UCLA vs UCLA 5-5-2019 BVB

This is the game day post UCLA put on their Instagram in honor of the big day. Don't forget to follow them to see what their post season adventures are like: @uclabeachvb

This is the game day post USC put on their Instagram as they prepared to take on the defending national champions, UCLA. Don't forget to give them a follow on Instagram as they spend their summer traveling: @uscbeach

Dear Readers~


On Sunday, May 5, 2019 the final NCAA game of the 2019 women's beach season happened between #1 USC and #2 UCLA at 1 pm Central Time in Gulf Shores, Alabama for the national championship title. After UCLA played it's way through the winner's bracket and USC played it's way through the contender's bracket, the two teams faced off at the finals to see who would be named the NCAA's 2019 beach volleyball national champion. With UCLA winning it in 2018 and USC winning it in 2017, both teams wanted another national championship. Now it's time for the game to begin.

The first team to finish was the 4's. That game had Madi Yeomans and Savvy Simo, for UCLA, taking on Maja Kaiser and Joy Dennis, of USC. The first set ended at 21-16 with Madi and Savvy taking that set. The second set ended at 21-19 with Madi and Savvy taking that set as well and putting UCLA up 1-0 against USC.

The second team to finish was the 5's. That game had Izzy Carey and Lindsey Sparks, for UCLA, taking on Mollie Ebertin and Cammie Dorn, of USC. The first set ended at 21-16 with Izzy and Lindsey taking that set for UCLA. The second set ended at 21-15 with Izzy and Lindsey taking that set as well and putting UCLA up 2-0 against USC in the overall scoring.

The third team to finish was the 3's. That game had Zana Muno and Abby Van Winkle, for UCLA, taking on Haley Hallgren and Alexandra Poletto, for USC. The first set was close, ending at 22-20 with Zana and Abby taking that set for UCLA. The second set ended at 21-13 with Zana and Abby winning the second set for UCLA and putting UCLA up 3-0 in the overall scoring against USC.

The two teams that didn't finish were the 1's and 2's. The 1's had Nicole and Megan McNamara, for UCLA, against Tina Graudina and Abril Bustamante, for USC. The first set ended at 21-18 with Nicole and Megan taking that set. The second set got to 19 all before the game was suspended, which will be explained later.

The second team that was suspended happened to be the 2's. That put Sarah Sponcil and Lily Justine, for UCLA, against Sammy Slater and Terese Cannon, for USC. The first set ended at 21-18 with Sarah and Lily taking that set. The second set got to 19-10, with Sarah and Lily ahead, when it was suspended.

For those that don't know much about NCAA beach volleyball, you're probably wondering why the games of the 1's and 2's got suspended. That's because in order for a school to advance at the national finals they must win 3 of the 5 teams that play each time they play a school. With the 3's, 4's, and 5's winning their games for UCLA, the 1's and 2's had no reason to finish their games. With this game having UCLA beating USC in 3 games, the UCLA Bruins became the 2019 NCAA beach volleyball champions for the second straight year after defeating Florida State for the national title last year in Gulf Shores, Alabama as well.

This is the photo UCLA put on their Instagram page after winning the championship trophy so make sure to follow them on Instagram to see how their summer goes: @uclabeachvb

That concludes the 2019 NCAA beach volleyball season. Don't forget to mark your calendars for June 7-9, 2019 when the AVP makes it's third stop of the season when they go to New York City for the 2019 AVP NYC Open. The AVP is available on Amazon Prime Video for those that want to watch and you can also see some videos done by Riley and Maddison Mckibbin that the two brothers took during the 2018 and 2019 AVP seasons on their YouTube channel: The Mckibbin Brothers. Until next time, Miller out.


~J. Miller

Long Beach State vs Hawaii 5-4-2019 MVB

This is the game day post Long Beach State put on their Instagram for the championship match. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram for more men's volleyball: @lbsumvb

This is 6'8 Outside Hitter/Opposite Senior Stijn van Tilburg (left) along with 6'9 Opposite Junior Pado Parapunov (right) playing for Hawaii at the pyramid. Don't forget to follow Hawaii on Instagram for more men's volleyball: @hawaiimvb

Dear Readers~


On May 4, 2019 the finals for the 2019 NCAA men's indoor volleyball championship was held at 5 pm Pacific Time at the Walter Pyramid at Long Beach State there in Long Beach, California. The championship was Hawaii taking on the previous national champion, Long Beach State. Now it's time to cover the game.

The first set ended at 25-23 with Hawaii taking that set. The second set ended at 25-22 with Long Beach State taking that set and also getting 25-22 in the third set as well. Going into the fourth set, Long Beach State led 2 sets to Hawaii's 1 along with Long Beach State being just 1 set away from becoming back to back champions. With both teams knowing this, the fourth set ended at 25-23, just like the first set. The difference was that this set went to Long Beach State and gave them the 2019 NCAA men's indoor volleyball national championship title for the second consecutive year.

Now it's time to cover the top athlete from each category. The leader in kills goes to TJ DeFalco, with 20 for Long Beach State, while Pado Parapunov got 16 kills of his own for Hawaii. The leader in digs goes to Stijn Tilburg, with 7 digs for Hawaii, while Jordan Molina got 6 digs of his own for Long Beach State. The leader in blocks goes to Simon Andersen, who got 6 blocks for Long Beach State, while Patrick Gasman got 3 blocks of his own for Hawaii. The final category was assists, led by Long Beach State's Josh Tuaniga, with 43, while Joe Worsley led Hawaii with 42 assists of his own.

This is the post game day photo Long Beach State put on their Instagram. Don't forget to follow them: @lbsumvb

This game was a big deal because the head coach of Long Beach State, Alan Knipe,  became the second person in the history of Division 1 and Division 2  men's volleyball to win a national championship as a player (1991 for Long Beach State) and as a coach (2018 and 2019 for Long Beach State).

That concludes the 2019 NCAA men's indoor volleyball season. I hope y'all have enjoyed reading about the progression each team has made over the course of the season and until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller

USC vs Hawaii 5-4-2019 BVB

This is USC's game day post of them celebrating after beating Florida State 3-1 and knocking them out of the tournament. Don't forget to follow USC's beach team on Instagram as they prepare for their 2020 season: @uscbeach

This is Hawaii's game day post they put on their Instagram featuring #31 6'1 Junior Julia Scoles. Don't forget to follow Hawaii's beach team on Instagram as they prepare for their 2020 season: @uhbeachvolleyball

Dear Readers~

On May 4, 2019 at 3 pm Pacific Time, USC took on Hawaii in a game of NCAA beach volleyball as both teams have been battling their way through the contender's bracket to try and make it to the finals happening there in Gulf Shores, Alabama.  Now it's time to get into the game.

The first game to finish was the 4's. This had Joy Dennis and Maja Kaiser, of USC, take on Hi'ilawe Huddleston and Kylin Loker, of Hawaii. The first set ended at 21-14 with Joy and Maja taking that set. The second set was a little closer, ending at 21-15, with Joy and Maja taking that set as well and putting USC up 1-0 against Hawaii in the overall scoring.

The second game to finish was the 3's. This had Haley Hallgren and Alexandra Poletto, of USC, taking on Morgan Martin and Pani Napoleon, of Hawaii. The first set ended at 21-14 with Haley and Alexandra taking that set. The second set was much closer, ending at 22-20, with Haley and Alexandra winning the second set and putting USC up 2-0 against Hawaii in the overall scoring.

The third game to finish was the 5's. This had Cammie Dorn and Mollie Ebertin, for USC, against Noren Iosia and Sofia Russo, for Hawaii. The first set ended at 21-17 with Cammie and Mollie winning that set for USC. The second set ended at 21-16 with Cammie and Mollie taking that set for USC as well and putting USC up 3-0 against Hawaii.

The game between the 1's and the 2's got suspended but here's how the 1's went. The 1's had Abril Bustamante and Tina Graudina, for USC, taking on Emily Maglio and Amy Ozee, for Hawaii. The first set ended at 24-22 with Abril and Tina winning it for USC. the second set got to 14-13, with Emily and Amy leading for Hawaii before the game was suspended.

It wasn't just the 1's game that was suspended, the 2's game was also suspended. This was between Terese Cannon and Sammy Slater, of USC, against Ari Homayun and Julia Scoles, of Hawaii. The first set ended at 22-20 with Terese and Sammy winning the first set for USC. The second set got to 16-7, with Terese and Sammy ahead before it was suspended. Both the 1's and 2's got suspended because in order to move on at the national championship event a school needs to win 3 of the 5 games they play and since USC had a 3-0 sweep over Hawaii, they didn't let the 1's and 2's finish.

This is 6'1 junior for USC, Joy Dennis, celebrating the 3-0 victory over Hawaii 

With USC having a 3-0 sweep over Hawaii, Hawaii got knocked out of the tournament while USC advanced to play against LSU to see who would be playing in the finals. That concludes the game between USC and Hawaii so stay tuned to see if USC can make it to the finals and win another NCAA championship or if UCLA will win it for a second straight year. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller

Long Beach State vs Pepperdine 5-2-2019 MVB

This is the game day photo Long Beach State put on their Instagram for their semifinal game against Pepperdine. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram for their off season moments: @lbsumvb

This is the game day photo Pepperdine put on their Instagram for the semifinal game against Long Beach state. It features 6'6 Middle Blocker, fifth year Kevin Vaz. Don't forget to follow Pepperdine's men's team on Instagram for their off season moments: @peppmvb

Dear Readers~


On Thursday, May 2, 2019 the second semifinals for the NCAA men's indoor volleyball championship happened at Long Beach State University in Long Beach California. The second semifinal had Long Beach State taking on Pepperdine. The game was at 7:30 pm Pacific Time at the Walter Pyramid, there in Long Beach. Now it's time to cover the game between the host, Long Beach State, and the visitors from Malibu, Pepperdine .

The first set ended at 25-21 with Long Beach State taking the first set. The second set ended at 25-21 as well with Pepperdine taking the second set. The third set ended at 25-16 with Long Beach State taking that set and being up 2-1 going into the fourth set. The fourth set ended at 25-15 with Long Beach taking that set and moving on to the national finals that were held on Saturday, May 4, 2019 at 5 pm Pacific Time, there in Long Beach. Now it's time to cover the top athlete in each category.

The top athlete in kills was TJ DeFalco, with 17 kills for Long Beach State, while Michael Wexter got 12 kills of his own for Pepperdine. The leader in aces was Kyle Ensing, with 6 aces for Long Beach State, while Michael Wexter and Max Chamberlain each got 3 aces a piece for Pepperdine. The leader in blocks goes to Simon Andersen, with 6 for Long Beach State, while Max Chamberlain, Robert Mullahey, and David Weiczorek each got 1 block a piece for Pepperdine. The leader in assists was Josh Tuaniga, with 42 for Long Beach State, while Robert Mullahey got 32 assists of his own for Pepperdine. The leader in digs goes to Kyle Ensing, with 9 for Long Beach State, while Michael Wexter got 8 of his own for Pepperdine.

These are the results Long Beach State put on their Instagram so make sure you follow them for that: @lbsumvb

After Long Beach State beat Pepperdine, they moved on to the finals. For those who read my blog covering the other semifinals you'll know that Hawaii took on Lewis to see who would be one of the finalists while Long Beach State and Pepperdine took on each other to see who would be the other finalists. To see who Long Beach plays in the finals you can either see my blog between Hawaii and Lewis or wait for next week when I cover the finals there in Long Beach State for the NCAA men's indoor volleyball 2019 championships. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller

UCLA vs Florida State 5-3-2019 BVB

These two girls are 5'10 junior Lily Justine (left) and 5'10 senior Sarah Sponcil (right) that made the UCLA game day post against Florida State on the UCLA beach volleyball Instagram page. Don't forget to follow UCLA beach volleyball on Instagram: @uclabeachvb Florida State had no game day photo on their Instagram but you can still follow them on Instagram as well: @fsubeachvolleyball.

Dear Readers~

On Friday, May 3, 2019 at 4 pm Central Time the #2 UCLA Bruins took on #3 Florida State Seminoles in a game of beach volleyball in the second round of the winner's bracket at the national championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama. With Florida State beating #6 Cal Poly and UCLA beating #7 Hawaii, the Bruins and Seminoles were ready to play each other.

The first team to finish were the 4's. The 4's include Madi Yeomans and Savvy Simo, for UCLA, against Molly McBain and Payton Caffrey, of Florida State. The first set ended at 21-13 with Molly and Payton up 1 set for Florida State. The second set ended at 21-19 with Madi and Savvy winning it for UCLA and causing a third set. The third set ended at 15-12 with Madi and Savvy taking that set and giving UCLA the first big win of the match.

The next team to finish were the 1's. That had Nicole and Megan McNamara, of UCLA, against Alaina Chacon and Madison Fitzpatrick, of Florida State. The first set ended at 21-19 with Alaina and Madison winning the first set for Florida State. The second set ended at 21-19 with Megan and Nicole winning it for UCLA and causing a third set. The third set ended at 15-7 with Nicole and Megan winning it for UCLA and putting UCLA ahead 2-0 against Florida State.

The next team to finish was the 5's. The 5's had Izzy Carey and Linsey Sparks, of UCLA, against Kate Privett and Macy Jerger, of Florida State. The first set ended at 21-13 with Lindsey and Izzy winning that set for UCLA. The second set ended at 21-18 with Kate and Macy winning that set for Florida State and causing a third set. The third set ended at 15-13 with Izzy and Lindsey winning it for UCLA and putting UCLA up 3-0 against Florida State.

The two games that didn't get to finish were the 2's and 3's. The 2's had Lily Justine and Sarah Sponcil, of UCLA, against Sara Putt and Payton Rund, for Florida State. The first set ended at 25-23 with Sara and Payton winning it for Florida State. The second set ended at 21-16 with Lily and Sarah winning that set for UCLA and causing a third set. The third set got to 9-9 before they suspended the game since UCLA had won the first 3 matches.

The other game that didn't finish was the 3's. That had Zana Muno and Abby Van Winkle, of UCLA, against Brooke Kuhlman and Avery Poppinga, of Florida State. The first set ended at 23-21 with Zana and Abby winning that set. The second set ended at 21-18 with Brooke and Avery winning that set for Florida State and causing a third set. The third set ended at 7-7 before they suspended it after UCLA had won the first 3 matches.

This is 5'8 freshman at UCLA, Lindsey Sparks competing in Gulf Shores, Alabama for the 2019 NCAA beach volleyball championships

With UCLA winning 3-0 against Florida State, the Bruins played LSU on the second day of the tournament to see who would be the first to enter the championships and who would be sent to the contender's bracket while Florida State was sent to the contender's bracket to face USC on day 2 as well. That concludes my blog covering the game between #2 UCLA and #3 Florida State as they competed against each other in Gulf Shores, Alabama for the 2019 NCAA beach volleyball national championships. Until next time, Miller out.


~J. Miller

Hawaii vs Lewis 5-2-2019 MVB

This is a post-game photo Hawaii put on their Instagram after the game so make sure to follow both of these teams on Instagram as they prepare for their 2020 season: @hawaiimvb for Hawaii and @lewismensvb for Lewis

Dear Readers~


On Thursday, May 2, 2019 the first semifinal happened for the NCAA in men's indoor volleyball. This happened at 5 pm Pacific Time at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California, since Long Beach State is hosting the event. with Lewis previously beating USC 3 sets to 1 and Hawaii automatically being in the semifinals, since they're ranked #1 in the country, people were ready for this game. Going into the game, Lewis had a record of 26-5 while Hawaii's record is 27-2

The first set ended at 25-15 with Hawaii taking the first set. The second set ended closer at 25-17 with Hawaii taking set #2 as well. Going into the third set, Lewis knew that they had to win this third set and that's just what they set out to do. At the end of the set the score was 32-30 with Lewis taking the third set and their first set of the game. Going into the third set Hawaii was hoping to win it while Lewis was hoping to take it to a fifth set. At the end of the fourth set the score ended at 25-16 with Hawaii taking that set and moving on to the semifinals. They will be playing either Pepperdine or last year's champs, Long Beach State. Tune in for my next blog over men's volleyball to see who won that game.

Now it's time to cover the top person for each category. Up first is kills. The leader is Ryan Coenen, with 18 kills for Lewis, while Colton Cowell got 15 kills of his own for Hawaii. The leader in aces goes to Stijn van Tilburg with 3 aces of his own for Hawaii while Tyler Mitchem got Lewis' only ace of the entire 4 set match. The leader in blocks was Patrick Gasman, who got 8 blocks for Hawaii while Tyler Mitchem, Ryan Coenen, and Mitch Perinar each got 2 blocks a piece for Lewis. The leader in assists was Matt Yoshimoto, who got 42 assists for Lewis while Joe Worsley got 38 assists of his own for Hawaii. The leader in digs was also Joe Worsley, who got 10 digs for Hawaii while Ryan Coenen got 9 digs of his own for Lewis.

That concludes the first semifinal of the 2019 NCAA men's indoor volleyball national championships. Don't forget to check out my other blogs for who Hawaii will be playing come the championship match at Long Beach State. Don't forget to mark your calendars for the 2019 AVP stop in Austin, Texas happening May 17-19 for stop #2 of the 2019 AVP season. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller

USC vs Stetson 5-3-2019 BVB

This is the game day post USC put on their Instagram for their game against Stetson featuring 6'1 junior Joy Dennis. Don't forget to follow the USC beach team on Instagram for their 2020 season: @uscbeach

This is the game day post Stetson put on their Instagram for the big game against USC. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram for their 2020 season: @stetsonbeachvb

Dear Readers~


On Friday, May 3, 2019 Day 1 of the 2019 NCAA women's beach volleyball national championship tournament was held. For those that read my previous blog, you'll know that 8 teams advanced to the national finals down in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Those teams include #1 USC, #2 UCLA, #3 Florida State, #4 Pepperdine, #5 LSU, #6 Cal Poly, #7 Hawaii, and #8 Stetson. The game this blog will be about will be USC taking on Stetson, since I covered USC in my previous blog on men's indoor volleyball when they took on Lewis in the quarterfinals of the men's national championship at Long Beach State. Now it's time to get into the game between #1 USC and #8 Stetson in Gulf Shores for the start of the tournament.

The first team to finish were the 1's. This had Abril Bustamante and Tina Graudina, of USC, take on Sunniva Helland-Hansen and Carly Perales, of Stetson. The first set ended at 21-17 with Abril and Tina taking that set. The second set ended at 21-12 with Abril and Tina taking that set as well and putting USC up 1 set to none against Stetson.

The second team to finish were the 3's. This had Haley Hallgren and Alexandra Poletto, of USC, take on Ana Costa and Rachel Noble, of Stetson. The first set ended at 21-19 with Ana and Rachel taking the first set. The second set ended similar at 21-17 with Ana and Rachel taking that set for Stetson. Now it's all tied up at 1 game each for USC an Stetson.

The third team to finish were the 2's. This game had Terese Cannon and Sammy Slater, for USC, take on Darby Dunn and Sammee Thomas, for Stetson. The first set ended at 21-19 with Darby and Sammee taking that set for Stetson. The second set ended at 21-18 with Darby and Sammee taking that set for Stetson as well and beating USC in both sets as well as giving Stetson a 2-1 lead over USC.

The fourth team to finish were the 5's. This match up had Cammie Dorn and Mollie Ebertin, of USC, take on Quinci Birker and Rebecca Ingram, of Stetson. The first set ended at 21-16 with Quinci and Rebecca taking that set for Stetson. The second  set ended at 21-11 with Quinci and Rebecca taking that set as well and beating USC 3 games to 1.

The last game was the 4's. This match up had Joy Dennis and Maja Kaiser, of USC, taking on Samantha Harris and Julie Varga, of Stetson. The first set ended at 21-19 with Samantha and Julie taking that set. The second set got to 19-17 with Joy and Maja in the lead for USC before it was suspended. This game was suspended because a school only needs to win 3 of the 5 matches and that was when Stetson won it's third match to put USC in the contender's bracket.

Stetson put this on their Instagram after beating USC 3 sets to 1

With #8 Stetson taking out a #1 USC, Stetson went on to play #5 LSU in the winner's bracket while USC goes to play #4 Pepperdine in the contender's bracket. That concludes my blog covering the first duel of the 2019 NCAA women's beach volleyball championships with USC taking on Stetson. Don't forget to mark your calendars for May 17-19, 2019 when stop #2 of the 2019 AVP season reaches Austin, Texas. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller

USC vs Lewis 4-30-2019 MVB

Lewis didn't post a game day photo on their Instagram but USC did. This one features 6'5 Outside Hitter Redshirt Senior Jack Wyett. Don't forget to follow USC on Instagram as they prepare for their 2020 season next spring: @uscmensvolley

Dear Readers~


On April 30, 2019 the quarterfinals for the NCAA men's indoor volleyball tournament was held. The two quarterfinals were Pepperdine taking on Princeton and the game I'll be covering, USC taking on Lewis. Now it's time to get into the game.

The game was held on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 at 5 pm Pacific Time at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California, since Long Beach State is hosting the national finals for the men's indoor tournament. Going into the game, USC had a record of 18-11 while Lewis had a record of 26-5.

The first set ended at 25-20 with USC taking that set. The second set wasn't as close as it ended at 25-18 with Lewis taking that set. The third set was a little closer, at 25-19, with Lewis taking that third set as well. With Lewis being up 2 sets to USC's 1 set, USC knew they had to play hard to win the fourth set, so that's what they did. At the end of he fourth set, the score was 25-23, the closest the two teams have been all night but in the end, it was Lewis that would take down USC 3 sets to 1 to move on to the national semifinals and take on #1 ranked Hawaii to make the first semifinal match official.

Now it's time to cover the top players for each category. Up first is kills led by Ryan Coenen, with 18 for Lewis, while Gianluca Grasso got 16 kills of his own for USC. The leader in aces was Tyler Mitchem, who got 2 aces for Lewis, and the only aces Lewis got during that game, while Chris Hall, Kyle Gear, and Ryan Moss each got 1 ace a piece for USC. The leader in blocks goes to TJ Murray, of Lewis, with 10, while Chris Hall, Gianluca Grasso, and Jack Wyett each got 3 blocks a piece for USC. The leader in assists goes to Matt Yoshimoto, who got 41 assists for Lewis, while Chris Hall wasn't far behind with 40 assists of his own for USC. The leader in digs was Michael Simmons, who got 17 digs for Lewis while Ryan Moss led USC with 11 digs of his own.

Lewis didn't have a game day post on their Instagram page but they did post this after beating USC 3 sets to 1 to advance to the semifinals. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram as they prepare for their 2020 season: @lewismensvb

As mentioned earlier, Lewis took on Hawaii in the semifinals while USC got knocked out of the tournament in the quarterfinals. Stay tuned for my next blog as I cover one of the games that happened in Gulf Shores, Alabama for the NCAA women's beach national championship that happened that same weekend and also keep an eye out for my blogs covering the 2019 AVP Huntington Beach Open that happened the same weekend as both of these NCAA events. Until next time, Miller out


~J. Miller

NCAA Selection Show 2019 BVB

This picture shows one member of each of the 8 teams that will be competing this weekend in Gulf Shores, Alabama. They include: Cal Poly, LSU, Hawaii, Stetson, Pepperdine, UCLA, USC, and Florida State.

Here's the bracket for the tournament this weekend. Don't forget to follow the NCAA volleyball on Instagram to keep up with the big event: @ncaavolleyball

Dear Readers~


On April 28, 2019 the NCAA  revealed the 8 teams that would be competing in Gulf Shores, Alabama from May 3-5 for the 2019 NCAA beach volleyball national championships.  the 8 teams competing include USC, Stetson, LSU, Pepperdine, Florida State, Cal Poly, Hawaii, and UCLA. Now it's time to see where each team stands at the end of the 2019 regular season.

Up first is USC with a record of 28-4 and coming off of a 12 game win streak. USC is based in Los Angeles, California. Of the 3 coaches that coach beach volleyball for USC none is more famous than the volunteer assistant coach, Mr. Eric Fonoimoana, the man that won gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in beach volleyball with Dain Blanton. Some of USC's seniors include 6'3 Graduate Terese Cannon, 6'0 Senior Abril Bustamante, and 6'3 Graduate Alexandra Poletto.

This is USC posing for a picture after they had just won the Pac-12 championship. Now they prepare for the national championship. Don't forget to follow them on Instagram: @uscbeach

Up next is Stetson with a record of 29-8 with a 13 game win streak. Stetson is based in DeLand, Florida, just north of Orlando. Stetson has a few seniors and they are 5'7 Senior Samme Thomas, 5'7 Senior Alexa Richardson, 5'10 Graduate Jae-Lynn Visscher, 5'7 Senior Samantha Harris, 5'10 Senior Rachel Noble, and 6'0 Senior Julie Varga.

This is a post Stetson put on their beach Instagram page to celebrate making it to Gulf Shores. Follow them on Instagram for more: @stetsonbeachvb

Up next is LSU with a record of 29-6 with their latest game coming off as a loss to #3 Florida State. LSU's Seniors include 5'10 Senior Ashley Allmar, 6'4 Graduate Taryn Kloth, 6'1 Senior Olivia Beyer, 5'11 Senior Megan Davenport, 5'11 Senior Katie Kampen, 5'7 Senior Jeni Clark, 5'11 Graduate Caitlin Broadwell, and 6'1 Senior Toni Rodriguez.

This will be LSU's third straight time going to the national championship so they posted this on their Instagram to celebrate. Don't forget to follow them: @lsubeachvb

After that is Pepperdine with a record of 20-9 with a streak of 2 loses at the moment. Pepperdine's seniors include 5'10 Senior Skylar Caputo, 6'2 Senior Nikki Lyons, 5'11 Senior Madalyn Roh, 5'11 Graduate Maddie Dilfer, 6'2 Senior Heidi Dyer, and 5'11 Senior Jenna Tunnell.

Pepperdine is ranked #4 going into the championship weekend in Gulf Shores. Follow along with them on Instagram to see where they end up: @peppbeachvolley

Next is Florida State with a record of 28-5 and a winning streak of 12 games. Florida State's seniors include 6'1 Senior Macy Jerger, 5'11 Redshirt Junior Sara Putt, 5'6 Redshirt Junior Devan Hultquist, 6'1 Graduate Payton Rund, 5'11 Senior Ali Eager, 5'10 Senior Brooke Kuhlman, and 5'10 Senior Nikki Esposito. Florida State's Head Coach is Brooke Niles, and for anyone that is new, in my blog between Florida State and USC, I explain why you might not know her. You may not know her but someone you may know is Nick Lucena, current Beach Volleyball partner to Olympic gold medalist Phil Dalhausser. Nick is actually married to Brooke so Nick and Phil help the Florida State girls  when they can.

Florida State will be going to Gulf Shores ranked #3 so follow them on Instagram to see if they can make it to the finals: @fsubeachvolley

Cal Poly is the next school with a record of 25-10 with a win streak of 4 so far. Cal Poly's seniors include 5'9 Senior Kassandra Wright, 6'2 Senior Crissy Jones, and 5'9 Senior Samantha Manley. Cal Poly's assist coach is Allie Wheeler, who currently plays on the AVP and FIVB. Allie will actually be playing this weekend at the 2019 FIVB/AVP stop in Huntington Beach, California with Kim Smith. The head coach for Cal Poly is pretty famous, especially after his accomplishment back in 2008 in Beijing, China with the previously mentioned Phil Dalhausser. I'm of course talking about Todd Rogers, who won Olympic gold in Beijing with Phil. With Allie missing the national finals due to the AVP, Todd and volunteer assistant coach, McKenzie Sullivan will be without a third coach at the event.

Cal Poly will be taking on the previously mentioned #3 Florida State in their first game of the championships so be sure to follow them on Instagram to see where they end up: @calpolybeach

Hawaii is up next with a record of 26-9 with their latest game coming in as a loss against Cal Poly at the Big West Championship in Malibu, California on Zuma Beach. Hawaii's seniors include 5'7 Senior Ari Homayun, 6'1 Senior Angel Gaskin, 6'3 Senior Emily Maglio, and 5'9 Senior Hi'ilawe Huddleston.

Hawaii is moving on to the national finals ranked #7 of 8 so follow their Instagram to see how they do: @uhbeachvolleyball

UCLA is the final school with a record of 31-3 with their latest game coming off as a loss against USC in the Pac-12 Championship at Merle Norman Stadium there in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's seniors include 5'10 Senior Zana Muno, 5'10 Senior Sarah Sponcil, 5'9 Senior twins Nicole and Megan McNamara, and 5'11 Senior Izzy Carey. UCLA's volunteer assistant coach is Irene Pollock, who plays in the AVP, but unlike Allie Wheeler, Irene will not be competing in Huntington Beach this weekend. Instead she'll be in Gulf Shores, Alabama at the NCAA championships instead.

UCLA won the championship last year against Florida State so make sure you follow them on Instagram to see if they can win back to back national championships: @uclabeachvb


That concludes my blog on the NCAA Selection Show for the beach. If you'd like to see the selection show for the NCAA men's indoor, I did a blog on that as well. Stay tuned as this weekend will have the national finals for NCAA men's indoor volleyball in Long Beach, California, the national finals for NCAA women's beach volleyball in Gulf Shores, Alabama, and also the first AVP stop of 2019 in Huntington Beach, California. Until next time, Miller out.


~J. Miller