Box Score

Fort Valley St. FVSU 16-9,9-0 SIAC

UCLA UCLA 24-5,11-1 MPSF

Fort Valley St. FVSU

16-9,9-0 SIAC

Final

Apr. 30, 2024

UCLA UCLA

24-5,11-1 MPSF

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	F
Fort Valley St. FVSU	14	15	15	(0)
UCLA UCLA	25	25	25	(3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball | 4/30/2024 11:36:00 PM | Chris Myers

No. 1 UCLA Prevails over FVSU in NCAA NC Championship, Wildcats Still Make History

LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Wildcats made history by stepping onto the Long Beach State court Tuesday. No. 1 UCLA prevailed over Fort Valley State, 3-0, in the NCAA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship Opening Round, but it did not dampen the meaning of the matchup.

FVSU led the defending-national champs in two of the three sets played in the match. UCLA turned a two-point lead into an eight-point margin in the first set before taking a 25-14 final. Isaiah Fedd gave the Wildcats their first lead at 3-2 in the early second set and they enjoyed four more two-point advantages (6-4, 8-6, 9-7 and 10-8), before the Bruins broke open an 11-11 tie with an 11-1 run and rode it to the 25-15 win. FVSU took a 3-1 third-set lead on a Raheem Thomas kill and then would lead 5-4 after a UCLA service error. The Wildcats, again, held tough and trailed by only a point, 7-6, before the top-seed Bruins exerted their mettle with four-straight points (11-6) and never let the SIAC champs closer than four the rest of the way (11-7 and 12-8) before a 25-15 final tally.

With the appearance, FVSU men's volleyball is now on the national map. The Wildcats made history just taking the court as the first HBCU program to compete in the NCAA NC Championship. FVSU also more than doubled its previous two years combined win total for a 17-9 final record and SIAC championship with a 10-0 league regular season mark.

In the match, Thomas paced the FVSU attack with six kills, the first-set solo block and two digs. FVSU's first AVCA Honorable Mention All-America player Jaxon Hicks contributed three kills and four digs. Chey Cooper added four kills and a dig, while Fedd chipped in two kills, two aces and five digs.

Jose Gallardo handed out 12 assists with four digs and two aces and Jaequon Henderson had three assists. Diego Cardona dug four attacks and Saferino Dour downed two kills and had one dig.

Set 1

After the Bruins put up the opening two points, the Wildcats' Thomas downed the first tally and then he had a solo block for a 2-2 early score. FVSU continued to be right there in the early going as Cooper's kill cut the UCLA lead to 8-6. The Bruins, though, netted the next six points.

Set 2

After Fedd gave the Wildcats their first lead of the day (3-2), the Bruins put their foe ahead with three service errors and an attack error for a 7-6 score. Fedd made it 8-6 with his second kill of the set and Thomas added his own for a 9-7 FVSU edge. Another UCLA attack error and one more service error kept FVSU ahead at 10-8. Hicks pounded a winner for an 11-11 tie until the Bruins made their 11-1 run to decide the set.