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.
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 PreviousOhio State4th1977Pepperdine3rd1977Rutgers–Newark2nd1977UCLA7th1976
Tournament bracket Site: St. John Arena, Columbus, Ohio
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