At the conclusion of four duals on Saturday, May 6, at the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama, only three teams still have a shot at the second-ever NCAA title.

USC booked an express ticket to the national championship dual with a defeat of Pepperdine in the semifinals. The Trojans put away a quick 3-0 victory over the Waves, making USC 2-0 over the Waves this season and 9-8 in all-time meetings.



Pepperdine will face Hawaii, which advanced to the semifinals with a down-to-the-wire victory over Florida State, tomorrow morning in the second semifinal of the tournament.

You will see us two o'clock Sunday versus USC, right after our match against Hawaii because we are just here to fight and we're here to keep it funky fresh.

No. 4 Hawaii and No. 5 Florida State played in the first round of the NCAA championships, a meeting which Hawaii won 3-1. In their second face-off in as many days, the Rainbow Wahine won four of five first sets, but the Seminoles pushed back and four out of five matches went to a tie-breaking third set.

It all came down to the No. 5s match, with Hawaii's Amy Ozee and Hannah Zalopany taking on Florida State's Hailey Luke and Eva Torruella. Ozee and Zalopany won the first set 21-17, but Luke and Torruella took the second 21-18. As their third set went well past 15 points. With the dual tied 2-2, whichever No. 5s team could gain a two point advantage would extend its team's season. Whichever team lost two in a row would send the entire squad packing.

Ultimately, Ozee and Zalopany won the match 27-25, booking Hawaii a date with Pepperdine in tomorrow's semifinal match.



Hawaii and Pepperdine have played three times this season, with the Waves leading the head-to-head 2-1.

"We've played them numerous times before this season," Hawaii senior Nikki Taylor said, "so we know the things that they're going to come out doing, and we also know the things that we need to do what they're going to."

Pepperdine's team is also greatly anticipating to the match with Hawaii, but the Waves can't help but look ahead to a potential rematch with USC in the national championship match.

"We are at the peak of our playing abilities," Pepperdine sophomore Maddy Roh said. "We have prepared so much for this moment. You will see us two o'clock Sunday versus USC, right after our match against Hawaii because we are just here to fight and we're here to keep it funky fresh."


UCLA and LSU ended their seasons today, with UCLA losing to Florida State 2-3 and LSU dropping an 0-3 decision to Hawaii.

The action kicks off again on Sunday, May 7, 2017, at 10 AM CT. The national championship will start at 1 PM CT.