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Check out the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament quarterfinals to follow today and how to follow the match live.
No. 3 seed UCLA (20-6, 10-2 MPSF) vs. No. 6 seed Belmont Abbey (17-8, 12-2 ConfCarolinas)
Match vitals: 11 a.m. in Columbus, Ohio
Follow live: Live stats, Live video (ESPN+)
Season series: First meeting this season
Last meeting: First all-time meeting
All-time series: First all-time meeting
How they got here: UCLA earned an at-large bid after losing in the MPSF Tournament semifinals. Belmont Abbey defeated Mount Olive in the ConfCarolinas Tournament finals to earn the conference’s automatic bid.
NCAA Tournament record: UCLA (60-10); Belmont Abbey (0-2)
NCAA Tournament appearances: UCLA (1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2016, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025); Belmont Abbey (2021, 2024, 2025)
NCAA Tournament titles: UCLA (1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2006, 2023, 2024); Belmont Abbey (none)
UCLA player accolades this season: Cooper Robinson (MPSF Player of the Year, First-Team All-MPSF); Andrew Rowan (First-Team All-MPSF); Cameron Thorne (First-Team All-MPSF); Sean Kelly (All-MPSF Honorable Mention, MPSF All-Freshman Team)
Belmont Abbey player accolades this season: Zach Puentes (First-Team All-ConfCarolinas); Jibriel Elhaddad (First-Team All-ConfCarolinas); Michael de la Cruz (First-Team All-ConfCarolinas); Joseph Morris (Second-Team All-ConfCarolinas)
What to know: It’s not just enough for Belmont Abbey to make the NCAA Tournament. Coach Derek Sullivan and players during their prematch news conference Wednesday said they want to make a lasting impression at the tournament. It’s a different feeling for the team compared to last year when it made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2021. It’s also going to be a daunting task going up against the two-time defending NCAA champions UCLA in the quarterfinals. Outside attacker Zach Puentes leads Belmont Abbey and is second in the ConfCarolinas with a 3.45 kills per game average, including having 12 kills and hitting .500 in the ConfCarolinas Tournament finals. Puentes also had a team-high 11 kills in the team’s three-game loss to Long Beach State in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals last season. Puentes, though, was one of two Crusaders to have more than three kills in the loss. UCLA enters the NCAA Tournament third in the nation with a .367 attack percentage and the majority of its starting lineup is hitting more than .300. Outside attack Robinson is in the nation’s top 25 with a 3.56 kills per game average and a .387 attack percentage, including having a season-high 25 kills on a.537 attack percentage in a victory against USC in April. In addition, middle attacker Cameron Thorne is hitting a career-best .530 and has double-digit kills in six matches. UCLA is undefeated all-time against ConfCarolinas opponents, while Belmont Abbey is attempting to become the second ConfCarolinas program to win a NCAA Tournament match.
No. 2 seed Hawai’i (26-5, 7-3 Big West) vs. No. 7 seed Penn State (14-15, 8-4 EIVA)
Match vitals: 1:30 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio
Follow live: Live stats, Live video (ESPN+)
Season series: Hawai’i leads 1-0
Last meeting: Hawai’i swept Penn State at the Outrigger Invitational in March.
All-time series: Hawai’i leads 18-10
How they got here: Hawai’i defeated Long Beach State in the Big West Tournament finals to win the conference’s automatic bid. Penn State won the EIVA Tournament to earn the conference’s automatic bid and then swept Daemen in the NCAA Tournament opening round.
NCAA Tournament record: Hawai’i (11-7); Penn State (18-34)
NCAA Tournament appearances: Hawai’i (1995, 1996, 2002, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025); 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, 1017, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025)
NCAA Tournament titles: Hawai’i (2002, 2021, 2022); Penn State (1994, 2008)
Hawai’i player accolades this season: Tread Rosenthal (First-Team All-Big West); Adrien Roure (First-Team All-Big West, Big West All-Freshman Team); Kristian Titriyski (First-Team All-Big West, Big West All-Freshman Team); Kurt Nusterer (All-Big West Honorable Mention)
Penn State player accolades this season: Gaige Gabriel (All-EIVA Honorable Mention); Will Kuhns (First-Team All-EIVA); Matthew Luoma (All-EIVA Honorable Mention); Ryan Merk (First-Team All-EIVA); Owen Rose (Second-Team All-EIVA)
What to know: Coach Charlie Wade isn’t concerned about having a rare early afternoon match – even if that means it’s a 7:30 a.m. start time for fans back in Honolulu. Wade said during the prematch news conference Wednesday that the Rainbow Warriors adjusting to different match start times is something they are more than familiar with being multiple time zones away from every other team. Hawai’i traveling six time zones will open the NCAA Tournament against the EIVA champions Penn State. Setter Tread Rosenthal is third in the nation with a 10.65 assists per game average and helped guide the offense to the fifth-best attack percentage in the nation at .343. Rosental also helped the Rainbow Warriors hit .397 in a non-conference sweep against the Nittany Lions in March. Both Wade and Penn State coach Mark Pavlik, though, said Penn State has improved since that meeting at the Outrigger Invitational. The Nittany Lions have won 10 of their last 12 matches since the Outrigger Invitational. Pavlik said one of the biggest improvements with the Nittany Lions’ late in the season has been the team’s mentality when their opponent goes on a run. Pavlik said that earlier in the season the team would at times panic if the opponent went on a run and that would result in unforced errors or communication errors to further extend the run. Along with this renewed mental approach, outside attacker Will Kuhns is in the top five of the EIVA with a 3.19 kills per game average and had a team-high 13 kills in the loss to Hawai’i.
No. 1 seed Long Beach State (27-3, 8-2 Big West) vs. No. 8 seed Fort Valley State (18-9, 10-0 SIAC)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio
Follow live: Live stats, Live video (ESPN+)
Season series: Long Beach State leads 1-0
Last meeting: Long Beach State swept Fort Valley State in January at the Silver State Showdown.
All-time series: Long Beach State leads 1-0
How they got here: Long Beach State earned an at-large bid after losing in the Big West Tournament finals. Fort Valley State defeated Edward Waters in the SIAC Tournament finals to win the conference’s automatic bid.
NCAA Tournament record: Long Beach State (21-12); Fort Valley State (0-1)
NCAA Tournament appearances: Long Beach State (1970, 1973, 1990, 1991, 1999, 2004, 2008, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025); Fort Valley State (2024, 2025)
NCAA Tournament titles: Long Beach State (1991, 2018, 2019); Fort Valley State (none)
Long Beach State player accolades this season: Moni Nikolov (Big West Player of the Year, Big West Freshman of the Year, First-Team All-Big West, Big West All-Freshman Team); Alex Kandev (First-Team All-Big West, Big West All-Freshman Team); DiAeris McRaven (First-Team All-Big West); Skyler Varga (First-Team All-Big West); Daniil Hershtynovich (All-Big West Honorable Mention)
Fort Valley State player accolades this season: Isaiah Fedd (SIAC Player of the Year, First-Team All-SIAC); Oshane Farquharson (SIAC Setter of the Year, First-Team All-SIAC); Taviian Martin (First-Team All-SIAC); Jaxon Hicks (Second-Team All-SIAC)
What to know: For all the Moni Mania surrounding Long Beach State’s All-American freshman, coach Alan Knipe spent his prematch news conference emphasizing the role the senior captains played to get the Beach back to the NCAA Tournament. Pin-hitter Skyler Varga and middle attacker DiAeris McRaven were the only two returning starters from last season’s team that reached the NCAA Tournament finals. Knipe said both Varga and McRaven were instrumental establishing with the younger players the team culture necessary to compete for a national championship. Along with the intangibles, both Varga and McRaven had all-conference seasons. Varga is in the top five of the Big West with a 3.18 kills per game average and leads all conference pin-hitters with a .377 attack percentage. McRaven leads Long Beach State and is third in the Big West with a 0.97 blocks per game average. The senior also has a career-high .469 attack percentage, including hitting more than .450 each of the last five matches. Fort Valley State returns to the NCAA Tournament with the majority of its starting lineup that reached the quarterfinals last year. Pin-hitter Isaiah Fedd is in the nation’s top 15 with a 3.84 kills per game average on a conference-best .387 attack percentage. Fedd had at least 20 kills in three matches, including 20 kills on a .412 attack percentage against Belmont Abbey in February. Fort Valley State enters the NCAA Tournament on an 11-match winning streak and went undefeated in SIAC play. The Wildcats, though, have the longest layoff of any team in the NCAA Tournament having not played a match 22 days.
No. 4 seed Loyola (25-3, 13-3 MIVA) vs. No. 5 seed Pepperdine (20-9, 7-5 MPSF)
Match vitals: 7:30 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio
Follow live: Live stats, Live video (ESPN+)
Season series: Loyola leads 1-0
Last meeting: Loyola defeated Pepperdine in five games in January.
All-time series: Loyola leads 3-2
How they got here: Loyola swept Ohio State in the MIVA Tournament finals to win the conference’s automatic bid. Pepperdine defeated USC in the MPSF Tournament finals to win the conference’s automatic bid.
NCAA Tournament record: Loyola (5-1); Pepperdine (18-13)
NCAA Tournament appearances: Loyola (2013, 2014, 2015); Pepperdine (1976, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1984 1985, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2002, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2019, 2021, 2022)
NCAA Tournament titles: Loyola (2014, 2015); Pepperdine (1978, 1985, 1986, 1992, 2005)
Loyola player accolades this season: Parker Van Buren (MIVA Player of the Year, First-Team All-MIVA); Daniel Fabikovic (First-Team All-MIVA); Ryan McElligott (First-Team All-MIVA); Nicodemus Meyer (First-Team All-MIVA)
Pepperdine player accolades this season: Ryan Barnett (First-Team All-MPSF); Cole Hartke (MPSF Freshman of the Year, First-Team All-MPSF, MPSF all-Freshman Team); Jacob Reilly (Second-Team All-MPSF); Gabe Dyer (All-MPSF Honorable Mention)
What to know: Pepperdine knows all too well just how effective the Loyola offense can be this season. The Ramblers and Waves will meet for the second time this season after Loyola hit more than .400 in a five-game road victory against Pepperdine in January. Setter Ryan McElligott leads the nation with a 10.90 assists per game average and has guided the Loyola offense to the second-best attack percentage in the nation at .368. Loyola also committed three attack errors and hit .487 in a sweep against Ohio State in the MIVA Tournament finals. This was the fourth time this season the Ramblers had less than five errors in a match. Opposite Parker Van Buren leads Loyola and is second in the nation with a 4.42 kills on per game average on a .410 attack percentage. Van Buren also has at least 20 kills in seven matches, including a match-high 22 kills in a sweep against Lewis in the MIVA Tournament semifinals. Pepperdine freshman opposite Cole Hartke is in the nation’s top 25 with a 3.64 kills per game average. Hartke also had a season-high 24 kills on a .475 attack percentage in the loss to Loyola. Along with Hartke, outside attacker Ryan Barnett is in the nation’s top 25 with a 3.65 kills per game average. Barnett led Pepperdine with 23 kills and hit .333 in a victory against USC in the MPSF Tournament finals.
GO BEACH!