NCAA Bound! UC Irvine Battles Penn State In Opening Round

Photo by: Regents of the University of California

NCAA Bound! UC Irvine Battles Penn State In Opening Round

April 21, 2024 | Men's Volleyball

By: Stacey Shackleford

NCAA BRACKET

IRVINE, Calif. – The UC Irvine men's volleyball team secured an at-large berth into the NCAA Championship and will play April 30 at 1:30 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach State.

UCI, who will be making its eighth NCAA appearance, is seeded fourth and will face fifth-seed Penn State in the opening round. The Anteaters and Nittany Lions have a storied NCAA past with UCI holding a 2-1 series lead in postseason matches. Penn State is 23-6 overall after capturing the EIVA Championship with a 3-1 victory over George Mason.

UCI is 19-10 overall, falling to No. 1 seed Long Beach State in the title match of the OUTRIGGER Big West Championship presented by the Hawaiian Islands. The Anteaters have taken down two No. 1 teams (Grand Canyon, Long Beach State) during the course of the season and have recorded five wins over Top 5 teams in 2024. UCI's high-flying offense leads the nation in kills with a 13.34 per set average.