GULF SHORES, Ala. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi beach volleyball team will begin its third straight NCAA Tournament journey in the first round against No. 2 UCLA Friday at 1 p.m. CT.
The match will be nationally streamed live on ESPNU.
The Islanders (28-9) enter the postseason with a No. 15 seed, the highest they have ever been seeded at the NCAA Tournament. They will be making their third straight appearance in the postseason after three-peating the Southland Conference Tournament to earn the league's automatic bid.
It marked the fifth championship in the last three years, completing yet another season that they were both tournament and regular season champions. It came after they survived an elimination semifinal match against No. 3 HCU as the pair of wins got A&M-Corpus Christi to 28 on the year, the program's most wins in a single season.
It all comes under three-time defending SLC Coach of the Year
Gayle Stammer, who has guided the Islanders to their unprecedented success as they enter the tournament back in the national rankings, checking in at #20 in the AVCA Coaches Poll for the fifth time this year.
Freshman
Cassie Dodd and graduate
Chloe Tome have stepped up big this year, moving into the top flight for the postseason. Dodd was named SLC Freshman of the Year as she and Tome were placed onto the All-Conference First Team at flight two. They clinched the SLC tournament championship and earned SLC Pair of the Tournament, followed by being named the AVCA/CBVB National Pair of the Week.
They were one of three pairs honored with All-Conference recognition, as
Stephanie Young/
Hannah Doyle made the First Team for flight three while
Elizabeth Cortez/
Kela Moreno were honored on the Second Team at flight five.
Dodd is just the second Islander to earn Freshman of the Year, but it comes in consecutive seasons after now-sophomore
Kristin Bobay the accolade last year. It is the second time in program history that the Islanders had two pairs on the All-Conference First-Team.
Bobay has paired with newcomer sophomore
Madison Morrow this year, winning 22 duals this year as a duo. They are right behind Dodd/Tome who leads the pairs this year with 23 wins.
It will be just the third ever meeting between A&M-Corpus Christi and UCLA and second in the postseason after they met last year in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. It came after the Islanders won their first ever match at the Big Dance, defeating UT-Martin 3-0 in the opening round.
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