ACA Bracket
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Cal Poly's Erin Inskeep and Logan Walter earned a fourth-place finish at the 2026 AVCA Collegiate Beach Pairs National Championship, leading five Big West pairs competing Nov. 6–8 at the John Hunt Park Sand Volleyball Complex.
The second-seeded Mustang tandem opened the tournament with four consecutive straight-set victories to reach the semifinals. Inskeep and Walter swept Lindenwood's Annalie McWhorter and Aubrey Sheppard and Boise State's Avery Allen and Keira Demirjian on Friday, then beat Grand Canyon's Karynn Garrow and Mae Manthe in the Round of 16 and Florida State's Avery Junk and Addison Junk in Saturday's quarterfinals.
Inskeep and Walter pushed Lia Berger and Devin Kahahawai of Texas to three sets in the semifinals before falling 21–17, 18–21, 15–11. The Mustangs returned Sunday for another three-set battle against top-seeded Brecht Piersma and Esmee Radstake of Texas, taking the opening set before a 16–21, 21–16, 19–17 defeat in the third-place match. Inskeep and Walter finished the weekend 4–2.
Long Beach State's Tineke Hinton and Demi Wagdy also collected four victories, finishing 4–1 and tied for ninth. The ninth-seeded Beach duo opened with sweeps of Missouri State and UCLA before falling to TCU's Maria Clara Da Silva and Veronika Kleiblova in the Round of 16. Hinton and Wagdy responded with a three-set victory over LMU's Ellie Davis and Ines Piret, then closed the tournament Sunday by sweeping TCU's Melina Mol and Hannah Taylor.
Cal Poly's Elise Lenahan and Quinn Perry finished tied for 25th with a 3–2 record. The Mustangs opened with a straight-set win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi before losses to LMU and Tulane sent the pair into the 25th-place bracket. Lenahan and Perry rebounded with consecutive sweeps, defeating UCLA's Taylor Ford and Cora Loomer and Tulane's Tawny Ensign and Kaydence Stormes to conclude the weekend.
Long Beach State's Mahala Esser and Abby Lewis finished tied for 41st after going 3–2. Following an opening loss to Boise State, the Beach tandem swept UT Martin before falling to South Carolina. Esser and Lewis finished with back-to-back victories, sweeping South Florida's Marilou Couture and Sasha Pasloski before defeating Coastal Carolina's Rylie Cepicky and Frida Lyo in three sets Sunday.
Kiera Cornman and Summer Witherby of Hawai'i also closed the Championship with consecutive victories to finish 3–2 and earn a share of 41st place. After splitting matches on each of the first two days, the BeachBows tandem defeated Florida Atlantic's Ava Koehl and Denisse Morgenstern, 25–23, 22–20, on Sunday. Cornman and Witherby outlasted the Owls through extra points in the opening set before overcoming a second-set deficit to secure the sweep.
The Championship featured 64 women's pairs from 41 NCAA Division I and II programs. Hosted in partnership with Rally Volleyball, the Huntsville Sports Commission and the City of Huntsville, the three-day event concluded Sunday with Stanford's Charlotta Bell and Brooke Rockwell capturing the national title.
Big West Finishers — 2026 AVCA Collegiate Beach Pairs National Championship
Erin Inskeep / Logan Walter, Cal Poly, No. 4 overall finish, 4-2 record
Tineke Hinton / Demi Wagdy, Long Beach State, T-No. 9 overall finish, 4-1 record
Elise Lenahan / Quinn Perry, Cal Poly, T-No. 25 overall finish, 3-2 record
Mahala Esser / Abby Lewis, Long Beach State, T-No. 41 overall finish, 3-2 record
Kiera Cornman / Summer Witherby, Hawai'i, T-No. 41 overall finish, 3-2 record