The first-round sweep of No. 7 Belmont Abbey means that The Beach is set to take on No. 3 Grand Canyon University Antelopes in the semi-finals of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Volleyball Tournament.
The Beach and the ‘Lopes are familiar with each other as the two faced off in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament with The Beach coming out on top 3-1, but GCU looks forward to another swing.
The ‘Lopes recorded a sweep of their own in the first round win a hard-fought win over No. 6 Ohio State.
GCU took the college world by storm when their 12-seeded men’s basketball team upset a 5-seeded Saint Marys team in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Their men’s volleyball team however is not a Cinderella story. A 25-4 regular season record that included 14 wins over ranked teams is what the Antelopes had to show for their outstanding season.
Thursday night will feature the two teams that boast the most AVCA All-Americans in the country, each having four.
For the Grand Canyon, redshirt junior setter Nicholas Slight, redshirt senior opposite Camden Gianni and sophomore middle blocker Cameron Thorne were all named to the first team while senior outside hitter Jackson Hickman was named to the second team.
The aforementioned ‘Lopes showed their statistical prowess by being near or at the top of the leaderboard in multiple categories.
Slight was third in the NCAA in assists with 1084 and assists per set with 10.52 while Thorne led the country in blocks with 143 and blocks per set with 1.362, just ahead of LBSU senior middleblocker Simon Torwie.
The similarities between the two teams continue to grow as both teams’ head coaches were named Coach of the Year in their respective conferences, Matt Werle of the Mountain Pacific Sports Foundation and Alan Knipe of the Big West.
Home court advantage was a huge factor in The Beach’s opening round win and it will lume large gain as the crowd knows they are one game away from a National Championship appearance.
“In my opinion, it’s [the Pyramid] the best venue in the country,” junior outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis said. “I love playing here. I know every single corner of the court.”
The Pyramid will be packed on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. as last year’s first-round rematch commences with a spot in the National Championship on the line.