Setting the record for most conference championships tastes sweet.
But, for the Bruins, returning to their home court – where they are undefeated this season – to pursue a national title may taste even sweeter.
No. 1 seed UCLA men’s volleyball (29-1, 13-1 MPSF) will face either UC Irvine (18-8, 5-5 Big West) or Penn State (22-7, 12-0 EIVA) on Saturday evening at Pauley Pavilion in the regional final round of the 2026 NCAA tournament. The match will be played as part of the inaugural 12-team tournament format, with the field previously featuring just nine teams.
The Bruins cruised through the MPSF tournament, sweeping No. 8 seed Concordia University Irvine before coming away with four-set victories against No. 5 seed BYU and No. 3 seed USC to capture the program’s ninth conference title.
Sophomore outside hitter Sean Kelly and seniors middle blocker Cameron Thorne and setter Andrew Rowan were named to the All-Tournament team, with Rowan taking home the tournament MVP after totaling 113 assists through the three games.
Thorne tallied 17 total kills throughout the tournament, adding six digs and eight blocks to make his defensive presence known. At the end of a tightly contested third set in the conference finals against USC, Thorne and redshirt junior opposite David Decker met the Trojans’ season-leading hitter, Dillon Klein, at the net for a duo block that gave the Bruins the third frame victory 28-26.
“That was pure dopamine,” Thorne said after the win. “When you make a highlight play like that, and your teammates come rushing in to celebrate with you, it’s even better. That gave us that extra boost we needed to lock back in after that set.”
Unstoppable on the attacking end during the tournament run were Kelly and senior outside hitter Zach Rama, both of whom are AVCA National Player of the Year Semifinalists along with Rowan. The pair posted 80 total kills throughout the three matches, combining for 37 in the semifinal match against BYU. Rama and Kelly have put up double-digit kills in 19 of the Bruins’ 30 matches so far this season, and hold the third- and fourth-place spots in the conference in kills per set, respectively.
UCLA held all three of its conference tournament opponents below a .300 hitting percentage – including a USC squad that has hit at a .342 clip overall – overcoming relatively slow starts to dominate both ends of the net in the later frames of the matches.
“I have full trust in everybody that’s on the court,” said coach John Hawks after the victory against USC. “You just have to trust the guys to do their jobs, and they performed when we needed them.”
UCLA comes into the NCAA tournament with a collective record of 11-1 this season against all of the other competing squads, with the only loss coming April 2 against Pepperdine, a potential NCAA semifinal matchup.
The Bruins matched up against UC Irvine once in the regular season, coming away with a road victory Feb. 27 in what was one of just four matches to go to five sets this year. Redshirt junior libero Christopher Connelly racked up a career-high 15 digs in that match, while junior middle blocker Micah Wong Diallo tallied a season-high of his own with nine blocks, helping limit the Anteaters to a 0.08 hitting percentage in the first set and close out the final frame 15-11.
UC Irvine – led by Big West Freshman of the Year outside hitter Andrej Jokanovic – was swept by Long Beach State in the semifinals of the Big West Tournament.
Meanwhile, Penn State enters the tournament as EIVA champions for the fourth season in a row. The Nittany Lions swept the Princeton Tigers to capture the conference title, led by EIVA Player of the Year and conference hitting percentage leader outside hitter/opposite Sean Harvey. The squad has also held its own defensively this season, leading the conference in blocks per set and opponent hitting percentage.
The Bruins will welcome the nation’s top contenders to their home court, but Rama understands just how dangerous this squad has been.
“When we’re in system, and we have all five of our options, it’s pretty scary,” Rama said after taking down BYU in the MPSF semifinals. “If we just keep the ball in-system and keep passing well, we can keep winning.”
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