UC Irvine Anteaters men's volleyball
| UC Irvine Anteaters | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | University of California, Irvine |
| Head coach | David Kniffin (13th season) |
| Conference | Big West |
| Location | Irvine, California |
| Home arena | Bren Events Center (capacity: 5,000) |
| Nickname | Anteaters |
| Colors | Blue and gold[1] |
| NCAA Tournament champion | |
| 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013 | |
| NCAA Tournament semifinal | |
| 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2024 | |
| NCAA Tournament appearance | |
| 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2024 | |
| Conference tournament champion | |
| 2007, 2012, 2015 | |
| Conference regular season champion | |
| 2006, 2009, 2015 | |
The UC Irvine Anteaters men's volleyball team is the men's intercollegiate volleyball team at the University of California, Irvine. The school began play in the 1988 season, and joined the WIVA in the 1989 season[2]. UC Irvine then became a founding member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in the 1992–93 season. Beginning with the 2017–18 season, UCI moved to the Big West Conference's inaugural men's volleyball league.[3] Irvine has won the NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship four times (2007, 2009, 2012, 2013) and appeared in the tournament an additional four.[4]
Program Record
| Year | Head Coach | Overall record |
Conference record |
Conference standing |
Postseason | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Independent) (1988–1988) | ||||||||||
| (WIVA Conference) (1989–1992) | ||||||||||
| ( MPSF) (1993–2017) | ||||||||||
| 2007 | John Speraw | 29–5 | 0–0 | – | NCAA Champions | |||||
| 2008 | John Speraw | 17–12 | 0–0 | – | ||||||
| 2009 | John Speraw | 26–4 | 0–0 | – | NCAA Champions | |||||
| 2010 | John Speraw | 15–14 | 0–0 | – | ||||||
| 2011 | John Speraw | 19–12 | 2–0 | T-1st | ||||||
| 2012 | John Speraw | 26–5 | 17–5 | 1st | NCAA Champions | |||||
| 2013 | David Kniffin | 25–7 | 18–6 | T-2nd | NCAA Champions | |||||
| 2014 | David Kniffin | 18–11 | 15–9 | T-4th | ||||||
| 2015 | David Kniffin | 28–5 | 19–3 | 1st | NCAA Semifinals | |||||
| 2016 | David Kniffin | 10–20 | 7–15 | T-8th | ||||||
| 2017 | David Kniffin | 20–7 | 13–5 | 4th | ||||||
| (Big West Conference) (2018–present) | ||||||||||
| 2018 | David Kniffin | 21–10 | 6–4 | T-2nd | NCAA Quarterfinals | |||||
| 2019 | David Kniffin | 18–11 | 5–5 | 3rd | ||||||
| 2020 | David Kniffin | 10–6 | 0–2 | – | COVID | |||||
| 2021 | David Kniffin | 2–14 | 2–8 | 6th | ||||||
| 2022 | David Kniffin | 11–16 | 3–7 | 5th | ||||||
| 2023 | David Kniffin | 18–11 | 6–4 | 3rd | ||||||
| 2024 | David Kniffin | 20–11 | 7–3 | 2nd | NCAA Semifinals | |||||
| 2025 | David Kniffin | 21–7 | 6–4 | 3rd | ||||||
| Total: | 354–177 (.667) | 126–80 (.612) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| ||||||||||
Notable alumni
The following alumni are distinguished for their contribution to the school's men's volleyball program and for having a successful playing career individually.[5]
- Kévin Tillie, 2011–13
- Carson Clark, 2009–12
- Ryan Ammerman, 2006–09
- Jayson Jablonsky, 2004–07
- David Smith, 2004–07
- Brian Thornton, 2004–07
References
- ^ UCI Art Sheet (PDF). May 1, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
- ^ Killion, Ann (1988-04-07). "UC Irvine Notebook : Anteaters' Volleyball Team Is Taking a Tough Route to Respectability". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
- ^ "Big West conference to add men's volleyball starting in 2018". Off the Block. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
- ^ "Miller: Minus football, UC Irvine's athletic program getting lots of bang for buck". Orange County Register. 2015-09-16. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
- ^ "USA Volleyball-Athletes". Archived from the original on December 25, 2014. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
External links
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