The semifinals 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.
NCAA Tournament semifinals schedule
6:30 p.m. (EST) Saturday – No. 4 seed Ball State vs. UC Irvine
9:30 p.m. (EST) Saturday – No. 2 seed Hawai’i vs. No. 3 seed Long Beach State
No. 4 seed Ball State (26-4, 13-3 MIVA) vs. UC Irvine (20-8, 7-3 Big West)
Match vitals: 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Los Angeles (at Pauley Pavilion)
Season series: First meeting this season
All-time series: UC Irvine leads 7-4
Last meeting: UC Irvine swept Ball State in 2019.
How they got here: Ball State defeated Pepperdine in five games in the NCAA Tournament regional finals. UC Irvine defeated Penn State in five games in the opening round and then upset the No. 1 seed UCLA in the regional finals.
NCAA Tournament record: Ball State (12-30); UC Irvine (11-4)
NCAA Tournament appearances: Ball State (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2002, 2022, 2026); UC Irvine (2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2024, 2026)
NCAA Tournament titles: Ball State (none); UC Irvine (2007, 2009, 2012, 2013)
Memorable Ball State moment in previous meeting: Middle attacker Alex Pia had nine blocks and added seven kills on a .500 attack percentage as No. 10 Ball State defeated No. 13 UC Irvine in five games in 2016.
Memorable UC Irvine moment in previous meeting: UC Irvine committed three attack errors the entire match and finished with a .478 attack percentage as it swept Ball Stage in 2017.
Ball State player accolades this season: Patrick Rogers (MiVA Player of the Year, First-Team All-MIVA); Lucas Machado (First-Team All-MIVA); Ryan Louis (Second-Team All-MIVA); Braydon Savitski-Lynde (Second-Team All-MIVA)
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)
Historical stat to know: Ball State has never advanced beyond the NCAA Tournament semifinals in its program history. UC Irvine is on a two-match losing streak to MIVA teams in the NCAA Tournament.
No. 2 seed Hawai’i (28-5, 9-1 Big West) vs. No. 3 seed Long Beach State (25-4, 8-2 Big West)
Match vitals: 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Los Angeles (at Pauley Pavilion)
Season series: Hawai’i leads 2-1.
Last meeting: Long Beach State defeated Hawai’i in five games in the Big West Tournament finals.
All-time series: Long Beach State leads 54-51
All-time series in NCAA Tournament: Tied at 1-1
How they got here: Hawai’i defeated USC in four games in the NCAA Tournament regional finals. Long Beach State swept Loyola in the NCAA Tournament regional finals.
NCAA Tournament record: Hawai’i (13-8); Long Beach State (25-12)
NCAA Tournament appearances: Hawai’i (1995, 1996, 2002, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025, 2026); Long Beach State (1970, 1973, 1990, 1991, 1999, 2004, 2008, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026)
NCAA Tournament titles: Hawai’i (2002, 2021, 2022); Long Beach State (1991, 2018, 2019, 2025)
Memorable Hawai’i moment in previous NCAA Tournament meeting: Setter Jakob Thelle had two aces guided the offense to a .434 attack percentage as Hawai’i swept Long Beach State in the 2022 NCAA Tournament finals to win back-to-back national championships.
Memorable Long Beach State moment in previous NCAA Tournament meeting: Outside attacker TJ DeFalco had a match-high 20 as Long Beach State defeated Hawai’i in four games in the 2019 NCAA Tournament finals to win back-to-back national championships.
Hawai’i player accolades this season: Tread Rosenthal (First-Team All-Big West); Adrien Roure (First-Team All-Big West); Kristian Titriyski (First-Team All-Big West); Louis Sakanoko (First-Team All-Big West); Quintin Greenidge (First-Team All-Big West)
Long Beach State player accolades this season: Jackson Cryst (First-Team All-Big West, Big West All-Freshman Team); Kellen Larson (First-Team All-Big West); Skyler Varga (First-Team All-Big West); Wojciech Gajek (Big West All-Freshman Team); Jake Pazanti (Big West All-Freshman Team)
Historical stat to know: This will be the first time since 2021 that two teams from the same conference will play each other in the NCAA Tournament semifinals.