By: Devin Malast, Zach Durham and Lorenzo Gaytan Jr
Long Beach State will host the NCAA men’s volleyball championship for the first time since their 2019 victory against Hawai’i to complete back-to-back national championship seasons. The eight-team bracket includes top-seeded UCLA, No. 3 seed Grand Canyon University and No. 4 seed UC Irvine. The tournament will take place from April 30 to May 4.
“We want to make sure that we represent ourselves and our university and our community as best we can and do it again this coming week,” Athletic Director of Communications and Broadcast Roger Kirk said.
“Everybody’s hoping for a repeat of 2019 where we came together, the city really got behind the team and [we] came in and won the national championship.”
Tickets are available for $90 and include all sessions, while single-session tickets will go on sale April 30 at 10 a.m. for around $10 to $25.
The marketing team for the Athletic Department held an event outside of Brotman Hall on April 24 as the first 300 students were given free game tickets. Students also had the opportunity to take photos with the men’s volleyball team.
Parking has sparked concerns as classes will still be in session during the start of games. The NCAA requires a minimum of 25 reserved parking spots, space for broadcast trucks and to unload media equipment. Students are concerned about whether lot G11 will be open for the duration of the tournament.
“Visiting teams will travel by bus to limit the impact on parking,” Athletic Director of Facilities and Event Operations Mike Habura said.
“We are fortunate to have several parking lots surrounding the Pyramid that will accommodate students and additional media.”
Men’s volleyball head coach Alan Knipe understands how much the Long Beach community supports men’s volleyball and its national championship pursuit.
“The last time we did it [in 2019], as happy as I was for our players and coaches it was wonderful for everyone in the community that supported the program,” Knipe said.
LBSU hosts the 2024 NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, for the first five games of their season.
This includes WNBA No. 1 Indiana Fever’s draft pick, Caitlin Clark’s first trip to Los Angeles. Lastly, The Beach will also host the NCAA’s Beach Volleyball National Championships in 2025 and 2026.
The 2024 NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship, will take place on April 30 to May 4 at the Walter Pyramid. The schedule of games is as follows:
Tuesday, April 30 — Quarterfinals
- 11 a.m. | No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 8 Fort Valley State (Quarterfinal Match 1)
- 1:30 p.m. | No. 4 UC Irvine vs. No. 5 Penn State (Quarterfinal Match 2)
- 5 p.m. | No. 3 Grand Canyon vs. No. 6 Ohio State (Quarterfinal Match 3)
- 7:30 p.m. | No. 2 Long Beach State vs. No. 7 Belmont Abbey (Quarterfinal Match 4)
Thursday, May 2 — Semifinals
- 3:30 p.m. | TBD vs. TBD (Semifinal No. 1)
- 6:30 p.m. | TBD vs. TBD (Semifinal No. 2)
Saturday, May 4 — National championship
- 2 p.m. | TBD vs. TBD
This story was edited to include additional information on April 29, 2024.