UCLA Earns 24th Berth to NCAA Championship

UCLA Earns 24th Berth to NCAA Championship

May. 1, 2005

The UCLA men's volleyball team earned its 24th berth into the NCAA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship on May 5 & 7 at Pauley Pavilion.

The third-seeded Bruins (25-5) will meet second-seeded Penn State (30-3) in the semifinals on May 5 at 7 p.m. Top-seeded Pepperdine (23-2) battles fourth-seeded Ohio State (24-7) at 9 p.m.

The winners meet on Sat., May 7 at 8 p.m. All matches will be televised live by ESPN2 or ESPNU.

For the Bruins, the announcement made Sunday on ESPNews capped a week's worth of practice and waiting as Pepperdine defeated Long Beach State 3-0 in the finals of the MPSF Tournament Saturday night.

The Bruins, who lost 3-2 in the quarterfinals of the MPSF Tournament on Apr. 23, were forced to wait and watch as the results around the country unfolded.

UCLA has hosted the NCAA Championship for men's volleyball 13 times, but 2005 represents the first year the Bruins will participate on their home floor since winning the 1996 title against Hawaii.

UCLA hosted in the national championship 1999, but did not participate as BYU defeated Long Beach State in three games.

The Bruins last won the title in 2000, defeating Ohio State in three games in Ft. Wayne, IN. They also won in 1998 by sweeping Pepperdine in Honolulu, HI.

Overall, UCLA has won 18 NCAA titles in men's volleyball, all under legendary Head Coach Al Scates. In Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins are 24-0 in the current four-team championship format. They have won nine of their 18 titles at home and boast an overall NCAA Tournament record of 49-6.

On Mar. 8 No. 1 ranked UCLA defeated visiting No. 3 Penn State 3-0. The victory ended the Nittany Lions' 16-match winning streak and proved to be a key non-conference result for UCLA. The Bruins lead the series against the Nittany Lions 21-5 and boast a 5-1 record against them in the NCAA Tournament. In three meetings, UCLA has not lost to Penn State in the NCAA semifinals.

For ticket information to the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship, please call 310-UCLA-WIN or log on to www.uclabruins.com.