1978 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
The 1978 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament was the ninth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's college volleyball. The tournament was played at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio during May 1978.[1]
 | |
| Dates | May 1978 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 4 |
| Champions | Pepperdine (1st title) |
| Runners-up | UCLA (7th title match) |
| Matches played | 4 |
| Attendance | 7,415 (1,854 per match) |
| Best player | Mike Blanchard (Pepperdine) |
← 1977 1979 → | |
Pepperdine defeated UCLA in the final match, 3–2 (15–12, 11–15, 15–8, 5–15, 15–12), to win their first national title. Coached by Marv Dunphy, the Waves finished the season 21–4.
Pepperdine's Mike Blanchard was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. An All-tournament team of seven players was also named.
Qualification
Until the creation of the NCAA Men's Division III Volleyball Championship in 2012, there was only a single national championship for men's volleyball. As such, all NCAA men's volleyball programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.
| Team | Appearance | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 4th | 1977 |
| Pepperdine | 3rd | 1977 |
| Rutgers–Newark | 2nd | 1977 |
| UCLA | 7th | 1976 |
Tournament bracket
- Site: St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio
| Semifinals | Championship | ||||||||||||||||
| UCLA (3) | 15 | 15 | 15 | ||||||||||||||
| Rutgers–Newark (0) | 11 | 8 | 8 | ||||||||||||||
| UCLA (1) | 12 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 12 | ||||||||||||
| Pepperdine (3) | 15 | 11 | 15 | 5 | 15 | ||||||||||||
| Pepperdine (3) | 9 | 15 | 9 | 15 | 15 | ||||||||||||
| Ohio State (2) | 15 | 1 | 15 | 13 | 12 | Third place | |||||||||||
| Rutgers–Newark (0) | 11 | 12 | 9 | ||||||||||||||
| Ohio State (3) | 15 | 15 | 15 | ||||||||||||||
All tournament team
- Mike Blanchard, Pepperdine (Most outstanding player)
- Ron Wilde, Pepperdine
- Jay Anderson, Pepperdine
- Dave Olbright, UCLA
- Sinjin Smith, UCLA
- Steve Salmons, UCLA
- Aldis Berzins, Ohio State
References
- "Men's Volleyball National Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved April 26, 2015.