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The NCAA Tournament continues with both opening round matches and two spots to the NCAA Tournament semifinals on the line.
Check out all the NCAA Tournament men’s volleyball matches to follow today and how to follow them live.
UC Santa Barbara (15-4, 7-3 Big West) vs. Pepperdine (13-6, 11-5 MPSF)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio
Follow live: Live stats, Live video, In-match tweets
Season series: First meeting this season
All-time series: Pepperdine leads 72-37 (last meet in 2020)
NCAA Tournament championships: UC Santa Barbara (none); Pepperdine (1978, 1985, 1986, 1992, 2005)
NCAA Tournament record: UC Santa Barbara (7-10); Pepperdine (15-17)
NCAA Tournament appearances: UC Santa Barbara (1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1988, 2011, 2021); Pepperdine (1976, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2019, 2021)
What to know: Both UC Santa Barbara coach Rich McLaughlin and Pepperdine coach David Hunt were in agreement during their prematch news conferences — there are going to be a lot of long rallies in their upcoming match. Two of the top passing teams in the nation will face each other as the Gauchos and Waves meet in the NCAA Tournament opening round. The Gauchos are the only team in the nation to have two non-liberos in the nation’s top 20 for digs. Outside attacker Ryan Wilcox is averaging 2.07 digs per game, while All-American setter Casey McGarry leads the team and is 12th in the country averaging 2.19 digs per game. McGarry, a finalist for the Lloy Ball Award as the nation’s top setter, also is second in the nation with a 10.87 assists per game average and guided the offense to the seventh-best attack percentage in the nation at .318. In addition, McGarry had 10 digs and four blocks to help UC Santa Barbara beat UC San Diego in the Big West Tournament finals. Along with the Gauchos defense, All-American opposite Randy DeWeese is in the nation’s top 15 with a 3.96 kills per game average and had a combined 25 kills in the team’s two Big West Tournament matches. Pepperdine earned the final at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after finishing in third place in the MPSF and losing in the conference tournament finals. Middle attacker Austin Wilmont is in the nation’s top 15 with both a 1.07 blocks per game average and a career-best .431 attack percentage. Wilmont has double-digit kills in four matches during the second half of the season, including 12 kills while hitting .647 against Stanford in the MPSF Tournament quarterfinals. Setter Bryce Dvorak enters the NCAA Tournament after being named the AVCA National Newcomer of the Year on Monday. Dvorak is in the nation’s top 25 with a 9.15 assists per game average and guided the offense to the ninth-best attack percentage in the nation at .306. He also leads the team with a 0.32 aces per game average and contributed a 1.26 digs per game average. This will be the 110th all-time meeting between the two former conference rivals. However, it is the first time UC Santa Barbara and Pepperdine have met in the NCAA Tournament.
Lewis (20-2, 12-2 MIVA) vs. Penn State (22-3, 16-2 EIVA)
Match vitals: 8 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio
Follow live: Live stats, Live video, In-match tweets
Season series: First meeting this season
All-time series: Penn State leads 24-13 (last meet in 2020)
NCAA Tournament championships: Lewis (2003-vacated); Penn State (1994, 2008)
NCAA Tournament record: Lewis (4-7); Penn State (32-16)
NCAA Tournament appearances: Lewis (1996, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2021); Penn State (1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2021)
What to know: Two of the top setters in the nation will go up against each other with a spot in the NCAA Tournament semifinals on the line as Kevin Kauling and Lewis play Cole Bogner and Penn State. Kauling, a finalist for the Lloy Ball Award, leads the nation with a 10.87 assists per game average and has guided the Flyers to the country’s third-best attack percentage at .340. Lewis has hit at least .300 in all but one match during its current 12-match winning streak, including a .364 attack percentage in its sweep against Loyola in the MIVA Tournament finals. Bogner, the EIVA Player of the Year, led the Nittany Lions to be among the nation’s top 10 with a .331 attack percentage and is second in the EIVA averaging 9.70 assists per game. The setter also helped Penn State commit a season-low four attack errors and hit .509 in a sweep against Belmont Abbey in the NCAA Tournament play-in match on Monday. The Nittany Lions in the victory set a NCAA Tournament single-match record during the 25-point rally scoring era with 11 aces. All-American outside attacker Brett Wildman led all players with four aces, while All-American opposite Cal Fisher contributed three aces. Both Wildman and Fisher entered the NCAA Tournament among the EIVA and national leaders averaging more than 3.20 kills per game. In addition, Fisher, a finalist for the National Server of the Year, is second in the country averaging 0.74 aces per game. Lewis outside attacker Ryan Coenen is second in the nation with a 4.43 kills per game average on a career-best .346 attack percentage and has double-digit kills in all but two matches this season. Coenen, who earned an extra year of eligibility because of the shortened 2020 season, was named an All-American on Monday for the fifth time in his college career. The senior in his career against Penn State has 77 combined kills and has hit more than .300 in four of the five matches.