The tournament was played at Robertson Gymnasium in Santa Barbara, California.

UCLA made it to the NCAA tournament by upsetting Southern Cal in their district playoffs.

Many of the Bruin kills were coming from a high tempo inside attack, with UCLA's Bob Leonard taking quick sets off of setter Jim Menges.

[2] In the game five clincher the Gauchos were up 6-1 before the Bruins rallied back with six straight points to lead 7–6.

The two teams kept exchanging kills, with UCLA maintaining a slim lead to take the championship by the margin: 10–15, 15–8, 10–15, 15–11, 15–12.