The four opening-round matches are set for the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament.
Check out the matchups and the historical tidbits to know before filling out your NCAA Tournament bracket.
UC Irvine (19-10, 7-3 Big West) vs. Penn State (23-6, 10-0 EIVA)
Match vitals: 6 p.m. Friday in Los Angeles (at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion)
Season series: Did not play each other this season
Last meeting: UC Irvine swept Penn State in the 2024 NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.
All-time series: UC Irvine leads 9-6
All-time series in NCAA Tournament: UC Irvine leads 3-1
How they got here: Penn State defeated Princeton in the EIVA Tournament finals to win the conference’s automatic bid. UC Irvine after losing to Long Beach State in the Big West Tournament semifinals received an at-large bid.
What’s next: The winner will advance to play the No. 1 seed UCLA.
NCAA Tournament record: UC Irvine (9-4); Penn State (19-35)
NCAA Tournament appearances: UC Irvine (2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2024, 2026); 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, 2026)
NCAA Tournament titles: UC Irvine (2007, 2019, 2012, 2013); Penn State (1994, 2008)
Memorable previous NCAA Tournament meeting: Middle attacker Max Holt had a match-winning ace as Penn State defeated UC Irvine 15-13 in the decisive fifth game of the 2006 NCAA Tournament semifinals. The ace from the future Olympian also occurred immediately following a 14-minute delay because a portion of the arena lights in Rec Hall went out.
UC Irvine player accolades this season: Will D’Arcy (First-Team All-Big West); Andrej Jokanovic (First-Team All-Big West, Big West All-Freshman Team); Shane Aitken (All-Big West Honorable Mention); Trevor Clark (All-Big West Honorable Mention); Cameron Kotsy (Big West All-Freshman Team)
Penn State player accolades this season: Sean Harvey (EIVA Player of the Year, First-Team All-EIVA); Owen Rose (First Team All-EIVA); Ryan Merk (First-Team All-EIVA); Gaige Gabriel (Second-Team All-EIVA); Matthew Luoma (Second-Team All-EIVA); Michael Schwob (Second-Team All-EIVA); Tristan Hassell (All-EIVA Honorable Mention)
Historical stat to know: Penn State coach Mark Pavlik, who will retire at the end of the season, needs one more win to tie Hall of Famer and former Ball State coach Don Shondell for the fifth most NCAA Tournament wins in men’s volleyball history. UC Irvine’s last NCAA championship in 2013 was won at Pauley Pavilion.
Loyola (20-8, 12-4 MIVA) vs. Saint Francis (18-11, 10-2 NEC)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Friday in Long Beach, California (at Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid)
Season series: Did not play each other this season
Last meeting: Loyola swept Saint Francis last season.
All-time series: Loyola leads 17-2
All-time series in NCAA Tournament: First NCAA Tournament meeting
How they got here: Saint Francis defeated Fairleigh Dickinson in the NEC Tournament finals to win the conference’s automatic bid. Loyola after losing to Ball State in the MIVA Tournament finals received an at-large bid.
What’s next: The winner will advance to play the No. 2 seed Long Beach State.
NCAA Tournament record: Loyola (5-2); Saint Francis (0-0)
NCAA Tournament appearances: Loyola (2013, 2014, 2015, 2025, 2026); Saint Francis (2026)
NCAA Tournament titles: Loyola (2014, 2015); Saint Francis (none)
Memorable previous meeting: Saint Francis rallied from a two-game deficit and won a 20-point overtime in the decisive fifth game as it upset then-No. 14 Loyola in 2011.
Loyola player accolades this season: Daniel Fabikovic (First-Team All-MIVA); Aidan Klein (First-Team All-MIVA); Josh Schellinger (First-Team All-MIVA); Oskar Berg Mikkelsen (Second-Team All-MIVA); Ryan McElligott (Second-Team All-MIVA)
Saint Francis player accolades this season: Kyle Charles (First-Team All-NEC); Cole Dorn (First-Team All-NEC); Brady Stump (First-Team All-NEC)
Historical stat to know: Loyola is the fourth non-West Coast team to receive an at-large bid in NCAA Tournament history. Saint Francis is the first team to make the NCAA Tournament in the midst of a transition from Division I to Division III. This initial NCAA Tournament for Saint Francis also will cap off the program’s more than 30 years in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball.
USC (19-7, 9-5 MPSF) vs. Belmont Abbey (20-5, 13-1 ConfCarolinas)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. Friday in Honolulu (at Hawai’i’s Stan Sheriff Center)
Season series: Did not play each other this season
All-time series: First all-time meeting
How they got here: Belmont Abbey defeated Mount Olive in the ConfCarolinas Tournament finals to win the conference’s automatic bid. USC after losing to UCLA in the MPSF Tournament finals received an at-large bid.
What’s next: The winner will advance to play the No. 2 seed Hawai’i.
NCAA Tournament record: USC (17-11); Belmont Abbey (0-3)
NCAA Tournament appearances: USC (1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2019, 2026); Belmont Abbey (2021, 2024, 2025, 2026)
NCAA Tournament titles: USC (1977, 1980, 1988, 1990); Belmont Abbey (none)
USC player accolades this season: Dillon Klein (First-Team All-MPSF); Wesley Smith (Second-Team All-MPSF); Sterling Foley (All-MPSF Honorable Mention) Parker Tomkinson (All-MPSF Honorable Mention); Johnny Dykstra (All-MPSF Honorable Mention) Cooper Keane (MPSF All-Freshman Team)
Belmont Abbey player accolades this season: Caden Day (ConfCarolinas Offensive Player of the Year, First-Team All-ConfCarolinas); Jibriel Elhaddad (First-Team All-ConfCarolinas); Joseph Morris (First-Team All-ConfCarolinas); Zach Puentes (Second-Team All-ConfCarolinas); Alejando Leon (Second-Team All-ConfCarolinas)
Historical stat to know: Belmont Abbey is 0-4 all-time against MPSF teams and is attempting to become the first ConfCarolinas team since 2022 to win a NCAA Tournament match. USC is 3-1 all-time against ConfCarolinas teams with that one loss coming against Barton in 2019.
Pepperdine (23-6, 13-1 MPSF) vs. Fort Valley State (14-12 SIAC)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. in Noblesville, Indiana (Riverview Health Arena)
Season series: Did not play each other this season
All-time series: Pepperdine leads 1-0
Last meeting: Pepperdine swept Fort Valley State in its 2024 season opener.
How they got here: Fort Valley State defeated Central State in the SIAC Tournament finals to win the conference’s automatic bid. Pepperdine after losing to USC in the MPSF Tournament semifinals received an at-large bid.
What’s next: The winner will advance to play the No. 4 seed Ball State.
NCAA Tournament record: Pepperdine (19-14); Fort Valley State (0-2)
NCAA Tournament appearances: Pepperdine (1976, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1984 1985, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2002, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2025, 2026); Fort Valley State (2024, 2025, 2026)
NCAA Tournament titles: Pepperdine (1978, 1985, 1986, 1992, 2005); Fort Valley State (none)
Pepperdine player accolades this season: Cole Hartke (First-Team All-MPSF); Ryan Barnett (First-Team All-MPSF); Andrej Polomac (Second-Team All-MPSF); Jose Gomez (All-MPSF Honorable Mention); Jacob Reilly (All-MPSF Honorable Mention); James Eadie (All-MPSF Honorable Mention); Jose Gomez (MPSF All-Freshman Team); Noe Matthey (MPSF All-Freshman Team)
Fort Valley State player accolades this season: Isaiah Fedd (SIAC Player of the Year, First-Team All-SIAC); Jamari Griffin (First-Team All-SIAC); Taviian Martin (First-Team All-SIAC); Logan Rogers (SIAC Freshman of the Year, Second-Team All-SIAC); Keaton Long (Second-Team All-SIAC); Muhammad Mbaye (Second-Team All-SIAC); Constantine Ononye (Second-Team All-SIAC)
Historical stat to know: Fort Valley State opened the season becoming the first SIAC team to beat a NCAA Division I opponent and will now try to become the first SIAC team to be a nationally ranked team. Pepperdine since the start of the coaches poll has never lost to an unranked team in the NCAA Tournament.