Waves of people – many wearing Long Beach State colors of black and gold – rushed into the Walter Pyramid on the LBSU campus Tuesday afternoon to cheer on the men’s volleyball team as they successfully began their run for the national championship in the NCAA men’s volleyball tournament.
The Beach won their opening game against No. 7 Belmont Abbey, from North Carolina, dominating the first three sets, securing their place in the semifinals.
Long Beach State is the center of the college volleyball world this week, with teams competing to get to the finals set for Saturday, May 4.
Eight teams will compete for the 2024 national championship during the tournament. Three of those are local. Long Beach State, which was ranked No. 1 in the nation for much of the season, lost out on the tournament’s top seed to defending champions UCLA, despite the Beach winning both the regular season Big West championship and the conference tournament. Instead, LBSU is the No. 2 seed. UC Irvine is the No. 4 seed.
The hosts’ tournament opener against Belmont Abbey on Tuesday marks the start of an effort to capture a national title for the first time since they went back-to-back in 2018 and 2019.
With that recent success, Long Beach fans were anticipating Tuesday’s win, with hopes for more where that came from.
“It’s exciting, we’re really one of the best teams,” said Dash Plicner, a first year biology major at LBSU, during the first set of the game. “I think it’s expected for Long Beach to win. I’ll definitely be here for the finals, because I know they’ll make it. Long Beach will make it.”
Belmont Abbey fans cheered in a small section of the more than 4,200 seats at the Walter Pyramid, but they still were loud and made noise for their team each time they scored.
“It’s really exciting for the boys,” said Cheryl Walsh, from Illinois, supporting Belmont Abbey. “What a great opportunity to come across the country and show what they’ve built all year. We’re really proud of them.”
Current Long Beach State students, alumni and volleyball fans filled the seats – as they always do for every men’s volleyball game. Some even dressed up as sharks, like the school mascot.
Spirits were especially high after Long Beach State scored their final point in the third set to win the game.
“It was fantastic,” said Phil Witte, class of ‘03 alumni from LBSU. “They were dominant, they just blew (Belmont Abbey) off the court.”
Many fans said they are ready to take on the tournament weekend and expect more people to come and support the team.
“It’s a pretty fun game and especially being a student here,” said Noah Casada, a fourth-year journalism major at LBSU. “I think everyone here knew they were going to win, so there was a little less of a crowd than there usually is. But I think for the next round there will be more.”
Long Beach State will be competing in the semifinals on Thursday, May 2, against the winner from the Ohio State and Grand Canyon game.
