2024_NCAA_men's_volleyball_tournament
2024 NCAA men's volleyball tournament
Men's college volleyball tournament
The 2024 NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Tournament was the 53rd edition of the NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship, an annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I and Division II men's collegiate indoor volleyball. The single-elimination tournament, which was expanded to eight teams with the addition of the SIAC Champion getting an auto-bid, began with four quarterfinal matches.[1] The entire tournament was hosted by Long Beach State University from April 30 to May 4, 2024, at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California.[2]
The quarterfinals and semifinals were streamed live on NCAA.com. The National Championship was moved from ESPN2 to ESPN and took place on May 4 with ESPN+ simulcasting it.[3]
In an unprecedented decision, the SIAC was granted a waiver to be allowed an automatic bid despite not meeting the two-year eligibility waiting period requirement. The SIAC was granted the bid because the conference had been fostering growth and diversity in a region that has had little representation in men's volleyball.[4]
With Fort Valley State University receiving the automatic bid for the SIAC conference, the school made history as the first HBCU to compete in the NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship.[5]
Of note, the quarterfinals featured a sweep in every game, the first such occurrence since the 2013 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament, albeit an important difference being that the field was much smaller back then (4 compared to 8).
With UCLA winning it's 21st title, it's the first time the school has repeated as champions since the 1995-1996 seasons. Likewise, their win marks the sixth school in a row to repeat as champions, starting with UC Irvine's repeat wins in the 2012-2013 seasons. Ironically, John Speraw, who just won back-to-back titles with UCLA also won with UC Irvine in 2012 season, before leaving to coach at UCLA in 2013.