Beach Volleyball Claims Top Seed for SSC Tournament

MELBOURNE, Fla. - [PDF Bracket | Tournament Central] - The inaugural Sunshine State Conference Beach Volleyball Championship will be played on April 11th and 12th at the Beach Volleyball Courts on campus at Saint Leo University. 

Tampa draws the top seed in the tournament and earns a first-round bye. The Spartans will match up against the #4 Florida Southern and #5 Eckerd winner. The Moccasins swept the regular season against the Tritons, winning 4-1 on March 5th and 3-2 on March 15th in St. Petersburg. Tampa holds two wins over Eckerd this season, 5-0 on February 28th in Tampa and 4-1 on March 29th in St. Pete. UTampa and FSC have not squared off since April 2024.

Palm Beach Atlantic earns the #2 seed and the final first-round bye of the tournament. The Sailfish are slated to play the winner of #3 Saint Leo and #6 Barry. The Lions bested the Buccaneers, 5-0, in Saint Leo on March 21st in the only head-to-head match between the squads this season. PBA took down Saint Leo, 5-0, on February 22nd in Lakeland, and Barry, 5-0, on March 15th in West Palm Beach.

The SSC BVB tournament will be double elimination, except for when the remaining team in the winner's bracket plays the advancing team of the consolation bracket one time to determine the champion. All tournament matches will take place on five courts simultaneously and will be played to a decision. Sunday, April 13th, will be utilized as a rain date if necessary.

Following the tournament, SSC teams may receive an invitation to play in the National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Tournament or the AVCA Small College Beach Volleyball Championships. The NC event will be played May 2nd through 4th at Huntington Beach Pier in Huntington Beach, California. AVCA Small College will be held April 17th to 19th at Gulf Shores Public Beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

The SSC announced the addition of beach volleyball on December 13th, 2023, and the inaugural season kicked off on February 1st, 2025. Beach volleyball will be the first league sport to award a maiden title since women's lacrosse in 2015.