ATLANTA - The 2023 Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) Beach Volleyball Championship begins on Thursday, April 27 at the John Hunt Sand Volleyball Complex in Huntsville, Ala. The league's seventh championship action gets underway at 9:30 AM CT and concludes with the championship final starting at 1:30 PM CT on Saturday, April 29. Due to impending weather in the Huntsville area, Thursday's First and Second Round matches will be played to decision with a 15-minute rolling start into the next scheduled match.
For the second consecutive season, the event features VIP experience tickets for fans that are available for $100 and include three-day access to the VIP pavilion area with shaded seating and a premier view of all 10 courts, VIP access comes with six drink tickets with a cash bar available after drink tickets are used. The VIP area will include refreshments and a catered meal featuring a local menu. Children 8 and under are free. There are no refunds pending inclement weather and re-entry is allowed with the proper credentials. Tickets for the VIP experience can be purchased HERE.
All of the 2023 CCSA Championship matches will be broadcasted live with Courts 6, 7 & 8 being featured on the Bally Sports App and Courts 9 & 10 streamed on AVP Beach Volleyball's YouTube page.
Follow @CCSA_Beach on Twitter for live updates throughout the postseason.
#1/No. 2 TCU (31-1) - @TCUBeachVB
- For the second consecutive season, the Horned Frogs enter the CCSA Championship as the league's top seed after a 31-1 season including being ranked No. 1 for six-straight weeks in the AVCA Beach Volleyball Poll
- Hector Gutierrez became just the second coach to earn back-to-back CCSA Coach of the Year honors leading five Horned Frogs to earn postseason laurels as Alvarez & Moreno were joined by Hailey Brockett and Rochelle Scott on the All-Conference list and Anhelina Khmil earned Freshman of the Year
#2/No. 4 Florida State (29-6) - @FSU_BeachVB
- The six-time defending champion Seminoles look to continue their dominance in the CCSA postseason and bring the program's seventh league title back home to Tallahassee
- FSU racked up 19 ranked victories this season including a 3-2 win over then-No. 2 UCLA on April 1
- Paige Kalkhoff etched her name into the CCSA Scholar-Athlete list hailing from the FSU program, becoming the sixth-straight Seminole to receive the honor; Kalkhoff and teammate Maddie Anderson were selected to the All-Academic Team while Alexis Durish earned and All-Freshman nod
#3/No. 6 LSU (24-10) - @LSUBeachVB
- The Tigers look to get back to its fourth CCSA Championship Final match and capitalize on the opportunity to hoist its first-ever beach championship trophy
- LSU won three-or-more matches in five different tournaments in its regular season run after starting the season 10-0; the Tigers capped their season winning six of the last eight duals
- The Tigers are headlined by the All-Conference pair of Kylie DeBerg and Ellie Shank; DeBerg earned her second All-Conference selection
#4/No. 7 Grand Canyon (23-6) - @GCU_Beach
- Grand Canyon will take its first reps in the CCSA Championship, entering the postseason tournament as the fourth seed; the Lopes will take the sand first at 9:30 AM CT against #5 South Carolina
- The Lopes were well represented in the league's postseason honors as Samaya Morin and Allanis Navas were voted onto to All-Conference Team; Brooke Birch and Jessica Drake was placed on the All-Freshman Team
- Mackenzie Harris and Abbie Hughes produced two GCU All-Academic nods as the team is ranked No. 7 in the AVCA National Coaches Poll heading into the weekend
#5/No. 16 South Carolina (19-10) - @GamecockBeachVB
- The Gamecocks enter postseason action on a five-match winning streak and ranked 16th in the AVCA National Coaches Poll; South Carolina matches up against #4 Grand Canyon in the tournament's opener
- All-Conference selection's Skylar Allen and Simone Priebe finished the regular season together with a 20-8 overall record, with four wins coming against ranked opponents, becoming the first pair in program history to reach 20 wins on court one in a single season
- South Carolina was well represented in the league's postseason honors collecting four All-Academic Team nods (Allen, Priebe, Allison Coens and Hannah Mackenhausen) and Jolie Cranford as an All-Freshman honoree
#6 Missouri State (9-11) - @mostatebeach
- The Bears are set to make their third appearance in the CCSA Championship and look for their first-ever postseason victory in the conference tournament.
- Missouri State's nine wins are the third-most during a single season since the program's inception in 2018; out of the team's 20 duals during its 2023 campaign, the team has swept four opponents in Hendrix, Oklahoma Wesleyan, McKendree and Southwest Baptist University
- The Bears' freshman duo of MacKenzie Steele and Manuela Niemeyer leads the Bears in wins this season. Playing in every match in primarily the No. 3 and No. 4 flights they hold a record of 13-7
The Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) is a progressive NCAA Division I conference dedicated to the enhancement of opportunities for students. The conference was founded in 2008 to provide a championship opportunity for Swimming and Diving student-athletes and extended that opportunity with the addition of Beach Volleyball in the summer of 2015. The league's footprint extends into several states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia. The CCSA is dedicated to the student-athletes who compete in its championships and their success in the classroom, in the field of competition, and life after graduation.