California Rivalries Spark Drama at the 2025 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship
If you love NCAA Beach Volleyball, Gulf Shores, Alabama, is where the action peaked this May. The 2025 Championship brought together the nation’s 16 best squads, all dreaming of taking home college sand volleyball’s highest honor. The bracket dropped on NCAA.com days before, and once play began on May 2, the tension didn’t let up for a second.
The first round had everyone watching top-seeded UCLA make quick work of 16th-seed Chattanooga, chalking up a smooth 3-0 win. Florida State and Long Beach State clashed in a tight contest, with the Seminoles pushing through 3-1. Over on the other courts, LMU (CA) showed why they’re a West Coast powerhouse, sweeping Florida Atlantic. TCU left no doubt about their ambitions, sending Georgia State packing without dropping a match. If you thought powerhouse schools would breeze by, don’t forget Stanford and Cal Poly—they each swept past Boise State and LSU, letting everyone know the top four seeds wouldn’t have an easy stroll to the finals.
Come Saturday, with more fans squeezing into the sand-side seats, the energy jumped a level. LMU (CA) grinded out a 3-1 victory against Southern California, setting up an epic collision with UCLA, who had just taken down Florida State in another clean sweep. Then there was TCU, which smoked Texas 3-0, flexing on their Lone Star State rivals. Stanford and Cal Poly kept striking hard, making every volley count. But the real fireworks sparked in the semifinals, with LMU (CA) and UCLA battling neck-and-neck. Defending champs UCLA looked on the ropes before pulling off a clutch finish, proving again why they’re never out until it’s over.
UCLA Stays Dominant, TCU and LMU (CA) Put Up a Fight
Each round felt like an early final. Sports bars and living rooms across the country buzzed as the scores came in—UCLA sweeping another opponent here, TCU blanking Texas there. The drama kept building as LMU dug deep against the favorites, and fans almost lost their voices cheering on every clutch play. No moment was bigger than the LMU-UCLA showdown in the semifinals, a match that swung back and forth until late heroics from UCLA’s top pair.
By Sunday, everyone knew this would be one for the books. ESPN2 carried the tournament all the way through, but the main ESPN channel claimed the final for primetime drama. Thousands tuned in for the last matchup, streaming or watching together, filling social feeds with bracket predictions, upsets, and highlight clips. Interactive and printable brackets were hot downloads on NCAA.com as fans tracked their teams through every round.
The 2025 title battle not only delivered on excitement—it showed how Gulf Shores has become the mecca for college beach volleyball. More than just a bracket, it was a three-day showcase of grit, teamwork, and every ounce of drama you could want from the game. If you missed any of the action, those match replays and bracket breakdowns on NCAA.com were gold for highlights and reliving each spike, block, and dive.
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