Men's Volleyball Earns At-Large Bid to NCAA Championship
April 27, 2025 | Men's Volleyball
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men's volleyball program earned an at-large bid and was named the No. 3 seed in the nine-team 2025 NCAA Men's Collegiate Volleyball Championship, and will take on No. 6 seed Belmont Abbey on Thursday, May 8. The tournament will be hosted by Ohio State University at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio, May 8-12.
The Bruins, the regular season champions of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), own a 20-6 record and are making the program's 31st appearance in the NCAA championship tournament. UCLA will begin the quest for the program's 22nd NCAA men's volleyball title, and third in a row, in a quarterfinal match on Thursday, May 8, against No. 6-seeded Belmont Abbey. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
The national semifinals will take place on May 10, with the early session winners from Thursday squaring off at 5 pm PT. The evening session winners will meet in the other semifinal at 2 pm PT. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+. The Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship will be held on Monday, May 12, at 4 pm PT and will be televised on ESPN2.
2025 marks the fourth straight season in which the Bruins have received a bid to the NCAA Men's Collegiate Volleyball Championship. Last season, the Bruins secured an at-large bid and won the MPSF Regular Season championship before going on to capture NCAA men's volleyball title No. 21 in Long Beach, California in a four-set win over Long Beach State.
This season, UCLA has compiled a record of 3-3 versus the tournament field --- 2-0 vs. Penn State (won 3-0 in Austin, Texas on Jan. 17, won 3-0 on Jan. 31 in Columbus, Ohio), 0-2 vs. Long Beach State (lost 1-3 on Feb. 7 in Long Beach, lost 0-3 on Feb. 12 in Pauley Pavilion), 2-1 vs. Pepperdine (won 3-0 on March 27 in Pauley Pavilion, won 3-1 in Malibu, Calif. on March 29, lost 2-3 in Malibu, Calif. on April 25).
The Bruins head into this year's national tournament having won 20 or more matches in a season for the fourth year in a row and finished first in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season race with a 10-2 mark. UCLA owns a 20-6 overall record this season under first-year head coach John Hawks. The 2025 season will mark Coach Hawks' first trip to the NCAA tournament as a head coach.
The Bruins are third in the nation in attack percentage with MPSF Player of the Year, Cooper Robinson leading the way. Andrew Rowan, Zach Rama, and Cameron Thorne were all named to the 2025 MPSF first team, while Sean Kelly earned a spot on the honorable mention team and the all-freshman team.
2025 NCAA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship
All matches played at Ohio State's Covelli Center
all times listed are Pacific Daylight Time
May 8 – Quarterfinals (stream on ESPN+)
No. 3 seed UCLA vs. No. 6 seed Belmont Abbey – 8 am PT
No. 2 seed Hawaii vs. No. 7 Daemen or Penn State - 10:30 am PT
No. 1 seed Long Beach vs. No. 8 seed Fort Valley State - 2 pm PT
No. 4 seed Loyola Chicago vs. No. 5 Pepperdine - 4:30 pm PT
May 10 – Semifinal Matches (stream on ESPN+)
Semifinal 1 – 5 p.m. PT
Semifinal 2 – 2 p.m. PT
May 12 – National Championship (TV: ESPN2)
Championship - 4 p.m. PT
The Bruins, the regular season champions of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), own a 20-6 record and are making the program's 31st appearance in the NCAA championship tournament. UCLA will begin the quest for the program's 22nd NCAA men's volleyball title, and third in a row, in a quarterfinal match on Thursday, May 8, against No. 6-seeded Belmont Abbey. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
The national semifinals will take place on May 10, with the early session winners from Thursday squaring off at 5 pm PT. The evening session winners will meet in the other semifinal at 2 pm PT. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+. The Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship will be held on Monday, May 12, at 4 pm PT and will be televised on ESPN2.
2025 marks the fourth straight season in which the Bruins have received a bid to the NCAA Men's Collegiate Volleyball Championship. Last season, the Bruins secured an at-large bid and won the MPSF Regular Season championship before going on to capture NCAA men's volleyball title No. 21 in Long Beach, California in a four-set win over Long Beach State.
This season, UCLA has compiled a record of 3-3 versus the tournament field --- 2-0 vs. Penn State (won 3-0 in Austin, Texas on Jan. 17, won 3-0 on Jan. 31 in Columbus, Ohio), 0-2 vs. Long Beach State (lost 1-3 on Feb. 7 in Long Beach, lost 0-3 on Feb. 12 in Pauley Pavilion), 2-1 vs. Pepperdine (won 3-0 on March 27 in Pauley Pavilion, won 3-1 in Malibu, Calif. on March 29, lost 2-3 in Malibu, Calif. on April 25).
The Bruins head into this year's national tournament having won 20 or more matches in a season for the fourth year in a row and finished first in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season race with a 10-2 mark. UCLA owns a 20-6 overall record this season under first-year head coach John Hawks. The 2025 season will mark Coach Hawks' first trip to the NCAA tournament as a head coach.
The Bruins are third in the nation in attack percentage with MPSF Player of the Year, Cooper Robinson leading the way. Andrew Rowan, Zach Rama, and Cameron Thorne were all named to the 2025 MPSF first team, while Sean Kelly earned a spot on the honorable mention team and the all-freshman team.
2025 NCAA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship
All matches played at Ohio State's Covelli Center
all times listed are Pacific Daylight Time
May 8 – Quarterfinals (stream on ESPN+)
No. 3 seed UCLA vs. No. 6 seed Belmont Abbey – 8 am PT
No. 2 seed Hawaii vs. No. 7 Daemen or Penn State - 10:30 am PT
No. 1 seed Long Beach vs. No. 8 seed Fort Valley State - 2 pm PT
No. 4 seed Loyola Chicago vs. No. 5 Pepperdine - 4:30 pm PT
May 10 – Semifinal Matches (stream on ESPN+)
Semifinal 1 – 5 p.m. PT
Semifinal 2 – 2 p.m. PT
May 12 – National Championship (TV: ESPN2)
Championship - 4 p.m. PT
Players Mentioned
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