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.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment