UC Irvine Earns At-Large NCAA Bid
April 22, 2018 | Men's Volleyball
IRVINE, Calif. – Third ranked UC Irvine was one of two at-large selections chosen to compete for the 2018 National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship.
The Anteaters will play the winner of the Ohio State (23-5) versus King (23-5) match, which will be contested on Apr. 26th at St. John Arena in Columbus, in the second opening round match on May 1 at 5:00 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA (24-7), the other at large selection, will take on Harvard (13-13) following the UCI match for the final berth in to the championship bracket.
Waiting in the semifinals is No. 1 Long Beach State and second-seeded BYU (22-6). Semifinal matches will be played on May 3 and the championship on May 5 at Pauley Pavilion.
This is UCI's seventh trip (2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015) to the NCAA post-season, with the Anteaters capturing national titles in 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013. The last time UC Irvine was crowned was a 3-0 victory over BYU at Pauley Pavilion. Overall, UCI is 8-2 in NCAA competition.
The Anteaters are 21-9 overall, recording 12 victories over top 15 teams this year. UC Irvine is currently ranked third nationally, sitting in the country's top 5 for the last 11 weeks.
NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship
Apr. 26 – Opening Round Match (at Columbus, Ohio)
King Univ. (Tenn.) at Ohio State – 4 p.m. PT
May 1 – Opening Round (Pauley Pavilion)
UC Irvine vs. winner of the King/Ohio State match – 5:00 p.m. PT
UCLA vs. Harvard winner – 7:30 p.m. PT
May 3 – Semifinals (Pauley Pavilion – stream on ncaa.com)
No. 1 seed Long Beach State vs. winner of UC Irvine v. King/Ohio State match – 5 p.m. PT
No. 2 seed BYU vs. winner of the UCLA v. Harvard match – 7:30 p.m. PT
May 5 – Championship (Pauley Pavilion – TV: ESPNU)
4 p.m.
