The 2018 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships are back in Gulf Shores, Alabama, but they will also be coming to a national television audience on ESPNU, ESPN2 and ESPN.
In an upgrade from the 2017 coverage, all 14 matches will be broadcast live, an improvement over a three-hour timeslot on day one and two. The broadcasts also will be coming on the ESPN family of networks, vs. truTV, which aired the preliminary matches and TBS which showed the championship match.
The double-elimination tournament is set to begin at 10 a.m. ET with No. 1 seed UCLA taking on No. 8 seed Florida International. The Bruins, which won the Pac-12 Championship and brings a 35-3 record into the NCAAs. FIU, which is making its first ever NCAA appearance after receiving a surprise third spot among the Eastern selections, was a semifinalist in the CCSA Tournament and brings a 23-10 record to the table.
Two-time defending national champion and 2018 Pac-12 runner-up USC (25-12) is the No. 5 seed. The Women of Troy will face CCSA champion and 2016 NCAA runner-up Florida State (30-6, the top seed among the East region teams.
No. 2 seed Pepperdine (24-3), the 2017 NCAA Runner-up and 2018 West Coast Conference champions, is set for a matchup against CCSA runnerup and No. 7 seed LSU (26-12).
Rounding out the Friday morning slate is a meeting between Big West champion Hawaii (35-3), the No. 3 seed, and No. 6 seed South Carolina (26-12), a CCSA semifinalist.
| National Championship (Gulf Shores, Ala.) | ||||
| First Round | ||||
| Dual 1: No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 8 FIU | Friday | May 4 | 10 a.m. | ESPNU |
| Dual 2: No. 5 South California vs. No. 4 Florida State | Friday | May 4 | 11 a.m. (approx.) | ESPNU |
| Dual 3: No. 7 LSU vs. No. 2 Pepperdine | Friday | May 4 | Noon (approx.) | ESPNU |
| Dual 4: No. 3 Hawaii vs. No. 6 South Carolina | Friday | May 4 | 1 p.m. (approx.) | ESPNU |
| Elimination Bracket – First Round | ||||
| Dual 5: TBD vs. TBD | Friday | May 4 | 2 p.m. (approx.) | ESPNU |
| Dual 6: TBD vs. TBD | Friday | May 4 | 3 p.m. (approx.) | ESPNU |
| Second Round | ||||
| Dual 7: TBD vs. TBD | Friday | May 4 | 4 p.m. (approx.) | ESPNU |
| Dual 8: TBD vs. TBD | Friday | May 4 | 5 p.m. (approx.) | ESPNU |
| Elimination Bracket – Second Round | ||||
| Dual 9: TBD vs. TBD | Saturday | May 5 | 2 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Dual 10: TBD vs. TBD | Saturday | May 5 | 3 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Third Round | ||||
| Dual 11: TBD vs. TBD | Saturday | May 5 | 4 p.m. (approx.) | ESPN2 |
| Elimination Bracket – Third Round | ||||
| Dual 12: TBD vs. TBD | Saturday | May 5 | 5 p.m. (approx.) | ESPNU |
| Elimination Bracket – Final | ||||
| Dual 13: TBD vs. TBD | Sunday | May 6 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN2 |
| National Championship – Final | ||||
| Dual 14: TBD vs. TBD | Sunday | May 6 | 2 p.m. | ESPN |
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