1972 NCAA men's volleyball tournament

The 1972 NCAA men's volleyball tournament was the third annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's college volleyball. The tournament was played at Irving Gymnasium at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.^[1] Like the previous year, the format of this championship consisted of a preliminary, four-team round robin to determine seeding for a subsequent single-elimination tournament.

1972 NCAA men's volleyball tournament

Tournament details
Dates	May 1972
Teams	4
Final positions
Champions	UCLA (3rd title)
Runner-up	San Diego State
Third place	Ball State
Fourth place	UC Santa Barbara
Tournament statistics
Matches played	10
Best player	Dick Irvin (UCLA)
← 1971 1973 →

UCLA defeated San Diego State, 3–2 (10–15, 9–15, 15–9, 15–10, 15–7), in the championship match to win their third consecutive national title. UCLA's Dick Irvin was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

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 the University Division, or the College Division) were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.

Team	Appearance	Previous
Ball State	3rd	1971
San Diego State	1st	Never
UCLA	3rd	1971
UC Santa Barbara	3rd	1971

Round robin

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR
1	UCLA	3	2	1	6	4	2	2.000	78	55	1.418
2	UC Santa Barbara	3	2	1	6	4	2	2.000	80	75	1.067
3	San Diego State	3	2	1	6	4	3	1.333	89	76	1.171
4	Ball State	3	0	3	0	1	6	0.167	55	96	0.573

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

May 1972	Ball State	1–2	San Diego State	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
	(8–15, 15–6, 5–15)

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May 1972	UCLA	2–0	UC Santa Barbara	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
	(15–13, 15–7)

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May 1972	San Diego State	2–0	UCLA	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
	(15–7, 15–11)

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May 1972	Ball State	0–2	UC Santa Barbara	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
	(9–15, 13–15)

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May 1972	San Diego State	0–2	UC Santa Barbara	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
	(13–15, 10–15)

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May 1972	Ball State	0–2	UCLA	Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana
	(1–15, 4–15)

Bracket

• Site: Irving Gymnasium, Muncie, Indiana

	Semifinals									Championship
	1	UCLA (3)	15	15	12	15
	4	Ball State (1)	9	9	15	2
										1	UCLA (3)	10	9	15	15	15
										3	San Diego State (2)	15	15	9	10	7
	2	UC Santa Barbara (2)	15	15	9	11	12
	3	San Diego State (3)	11	13	15	15	15			Third place
										2	UC Santa Barbara (0)	10	4
										4	Ball State (2)	15	15

All tournament team

• Dick Irvin, UCLA (Most Outstanding Player)
• John Zajec, UCLA
• Rick Niemi, Ball State
• Randy Stevenson, San Diego State
• Wayne Gracey, San Diego State
• David DeGroot, UC Santa Barbara

See also

• NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship

References

1. "Men's Volleyball National Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved April 2, 2015.