NCAA men’s volleyball, beach volleyball, and tennis launch their national championships this weekend

The GIST: ’Ship season is back, back again. Here’s the lowdown on this weekend’s hardware-hoisting:
🏐 Men’s volleyball: For all of last night’s semifinal stress, the tourney’s top two seeds are headed to tomorrow’s 5:10 p.m. ET final on ESPN. Reigning champs No. 1–seed UCLA looked unusually shaky in last night’s five-set thriller against No. 4 UC Irvine — not what the Bruins wanted before facing one of the few teams to beat them all season, No. 2 Long Beach State.
🏖️ Beach volleyball: Not enough volleyball for you? No worries — the beach gals’ tourney crams 16 matchups into three days, starting with today’s play-in game and first round and ending with Sunday’s 11 a.m. ET final. Only two schools, No. 1–seed USC and No. 2 UCLA, have ever won this natty, but No. 3 Stanford and No. 4 Florida State could break that trend. Time to bump, set, bop.
🎾 Tennis: If seeing Challengers has you in your tennis era, you’re in luck. The women’s and men’s 64-team, three-week tournaments start today, with their Super Regionals (aka Sweet 16) set by Sunday evening. Prep for some potential shake-ups, as neither reigning champ enters as the top seed: Virginia’s men come in at No. 3, and UNC’s women are seeded fourth.
Enjoying this article? Want more?

Sign up for The GIST and receive the latest women's sports business news straight to your inbox three times a week