GULF SHORES, Ala. - Spring Hill College's beach volleyball team opened play at the AVCA Small College Beach Championships Friday, beating Catawba and Florida Southern by identical 3-0 scores at the Gulf Shores Public Beaches.

Eighth-seeded Spring Hill (11-13) started the day with a sweep of the No. 16-seeded Catawba (8-17) and the Sandy Badgers now lead the all-time series, 2-0. Spring Hill's three wins came from the No. 2 team of Claire Hayes and Alessandra Lane (21-12, 21-9 over Lily Landis and Eliza Liva), the No. 4 pair of Reagan Huff and Landry Tea (21-13, 21-13 versus Alleigh Johnson and Valentina Rodriguez) and the team of Monica Vargo and Mia Johnson (23-25, 21-11, 15-12 against Megan Halford and Mae Henning) in the No. 5 match.

After the win over the Indians, Spring Hill followed it up by shutting out the No. 9 seed, Florida Southern (16-11). The Sandy Badgers have won all four meetings with the Moccasins all-time and Spring Hill is now 9-1 against non-Division I opponents this season. Once again, it was the Nos. 2, 4, and 5 teams that provided the wins for Spring Hill. Hayes and Lane rallied for a 19-21, 21-15, 15-11 victory over Lauren Passaglia and Ella Pringle at No. 2, Huff and Tea knocked off Victoria Rushing and Aubrey Wieser, 21-15, 21-14 in the No. 4 match, and the No. 5 team Johnson and Vargo beat Madden Bingham and Allison Thomas, 21-13, 21-15 to help keep the Sandy Badgers unbeaten on the day.

Spring Hill will play two more pool play matches 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. In the 2025 tournament, the Sandy Badgers lost in the semifinals of the Gold Bracket to Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Spring Hill's first pool play match on Saturday is against No. 17-seeded Emmanuel (10-25) 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 will be against the No. 1-seeded and defending champion University of Tampa (21-9). 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.

Also on Friday, the Sandy Badgers had two teams compete in the AVCA Pairs Challenge. The team of Ella Faliveno and Katherine Farris went 1-1 to finish second in their pool. Faliveno and Farris beat Truett-McConnell's Danielle Bowlin and Sarah Johnson, 21-9, 21-10, before losing to Eckerd's Addison Chapman and Haley Lipinski, 21-8, 14-21, 15-13 in a hard-fought pool championship match.

Meanwhile, the Sandy Badgers' pair of Felicity Evans and Megan Pulizzano also went 1-1 to take third in their pool. Evans and Pulizzano lost 21-15, 21-18 to Warner's Ily Attinger and Elsa Gilmore before rebounding with a 30-28, 21-16 victory over Emmanuel's Dree Coursey and Alondra Rios in the third-place match.

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AVCA Small College Beach Championships
at Gulf Shores Public Beaches
Gulf Shores, Ala.

Spring Hill 3, Catawba 0
1. Jaylyne Bell/Marissa Peck (SHC) vs. Emma Christensen/Marcella Hermont (Cat) Unfinished
2. Claire Hayes/Alessandra Lane (SHC) def. Lily Landis/Eliza Liva (Cat) 21-12, 21-9
3. Lillie Casey/Ashlyn Whiteside (SHC) vs. Peyton Fendley/Sidney Kettelkamp (Cat) Unfinished
4. Reagan Huff/Landry Tea (SHC) def. Alleigh Johnson/Valentina Rodriguez (Cat) 21-13, 21-13
5. Monica Vargo/Mia Johnson (SHC) def. Megan Halford/Mae Henning (Cat) 23-25, 21-11, 15-12

Spring Hill 3, Florida Southern 0
1. Jaylyne Bell/Marissa Peck (SHC) vs. Ryla Bryant/Sydney Melcher (Fla. Southern) Unfinished
2. Claire Hayes/Alessandra Lane (SHC) def. Lauren Passaglia/Ella Pringle (Fla. Southern) 19-21, 21-15, 15-11
3. Lillie Casey/Ashlyn Whiteside (SHC) vs. Hailey Carefoot/Sarah Idler (Fla. Southern) Unfinished
4. Reagan Huff/Landry Tea (SHC) def. Victoria Rushing/Aubrey Wieser (Fla. Southern) 21-15, 21-14
5. Monica Vargo/Mia Johnson (SHC) def. Madden Bingham/Allison Thomas (Fla. Southern) 21-13, 21-15

Pairs Challenge
Ella Faliveno/Katherine Farris (SHC) def. Danielle Bowlin/Sarah Johnson (Truett-McConnell), 21-9, 21-10
Addison Chapman/Hayley Lipinski (Eckerd) def. Ella Faliveno/Katherine Farris (SHC) 21-8, 14-21, 15-13
Ily Attinger/Elsa Gilmore (Warner) def. Felicity Evans/Megan Pulizzano (SHC) 21-15, 21-18
Felicity Evans/Megan Pulizzano (SHC) def. Dree Coursey/Alondra Rios (Emmanuel) 30-28, 21-16