2016 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship

The 2016 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship was the first annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate beach volleyball in the United States. The tournament was played on the beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama, hosted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham, from May 6–8, 2016. The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) had previously sponsored a beach volleyball championship prior to the NCAA's sanctioning of the sport in 2015.

2016 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship
Tournament details
DatesMay 6–8, 2016
Teams8
Final positions
ChampionsUSC (1st title)
Runner-upFlorida State (1st title match)
Third placeUCLA
Fourth placeHawaii
Tournament statistics
Matches played14
2017 →

USC defeated Florida State in the championship match, 3 sets to 0, to clinch the inaugural national title.[1] This was the Trojans' second consecutive national title, having won the last AVCA tournament before the change in the event's sponsor.

Qualification

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There is only one national championship for beach volleyball, so all sixty NCAA beach volleyball programs, whether from the Division I, Division II, and Division III, were eligible for the tournament field. A total of eight teams were ultimately invited to contest this championship. Three bids were awarded to the top three teams in both the East and West Regions, and two at-large bids were awarded to the best remaining teams from either region.[2]

Teams

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Team Record Bid Type Region Appearance Last Bid
Arizona 19–5 At-large West 1st Never
Florida State 29–1 At-large East 1st Never
Georgia State 25–8 At-large East 1st Never
Hawaii 16–8 At-large West 1st Never
Pepperdine 19–3 At-large West 1st Never
Stetson 26–7 At-large East 1st Never
UCLA 19–6 At-large West 1st Never
USC 30–2 At-large West 1st Never

Format

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All eight teams were subsequently seeded and paired accordingly in the first round of a double-elimination style tournament to be played across a three-day span. Matches were won by the first team to win three-of-five sets.

Bracket

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Matches 1–4
Friday, May 6
Matches 7–8
Friday, May 6
Match 11
Saturday, May 7
Championship
Match 14

Sunday, May 8
1Florida State3
8Stetson0
1Florida State3
5Hawaii2
5Hawaii3
4UCLA0
1Florida State1
2USC3
3Pepperdine3
6Arizona1
3Pepperdine0
2USC3
7Georgia State0
2USC32USC3
1Florida State0
Lower round 1Lower round 2Lower round 3Lower final
3Pepperdine2
8Stetson24UCLA31Florida State3
4UCLA34UCLA34UCLA0
5Hawaii0
5Hawaii3
6Arizona36Arizona0
7Georgia State2

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2016 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  2. ^ "NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship selections announced". NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved May 9, 2016.