2023 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship
Logo
Teams17
FormatSingle-elimination
Finals siteGulf Place Public Beach
Gulf Shores, Alabama
ChampionsUSC Trojans (5th title)
Runner-upUCLA Bruins
Winning coachDain Blanton (3rd title)
Attendance11,667
TelevisionESPN networks

The 2023 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship (officially the 2023 National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship[1]) was an intercollegiate tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women's beach volleyball national champion for the 2022–23 season. The seventh edition of the tournament was held from May 3 to 7, 2023, at Gulf Place Public Beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The 2023 championship featured a single-elimination-only bracket for the first time, along with an expanded 17-team field. Nine of the participating schools automatically qualified by winning their respective conference tournaments, while the other eight were given at-large bids by the NCAA Women's Beach Volleyball Committee. The tournament was broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU.

Background

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began sponsoring women's beach volleyball as a championship sport in 2016, and the sport has since experienced rapid growth at the collegiate level, with a 500 percent increase in women's collegiate beach volleyball programs in the United States from 2011 to 2020.[2][3] The NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship is the tournament held at the end of every regular season to determine the women's national collegiate champion across all NCAA divisions.[4] It has been held annually since the inaugural 2016 event,[lower-alpha 1] and 2023 marked its seventh edition.[5] The 2023 tournament was held in Gulf Shores, Alabama, the same venue that hosted all six previous championships, and was co-hosted by Gulf Shores Orange Beach Sports & Events, the city of Gulf Shores and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.[6][lower-alpha 2]

Popularized on the beaches of California in the 1920s, beach volleyball is a sport played by two teams on a sand court. At the professional level, teams consist of a pair of players who compete in best-of-three-set matches, where the first two sets are played to 21 points and the third set, if necessary, is played to 15 points; each set must be won by a minimum two-point lead.[8] Conversely, NCAA beach volleyball is played using a flighted team-dual format.[9] In an NCAA dual, each team fields five individual pairs who are ranked from No. 1 to No. 5 by skill level, and each pair plays a flighted best-of-three-set match against their corresponding pair on the other team.[10] The first team to win three of the five pairs' matches wins the dual.[9]

The NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship had historically been an eight-team double-elimination tournament,[11] in which all participating teams were selected by the NCAA Women's Beach Volleyball Committee.[12] However, with the growing popularity of the collegiate sport, the NCAA agreed to double the field for the 2022 championship,[11][12] adding a 16-team opening knockout round that led into the established eight-team double-elimination bracket.[13] Along with the expanded field, the qualification process introduced eight automatic bids that teams earned by winning their respective conference tournaments.[14] Further changes were adopted for 2023, with the tournament becoming a single-elimination-only event,[13] and the field expanded to 17 teams to allow for nine automatic qualifiers.[15][16]

Format and venue

The 2023 tournament site at the public beach in Gulf Shores

The 2023 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship was a 17-team tournament that was held from May 3 to 7, 2023. The tournament began on Wednesday, May 3, with a play-in dual between the two lowest seeded teams. The 16-team single-elimination main bracket began on Friday, May 5, with the winning teams advancing to the quarterfinals and semifinals on Saturday, May 6, until a national champion was determined on Sunday, May 7.[17]

The tournament took place on one site at the Gulf Place Public Beach in Gulf Shores, which had been set up with five playing courts and five practice courts.[6] Over the years, the playing conditions at the Gulf Shores venue have been characterized by several factors; namely the compact sand that makes it easier for players to move and jump, the strong winds,[18][19] and the possibility of rain during that time of the year.[20]

Participating teams

Of the 93 eligible NCAA teams, a total of 17 qualified for the tournament and were seeded from No. 1 to No. 17. Nine of the teams earned automatic bids by winning their respective conference tournaments. The remaining eight bids were allocated at large by the NCAA Women's Beach Volleyball Committee. The qualifying teams and seeding order were announced by the committee on April 30, 2023.[21]

Automatic bids

The following nine teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments.[22]

Team Conference Date qualified Win–loss record[22] Appearance Last bid Ref
Long Beach State athletics Big West April 22, 2023 24–14 2nd 2017 [23][24]
Stetson Hatters ASUN April 23, 2023 20–16 4th 2022 [25]
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders Southland April 24, 2023 24–9 2nd 2022 [26]
Loyola Marymount Lions West Coast April 28, 2023 28–8 3rd 2022 [27][28]
UCLA Bruins Pac-12 April 28, 2023 37–3 7th 2022 [29]
Florida Atlantic Owls C-USA April 29, 2023 19–13 2nd 2022 [30]
Georgia State Panthers Sun Belt April 29, 2023 20–16 3rd 2022 [31][32]
TCU Horned Frogs CCSA April 29, 2023 35–2 3rd 2022 [33][34]
UT Martin Skyhawks Ohio Valley April 29, 2023 27–8 2nd 2022 [35]

At-large bids

The following eight teams were allocated at-large bids by the NCAA selection committee.[22]

Team Conference Win–loss record[22] Appearance Last bid Ref
California Golden Bears Pac-12 28–9 2nd 2022 [36]
FIU Panthers Sun Belt 20–16 2nd 2018 [37]
Florida State Seminoles CCSA 30–8 7th 2022 [38][39]
Grand Canyon Antelopes CCSA 26–7 2nd 2022 [40]
Hawaii Rainbow Wāhine Big West 27–8 6th 2022 [41]
LSU Tigers CCSA 26–12 6th 2022 [42]
Stanford Cardinal Pac-12 28–12 3rd 2022 [43]
USC Trojans Pac-12 28–5 7th 2022 [44]

Preview

UCLA's Lexy Denaburg (left, pictured in 2022) and TCU's Tania Moreno (right, pictured in 2022) were returning AVCA first-team All-Americans for their teams.

From its inception in 2016 to 2022, only two teams had won the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship: the USC Trojans (four titles and two-time defending champion: 2016, 2017, 2021 and 2022) and the UCLA Bruins (two titles: 2018 and 2019).[22] Both teams were in the running for the title once again in 2023.[7] UCLA entered the NCAA tournament seeded No. 1 and topping the American Volleyball Coaches Association's (AVCA) rankings.[29] Volleyball Magazine's Travis Mewhirter regarded the Bruins as the preseason favorites, writing that they had "the most loaded lineup in the country, top to bottom".[45] Headed by Stein Metzger for the eleventh year, their senior-heavy[45] roster featured nine returning starters from the team that took third-place at the previous NCAA championship, including 2022 AVCA first-team All-Americans Lexy Denaburg and Abby Van Winkle.[29] The Bruins recorded 23 dual sweep victories in the regular season,[29] and were coming off their third Pac-12 title despite being upset by Stanford earlier in the double-elimination tournament.[33] In contrast to UCLA, Mewhirter considered USC somewhat of a preseason "underdog" due to the fact that they had lost all but four of last year's championship-winning lineup,[45] and thus had a less experienced squad that relied on new graduate transfer players and freshmen.[45][46] Among their returning players were the former U19 world champions Megan Kraft and Delaynie Maple.[45][46] Led by Dain Blanton for the fourth year, the Trojans were ranked third in the country and received the No. 3 seed.[22] They headed to the championship having failed to make it to the Pac-12 final for the first time in program history[47] after losses to California and UCLA.[33]

Seeded No. 2 and No. 4 respectively,[22] the TCU Horned Frogs and Florida State Seminoles were looking to end the USC–UCLA dominance.[7] Under coach Hector Gutierrez, TCU entered the NCAA tournament ranked second in the country, but had also been ranked as high as first for six weeks earlier in the season.[22] Their roster featured new players such as Kate Privett, a proven transfer from Florida State, and Anhelina Khmil, the 2021 U21 world champion from Ukraine.[45] Volleyball Magazine's Larry Hamel observed that while the Horned Frogs' lineup had a lot of depth, they were especially strong at the top flight with their returning AVCA first-team All-American Spanish pair of Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno, who had finished fourth at the 2022 European Championships.[48] The 2022–23 season saw TCU defeat six-time defending conference champion[49] Florida State en route to their first-ever Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) title.[33] Meanwhile, the fourth-ranked Seminoles had been the national runners-up in 2016, 2018 and 2022.[22] Coach Brooke Niles' program featured seven returning starters from the previous year,[45] including 2022 AVCA first-team All-American Maddie Anderson who had medalled on the Beach Pro Tour during the offseason.[50] Despite losing five of their last ten duals, Volleyball Magazine still regarded Florida State as a strong contender for the NCAA title.[22]

Julie Cribbs, chairperson of the NCAA Women's Beach Volleyball Committee, believed that moving the tournament from a double-elimination to single-elimination format could help disrupt the dominance of the sport's perennial powerhouses.[51] With the top-four ranked teams all heading into the championship having suffered recent upsets,[33] Volleyball Magazine's Lee Feinswog noted the new format "gave the top teams reason to pause and the next group reason to hope".[52]

Bracket

The tournament bracket is as follows:[17]

Play-in
Wednesday, May 3 		First round
Friday, May 5 		Quarterfinals
Saturday, May 6 		Semifinals
Saturday, May 6 		Championship
Sunday, May 7
1 UCLA 3
16 UT Martin 0 17 A&M–Corpus Christi 0
17 A&M–Corpus Christi 3 1 UCLA 3
8 California 1
8 California 3
9 Long Beach State 2
1 UCLA 3
4 Florida State 0
5 LSU 3
12 Florida Atlantic 2
5 LSU 0
4 Florida State 3
4 Florida State 3
13 FIU 1
1 UCLA 2
3 USC 3
14 Georgia State 0
3 USC 3
3 USC 3
6 Loyola Marymount 1
11 Hawaii 1
6 Loyola Marymount 3
3 USC 3
2 TCU 2
10 Stanford 3
7 Grand Canyon 2
10 Stanford 0
2 TCU 3
15 Stetson 0
2 TCU 3

Dual summaries

Play-in

The competition began with the play-in dual between the No. 16 seed UT Martin and the No. 17 seed A&M–Corpus Christi,[53] in what was the first-ever matchup between the two teams.[54] The dual was played in staggered flights, with the No. 2 and No. 4 pairs playing their matches first, followed by the No. 1, No. 3, and No. 5 pairs playing theirs to decision.[55] A&M–Corpus Christi won the first two pairs matches in straight sets, giving them a 2–0 dual lead. In the next round of matches, they were up a set on all three courts before their No. 3 pairing of Jade Bennett and Tori Johnson clinched the dual with a dominant 21–9, 21–10 match win, giving the program its first-ever dual victory at the championship.[53]

Broadcast and attendance

The first round duals on May 5, 2023, were broadcast live on ESPNU; the quarterfinal and semifinal duals, as well as the rescheduled Hawaii–Loyola Marymount first round dual, on May 6 were broadcast live on ESPN2; the championship dual on May 7 was broadcast live on ESPN.[56] Additionally, all individual matches were livestreamed on ESPN+.[57]

The ESPN broadcast of the UCLA–USC championship dual was watched by 380,000 viewers, while the ESPN2 broadcasts of the Florida State–UCLA and TCU–USC semifinals were watched by 107,000 and 117,000 viewers respectively. Of the ESPN2 quarterfinal broadcasts, the most-watched duals were Stanford–TCU (145,000 viewers) and Florida State–LSU (131,000 viewers). According to ESPN, viewership of the tournament as a whole increased 100% from the previous year. The tournament was also attended by a live audience of 11,667.[58]

Notes

  1. ↑ Except in 2020 when the championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
  2. ↑ Before the NCAA-sanctioned championship, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) also hosted a national championship for collegiate beach volleyball at the same Gulf Shores venue from 2012 to 2015.[7]

References

  1. ↑ NCAA 2023b, p. 3.
  2. ↑ Wilson, Tim; Croft, Chris; Reed, Sabrina (2021). "Promoting Intercollegiate Beach Volleyball: The Rise of the NCAA's Fasting Growing Sport". Journal of Managerial Issues. 33 (3): 274–288. ISSN 1045-3695. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via EBSCOhost.
  3. ↑ "NCAA Championship 'Super Nationals' Features Current and Future Professionals". Fédération Internationale de Volleyball. May 7, 2021. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  4. ↑ "2022–23 NCAA: Division I Manual". National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2022. pp. 267, 341, 344, 346. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Beach Volleyball: Championship History". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  6. 1 2 "NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship: May 5–7, 2023". Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism, City of Gulf Shores. August 22, 2018. Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 Sharp, John (April 30, 2023). "NCAA beach volleyball championships bring prestige to Gulf Shores, but when will Alabama join party?". AL.com. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  8. ↑ Lokegaonkar, Jay (February 6, 2023). "Beach volleyball and how it's different from indoor volleyball: All the rules you need to know". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  9. 1 2 Johnson, Greg (July 20, 2016). "Alike, but Different". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  10. ↑ NCAA 2023a, pp. 1, 3, 5–6.
  11. 1 2 Mewhirter, Travis (January 6, 2022). "Format still undetermined, but NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship doubles field to 16". Volleyball Magazine. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  12. 1 2 Johnson, Greg (November 10, 2021). "Expansion of beach volleyball, women's ice hockey brackets approved". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  13. 1 2 "Beach volleyball championship format to change in 2023". National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 15, 2022. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  14. ↑ Feinswog, Lee (April 19, 2022). "Postseason possibilities as NCAA beach volleyball teams eye bids to Gulf Shores". Volleyball Magazine. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  15. ↑ Fasbender, Kristin W.; Cribbs, Julie (February 6, 2023). "Memorandum" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Report of the NCAA Division I Competition Oversight Committee" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. November 9, 2022. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  17. 1 2 "2023 NC Beach Volleyball Championship: Official Bracket". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  18. ↑ Medina, Daniella (May 5, 2021). "How LSU beach volleyball will use NCAA Championship site sand, wind to its advantage". The Daily Advertiser. Archived from the original on May 9, 2023.
  19. ↑ Schneider, Liz (May 3, 2013). "Uncontrollable elements at sand volleyball championships call for UCLA to keep focused". Daily Bruin. Archived from the original on May 9, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  20. ↑ Feinswog, Lee (May 9, 2022). "USC repeats: 'We really worked with just one goal in mind, to get this trophy'". Volleyball Magazine. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  21. ↑ "2023 NCAA beach volleyball championship selections announced". National Collegiate Athletic Association. April 30, 2023. Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Feinswog, Lee; Hamel, Larry (April 30, 2023). "UCLA gets top seed as NCAA announces beach volleyball tournament bracket". Volleyball Magazine. Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  23. ↑ Robinson, Collin (April 22, 2023). "Beach Volleyball Wins First Big West Championship in Program History". Long Beach State athletics. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  24. ↑ Robinson, Collin (May 3, 2023). "Beach Volleyball Set for NCAA Championships Starting Friday". Long Beach State athletics. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  25. ↑ Athletic Communications (April 23, 2023). "Champions! Hatters Capture ASUN Crown". Stetson Hatters. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Beach Volleyball Repeats as SLC Tournament Champions". Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders. April 24, 2023. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Lions Win Fourth-Consecutive WCC Beach Volleyball Championship". Loyola Marymount Lions. April 28, 2023. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  28. ↑ "LMU Champions & NCAA Appearances". Loyola Marymount Lions. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  29. 1 2 3 4 "Top-Seeded UCLA Ready for NCAA Championship". UCLA Bruins. May 3, 2023. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  30. ↑ "No. 12 Florida Atlantic set for NCAA opening-round match against No. 5 LSU". Florida Atlantic Owls. May 4, 2023. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  31. ↑ "No. 14 Sandy Panthers Secure 2023 Sun Belt Conference Crown". Georgia State Panthers. April 29, 2023. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  32. ↑ "No. 14 Seed Sandy Panthers Face No. 3 Seed USC at NCAA Championship in Gulf Shores". Georgia State Panthers. May 2, 2023. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  33. 1 2 3 4 5 Hamel, Larry (April 29, 2023). "After wild weekend, TCU wins CCSA, UCLA takes Pac-12; NCAA bracket announcement Sunday". Volleyball Magazine. Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  34. ↑ "Preview: NCAA Round of 16 vs. No. 15 Stetson". TCU Horned Frogs. May 3, 2023. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  35. ↑ "UT Martin Skyhawks Beach Volleyball: Postseason Media Guide" (PDF). UT Martin Skyhawks. May 1, 2023. pp. 3–4, 13. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  36. ↑ Cal Athletics (May 3, 2023). "Eighth-Seeded Bears Set For NCAA Championship". California Golden Bears. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  37. ↑ Aguirre, Alejandro (April 30, 2023). "We're In! No. 12 FIU Earns Spot in 2023 NCAA Championship as the 13th seed". FIU Panthers. Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  38. ↑ "Seminoles seeded fourth for NCAA Championships". Florida State Seminoles. April 30, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  39. ↑ "2023 Beach Volleyball Media Guide" (PDF). Florida State Seminoles. February 2023. p. 2. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  40. ↑ Coro, Paul (May 4, 2023). "Experience turns tide for return NCAA tourney trip". Grand Canyon Antelopes. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  41. ↑ Kaneshiro, Jason (May 1, 2023). "BeachBows head to Alabama for NCAAs". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  42. ↑ "Beach Secures No. 5 Seed at the NCAA Championship in Gulf Shores". LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers. April 30, 2023. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  43. ↑ "2023 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship: Countdown to Match Start". Stanford Cardinal. May 4, 2023. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  44. ↑ "USC Beach Volleyball Set to Defend NCAA Titles on Gulf Shores Sand". USC Trojans. May 2, 2023. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  45. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mewhirter, Travis (February 23, 2023). "NCAA beach preview: UCLA embracing underdog mentality despite beginning season on top". Volleyball Magazine. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  46. 1 2 Hamel, Larry (April 6, 2023). "College beach: East Meets West recap; USC's Blanton dishes high-flying Trojans, AVP TV". Volleyball Magazine. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  47. ↑ "USC Beach Volleyball Falls to UCLA in Pac-12 Tournament Contender's Dual". USC Trojans. April 28, 2023. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  48. ↑ Hamel, Larry (March 9, 2023). "TCU rises to No. 1; busy college beach volleyball weekend; Miami hosts royalty". Volleyball Magazine. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  49. ↑ "#4 GCU in @CCSA_Beach Championship Final; #1 TCU & #3 LSU in Contention After Day 2". Coastal Collegiate Sports Association. April 28, 2023. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  50. ↑ Hamel, Larry (March 30, 2023). "College beach volleyball: FSU ready for tough weekend at loaded East Meets West". Volleyball Magazine. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  51. ↑ Hamel, Larry (April 27, 2023). "NCAA beach volleyball: Conference tourneys; NCAA bracket; freshmen fuel Long Beach". Volleyball Magazine. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  52. ↑ Feinswog, Lee (May 4, 2023). "'March Madness mentality' as new one-and-done NCAA Beach Championship gets underway". Volleyball Magazine. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  53. 1 2 "Islanders Sweep UT-Martin for First NCAA Tournament Win in Program History". Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders. May 3, 2023. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  54. ↑ "Beach Volleyball to Face UT Martin in NCAA Opening Round at 4 PM (CT) Wednesday". Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders. April 30, 2023. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  55. ↑ "Skyhawks Set for NCAA Beach Volleyball Tournament Opening-Round Showdown Against Texas A&M-Corpus; Christi Tomorrow". UT Martin Skyhawks. May 2, 2023. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  56. ↑ "NCAA TV Broadcast Schedule". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 7, 2023. Select "Women's Beach Volleyball" under "Select Sport". Select "2022–23" under "Select Academic Year".
  57. ↑ "2023 NCAA Women's Beach Volleyball Championship: Broadcast Info". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  58. ↑ Hamel, Larry (May 10, 2023). "NCAA beach volleyball TV ratings up 208%, men's better, too: Analysis, what it means for indoors". Volleyball Magazine. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
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