On Monday, the American Volleyball Coaches Association released the names of teams and pairs that will compete in Nationals, a group which includes two pair teams from UCLA sand volleyball.
Although the Bruins did not qualify as a team, juniors Kelly Reeves and Meg Norton, as well as the duo of sophomore Zoë Nightingale and freshman Becca Strehlow, will represent UCLA in the “Best of the Rest” pairs pool play.
Following a strong performance in the USA Volleyball Beach Collegiate Challenge last weekend, Reeves and Norton were placed into the ‘A’ pool. Nightingale and Strehlow, who competed in the top bracket at the Challenge but lost both of their matches, were placed into the ‘B’ pool.
The Pairs Championship, which crowns a championship duo regardless of their school’s finish, begins with pool play on Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4.
The top two teams will then be seeded into Sunday’s single-elimination championship bracket, along with ten pairs from the team championship squads and the victors of a Saturday play-in match.
Parts of the competition will be televised on CBS Sports as three-hour specials beginning May 21.
Compiled by Liz Schneider, Bruin Sports senior staff.