Cal State Long Beach will host the NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament from Tuesday, April 30th through Saturday, May 4th. (Photo courtesy of Long Beach State Athletics Department)
Long Beach State will be the center of the college volleyball world this week.
The NCAA men's volleyball tournament will be held at the Walter Pyramid on the LBSU campus, and the host nation is one of the favorites to win.
The tournament begins on Tuesday, April 30th, with the finals scheduled for Saturday, May 4th.
During the tournament, eight teams will compete for the 2024 national championship. Three of them are locals. Long Beach State was ranked No. 1 in the nation for most of the season, but lost the tournament's top seed to defending champion UCLA despite winning both the regular season Big West Championship and the conference tournament. Missed. LBSU will instead be the No. 2 seed. University of California, Irvine is the fourth seed.
The host team opens the NCAA Tournament against No. 7 Belmont Abbey on Tuesday at 5 p.m., beginning its campaign for its first national title since winning back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019.
The Beach will look to repeat the magic of its 2019 title run, which won on its home court.
And the atmosphere inside Walter Pyramid is sure to be intense.
Long Beach State University packs Walter Pyramid (1250 N. Bellflower Blvd.) for every home game, and university officials are hoping for a similar result for the tournament, with more than 4,200 attendees each day. .
Tickets for all sessions during the tournament are $90, while tickets for children ages 3 to 12 and seniors are $80. Tickets are nearly sold out, but officials expect a limited number to become available early in the week. To purchase tickets, visit longbeachstate.evenue.net.
But some Long Beach students were lucky enough to get free tickets. Long Beach State University held a pep rally on campus last week where students were able to take photos with some of the players and the first 300 students to attend the event received free tickets to the first round. It was done.
The opening game will be held on Tuesday. In addition to Long Beach State's 5 p.m. game, there will also be games at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The semi-finals will take place on Thursday, May 2nd at 3:30pm and 6:30pm. The finals are Saturday at 2 p.m. Barring an upset, LBSU (25-2) will face UCLA (23-5), which eliminated Beach in the semifinals last year, in the title game.
On-campus parking costs remain the same: $15 per day.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to once again host the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship at Long Beach State University, where we will be competing in men's, women's, and beach volleyball,” said Roger Kirk, LBSU Associate Athletic Director. “We have won two national titles.” ”
This will be the fourth time Walter Pyramid has hosted the NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament. The Pyramid, which opened in 1994, hosted tournaments in 2019 as well as 2001 and 2003.
“The last time we hosted the Men's Volleyball National Championship was in 2019, and the crowds were sold out all week. We're proud to once again bring the sport to the spotlight in Long Beach,” said Kirk. said. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to not only host but also participate in the tournament once again, and to showcase this great city and our local community on a national stage.”