PHOENIX -- The Grand Canyon beach volleyball team will wrap up the 2016 season in Honolulu, Hawaii at the 2nd Annual Outrigger Resorts Aloha Invitational Thursday, April 21 to Saturday, April 23. The Lopes will be joined by top-ranked schools including Hawaii, Southern California, Florida International and Long Beach State as well as newcomers like University of Louisiana at Monroe and University of Washington in the nation's premiere beach volleyball tournament.
The weekend will feature team competitions and individual medal rounds between some of the best that collegiate beach volleyball has to offer. The tournament, which takes place on Queen's Beach, has grown from the four teams it hosted in its inaugural year to seven. Grand Canyon will be competing for the first time against all but one, No. 10 Florida International, who they recently fell 4-1 to at Fiesta on Siesta Key. The Lopes are preparing to face some extremely tough competition: No. 6 and defending Aloha Invitational champions, Long Beach State, No. 5 Hawaii and No. 1 Southern California. The Trojans just snagged a victory over the previous No. 1 ranked, Pepperdine, making them the team to beat this year in Hawaii.
Fresh off a pair of 5-0 wins, the Lopes' energy and determination have bounced back up as they look to end the season on a high note.
Tune in to see all matches nationally broadcasted on CBS Sports Network.