The Chattanooga Beach Volleyball team arrived at the National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship and completed its practice session as it prepares to compete against Stanford in the first round on May 1. The No. 16 seeded Sandy Mocs will play the top-seeded Stanford, with the match scheduled for 11 a.m. central time in Gulf Shores, Alabama. ESPN2 will broadcast the event nationally, while ESPN+ will provide streams of each court.
This matchup is significant as it marks Chattanooga’s third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its first-ever meeting with Stanford. The Sandy Mocs are aiming to secure their first win in tournament history after previous losses to North Florida and UCLA.
The single-elimination tournament features 16 teams over three days from May 1-3. If Chattanooga wins, it will advance to face either California or Long Beach State in the quarterfinals on Saturday morning. During this season, Chattanooga played two other teams that made this year’s NCAA field—Texas A&M Corpus-Christi and Georgia State—but lost both matches.
Chattanooga enters the tournament with a record of 24-4 and recently completed an undefeated weekend by winning both the Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament championships for a third straight year. The team has won ten consecutive matches leading up to nationals, including decisive victories over Morehead State and Lindenwood during conference play.
Stanford arrives at Gulf Shores with a school-record of 36 wins this season out of 40 matches, including victories over numerous nationally ranked opponents. This is Stanford’s sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance; last year they reached the quarterfinals for a third consecutive time.
