HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The inaugural AVCA Fall Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship is set to get underway this weekend in Huntsville and the Arizona Wildcats will have two pairs entered in the event – Alex Parkhurst and Alanna Rennie along with Abby Russell and Hope Shannon. There will be a women’s pair champion crowned along with a men’s team champion. The event will be played at John Hunt Park, a $3.7 million state-of-the-art facility that opened in 2019.
The women’s competition will showcase top players from Division I and Division II schools across the United States, including pairs from each of the 16 teams that made the 2022 National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship.
In total, key performers from 44 college beach volleyball programs will take part in a three-day fall tournament that runs Nov. 4-6, which consists of traditional pool play on Friday, Nov. 4, followed by bracket play on Saturday and Sunday. The format ensures that all pairs will play each of the three days.
Legislation passed in May 2022 by the NCAA allowing multiple-day events for college women’s beach volleyball players during the fall season paved the way for the championships. The announcement is great news for the 1,000 women who are year-round beach players. Almost 100 NCAA institutions sponsor women’s beach volleyball, and this legislative change allowing more competition in the non-championship season allows for a competitive experience similar to other college sports.
This first-of-its-kind event will take place at John Hunt Park, which is home to a $3.7 million, state-of-the-art beach volleyball complex with 15 lighted courts in the heart of Huntsville. Since opening in 2019, the facility has hosted many major beach volleyball events, including 2022 conference beach championships for the ASUN, CCSA, and Conference USA.
Huntsville was awarded the championships for the next three years—from 2022 through 2024—as part of a collaboration between the AVCA and a group of local partners: the city of Huntsville, the Huntsville Sports Commission, Rally Volleyball, and the Huntsville/Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
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