All roads lead to the national championship.

But before a team can secure the title, it must fight for the right to continue down the path to glory.

And now that the Bruins are here, there’s only one route forward.

After sweeping No. 2 seed Hawai’i in the semifinal, No. 3 seed UCLA men’s volleyball (22-6, 10-2 MPSF) will face No. 1 seed Long Beach State (29-3, 8-2 Big West) on Monday in the NCAA tournament final at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio. A victory would give the Bruins their third consecutive and 22nd national title.

“I’m going to give my 110% and go die on the court with my brothers,” said redshirt junior outside hitter Cooper Robinson.

The Southern California rivals played each other twice in the regular season, with UCLA falling both times and picking up just one set in the process – the team’s only back-to-back defeat from the same opponent this year.

Across both duels, UCLA posted a .300-plus hitting percentage, combining for 82 kills across seven sets. However, the team struggled defensively to stymie Long Beach’s serve and attack, underperforming in digs and garnering three times as many reception errors as its counterpart across the net.

“We’ve been preparing for it all year,” Robinson said. “We have a lot of stats on them. We played them twice, and it obviously didn’t go our way, but we’re so fired up and we cannot wait to play.”

In UCLA’s 2025 season finale, the squad said it will uphold a mindset that treats each and every point with the same importance – whatever the score may actually be.

“A big part of our endgame this week is that 0-0 mentality,” said junior setter Andrew Rowan. “We’ve blown a lot of leads in the past.”

Since the squads last faced off in February, both the Bruin and Beach lineup has shifted. On the former’s side of the court, redshirt sophomore David Decker – who contributed 14 kills in two games against Long Beach – has seen his opposite hitter spot overtaken by junior outside hitter Zach Rama, leaving space for freshman outside hitter Sean Kelly to also join the fray.

Likewise, redshirt junior middle blocker Matthew Edwards has found less time on the court and more on the bench in favor of fellow redshirt junior middle blocker Sean McQuiggan – who had been on and off the court for months nursing a shoulder injury.

But the Beach has also seen some shuffling, with injuries sidelining outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis and opposite Daniil Hershtynovich, who haven’t played since early March and mid-April, respectively.

The former, a two-time All-American, and the latter, who made this year’s All-American honorable mention list, spearheaded Long Beach’s offense against UCLA, combining for 36 kills through both games.

While only time will tell if their absences will impede the Beach’s performance against the Bruins, a constant remains for them in Long Beach setter Moni Nikolov.

Moni Nikolov, who became the second freshman to earn AVCA Player of the Year behind his brother Alex Nikolov, has paved the way for a team that dropped just three matches this season, all to top-five schools.

But Long Beach coach Alan Knipe indicated that it took some time for the whole squad to accept Moni Nikolov as the team’s ace.

“Whether everyone wants to agree with it or not, all great teams have a great player, and Moni’s our great player. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have other really, really good volleyball players on the court,” Knipe said. “But to be able to reduce or eliminate the ego and not be in conflict with your guy who is your guy is part of the maturity of the team.”

Coach John Hawks’ squad, on the other hand, takes a different approach. Hawks credited multiple players on the team, including Kelly and McQuiggan, for success in the semifinal match against Hawai’i – a philosophy in line with former UCLA coach John Speraw’s pride in a deep bench.

“We’re a family right now,” Robinson said. “Our leaders are stepping up in the right ways and just all clicking at the same time.”

No men’s volleyball program other than UCLA has ever broken into three-peat territory. Since 2012, six consecutive programs have earned back-to-back titles but have failed to win thrice.

But in his first year at the helm, Hawks has the chance to contribute to the legacy of three-title streaks established by former head coach Al Scates in the 1970s and 80s.

“I mean, shoot, it’s the stuff that dreams are made of,” Hawks said.

Hawks knows where the road in front could take them. And on Monday, his squad can take it.

“They have hearts of champions, and you can see it in just the way we play,” Hawks said.