Championship Central >>>
IRVINE, Calif. - The bracket has been set for the 2022 OUTRIGGER Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands, with Long Beach State again the top seed after claiming its third regular-season title.

The University of Hawai’i is serving as the host this Thursday through Saturday, April 21-23, inside SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center for the third consecutive edition.

Third-ranked Long Beach State (19-4, 8-2 Big West) locked up its third regular-season crown outright with Friday night’s five-set triumph at home over CSUN. This is the fourth full season that The Big West has sponsored men’s volleyball, with the 2020 campaign having been cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that year’s postseason canceled.

Hawai’i (22-5, 7-3 Big West) joins the Beach in earning a first-round bye on Thursday, as the No. 2 seed. The fourth-ranked reigning national champion has been a top-two seed in all four editions of the Championship, earning a first-round bye in each Big West postseason field. The Rainbow Warriors are looking to take full advantage of hosting this week at SimpliFi Arena, where they are an undefeated 16-0 in 2022. Their last loss there, however, was in fact in the 2021 tournament semifinals, 3-2, to UC San Diego.

Sixth-ranked UC Santa Barbara (18-8, 6-4 Big West) grabbed the No. 3 seed with Saturday night’s 3-1 victory at No. 9 UC San Diego (13-10, 5-5 Big West), pushing the Tritons to the No. 4 line. No. 14 UC Irvine (10-15, 3-7 Big West) and CSUN (6-15, 1-9 Big West) are seeded fifth and sixth, respectively.

Thursday’s first-round matches begin with 2021 finalist UC San Diego against UC Irvine at 4:30 p.m. HT/7:30 p.m. PT. The Tritons swept the regular-season series with the Anteaters in late March, though UC Irvine has taken both previous Big West Championship meetings to end UC San Diego’s 2018 and 2019 campaigns, each in straights in the first round.

The late first-round contest will see defending champion UC Santa Barbara take on CSUN at 7 p.m. HT/10 p.m. PT. The Gauchos won both regular-season meetings in mid-March without dropping a set. The teams have split two prior Big West tourney clashes, both in the first round, with UC Santa Barbara taking a five-setter in 2019 after a 3-1 CSUN victory in 2018.

Long Beach State awaits the advancing side between UC San Diego and UC Irvine in Friday’s first semifinal at 4:30 p.m. HT/7:30 p.m. PT. Host Hawai’i then takes its perfect home ledger up against either UC Santa Barbara or CSUN at 7 p.m. HT/10 p.m. PT. The Beach split this season’s matchups with both the Tritons and Anteaters, losing five-setters on the road while sweeping them at the Walter Pyramid. The Rainbow Warriors went 4-0 against the Gauchos and Matadors, all on O’ahu.

Saturday night’s OUTRIGGER Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship title match is slated for a first serve of 7:30 p.m. HT/10:30 p.m. PT. The winner earns The Big West’s automatic entry into the seven-team 2022 NCAA Championship. The selection show for that event will take place at 10 a.m. PT on Sunday, April 24, on NCAA.com. The Big West has produced the last three national champions, with Hawai’i earning its first crown in program history a year ago after back-to-back titles for Long Beach State in 2018 and 2019.

All five matches at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center will air on ESPN+ on the mainland. They will be blacked out on ESPN+ in Hawai’i while being broadcast on local television through Spectrum Sports. Kanoa Leahey will be on the call with storied coach and Hawai'i native Chris McLachlin providing color commentary throughout the Championship.

The three Big West tournament champions have been UC Santa Barbara in 2021 and Hawai’i in 2019, both in Honolulu, and Long Beach State in 2018 at its own Walter Pyramid. Those first two finals featured a split between UH and LBSU, with UCSB knocking off UC San Diego in the 2021 title tilt. The Beach are 4-2 all-time in championship play, followed by the Rainbow Warriors and Gauchos each at 3-2, the ‘Eaters and Tritons at 2-3 apiece, and the Matadors at 1-3.

All-tournament ticket packages for the 2022 OUTRIGGER Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands, are on sale now. Packages include all three sessions of the tournament for a total of five matches. Tickets can be purchased online at etickethawaii.com, or at the arena box office Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Any remaining individual session tickets go on sale Thursday, April 21.