Provo • As expected, BYU's men's volleyball team earned the No. 1 overall seed on Sunday for next month's NCAA men's volleyball tournament at Penn State University.
A day after knocking off UCLA 3-1 in Saturday night's MPSF tournament final, the 26-3 Cougars learned they will get a bye into the NCAA semifinals and will face the winner of a play-in match between No. 4 Long Beach State and No. 5 Erskine College, a private Christian college in Due West, S.C., that won the Conference Carolinas championship.
The tournament at PSU's Rec Hall begins on May 3, a Tuesday, with a pair of play-in matches between the teams seeded 3-6. The semifinals are May 5 and the championship match — to be televised by ESPN2 — is on May 7.
UCLA (25-6) was awarded the No. 2 seed over MIVA champion Ohio State (28-2) in something of a surprise, meaning the 25-6 Bruins will play the winner of the Ohio State-George Mason match in the semifinals.
BYU defeated UCLA three times by identical 3-1 scores this season.
The Cougars had a tougher time with No. 4 seed Long Beach State, defeating the 49ers 3-1 on Jan. 22 at Long Beach, but falling the next night 3-0 on the same court.
In the MPSF semifinals, UCLA swept LBSU 3-0 at Smith Fieldhouse in Provo.
It will be the second NCAA Tournament appearance for BYU in three years. The Cougars fell 3-2 to Stanford in the 2014 semifinals.
This is the first time that three MPSF teams have made the NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament, which was expanded to six teams before the 2014 tournament.
BYU has won three national championships in men's volleyball, the most recent in 2004.
drew@sltrib.com
Twitter: @drewjay
Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune Brigham Young Cougars Ben Patch (13) celebrates as BYU scores bringing them one point away from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Volleyball Championship as they beat UCLA 3- 1, in tournament action at the Smith Field House in Provo, Saturday, April 23, 2016.
Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune Brigham Young Cougars Ben Patch (13) blocks a hit, in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Volleyball Championship, in tournament action at the Smith Field House in Provo, Saturday, April 23, 2016.
Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune Brigham Young Cougars Ben Patch (13) blocks a hit, in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Volleyball Championship, in tournament action at the Smith Field House in Provo, Saturday, April 23, 2016.
Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune Brigham Young Cougars Ben Patch (13) hits the ball past UCLA Bruins Jake Arnitz (15), in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Volleyball Championship game, as BYU beat UCLA 3- 1, in tournament action at the Smith Field House in Provo, Saturday, April 23, 2016.
Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune Brigham Young Cougars Ben Patch (13) hits the ball past UCLA Bruins Mitch Stahl (7) in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Volleyball Championship game, as BYU beat UCLA 3- 1, in tournament action at the Smith Field House in Provo, Saturday, April 23, 2016.
Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune Brigham Young Cougars Ben Patch (13) celebrates a score with Brigham Young Cougars Price Jarman (1), in BYU's victory in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Volleyball Championship game, in tournament action at the Smith Field House in Provo, Saturday, April 23, 2016.
Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune Brigham Young Cougars Ben Patch (13) hits the ball past UCLA Bruins Jake Arnitz (15), in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Volleyball Championship game, as BYU beat UCLA 3- 1, in tournament action at the Smith Field House in Provo, Saturday, April 23, 2016.
Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune Brigham Young Cougars Ben Patch (13) hits the ball past UCLA Bruins Mitch Stahl (7) in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Volleyball Championship game, as BYU beat UCLA 3- 1, in tournament action at the Smith Field House in Provo, Saturday, April 23, 2016.
Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune Brigham Young Cougars Ben Patch (13) hits the ball past UCLA Bruins Jake Arnitz (15), in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Volleyball Championship game, as BYU beat UCLA 3- 1, in tournament action at the Smith Field House in Provo, Saturday, April 23, 2016.
Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune UCLA Bruins JT Hatch (9) tries to get the ball past Brigham Young Cougars Ben Patch (13) in BYU's victory in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Volleyball Championship game, in tournament action at the Smith Field House in Provo, Saturday, April 23, 2016.
Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune Brigham Young Cougars Ben Patch (13) celebrate a big point, in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Volleyball Championship, in tournament action at the Smith Field House in Provo, Saturday, April 23, 2016.
Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune Brigham Young Cougars Ben Patch (13) hits the ball past UCLA Bruins Jake Arnitz (15) and UCLA Bruins Eric Sprague (19), in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Volleyball Championship game, in tournament action at the Smith Field House in Provo, Saturday, April 23, 2016.
Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune Brigham Young Cougars Erik Sikes (8) celebrates a BYU score with his team mates, in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Volleyball Championship game, in tournament action at the Smith Field House in Provo, Saturday, April 23, 2016.
Donate to the newsroom now. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax deductible