UCLA men’s volleyball earns at-large bid, No. 3 seed for NCAA tournament
Junior setter Andrew Rowan celebrates after UCLA scores a point. Redshirt junior libero Matthew Aziz celebrates with an outstretched fist, and junior outside hitter Zach Rama faces Rowan. (Andrew Diaz/Daily Bruin)
By Connor Dullinger
April 27, 2025 2:47 p.m.
This post was updated April 27 at 11:39 p.m.
Second chances are few and far between.
But on the off chance they present themselves, they are an opportunity that shouldn’t be passed up.
Despite losing out on an automatic bid given to the MPSF conference winner after falling 3-2 in the semifinals to tournament host Pepperdine (20-9, 7-5 MPSF), UCLA men’s volleyball (20-6, 10-2) earned the second and final at-large bid as the No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. The seeding marks the fourth consecutive year the Bruins qualified for the tournament, with three of the four coming from an at-large entrance.
UCLA ultimately beat out USC and UC Irvine for the last unclaimed spot in the tournament. To finish out the regular season, the Trojans took the Bruins to five sets on Senior Night at Pauley Pavilion. The crosstown rival followed its loss with a sweep two days later at the Galen Center but ultimately fell to the Waves in the conference finals.
In the Big West, Irvine fell in the conference semifinals to eventual champion Hawaiʻi but finished the season winning six consecutive matches, including in straight sets against Cal State Northridge.
Despite the two programs’ staunch 2025 campaign finishes, UCLA’s two victories over Irvine on Feb. 19 and Feb. 22, respectively, and a higher KPI and RPI ranking over both schools gave UCLA the push it needed to make it to Columbus, Ohio.
With this seeding, UCLA will commence its tournament run in the first round against No. 6 seed Belmont Abbey (17-8, 12-2 Conference Carolinas) on May 8 at the Covelli Center. Belmont Abbey captured its second consecutive conference championship this season over No. 20 Mount Olive.
The Crusaders ranked sixth in the country in blocks per set, 11 spots above the Bruins, and third in the nation in opponent hitting percentage, 15 spots ahead of the Bruins, holding teams to a .187 clip.
No. 1 seed Long Beach State joined UCLA as the other at-large bid in the tournament, while the remaining squads include No. 2 seed Hawaiʻi, No. 4 seed Loyola Chicago and No. 5 seed Pepperdine.
The top-seeded Beach defeated the Bruins twice this year, beating them in four sets at Walter Pyramid and sweeping them at Pauley Pavilion. And despite the Bruins beating the Waves twice in the regular season, they fell to them in five sets in the MPSF semifinals.
Loyola Chicago was previously helmed by UCLA coach John Hawks for two seasons before he returned to Westwood, while Hawaiʻi defeated Long Beach for the Big West title.
The Bruins will enter the 2025 NCAA tournament following back-to-back national championships with the opportunity be the first team to three-peat since they did it from 1982-1984.
