A rematch full of determination awaits.

No. 1 seed UCLA men’s volleyball (29-2, 12-0 MPSF) will compete for a spot in the national championship game when it faces Long Beach State (21-4, 9-1 Big West) on Thursday in Fairfax, Virginia. Despite besting the Beach in both their matchups this season, the Bruins were reverse swept when the teams met with the same stakes a season ago.

Ethan Champlin – named a First-Team All-American on Monday – kept a smile on his face as he recalled UCLA’s mentality heading into the matchup with Long Beach State after last year’s five-set letdown.

“We have a poster in our locker room of all of our reactions after that final ball dropped,” said the junior outside hitter. “That’s just motivation for our coming season, and we’ve really taken that to heart and worked hard this year.”

Seven sets was all it took for the then-No. 4-ranked Bruins to reclaim the No. 2 spot from the Beach in the national rankings, dropping just one set across their doubleheader in February.

But there’s one more key piece to the puzzle in this matchup – a bye. As the top seed, UCLA earned a pair of byes in the NCAA tournament, skipping straight to the semifinals. But sometimes another match may be a blessing in disguise, a way for a team like Long Beach State to shake off the cobwebs of a six-hour, cross-country flight – cobwebs that UCLA might still have tethered to it.

Coach John Speraw emphasized the importance of balance between rest and training with respect to the week off between the conference tournament and the NCAA tournament, in addition to the byes.

“It’s been very intentional, and I’ll let you know at the end of the week how it worked,” Speraw said with a chuckle.

All seven of the Bruins’ starters secured All-American honors, with setter Andrew Rowan picking up AVCA Newcomer of the Year as well. That feat, however, was achieved by three of the four teams left in contention for an NCAA title, with 27 of 28 starters among the four squads named to the list.

But despite the individual accolades each player has gathered, it’s the team dynamics that present the biggest challenge.

“You have the four best teams playing in the semis,” Speraw said. “You’re going into this final four, and you’re not talking about one guy – you’re talking about all of them.”

And even though every player donning the blue and gold proves a threat, there is one individual that has stood apart this postseason.

Rowan was the lone freshman named to the All-American First Team, and set the Bruins to the best hitting percentage in the nation in the midst of leading them to their first MPSF title in 17 years. But postseason inexperience – especially when working against teams full of veterans – remains a question mark.

Redshirt junior middle blocker Merrick McHenry said he’s not worried.

“Our schedule has prepared us for this moment, it’s prepared Rowan,” McHenry said. “We’ve had matches where we’ve definitely felt pressure, and we’ve had matches where we’ve been in the big arenas, and we’ve been underdogs.”

Speraw added that Rowan’s maturity and intentionality sometimes make him seem like a veteran.

And alongside matching the team’s expectations on offense, Rowan has become a force to be reckoned with from behind the line, with an ability to rip serves the way Speraw believes will be a key to a title.

But before being able to secure the top trophy in the sport, the Bruins need two wins, with the first against the team that knocked them out of contention for that honor both in 2022 and 2018.

First serve against Long Beach State is at 2 p.m. on Thursday.