Eight teams will head to Gulf Shores, Alabama, later this week for the second annual NCAA beach volleyball championship tournament. Three teams were selected from the East region, three from the West, with two at-large selections rounding out the field.

Earning the top seed in the tournament is undefeated Pac-12 champion USC. The Trojans defeated UCLA 3-2 in the final of the conference tournament on Friday, April 28. Top pair Sara Hughes and Kelly Claes then took down teammates Sophie Bukovec and Allie Wheeler in the championship match of the Pac-12 pairs tournaments on Saturday. Hughes and Claes boast a 44-1 record for the season heading into the national tournament.

The Trojans will face No. 8 seed South Carolina in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Gamecocks have a 23-9 overall record and boast five wins over opponents ranked in the top 15. This will be South Carolina's first time competing in the beach volleyball postseason.

Pac-12 runner-up UCLA snagged the No. 2 seed, with a 29-4 overall record so far this year. The Bruins have only lost to USC and Pepperdine this season, but an upset of the Trojans during early rounds of the the Pac-12 tournament, which snapped a 62-dual win streak, should give the Bruins confidence if they meet USC in the NCAA bracket.

But first, UCLA will have to get past LSU. The No. 7-seeded Tigers had a breakout season, posting a school-record 26 victories with only six losses, and their No. 1 team of freshmen Claire Coppola and Kristen Nuss led the squad with 26 wins on the year.

West Coast Conference champion Pepperdine will be the tournament No. 3 seed. Head coach Nina Matthies earned the conference Coach of the Year honor for the second consecutive season after guiding her Waves to a 24-3 overall record, with the only losses coming at the hands of USC, Hawaii, and Florida State.

Pepperdine takes on No. 6 seed Long Beach State to kickoff the trip to Gulf Shores. The 49ers lost to Hawaii in the Big West championship match, but they have accumulated a 26-8 overall record, including taking down the Rainbow Wahine earlier in the season--a resume which earned them an at-large bid into the tournament.

East Coast powerhouse Florida State claimed the No. 4 seed. The Coastal Collegiate Sports Association champions enter the NCAA tournament with a 27-7 overall record and are the highest seed out of the East region.

It will be Seminoles vs. Rainbow Wahine in the first round, as 26-5 Hawaii earned its place in the postseason with an at-large bid. This is the second consecutive season that Hawaii has advanced to the NCAA beach volleyball championship. Florida State and Hawaii played earlier this year in Honolulu, with Florida State winning 3-2.

The double-elimination tournament kicks off at 10 AM ET on Friday, May 5, 2017. The event will be televised on truTV Friday, May 5, and Saturday,  May 6, from 3-6 PM ET, and NCAA.com will live stream all matches.

2017 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship

First Round Schedule

Friday, May 5, 2017

10 AM: No. 1 USC vs. No. 8 South Carolina
11 AM: No. 5 Hawaii vs. No. 4 Florida State
12 PM: No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 7 LSU
1 PM: No. 3 Pepperdine vs. No. 6 Long Beach State