No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Long Beach State vie for NCAA men’s volleyball title
LONG BEACH — The Walter Pyramid on the campus of Cal State Long Beach has donned a number of hats this week, and the 30-year-old arena has worn them well.
The Pyramid will show itself off again Saturday afternoon when the top-seeded UCLA and second-seeded Long Beach State men’s volleyball teams collide in their nationally televised NCAA Championship match.
The defending champion Bruins (25-5) and the Beach (27-2) split their regular-season matches in February, each winning in four sets. UCLA will be making its 28th NCAA Championship appearance compared with 10 for the Beach, which has won 19 consecutive matches at the Pyramid.
Because the field was increased from six to eight teams this year, the Pyramid has already hosted more matches this week than any other NCAA Championship in tournament history, each attracting an energetic fan base and others who just enjoy watching elite competition.
Many longtime observers said Thursday’s scintillating semifinal match between Long Beach State and third-seeded Grand Canyon was the loudest it’s ever been inside the Pyramid, especially as LBSU rallied from an 0-2 deficit to win the final three sets.
“I couldn’t even hear my own thoughts,” Long Beach outside hitter Nathan Harlan said of the environment after he blocked a shot to cap the decisive run in the third set. “I kind of looked around to see why I couldn’t hear anything and I just saw thousands of Long Beach fans cheering on.”
Harlan said the energy caused him to briefly freeze in the moment.
“I tried to turn and I got goosebumps,” he said. “I couldn’t move for a second because I was really soaking in the environment and how good that felt.”
The Pyramid has also served as a safe haven for athletes and coaches this week, particularly those from UCLA and Long Beach State, where campuses have been disrupted by pro-Palestinian supporters.
While UCLA was wrapping up its five-set win over UC Irvine in the first semifinal Thursday afternoon, a large group of protesters blocked the main entrance to the Pyramid, forcing spectators to find alternative exits.
The Bruins have two Israeli players, Ido David and Guy Genis, who play major roles on their team.
“This is a really difficult situation for everybody involved,” UCLA coach John Speraw said. “As this has been developing over the course of last week, we’ve been down here in Long Beach, so we’ve been a little more sequestered away from all that. … I keep checking in with (Genis and David) and they seem to be doing OK, right now.”
David and Genis combined for 12 kills and three hitting errors in the five-set semifinal win against fourth-seeded UC Irvine. The duo also combined for nine of UCLA’s 23 blocks in the match.
After winning the 20th NCAA title in program history last season in Fairfax, Virginia, the Bruins (25-5) are also thrilled to be competing for a championship closer to home.
“Definitely don’t miss the flight, the jet lag, or anything like that,” Speraw said. “It puts a lot more pressure on the tickets. All of sudden, your second cousin you haven’t seen in a while wants to show up.”
Of course, the Pyramid is also home to LBSU, a place where Alan Knipe has coached since 2001 and practically raised his son, Aidan, a redshirt senior setter for Long Beach.
Alan Knipe won his second national title as a coach inside the Pyramid in 2019, a year before Aidan joined the program. They played for a national title at UCLA in 2022, but were swept by Hawai’i. Last season, Long Beach was swept by the Bruins in the semifinals.
Winning a title inside the Pyramid would be the perfect way to cap their five-year run together.
“I’d be lying to say my wife and I are not excited about that, but she has to carry that emotional side,” Knipe said. “I get to at least think I have something to do in the match, and some control that keeps my mind from wandering into fatherhood.”
The expansion of the tournament has also brought more exposure to the sport, which should only increase its participants.
Fort Valley State made its first trip to the NCAA Championships in just its third year with a program, becoming the first HBCU institution to compete in the tournament.
“Recruits have now seen them here, that makes a difference,” Speraw said of Fort Valley State, which UCLA swept to open tournament play Tuesday. “All of this is really the next step for the development of their program.”
Grand Canyon has only been fielding a team since 2009 and didn’t join the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation until 2017, but the only men’s volleyball program in Arizona beat UCLA in the MPSF championship match two weeks ago and pushed Long Beach to its limits Thursday.
“We are growing,” Knipe said of the sport. “We had the first real tournament on Tuesday with everybody playing in the quarters. … Numbers are growing, boys volleyball all across the country, states are adding high school boys volleyball at a big number.”
Knipe said he wouldn’t be surprised to see the tournament field grow to 12 teams in the coming years.
“I hope it continues to grow,” Knipe said. “For those people that are logging all those hours to make it happen, keep going. We appreciate it and it’s noticed.”
NCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship
Who: No. 1 UCLA (25-5) vs. No. 2 Long Beach State (27-2)
When: 2 p.m. Saturday
Where: Walter Pyramid, Cal State Long Beach
TV: ESPN