North Greenville Draws Princeton in National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship Opening Round
NCAA SELECTION SHOW | INTERACTIVE BRACKET
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA Men’s Volleyball Committee announced on Sunday, April 24, the seven teams vying for the 2022 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship which includes 2022 Conference Carolinas regular season and tournament champion North Greenville.
The top two seeds have been placed in the bracket; the remaining five teams will compete for the last two berths in the bracket via three opening-round matches. The opening round matches will be contested May 1 and 3, hosted by the University of California, Los Angeles, and the championship will be held May 5 and 7, hosted by UCLA.
In the first opening round match, North Greenville (20-5) will play Princeton (15-12) at 5 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday, May 1. The winner will advance to the third opening round match to play 2021 national champion Hawaii (24-5), with the winner advancing to the championship bracket to play Ball State (23-3) at UCLA. North Greenville is 0-1 all-time against the Tigers, falling in straight sets in Princeton, New Jersey in their only meeting on January 12, 2017. This is the first national tournament appearance in men’s volleyball for the Crusaders.
In the second opening-round match, UCLA (21-4) will play Pepperdine (19-9), with the winner advancing to the championship bracket to play Long Beach (20-5) at UCLA.
The second and third opening-round matches at UCLA are 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Pacific time, May 3. Game times for the semifinals are 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Pacific time, May 5. The championship game will be played at 5 p.m. Pacific time, May 7. The semifinal matches will be streamed live on NCAA.com and the championship match will be televised live on ESPN2 and will be played at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.
Conferences receiving automatic qualification included the Big West Conference, Conference Carolinas, Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The remaining two teams were selected at-large without geographical restrictions.