November 06, 2026 | Men's Volleyball
IRVINE, Calif. – In an unprecedented event, the UC Irvine men's volleyball team will step onto Court 21 at the Bren Events Center for an exhibition match against an opponent from within its own campus community: the UCI men's club volleyball team.
The Anteaters' only home fall exhibition will take place on Saturday, Nov. 14, following the women's volleyball team's Senior Night match against Cal State Bakersfield, which is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start. Fans can enjoy a full evening of volleyball at the Bren, while also getting the unique opportunity to witness two campus programs come together to showcase their talents and their 'Eater pride.
For 15th-year head coach and UCI alum David Kniffin '03, next Saturday is bigger than just another exhibition match. It is a meaningful effort to invest in the broader campus community he and his student-athletes call home. It also serves as an act of gratitude, service, and belief in the power of showing up for one another.
"The idea of doing something with another campus entity has been on my mind for a long time," Kniffin said. "I think at UC Irvine, we have this unbelievable opportunity to face outward and build bridges to our external community, but there are also so many rich opportunities to invest internally and create relationships on campus."
That internal investment has already started to take shape for Kniffin and his squad. For the past few summers, he has brought members of his team to the New Swan Shakespeare Festival at Aldrich Park, UCI's annual outdoor theater production. It has been a fun way for them to support the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, while also getting to experience the atmosphere of a live event from a spectator's view.
"There is just something about a house that's full, a live audience, and people out there performing — not through a screen, but in person," Kniffin said. "There is an emotion and relationship that can be felt between the actor and the person sitting in the groundling section."
That same relational energy is what makes the Bren Events Center such a special place, and why fan support means so much to the program. The Anteaters ranked third nationally in average attendance with 2,283 fans per match last year, so they understand the importance of showing up, and they don't take it for granted.
"In between sets two and three, we use the 10-minute break to go up in the stands and high five fans," Kniffin said. "It isn't done as a hype-up moment, but as an act of gratitude. It is a thank you for showing up, because showing up matters."
That gratitude got Kniffin thinking more about tangible ways his program could support other campus groups, and the idea of collaborating with the UCI club team seemed like an obvious choice.
"They have aspirations to be a top five team at the club level, and we have aspirations to be a top five team at the intercollegiate level," Kniffin said. "So what if we hosted an exhibition match where it was UCI vs. UCI, and really 'Eaters serving 'Eaters? We thought about what it would look like to put those two groups together and create a rich partnership there."
Fans will get a chance to see what that looks like in the one-of-a-kind exhibition event next Saturday. For a program riding the momentum of an NCAA Championship Final appearance in 2026, it will also be an exciting fall preview of what's to come in 2027. But even with that excitement building, Kniffin and the Anteaters remain grounded in gratitude and service.
"There's some excitement coming off the national final," Kniffin said. "But we want it to be more than that. I would really like this to be something where it's a catalyst to more students supporting students, and more opportunities to show up and say live performances matter. In a digital age that is so rich in terms of information that can be shared, there is something so fundamentally good about the human experience and showing up in person for each other."
The Anteaters' only home fall exhibition will take place on Saturday, Nov. 14, following the women's volleyball team's Senior Night match against Cal State Bakersfield, which is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start. Fans can enjoy a full evening of volleyball at the Bren, while also getting the unique opportunity to witness two campus programs come together to showcase their talents and their 'Eater pride.
For 15th-year head coach and UCI alum David Kniffin '03, next Saturday is bigger than just another exhibition match. It is a meaningful effort to invest in the broader campus community he and his student-athletes call home. It also serves as an act of gratitude, service, and belief in the power of showing up for one another.
"The idea of doing something with another campus entity has been on my mind for a long time," Kniffin said. "I think at UC Irvine, we have this unbelievable opportunity to face outward and build bridges to our external community, but there are also so many rich opportunities to invest internally and create relationships on campus."
That internal investment has already started to take shape for Kniffin and his squad. For the past few summers, he has brought members of his team to the New Swan Shakespeare Festival at Aldrich Park, UCI's annual outdoor theater production. It has been a fun way for them to support the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, while also getting to experience the atmosphere of a live event from a spectator's view.
"There is just something about a house that's full, a live audience, and people out there performing — not through a screen, but in person," Kniffin said. "There is an emotion and relationship that can be felt between the actor and the person sitting in the groundling section."
That same relational energy is what makes the Bren Events Center such a special place, and why fan support means so much to the program. The Anteaters ranked third nationally in average attendance with 2,283 fans per match last year, so they understand the importance of showing up, and they don't take it for granted.
"In between sets two and three, we use the 10-minute break to go up in the stands and high five fans," Kniffin said. "It isn't done as a hype-up moment, but as an act of gratitude. It is a thank you for showing up, because showing up matters."
That gratitude got Kniffin thinking more about tangible ways his program could support other campus groups, and the idea of collaborating with the UCI club team seemed like an obvious choice.
"They have aspirations to be a top five team at the club level, and we have aspirations to be a top five team at the intercollegiate level," Kniffin said. "So what if we hosted an exhibition match where it was UCI vs. UCI, and really 'Eaters serving 'Eaters? We thought about what it would look like to put those two groups together and create a rich partnership there."
Fans will get a chance to see what that looks like in the one-of-a-kind exhibition event next Saturday. For a program riding the momentum of an NCAA Championship Final appearance in 2026, it will also be an exciting fall preview of what's to come in 2027. But even with that excitement building, Kniffin and the Anteaters remain grounded in gratitude and service.
"There's some excitement coming off the national final," Kniffin said. "But we want it to be more than that. I would really like this to be something where it's a catalyst to more students supporting students, and more opportunities to show up and say live performances matter. In a digital age that is so rich in terms of information that can be shared, there is something so fundamentally good about the human experience and showing up in person for each other."
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