Waves Earn No. 4 Seed at AVCA National Championships
4/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
MALIBU, Calif. -- The eight-team AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championship field is set, and the Pepperdine sand volleyball team will enter the tournament as the #4 seed. The Waves will be joined by #1 USC, #2 Hawaii, #3 Florida International, #5 Georgia State, #6 Florida State, #7 Long Beach State and #8 Stetson.
Pepperdine (10-4) is making its fourth-consecutive appearance at the national championships. The Waves won the inaugural team title in 2012 and again in 2014.
The team championship will begin on Friday, May 1 and the champion will be crowned on Saturday, May 2. A double elimination format will be in effect, with a winner-take-all championship dual. CBS Sports Network will televise portions of the competition in a special that premiers on Saturday, May 23 at 10 a.m. (PT)
The Waves will open the championships against #5 Georgia State. Pepperdine is 2-0 all-time vs. GSU. The Panthers are 18-1 this season, including a 2-1 tally vs. AVCA National Championship teams. Georgia State fell 3-2 to FIU, but owns wins over Florida State and Stetson. The Waves are 10-4 this season, with all four losses coming against top-three seeded USC, Hawaii and FIU. Pepperdine earned two wins vs. Long Beach State during the regular season, as well as a 4-1 triumph over Florida State.
A win would pit Pepperdine against either #1 USC or #8 Stetson in the quarterfinals.
The championship match is scheduled for Saturday, May 2 at 1 p.m. (PT)
All eight teams selected will send their top duo into Sunday's single-elimination pairs championship. Additionally, the No. 2 teams from the two team finalists will also be entered into the 16-pair bracket.
The Waves' top-two pairs are Kelley Larsen (Jamul, Calif./Christian HS) and Kellie Woolever (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS), and Becca Strehlow (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS/UCLA), and Lara Dykstra (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union HS/Nebraska). Larsen and Woolever enter the championship with a 22-6 record on the season, while Strehlow and Dykstra are 20-3 overall on the year. Both pairs reached the quarterfinals of the 2014 AVCA National Pairs Championship, earning All-American status along the way.
Up-to-minute coverage for the championships can be followed on Twitter @PeppSandVolley. Full results and recaps will be posted on PepperdineSports.com at the end of every day.
