bids to host NCAA Tournament. Off the Block . 2020-10-14. en.
  3. Web site: NCAA men’s volleyball quarterfinals begin; surging Mojo win in 5 in PVF. Volleyball Mag . 2024-04-30. en.
  4. Web site: The BIC Special Edition: SIAC Approved for NCAA Tournament Auto Bid. 2023-08-22 . American Volleyball Coaches Association. en.
  5. Web site: 2024-04-23 . HBCU Volleyball team set to face No. 1 UCLA in NCAA Tournament. 2024-05-01 . . en.
  6. Web site: GCU, Long Beach, Penn St., Ohio St., Belmont Abbey into NCAA men’s volleyball tourney. Volleyball Mag. 2024-04-21.
  7. Web site: Long Beach State beats UC Irvine for Big West men’s volleyball title. Honolulu Star Advertiser. 2024-04-21.
  8. Web site: Long Beach State tops UC Irvine for Big West men’s volleyball title. Long Beach Press-Telegram. 2024-04-21.
  9. Web site: Kerr gets AVCA player of the week. The Sentinel (Pennsylvania). 2024-04-25.
  10. Web site: Ohio State offense too much, beats Lindenwood in MIVA finals. Off the Block. 2024-04-21.
  11. Web site: Blocked and loaded: GCU men’s volleyball on a roll as it prepares for Ohio State in NCAA Tournament. Cronkite News. 2024-04-30.
  12. Web site: Fort Valley State sweeps Central State to win SIAC championship. Off the Block. 2024-04-20.
  13. Web site: NCAA men’s volleyball: Three setters who will set the tone of the tournament. Orange County Register. 2024-04-29.
  14. Web site: UCLA, Long Beach State are top seeds for NCAA men’s volleyball tournament. The San Bernardino Sun. 2024-04-21.
  15. Web site: 2024 NCAA men's volleyball championship: Bracket, schedule, how to watch. NCAA . 2024-04-30 . en.
  16. Web site: UCLA men’s volleyball rolls as Fort Valley State makes HBCU history in NCAA tournament. . 2024-04-30 . en.
  17. Web site: NCAA.com broadcasters. X, formerly Twitter . 2024-04-29. en.
  18. Web site: UC Irvine men’s volleyball sweeps Penn State to reach NCAA semifinals. . 2024-04-30 . en.
  19. Web site: Long Beach State men’s volleyball sweeps Belmont Abbey to reach NCAA semifinals. . 2024-04-30 . en.
  20. Web site: Ohio State men's volleyball swept by Grand Canyon in NCAA Tournament, ends 2024 season. . 2024-04-30 . en.
  21. Web site: UCLA defeats UC Irvine in a five-set thriller to reach NCAA men’s volleyball final. . 2024-05-02 . en.
  22. Web site: Long Beach State rallies to beat Grand Canyon in NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal. . 2024-05-02 . en.
  23. Web site: UCLA defeats Long Beach State for second straight NCAA men's volleyball title. . 2024-05-04 . en.
  24. Web site: Sunderland returns. X, formerly Twitter . 2024-04-29. en.