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5 things to know about Saturday’s NCAA men’s volleyball final in Long Beach

May 3, 2024

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

Long Beach State middle blocker Simon Torwie, right, spikes the ball against Grand Canyon middle blocker Rico Wardlow during the fifth set of their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at the Walter Pyramid. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Long Beach State players celebrate after rallying to defeat Grand Canyon in five sets in their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at the Walter Pyramid. Second-seeded LBSU will face top-seeded UCLA in the national championship match on Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Long Beach State middle blocker DiAeris McRaven (19) blocks a shot against Grand Canyon opposite hitter Camden Gianni (1) during the fifth set of their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday night at the Walter Pyramid. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

UCLA outside hitter Ido David serves during the second set of their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal against UC Irvine on Thursday at Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

UCLA outside hitter Ethan Champlin, right, hits against UC Irvine middle blocker Maxim Grigoriev, left, and setter Brett Sheward (4) during the second set of their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday at Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

UC Irvine middle blocker Maxim Grigoriev, right, hits against UCLA outside hitter Cooper Robinson, left, and middle blocker Guy Genis during the first set of their NCAA men’s volleyball semifinal on Thursday at Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

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The NCAA Tournament featured only eight teams, so the opening round on Tuesday was the quarterfinals.

UCLA swept No. 8 seed Fort Valley St., part of the University System of Georgia, in the opening round on Tuesday. LBSU also dominated its opening match, sweeping No. 7 Belmont Abbey, a private liberal arts college in North Carolina.

Thursday’s semifinals, though, were both gauntlets.

UCLA survived a thriller against No. 4 UC Irvine, outlasting the Big West team three sets to two.

The Beach saw their title hopes flash before their eyes against No. 3 seed Grand Canyon University before pulling off an epic comeback.

GCU won the first two sets in overtime, 26-24 and 28-26, respectively.

That silenced the home crowd — which was the majority of the 3,786 fans in attendance — and put LBSU one lost set away from bowing out of the tournament. But the Beach stormed back. They won the third set 25-18 and the fourth 25-23.

That set up a decisive fifth set.

The Beach jumped out to an early lead before GCU clawed its way back. The Beach then extended their lead again, hitting match point at 14-10. Sotiris Siapanis got the kill to end the match — sending the crowd into a frenzy and his teammate flooding onto the court.

How to watch

The finals will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at the Walter Pyramid.

The Pyramid, which can hold about 4,000 people, was nearly at capacity as of Friday morning, said Roger Kirk, LBSU’s spokesperson for athletics. But LBSU will sell a limited number of standing-room-only tickets beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday. Those tickets, available at the Walter Pyramid box office, will cost $30.

If you can’t go to the game, you can watch online or on television. ESPN will air the match on its flagship cable station and on its subscription streaming service, ESPN+

By the numbers

Here’s a look at some key numbers for UCLA, Long Beach and their finals matchup:

37: The number of combined national championship appearances UCLA and LBSU have made, not counting Saturday. UCLA’s men’s volleyball program had made the finals 27 times before Saturday, while Long Beach has played in 10 previous title matches.
23: The number of combined national titles the two teams have won. UCLA is looking for its 21st national championship in men’s volleyball on Saturday. For LBSU, it’d be the fourth title.
19: The number of victories LBSU has had at home this season. The Beach have yet to lose at the Walter Pyramid this year.
5: The maximum number of sets the two teams can play on Saturday. It’s a best of five series, meaning the first team to win three sets will claim the title. The first four sets go to 25 points and a team must win by two points. The final set, if necessary, would go to 15.
4: The number of times the Walter Pyramid has hosted the NCAA men’s volleyball tournament, including this year. The Pyramid also hosted in 2001, 2003 and 2019.

About the venue

While the Walter Pyramid may not have the national profile of other Long Beach landmarks, such as the Queen Mary and Aquarium of the Pacific, it’s certainly iconic locally.

And it has to be one of the more inventive sports arenas in the region.

The venue, which is 18-stories tall and boasts a cobalt blue exterior, can be seen for miles and, according to the university’s website, is one of only four true pyramid structures in the United States. The others are in Las Vegas, Memphis and San Diego.

“The Walter Pyramid is believed to be the largest space-frame structure in North America,” the website says. “The building’s infrastructure utilizes 18,000 steel tubes and connection modules, joined by more than 160,000 three-quarter inch bolts. If the tubes were laid end-to-end, they would form a pipe span 26 miles long.”

The Pyramid officially opened on Nov. 30, 1994 — making this year its 20th anniversary. The Beach opened the Pyramid’s history by beating the University of Detroit in men’s basketball 71-64 in front of 5,021 people. ESPN also broadcast that game

And on Saturday, the Walter Pyramid will once again play host to a nationally televised sporting event — with the eyes of the college volleyball world upon it.

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