We’re in!!! Let’s Go! 💪#GoBeach #ExpectGreatness #LBGRIT #LBNation pic.twitter.com/Klx1gZ093S
— Long Beach State Men’s VB (@lbsumvb) April 24, 2022
The Long Beach State men’s volleyball team was announced as the No. 1 seed for the 2022 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship tournament early Sunday morning.
The tournament will take place at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion from May 1-7. Since The Beach was named the No.1 seed, they automatically get a bye into the Final Four. Long Beach will play the winner of Pepperdine vs. UCLA on May 5 at 5 p.m.
The Beach was named the top seed hours after getting swept by Hawaii in the Big West Conference Finals Saturday night in Honolulu.
Long Beach was one of the top three teams in the nation, along with UCLA and Penn State, to lose their respective conference tournaments. Since The Beach spent most of the season ranked as the No.1 team in the nation, the selection committee gave an at-large bid to Long Beach.
UCLA earned the other at-large bid, meaning Penn State will not make it to the tournament. Pepperdine, Princeton, Ball State, North Greenville and Hawaii will play in the national tournament as well.
This will be Long Beach’s 12th time in the NCAA tournament, and will be playing for its fourth national title overall. The Beach won it all in 1991, and won back-to-back championships in 2018 and 2019.
The team gathered to watch the NCAA bracket reveal from Indianapolis. Players cheered and high-fived each other as they learned of their No. 1 berth.