AVCA Bracket
Long Beach State's Malia Gementera and Taylor Hagenah capped a dominant weekend in Alabama by capturing the 2025 AVCA Beach Pairs National Championship, defeating UCLA's Cassie Dodd and Alexa Fernandez in straight sets, 21–16, 21–15, to claim the national title Sunday afternoon at John Hunt Park.
The victory marks a historic milestone for The Beach, as Gementera and Hagenah became the first Long Beach State pair to earn the national crown in the event's current format. The duo stormed through the 64-team field, dropping just one set across three days to secure the championship and punctuate a standout fall campaign following their Big West Championship earlier this year.
Gementera and Hagenah gathered the 2025 Big West Pair of the Year and also took home the Freshman Pair of the Year back in 2023. The duo was also decorated with AVCA First-Team All-American honors to cap off the 2024 campaign.
Cal Poly's Ella Connor and Erin Inskeep continued their strong fall showing, earning a third-place finish after a series of statement wins. The Mustang tandem opened with victories over UT Martin and Florida International, then swept Florida State's Alexis Durish and Audrey Rothman and Arizona State's Ava Kirunchyk and Samaya Morin to advance to the semifinals. The pair battled Gementera and Hagenah in a tight three-set thriller before falling just short, 15–13, but rebounded to defeat TCU's Natalie Glenn and Anhelina Khmil for bronze. Inskeep celebrated AVCA First-Team All-American accolades alongside the 2024 Big West Freshman of the Year accolade.
Izzy Martinez and Logan Walter, also of the Mustangs, made a strong showing, advancing to the Round of 16 with victories over Hawai'i and South Carolina before bowing out to TCU. Back in 2024, the CP pairing of Connor and Martinez took home the Pairs Team of the Year for the Mustangs.
Hawai'i's Emily Heintzelman and Sydney Miller rounded out Big West representation with a solid performance, closing the weekend with a trio of Sunday wins to claim the 57th-place consolation title. The Beach Bows duo earned straight-set victories over Jacksonville and UT Martin, finishing 3–3 overall in the championship bracket. The pair will return to action at the Kaua'i Invitational (Nov. 21–23), where Hawai'i will face Arizona State and Cal Poly to conclude the fall slate.
The AVCA Collegiate Beach Pairs National Championship, hosted in partnership with Rally Volleyball, the City of Huntsville, and the Huntsville Sports Commission, continues to celebrate the rapid rise of collegiate beach volleyball. This year's combined men's and women's event underscored the sport's national growth, with 64 women's pairs and 32 men's teams representing more than 40 NCAA programs.
Top 5 Finishers — 2025 AVCA Collegiate Beach Pairs National Championship
- Malia Gementera / Taylor Hagenah – Long Beach State
- Cassie Dodd / Alexa Fernandez – UCLA
- Ella Connor / Erin Inskeep – Cal Poly
- Natalie Glenn / Anhelina Khmil – TCU
- Ava Kirunchyk / Samaya Morin – Arizona State