GULF SHORES, Ala. - Spring Hill College's beach volleyball team will have the No. 8 seed and compete in Pool "A" in the upcoming AVCA Small College Beach Volleyball National Championships, which take place Friday-Sunday at the Gulf Shores Public Beach. The seedings and pool play schedule was released by the AVCA on Sunday afternoon.

The Sandy Badgers (9-13) will play two pool play matches each on Friday and Saturday before championship bracket play begins on Sunday. The first, second, third, and fourth-place finishers from each pool will be placed in the Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Copper brackets, respectively. The three teams that finish fifth in Pools "A", "B", and "C" will move to Pool "E" for consolation pool play Sunday. All teams will play two matches on Sunday.

Spring Hill - which lost in the semifinals of the Gold Bracket last season and is 7-1 versus non-Division I opponents this season - opens pool play against 16th-seeded Catawba (8-16) at 9:05 a.m. Friday morning. The Sandy Badgers won the only meeting between the two teams, 3-0, in 2024. Friday's other pool play match sees Spring Hill take on ninth-seeded Florida Southern (15-10) at 2:30 p.m. The Sandy Badgers are 3-0 versus the Moccasins, most recently picking up a 3-1 victory during the 2024 season.

Spring Hill's first pool play match on Saturday is against No. 17-seeded Emmanuel (10-23) at 8 a.m. The Sandy Badgers are 1-0 all-time against the Lions, picking up a 5-0 sweep when the teams met in 2024. The final pool play match may be the Sandy Badgers' toughest, as Spring Hill will take on the No. 1-seeded and defending champion University of Tampa (19-9). The SHC-Tampa match will be at 2:30 p.m., and Tampa leads the all-time series, 4-2. The Spartans most recently beat Spring Hill, 3-0, in 2024, and the Sandy Badgers' last win came back in 2021, when SHC won, 4-0.

SPRING HILL SCHEDULE (FULL SCHEDULE)
Friday, April 17
9:05 a.m. - Catawba (Courts 1-5)
2:30 p.m. - Florida Southern (Courts 6-10)

Saturday, April 18
8:00 a.m. - Emmanuel (Courts 16-20)
2:30 p.m. - Tampa (Courts 1-5)

Sunday, April 19
TBD

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