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The NCAA Tournament first round is done and now it’s one day of waiting until the start of the VolleyFour. Check out what to know about all the teams competing in VolleyFour and the historical stats to keep in mind.
Long Beach State vs. Ohio State
Records: Long Beach State (26-1, 9-1 Big West); Ohio State (24-5, 11-3 MIVA)
Match vitals: 5 p.m. Thursday in Los Angeles
How they reached here: Ohio State won the MIVA Tournament to earn the conference’s automatic bid, swept King in the NCAA Tournament play-in match and then beat UC Irvine in five games in the NCAA Tournament first round. Long Beach State won the Big West Tournament and received the No. 1 overall seed to earn a bye to the NCAA Tournament semifinals.
All-time series: Long Beach State leads 3-10
All-time series: First meeting this season
Last meeting: Ohio State beat Long Beach State in four games in January 2017.
Last NCAA Tournament meeting: First meeting in the NCAA Tournament
NCAA championships: Long Beach State (1); Ohio State (3)
Last NCAA title: Long Beach State (1991); Ohio State (2017)
NCAA Tournament all-time record: Long Beach State (13-9); Ohio State (16-22)
Next up on the bracket: Winner of this match plays the winner BYU versus UCLA in the NCAA Tournament finals.
Quick stats: The last time a No. 1 overall seed did not advance to the NCAA Tournament finals was USC in 2011, which also was the same year Ohio State won its first national title in program history. Long Beach State is 10-0 all-time against non-West Coast teams in the NCAA Tournament, including two wins versus Ball State in the inaugural NCAA Tournament in 1970. Ohio State is on a nine-match winning streak in the NCAA Tournament dating back to 2011 and has upset three higher seeded teams during that streak. Ohio State All-American outside attacker Nicolas Szerszen has a combined 42 kills on a .385 attack percentage and five aces in two previous meetings against Long Beach State during his college career. In addition, Szerszen with a match-high 22 kills in the victory against UC Irvine on Tuesday surpassed 100 career kills in NCAA Tournament matches.
BYU vs. UCLA
Records: BYU (22-6, 10-2 MPSF); UCLA (24-7, 9-3 MPSF);
Match vitals: 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Los Angeles
How they reached here: UCLA earned one of the two at-large bids and defeated Harvard in four games in the NCAA Tournament first round. BYU won the MPSF Tournament and received the No. 2 overall seed and bye to the NCAA Tournament semifinals
All-time series: BYU leads 35-32
Season series: BYU leads 2-1
Last meeting: BYU defeated UCLA in four games in the 2018 MPSF Tournament finals.
Last NCAA Tournament meeting: In the only NCAA Tournament meeting between the two programs, BYU swept UCLA to win the 2001 NCAA championship.
NCAA championships: BYU (3); UCLA (19)
Last NCAA title: BYU (2004); UCLA (2006)
NCAA Tournament all-time record: BYU (11-5); UCLA (53-8)
Next up on the bracket: Winner of this match plays the winner of Long Beach State versus Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament finals.
Quick stats: UCLA is a perfect 10-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament semifinal matches played at Pauley Pavilion. All-American middle attacker Daenan Gyimah, the 2018 Ryan Millar Award winner, also has a combined 29 kills on a .595 attack percentage in three matches against BYU this season. The Cougars are the No. 2 seed. A No. 2 seed has never won a NCAA Tournament match since the tournament expanded in 2014, including BYU losing to Stanford in the 2014 semifinals. That loss, though, was the only time in its program history that BYU lost a NCAA Tournament semifinal match.