COLUMBUS, Ohio – The month of May became synonymous with UCLA magic the past two years. 

Spring of 2023 and 2024 were painted blue and gold, as the Bruins stood atop collegiate men’s volleyball and returned to Westwood with national hardware.

And after the Bruins extinguished the Beach’s championship hopes last year at their home gym, it seemed only right for the favor to be returned, albeit on neutral ground. 

No. 1 seed Long Beach State (30–3, 8-2 Big West) swept No. 3 seed UCLA men’s volleyball (22-7, 10-2 MPSF) in the NCAA tournament final Monday night at the Covelli Center. The Beach’s steamroll marked their first championship since 2019 – simultaneously burying the Bruins’ bid for a historic three-peat, which could have been their first since 1983.

“It’s the stuff we have expected since day one,” Hawks said. “I’m trying to think of the bright side of it, the growth that we have had … and I’m just grateful, and proud and saddened for these guys, and that’s really where my heart is, with these guys and these seniors.” 

Despite entering the national finals ranking second nationally with a .369 hitting percentage, the Bruins’ own misfires wrote their downfall in Ohio. UCLA finished with 15 attack errors in the match, with 10 unraveling in a costly second set – a stanza that slipped through the Bruins’ fingers after a 18-13 cushion. 

At the tail end of the second frame, costly blunders – two attack errors from junior outside hitter Zach Rama and a service error each from senior outside hitter/opposite Ido David and Rama – cracked the door open for the Beach as the Bruins watched a golden opportunity vanish.

The errors allowed Long Beach back into a set – one that was the Bruins’ to lose  – with a two-ace service run from AVCA Player and Newcomer of the Year setter Moni Nikolov. 

The errors didn’t stop at the attacking realm either, as the Bruins racked up two blocking errors and 18 service errors. After committing 16 blunders from the line and six laser aces in their sweep of the Rainbow Warriors in the semifinal, the Bruins somehow yielded a worse ace-to-error ratio, with just three aces Monday.

Across the net, Nikolov – who broke Long Beach’s single-season service ace record in his freshman season – single-handedly outshone UCLA’s service attack, tallying four aces to tilt the match in his team’s favor. Heightened pressure sunk the Bruins’ reception game, as redshirt junior libero Matthew Aziz and sophomore outside hitter Luca Curci – both of whom serve as the team’s backline defensive specialists – combined for just three digs.

Two of UCLA’s AVCA All-American offensive threats in Rama and junior middle blocker Cameron Thorne strung together sub-.150 hitting percentages while All-MPSF Honorable Mention and freshman outside hitter Sean Kelly could muster up just three kills – and as many attacking errors – after pacing the team with 13 kills Saturday in the semifinal. 

Despite the lack of production from the Bruins’ offensive stalwarts, MPSF Player of the Year and AVCA First Team All-American Cooper Robinson led the way with 10 kills on a .381 clip, bearing the team’s weight in the dying embers of the match.

“UCLA has 21 championships for a reason. There’s a formula that we have and it works, and there’s a reason why we are here every year,” Robinson said. “This year, we had new leadership, and it was pretty difficult at first, but the guys really took control and began to become great leaders towards the end.”

Orchestrating the team’s attack, junior setter Andrew Rowan finished with his lowest assist total since March 15. 

The three-time AVCA First Team All-American built off Robinson, adding that prevailing through adversity helped the team grow most.

“There’s a point in time where you’re not practicing the best or the team culture of the court isn’t the greatest, and I think the way we overcame that, and that was the biggest lesson as a leader and a player,” Rowan said.