NCAA beach volleyball preview, part 1: Hawai’i, Big West; USC, Pac-12; CCSA

In this first of two parts previewing the NCAA beach volleyball season, Coach Evan Silberstein tells us why his Hawaii team of the Big West could be the surprise of the season. We also extoll the virtues of USC as it ponders a four-peat, and look at chief rival UCLA and the rest of the powerful Pac-12. Finally, we review the compact-but-potent CCSA.

BeachBow’s strength in numbers  

Evan Silberstein wore a broad smile and a knowing look during a Zoom call when the conversation turned to the subject of Hawaii’s deep roster.

“This is the most depth we have had in some time,” Silberstein said, his voice reflecting the excitement of a program that appears poised for a big season. “This will be my third year as head coach and my 10th in the program. We have to overcome a huge loss at No. 1 with (All-American) Brooke Van Sickle gone, but we have really good depth, and not just in the first five (courts).

“We have athletes on the exhibition (courts) at 6 and 7 that will be pushing and ready. If we’re not performing, we won’t have to just stick with the same 10.”

Such wealth of talent typically separates the elite teams capable of winning in the last three rounds of the NCAA Beach Championships during the first weekend of May from those that are just pretty good.

Fans more familiar with traditional “bracket” tournaments tend to focus on the stars – and the few rare talents who might project to the proverbial next level — but collegiate beach volleyball in the dual format is a pure team sport. It ranks among the most democratic of all team sports in that the result from each of the five courts counts equally. The match victory by the “top pair” on court 1 is worth the same one point as that of the “fifth-best” on court 5.

The key to a program’s success doesn’t necessarily hinge on one or two great players. Having six or seven key contributors up and down the five courts who can get the team to the crucial third match victory can be more important.

Hawaii advanced to the NCAA semifinals in 2016 and ‘17, but has been more of a middle-of-the-top-20 squad over the last three seasons. Seeded 13th in the 2023 NCAAs after receiving an at-large bid to the 17-team field, the Rainbow Wahine were bounced in the opening round by Loyola Marymount 3-1, with Cami Loker and Riley Wagoner (court 2) posting their lone match victory.

But with a balance of experience, an abundance of height and an influx of exciting new talent, Silberstein’s team, ranked No. 9 in the AVCA preseason coaches poll, potentially has a lineup capable of closing that gap.

Seven key veterans return from a 27-9 squad, a former BeachBows standout has stepped back through the transfer portal, a pair of big-upside junior-college players have been added and an uber-talented Norwegian freshman from a proven family tree has come aboard.

The striking Viking is Julia Thelle, whose last name should be instantly familiar to volleyball fans on the islands and the mainland. Her older brother is Jakob Thelle, whose setting wizardry helped the Rainbow Warriors men’s team capture NCAA indoor titles in 2021 and ‘22. Jakob was the AVCA player of the year in 2023, his final season, when Hawaii was the national runner-up, and a two-time first-team AVCA All-American.

“Two national titles, national player of the year, Jakob should be considered one of the best players in the history of men’s college volleyball,” Silberstein opined.

His 5-foot-11 sister comes to Hawaii off a gap year, so she is more mature than the typical freshman. She was coached by the father of Olympic gold medalist Christian Sorum and projects as a must-play starter, likely high in the lineup, perhaps even as Van Sickle’s replacement.

“Outstanding character, just like her brother. Outstanding work ethic, just like her brother. Highly skilled,” Silberstein said, with palpable excitement. “Julia’s got really good touch on the ball. Her first contact is excellent. Her setting is world class. She sort of plays in the (aggressive style) of the Swedish men. She’s pin to pin, no problem. You’re really going to see her fly around out there.”

Entrenched in the No. 1 pair is 6-foot-2 senior Kaylee Glagau, a two-time AVCA first-team All-American. Her coach spoke glowingly of Glagau’s all-around game, calling her a “skillful big.”

The BeachBows’ size doesn’t end there. “We have a lot of athletes who are pushing at and around the lineup. It’s a highly competitive situation,” Silberstein said, running down a list of the 6-foot Wagoner, 6-foot Jaime Santer, 6-foot Sydney Miller, 6-1 Julia Lawrenz, 6-1 Sarah Burton and 5-11 Anna Maidment.

He noted that Santer “is extremely athletic. In my view she might be the best pulling blocker, peeling off the net in the country.”

Silberstein predicted that Lawrenz, a Brazilian who was an indoor junior-college star in Florida, will be an immediate starter and should develop into a difference-maker. She has trained in Brazil’s national beach program and possesses big hops, “safely touching over 10 feet out of the sand,” Silberstein said.

“People are really going to be impressed and surprised by Lawrenz,” he gushed. “She’s something special. She’s got that Brazilian flair. Still developing as a beach player, but Julia will be a premier athlete in our league, and probably will be one of the more dominating blockers in the country.”

Hawai’i  dug up two talented defenders as well. Energetic seventh-year super senior Pani Napoleon was welcomed back by Silberstein after transferring to UCLA, where she played in 2022 before sitting out all of the 2023 season with an injury. Napoleon was the Big West freshman of the year for Hawaii in 2019 and a first-team all-conference selection in 2021.

The junior-college ranks produced 5-foot-9 Alana Embry, who went 43-0 on the Southern California circuit and helped her team win the state title. “Alana is speedy, strong and extremely competitive, as shown by that 43-0 record,” Silberstein said. “You can look for Alana to make a major impact in our lineup and (opponents) are going to have to deal with her.”

These deep BeachBows will find out quickly how they stack up against perennial powers ranked higher in the preseason poll. Flying to Oahu for the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic to be played Thursday, Friday and Saturday on Queen’s Beach will be USC, UCLA, Loyola Marymount and Stanford.

The rest of the Big West 

Joining Hawaii in the preseason poll from the Big West Conference were Long Beach State in the 10th spot and Cal Poly at No. 20.

The Beach (24-15 last season) are blessed with top pair Malia Gementera and Taylor Hagenah, who finished their freshmen seasons on fire. They went 34-5, beat Cal second-team AVCA All-Americans Sierra Caffo and Liz Waters-Liega on court 1 in their NCAA tournament match and were the Big West’s pair of the year. Long Beach State has four other returning starters, including juniors Natalie Glenn (an indoor crossover) and Megan Widener, and picked up transfers Emily Sparks (Cal State Northridge) and Abby Karich (Utah), a productive starter for the school’s 21-10 indoor team.

Cal Poly soldiered through an uncharacteristic 15-25 campaign in 2023 but Coach Todd Rogers has retooled his roster with 14 newcomers, 10 of them freshman. However, the Mustangs welcome back a key piece who missed all of last season in 6-foot-1 Ella Connor, a first-team AVCA All-American and the Big West freshman of the year in 2022. Accomplished holdovers include a pair of Pipers named first-team All-Big West, Naess and Ferch, and fellow all-league honoree Izzy Martinez.

UC Davis has a new hand at the helm in Joe Rich, who had worked under Rogers at Cal Poly. The Aggies built stream with a program-best 20-12 record last season and return first-team All-Big West players Colleen McGuire and Kylie Miller. Others in the Big west are Cal State Bakersfield (16-10 in 2023), Cal State Northridge and Sacramento State.

Pac-12

The Pac-12 is loaded in its last hurrah. No way around it. Hawaii coach Silbestein flat-out said that, “USC is better than they were last year. They’re the clear No. 1.”

The wonder Women of Troy have won the last three NCAA titles.

UCLA, beaten 3-2 by USC in the NCAA final, is stacked with stars, too. No wonder that Coach Dain Blanton’s top-ranked Trojans received 21 out of a possible 22 first-place votes in the preseason poll and the the No. 2 Bruins got the other one. It’s almost as if no programs other than USC and UCLA had captured national titles since beach volleyball became an NCAA-sanctioned sport in 2016. Wait – hold my beer – that actually is the Mount Everest every other school that plays beach volleyball needs to scale.

What might be difficult to digest is that USC (32-5) flew relatively under the radar for a good portion of the 2023 season before having just enough to top TCU 3-2 in the NCAA semis and UCLA 3-2 in the title match. The Trojans had lost to the Horned Frogs and the Bruins (twice, in fact, over a span of five days) during the regular season, then were tripped up by California in the double-elimination Pac-12 tournament before being handed a 3-0 defeat by UCLA in the tourney final.

So UCLA rightly earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAAs as the Pac-12 champion, only to see its potential third national crown slip away when the battled-tested Nourse twins, Audrey and Nicole, won in three sets on court 3 (their 91st victory as a team) and the Women of Troy enjoyed another celebratory dive into the Gulf of Mexico in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

The good news for Blanton (and the awful reality for everybody else) is that the 2000 Olympic gold medalist’s squad not only returns the best player in U.S. collegiate beach volleyball, Megan Kraft, but six other starters from the title team.

How good is Kraft? I won’t even bother with her collegiate accolades and get right to the good stuff. Last summer, Megan and partner Terese Cannon reached the round of 16 of the professional FIVB World Beach Volleyball Championships. Playing with Emily Stockman, Kraft advanced to the semifinals of the AVP’s Manhattan Beach Open, the Wimbleton of American pro-beach volleyball. In 2023, Megan missed some of the Trojans’ duals to play in World Volleyball Tour events. This spring, her focus solely is on USC.

Kraft’s partner in the Women of Troy’s top pair has been Delaynie Maple, a first-team AVCA All-American, and she returns, too. As do the Nourse twins, back for fifth seasons. As do Madison White, Olivia Bakos and Gabby Walker.

But wait, there’s more. To the victor go the spoils and in the portal/COVID era, that meant Blanton could load up with tall grad transfers. From Pac-12 rival Stanford came 6-foot Maddie Criz, a second-team AVCA All-American. From league rival Cal came 6-foot-1 Ainsley Radell, second-team All-Pac-12. From perennial power LSU came 6-foot-2 Grace Seitz, who went 26-10 playing mainly on court 2. Then from Texas came 6-foot-5 Molly Phillips, the starter at opposite for back-to-back NCAA indoor championship teams.

But to make sure the pipeline remained fueled, Dain didn’t ignore the high-school ranks. He landed Floridian Ashley Pater, whose resume includes a silver medal in the FIVB Under 19 World Championships. Pater made the main draws of five AVP tournaments in 2023, including Pro Series events in Miami Beach and Hermosa Beach, and the Gold Series Manhattan Beach Open. The burning question from dual to dual: Which 10 will play?

Hey, what about UCLA? Coach Stein Metzger won two NCAA titles in Westwood, but headed off to Texas when the brass in Austin decided the Longhorns could be a big deal on the beach, too.

Into the coaching breach stepped beach legend Jenny Johnson Jordan, Stein’s assistant for a decade. Metzger left his successor a full cupboard that includes first-team AVCA All-Americans Lexy Denaburg (named to the first team for three consecutive years) and Maggie Boyd, and second-team A-A Peri Brennan. Denaburg has carved her niche in the AVP ranks, too, with third-place finishes in the Pro Series stop at Hermosa Beach and the Tour Series event at Virginia Beach.

Others who have made contributions to highly successful Bruins squads include Jaden Whitmarsh, Rileigh Powers, Devon Newberry, Jessie Smith, Tessa Van Winkle, Sophie Moore and Natalie Myszkowski. “Stacked” is an apt description of the Bruins, who went 40-4 in 2023, losing only to USC (twice), Florida State and Stanford.

Fans will get an immediate 1-2 matchup when USC and UCLA battle on Thursday in the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic.

(For more on USC and UCLA, listen to the recent SANDCAST podcasts by VBM’s Travis Mewhirter.)

Stanford and Cal were awarded at-large bids to the 17-team field in the NCAA tournament and both are among six Pac-12 teams ranked in the preseason Top 20.

The No. 7 Cardinal (29-13 in 2023) have an anchor in 6-foot-1 senior Xolani Hodel, a second-team AVCA All-American last season who also has played in the main draws of upper-level AVPs. Stanford enjoys solid depth with holdovers Maya Harvey, Kate Reilly, Emmy Sharp, Ashley Vincent and Kelly Belardi.

The Golden Bears raised their bar with a 29-10 record and were slotted at No. 8 after advancing to the Pac-12 tournament final and ousting Long Beach State 3-2 in its first-round NCAA dual. Cal absorbed some significant roster losses, but transferring in was 6-foot Lara Boos, a solid contributor on the lower courts for Louisiana State. Brooke Buchner, Sierra Caffo and Ella Dreibholz are capable returnees.

No. 15 Washington (21-15) had difficulty taking down the big dogs on its schedule, going 0-11 against USC, FSU, Loyola Marymount, Cal, Stanford, LSU and Hawaii. The Huskies are banking on Piper Monk-Heidrich, the Wilcox sisters (junior Lauren and freshman Sarah) and freshman indoor crossover Kierstyn Barton.

Coach Kristen Rohr moved from Grand Canyon in Phoenix to Arizona State in Tempe, fueling such optimism that the Sun Devils are ranked No. 21 despite an 11-13 record last season. Rohr, who built the Lopes into a national power, got a jump-start by bringing Grand Canyon mainstay Samaya Morin with her. More portal gold was mined with Daniella Kensinger, second-team All-WCC as a freshman at Saint Mary’s while playing mainly on court 1.

Arizona (20-12) could vault into the top 20 with some early victories if others falter. The Wildcats have solid returnees in Grace Cook, Kylie Fitzsimmons and Hope Shannon. At the back of the Pac are Utah (11-23) and Oregon (10-24). The Utes won two out of three against the Ducks last season.

Coastal Collegiate Sports Association

The CCSA is down to four teams, but all are ranked among the top 17 in the AVCA poll. Lurking ominously at No. 3 is Florida State (32-9 in 2023), eager to end its trend of close-but-no-ocean-dip finishes in the NCAA tournament. Three times a runner-up since beach volleyball gained NCAA sanction in 2016, the Seminoles were eliminated in the semifinals 3-0 by UCLA.

Coach Brooke Niles has a star-studded roster that features first-team AVCA All-Americans Madelyne Anderson and Paige Kalkhoff, as well as seven other starters from the NCAA semi. Those would be Anna Long, Raelyn White, Morgan Chacon, Audrey Koenig, Caitlyn Moon, Makenna Wolfe and Alexis Duris. Here’s the kicker: Niles landed a big fish out of the transfer portal in second-team AVCA All-American Alli Hansen, who helped Grand Canyon earn trips to the NCAAs the last two seasons. Another intriguing portal catch was Taylor Head, a third-team AVCA indoor All-American pin hitter for Arkansas.

LSU, a 27-13 NCAA quarterfinalist last season, is ranked No. 6. The Tigers pack incumbent star power and welcome a wave of newcomers. Returning starters include first-team AVCA All-American Ellie Shank, Parker Bracken, Reilly Allred, Ella Larkin and Amber Haynes. Portal additions Gabi Bailey (College of Charleston) and New Orleans native Emily Meyer (Florida International) should bolster the lineup, and Baton Rouge fans are likely to fall hard for touted 5-foot-4 freshman Skylar Martin, described as “magnetic” by Coach Russell Brock. The next Kristen Nuss? We’ll see.

Rohr’s exit from No. 14 Grand Canyon (26-8 with an NCAA at-large bid in 2023) left Abra Rummel, her promoted-from-within replacement, with serious building to do. Two players are left from the 10 who started the Lopes’ heartbreaking 3-2 first-round defeat to Stanford, 6-foot senior Krista Rowan and sophomore Jessica Drake. Sarah Dickson, a 5-foot-11 senior, could see more court time. Madi Boggle, a 5-11 juco standout out of California, and Sophia Hladyniuk (Cal State Bakersfield transfer) are noteworthy additions. South Carolina (19-12), ranked 17th, has a cornerstone in second-team AVCA All-American Skylar Adams, along with returning starters Hannah Mackenhausen, Allison Coens and Jolie Cranford.

NCAA beach volleyball preview, part 1: Hawai’i, Big West; USC, Pac-12; CCSA Volleyballmag.com.