Bruins Set to Make 25th Appearance in NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship
April 30, 2006
Fifth-ranked UCLA (24-12) earned the No. 2 seed in the 2006 NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship and will meet Indiana-Purdue University, Fort Wayne (23-6) in the opening semifinal match at 3 p.m. (PDT) on May 4. Penn State will host the national championship tournament.
Top-seeded UC Irvine (27-4) meets fourth-seeded Penn State (20-8) in the second semifinal, scheduled for 5 p.m. (PDT) on Thursday.
Both semifinal matches will be televised live on ESPNU. Delayed telecasts also will be broadcast on May 5. Check local listings for times in those areas.
Thursday's winners will meet for the NCAA title on Sat., May 6 at 4 p.m. (PDT) and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
The Bruins, who have won 12 straight over the last eight weeks, will be making their 25th appearance in the national championship tournament, all under legendary Head Coach Al Scates. The Bruins earned the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's automatic berth by defeating No. 2 ranked Long Beach State 3-1 on Apr. 29.
UCLA has won 18 NCAA titles in men's volleyball, the most of any school. UCLA boasts a 50-7 (.877) overall record in NCAA Championship matches and a record of 32-1 in round-robin and semifinal matches. The Bruins are 18-6 in the title match, and last won the title in 2000.