Top-seeded UCLA, four-time defending champion USC and Loyola Marymount were all 3-0 winners Friday as the NCAA beach volleyball championship began at Gulf Shores, Alabama.
The Bruins (31-6) took a 1-0 lead over Chattanooga when Jessie Smith and Kenzie Brower defeated Kit Gresham and Paige Gallentine, 21-12, 21-12, in Match No. 3.
UCLA increased its lead to 2-0 when Sally Perez and Maggie Boyd defeated Neva Clark and Corina Vale, 21-17, 21-10, in Match No. 3.
The Bruins completed the victory when Alexa Fernandez and Kaley Mathews defeated Joy Courtright and Julia Lawrence, 21-11, 21-16, in Match No. 4.
The 16th-seeded Mocs finished their season 26-6.
UCLA will face the winner of Friday’s match between ninth-seeded Long Beach State and eighth-seeded Florida State, in a second-round match Saturday at 7 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time to be televised by ESPN2.
The fifth-seeded Trojans (27-10) took a 1-0 lead over North Florida as Delaney Karl and Ellen Larkin defeated Eden Anderson and Hayden Wooldridge, 21-15, 21-13 in Match No. 4.
USC increased its lead to 2-0 when Madison White and Zoey Henson defeated Taylor Pierce and Cameron Humphries, 21-16, 21-19 in Match No. 1.
The Trojans completed the victory when Ashley Pater and Kennedy Coakley defeated Presley Murray and Mackenzie Murphy, 21-19, 21-16 in Match No. 2
The 12th-seeded Ospreys finished their season 25-11.
The fourth-seeded Lions (36-6) took a 1-0 lead over Florida Atlantic when Tanon Rosenthal and Gi Poletti Corrales defeated Shantel Starling and Kendall Mignerey, 21-12, 21-14 in Match No 5.
Loyola Marymount increased its lead to 2-0 when Isabelle Reffel and Magdalena Rabitsch defeated Olivia Strandberg and Sydney Schroder, 21-18, 21-13, in Match No. 4.
The Lions completed the victory when Abbey Thorup and Lisa Luini defeated Klaire VanDeusen and Shayna Wolf, 21-14, 22-20, in Match No 3.
The 13th-seeded Owls finished their season 21-15.
USC will face Loyola Marymount in a second-round match at 8 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time Saturday that will be televised by ESPN2.
The Trojans are 32-1 against the Lions, with the loss coming Feb. 20 in the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic in Honolulu. USC defeated Loyola Marymount, 3-2, in their other meeting of the season, April 12 in the Center of Effort Challenge in San Luis Obispo.
USC and UCLA have combined to win all eight NCAA beach volleyball tournaments. The Trojans also won the 2016 and 2017 tournaments while the Bruins won in 2018 and 2019. The 2020 tournament was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
All nine NCAA beach volleyball tournaments have been held in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The 2026-31 tournaments are also scheduled there.