Completed Event: Beach Volleyball versus Washington on April 10, 2026 , Win , 4, to, 1
Beach VB
vs Washington
W 4-1
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: USA Volleyball
USAV picks Bauman, DeFalco again
5/27/2020 5:15:00 PM | Beach Volleyball, Paul Coro
GCU pair selected to Beach Collegiate National Team
Nearly a year ago, Grand Canyon beach volleyball teammates Bella Bauman and Teagan DeFalco reached the round of 16 at the U21 World Championships and left Thailand thankful for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Seemingly.
USA Volleyball wants more of the Lopes duo. Bauman and DeFalco were among 29 women selected for the U.S. Beach Collegiate National Team.
"To see we have another similar opportunity presented again was a really gratifying feeling," Bauman said. "We know we can continue pushing and grow in USA Volleyball and at GCU. It proved
that we are the athletes that we think we are and hoped we are."
It was a well-timed confirmation of their talents. Bauman, as a junior, and DeFalco, as a sophomore, helped the Lopes reach a No. 7 national ranking in March when the COVID-19 pandemic halted the season and their NCAA tournament goals.
"This season was for sure going to be 'How far can Bella and I go?' " DeFalco said. "To have it stop so abruptly, we were so upset and so frustrated. We were ready to prove that we belong at the top with all of the other players who have been there for a while. We were really scratching on the surface of making a name for ourselves."
They apparently already had done so. Their collegiate national team selections were based on a mix of NCAA results, USA Volleyball performance and coaches' nominations.
Normally, the collegiate national team trains and plays a tournament over a week in Manhattan Beach, California, in mid-June with USA Volleyball considering it an extended national team tryout. That opportunity could be delayed until next year due to COVID-19.
The team will be coached by 1996 Olympian Barbra Fontana with TCU head coach Hector Gutierrez and LSU head coach Russell Brock acting as her assistants.
"I was awestruck," said DeFalco, whose older brother, T.J., plays volleyball for the men's national team. "Bella and I had discussed a lot about how U21s was our first time being a part of USA Volleyball. We grew up seeing all our friends and girls we looked up to playing in USA Volleyball. We'd always wanted to be a part of it.
"This was a reminder that we are two of the top players in college. It's often that we forget that. We forget we're top dogs. I constantly have to remind myself because I'm short and I am not as recognizable as those tall girls. I have to remind myself, 'I am good enough.' "
DeFalco also plays libero for the GCU indoor volleyball team that was WAC runner-up last fall. Last year, she and Bauman bonded through U21 national team tryouts and competing in Thailand until they became best friends. They are training and living together this summer at a Bauman family home in Michigan.
Bauman followed the path of pro beach volleyball player Molly Tuner, who played in the same Chicago club and became an All-American at GCU for head coach Kristen Rohr.
DeFalco came to the Lopes as an indoor player for head coach Tim Nollan in 2017, added beach to her repertoire in 2019 and joined Bauman as GCU's No. 1 beach pair with a 10-2 record this year.
"We have a very similar playing style, which is calm and collected," Bauman said. "We don't have too many highs but, with that, we also don't have lows. We're a very consistent team. We have a very deep connection and a deep respect for one another. That helps us maintain composure and know the support is there without having to make it verbal."
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USA Volleyball wants more of the Lopes duo. Bauman and DeFalco were among 29 women selected for the U.S. Beach Collegiate National Team.
"To see we have another similar opportunity presented again was a really gratifying feeling," Bauman said. "We know we can continue pushing and grow in USA Volleyball and at GCU. It proved
that we are the athletes that we think we are and hoped we are."It was a well-timed confirmation of their talents. Bauman, as a junior, and DeFalco, as a sophomore, helped the Lopes reach a No. 7 national ranking in March when the COVID-19 pandemic halted the season and their NCAA tournament goals.
"This season was for sure going to be 'How far can Bella and I go?' " DeFalco said. "To have it stop so abruptly, we were so upset and so frustrated. We were ready to prove that we belong at the top with all of the other players who have been there for a while. We were really scratching on the surface of making a name for ourselves."
They apparently already had done so. Their collegiate national team selections were based on a mix of NCAA results, USA Volleyball performance and coaches' nominations.
Normally, the collegiate national team trains and plays a tournament over a week in Manhattan Beach, California, in mid-June with USA Volleyball considering it an extended national team tryout. That opportunity could be delayed until next year due to COVID-19.
The team will be coached by 1996 Olympian Barbra Fontana with TCU head coach Hector Gutierrez and LSU head coach Russell Brock acting as her assistants.
"I was awestruck," said DeFalco, whose older brother, T.J., plays volleyball for the men's national team. "Bella and I had discussed a lot about how U21s was our first time being a part of USA Volleyball. We grew up seeing all our friends and girls we looked up to playing in USA Volleyball. We'd always wanted to be a part of it.
"This was a reminder that we are two of the top players in college. It's often that we forget that. We forget we're top dogs. I constantly have to remind myself because I'm short and I am not as recognizable as those tall girls. I have to remind myself, 'I am good enough.' "
DeFalco also plays libero for the GCU indoor volleyball team that was WAC runner-up last fall. Last year, she and Bauman bonded through U21 national team tryouts and competing in Thailand until they became best friends. They are training and living together this summer at a Bauman family home in Michigan.
Bauman followed the path of pro beach volleyball player Molly Tuner, who played in the same Chicago club and became an All-American at GCU for head coach Kristen Rohr.
DeFalco came to the Lopes as an indoor player for head coach Tim Nollan in 2017, added beach to her repertoire in 2019 and joined Bauman as GCU's No. 1 beach pair with a 10-2 record this year.
"We have a very similar playing style, which is calm and collected," Bauman said. "We don't have too many highs but, with that, we also don't have lows. We're a very consistent team. We have a very deep connection and a deep respect for one another. That helps us maintain composure and know the support is there without having to make it verbal."
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Players Mentioned
/ Beach Volleyball
/ Beach Volleyball
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