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NCAA.com | May 6, 2019

Long Beach State wins second consecutive NCAA men's volleyball championship

Long Beach State wins National Championship

Four teams converged in Long Beach, California this weekend for a shot at the 2019 NC men's volleyball national championship, but in the end, the tournament ended exactly the same way it did last year, with Long Beach State on top celebrating on its home court. 

LBSU defeated Hawaii in four sets Saturday night to win its program's third overall and second straight national title. The 49ers dropped the opening set (25-23) before winning the next three tightly-contested battles (25-22, 25-22, 25-23).

SHOP LONG BEACH STATE VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GEAR

The 49ers survived the semifinal round with a 3-1 victory over Pepperdine to meet Hawaii, a Big West rival that topped them in the conference tournament and claimed the No. 1 seed in the national tournament. Hawaii beat Lewis by the same 3-1 score to book its ticket to the NCAA championship with the hopes of dethroning the defending champions. 

In the final game of the tournament, the Rainbow Warriors raced out to an early lead, taking the first set 25-23. They battled back and forth with the 49ers in the second, with LBSU winning 25-22 after initially trailing 5-0. The final two sets played out almost identically, with the Rainbow Warriors chasing out to an early lead before falling 25-22 and 25-23 to Long Beach State. 

CHAMP INFO: View the 2019 interactive bracket | Printable bracket | Latest news

The 3-1 win marks the second consecutive NCAA tournament win for Long Beach State and the perfect end to a career for team leader and four-time All-American TJ DeFalco, who led both teams in kills and points in the championship game. 

Relive the championship game below. 

 

2019 NC men's volleyball championship results:

DATE/TIME (ET) MATCHUP LIVE STREAM
Thursday, May 2 at 8 p.m. No. 1 Hawaii 3, vs. Lewis 1 (Semifinals) BOX SCORE | Highlights
Thursday, May 2 at 10:30 p.m. No. 2 Long Beach State 3, Pepperdine 1 (Semifinals) BOX SCORE | Highlights
Saturday, May 4 at 8 p.m. Long Beach State 3, Hawaii 1 (Championship) BOX SCORE | Highlights

Seven schools were initially selected to the championship field on April 21. As the top two seeds, Hawaii and Long Beach State earned automatic berths to the semifinals. Lewis defeated Southern California and Pepperdine outlasted Princeton in the opening round to complete the semifinal field.

Here was the road to the 2019 championship for each 2019 semifinalist:

Hawaii (28-3)

Long Beach State (28-2)

Lewis (26-6)

Pepperdine (23-7)

Long Beach State is the fourth repeat champ in the last eight years. LBSU is also the 13th school to win a national championship as host. Below is the complete NC men's volleyball championship history.

NC men's volleyball championship history (1970-2018):

YEAR CHAMPION (RECORD) COACH SCORE RUNNER-UP SITE
2019 Long Beach State (28-2) Alan Knipe 3-1 Hawaii Long Beach State
2018 Long Beach State (28-1) Alan Knipe 3-2 UCLA UCLA
2017 Ohio State (32-2) Pete Hanson 3-0 BYU Ohio State
2016 Ohio State (29-3) Pete Hanson 3-0 BYU Penn State
2015 Loyola Chicago (28-2) Shane Davis 3-2 Lewis Stanford
2014 Loyola Chicago (29-1) Shane Davis 3-1 Stanford Chicago
2013 UC Irvine (25-7) David Kniffin 3-0 BYU UCLA
2012 UC Irvine (26-5) John Speraw 3-0 Southern California Southern California
2011 Ohio State (26-6) Pete Hanson 3-2 UC Santa Barbara Penn State
2010 Stanford (24-6) John Kosty 3-0 Penn State Stanford
2009 UC Irvine (27-5) John Speraw 3-2 Southern California BYU
2008 Penn State (30-1) Mark Pavlik 3-1 Pepperdine UC Irvine
2007 UC Irvine (29-5) John Speraw 3-1 IPFW Ohio State
2006 UCLA (26-12) Al Scates 3-0 Penn State Penn State
2005 Pepperdine (25-2) Marv Dunphy 3-2 UCLA UCLA
2004 BYU (29-4) Tom Peterson 3-2 Long Beach State Hawaii
2003 *Lewis (29-6) Dave Deuser 3-2 BYU Long Beach State
2002 *Hawaii (24-8) Mike Wilton 3-1 Pepperdine Penn State
2001 BYU (23-4) Carl McGowan 3-0 UCLA Long Beach State
2000 UCLA (29-5) Al Scates 3-0 Ohio State IPFW
1999 BYU (30-1) Carl McGowan 3-0 Long Beach State UCLA
1998 UCLA (28-4) Al Scates 3-0 Pepperdine Hawaii
1997 Stanford (27-4) Runen Nieves 3-2 UCLA Ohio State
1996 UCLA (26-5) Al Scates 3-2 Hawaii UCLA
1995 UCLA (31-1) Al Scates 3-0 Penn State Springfield, Mass.
1994 Penn State (26-3) Tom Peterson 3-2 UCLA IPFW
1993 UCLA (24-3) Al Scates 3-0 Cal State Northridge UCLA
1992 Pepperdine (24-4) Marv Dunphy 3-0 Stanford Ball State
1991 Long Beach State (31-4) Ray Ratelle 3-1 Southern California Hawaii
1990 Southern California (26-7) Jim McLaughlin 3-1 Long Beach State George Mason
1989 UCLA (29-5) Al Scates 3-1 Stanford UCLA
1988 Southern California (34-4) Bob Yoder 3-2 UC Santa Barbara IPFW
1987 UCLA (38-3) Al Scates 3-0 Southern California UCLA
1986 Pepperdine (22-7) Rod Wilde 3-2 Southern California Penn State
1985 Pepperdine (25-2) Marv Dunphy 3-1 Southern California UCLA
1984 UCLA (38-0) Al Scates 3-1 Pepperdine UCLA
1983 UCLA (27-4) Al Scates 3-0 Pepperdine Ohio State
1982 UCLA (29-0) Al Scates 3-0 Penn State Penn State
1981 UCLA (32-3) Al Scates 3-2 Southern California UC Santa Barbara
1980 Southern California (22-6) Ernie Hix 3-1 UCLA Ball State
1979 UCLA (30-0) Al Scates 3-1 Southern California UCLA
1978 Pepperdine (21-4) Marv Dunphy 3-2 UCLA Ohio State
1977 Southern California (18-1) Ernie Hix 3-1 Ohio State UCLA
1976 UCLA (15-2) Al Scates 3-0 Pepperdine Ball State
1975 UCLA (27-8) Al Scates 3-1 UC Santa Barbara UCLA
1974 UCLA (30-5) Al Scates 3-2 UC Santa Barbara UC Santa Barbara
1973 San Diego State (21-5) Jack Henn 3-1 Long Beach State San Diego State
1972 UCLA (27-7) Al Scates 3-2 San Diego State Ball State
1971 UCLA (29-1) Al Scates 3-0 UC Santa Barbara UCLA
1970 UCLA (24-1) Al Scates 3-0 Long Beach State UCLA

* Vacated