Wednesday, May 4 | 2 p.m. (Phoenix time) | NCAA Championship first round | Gulf Shores, Ala.
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#7 GRAND CANYON
LOPES
(26-6)
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Â
vs.
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#10 GEORGIA STATE
PANTHERS
(26-11)
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The Grand Canyon beach volleyball team makes its NCAA Championship debut with a single-elimination dual against Georgia State on Wednesday at 2 p.m. (Phoenix time) on ESPNU and ESPN3. Each court can be watched individually using these links:
Pair #1,
Pair #2,
Pair #3,
Pair #4,
Pair #5.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
- HISTORY MADE: GCU qualified with an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time after finishing the regular season with a record-breaking 26 wins.
- COMMON FOE IN A COMMON PLACE: This will be the second time the Lopes and Panthers compete against each other on the Gulf Shores white sand this season. Back in March, GCU took down Georgia State 4-1 in the March to May tournament.
- STAGE IS SET: GCU arrived in Gulf Shores, Alabama, on Monday. With two practices under their belts on the NCAA courts, the Lopes are ready to play their first postseason mtach in program history.
SCOUTING
Georgia State
- The Panthers took home their first ever Conference USA Tournament championship after defeating Florida International 3-1 to secure a spot in the NCAA tournament for the second time in program history, and the first time since 2016.
- Georgia State matched its program best of 26 wins this season, setting the mark originally in 2016.
- The results from the first matchup between the Lopes and Panthers on March 19:
- Vastine, Jess/Evans, Anaya (GCU) 2-1 Saga, Elise/Dorn, Kelly (GSU) 21-15 14-21 15-8
- Hansen, Allison/Navas, Allanis (GCU) 2-0 Whetstone, Kayla/Kuck, Yasmin (GSU) 21-17 21-13
- DeFalco, Teagan/Morin, Samaya (GCU) 2-1 Delmonte, Maddy/Hawes, Eden (GSU) 22-20 18-21 17-15
- Ferary, Angel/Ferary, Bella (GSU) 2-0 Roskic, Dana/Hughes, Abbie (GCU) 21-17 23-21
- Relaz, Madi/Sanchez, Cami (GCU) 2-0 White, Destiny/Johnson, Ayla (GSU) 21-12 21-14
LAST TIME OUT
- The Lopes went 4-0 at the Stanford Invitational to finish the season with 26 wins. GCU picked up wins against No. 8 Stanford, No. 11 California, Washington and Saint Mary's.
- On Day 1 in Stanford, GCU took down No. 11 Cal 4-1 and Saint Mary's 5-0.
- On Day 2, the Lopes defeated Washington 5-0 and No. 8 Stanford 4-1.
- GCU finished the regular season with an 11-2 record against the Pac-12.
WHAT'S NEXT?
- If the Lopes win, they will play against the winner of No. 2 seed TCU and No. 15 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday at 9 a.m. (Phoenix time) in the eight-team, double-elimination portion of the tournament.