SandBows seeded third in NCAA beach volleyball championship
Third-ranked Hawaii will head to Alabama on Monday as the No. 3 seed in the NCAA beach volleyball championship at Gulf Shores.
The Rainbow Wahine (35-3) learned their tournament fate during today’s Big West pairs tournament at Queen’s Beach. Hawaii, seeded behind No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 Pepperdine, will open on Friday against No. 6 South Carolina, a team the SandBows defeated 3-2 last month in Columbia, S.C.
The other east region teams are fourth-seeded Florida State, No. 7 LSU and No. 8 Florida International.
The SandBows have wins over LSU, FIU and South Carolina but lost to FSU 4-1 at the East Meets West Challenge March 10 at Manhattan Beach, Calif. That loss to the Seminoles was Hawaii’s last; the SandBows have won 30 straight since then.
Left out was a second team from the Big West, considered by most as the strongest conference in the country. Cal Poly came into the Big West tournament ranked No. 4 nationally and Long Beach State No. 6.