USC Remains Number One in Final AVCA Beach Poll

With the NCAA Championship decided, the final AVCA Beach Volleyball poll was released on Monday. The adjustments to the rankings follow suit with the final seedings in the tournament.

No. 1 USC, which claimed its second straight NCAA title on Sunday, remains in the top spot, where it has resided all season. Pepperdine (27-5), which came within two points of the title, pushing USC to the limit in a 3-2 decision in Gulf Shores, Alabama, Sunday, moved up a spot to No. 2. Hawai’i, which advanced to the semifinal after playing its way through the contender’s bracket, jumped from five to three. Florida State, UCLA, LSU, Long Beach State and South Carolina rounded out the top eight, mirroring the NCAA Championship results.

The only other movement from the May 1 poll came as Florida International dropped from No. 8 to No. 10.

Collegiate beach competition continues in the form of the USA Volleyball Pairs Championship, which will be contested from May 11-13 in Hermosa Beach, California. The 24 women’s teams and 12 men’s teams invited to the competition were announced last week. Seedings will be determined May 10. The winners of the competition will earn a spot on the USAV collegiate beach national team.

Pepperdine and USC boast four pairs on the women’s side, with four other schools having two duos in the competition. The event is the first of the Team USA Summer Champions Series.

Others receiving votes: Washington, Loyola Marymount, Saint Mary’s, Arizona State, Stanford, Cal Poly, California, New Mexico