Despite being ranked fourth overall, the Badgers caused a couple of upsets and came out second place at this year's division-two beach volleyball national championships.
The Badger Beach volleyball team traveled down to Tavares, Florida on Wednesday to compete in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Small College Beach Volleyball Championships. The Badgers loaded the bus Wednesday morning to make the six-and-a-half-hour trek down to Tavares where they practiced on the courts Wednesday evening to get acclimated to the venue.
Thursday kicked off the event with the first match of the tournament at 8 a.m. The Sandy Badgers were the runner-up last year at the AVCA beach championships coming into this year's championships the Badgers were ranked as fourth behind Palm Beach Atlantic (3), Concordia Irvine (2) and Tampa (1). The Badgers played two matches Thursday, first in the morning where they defeated Erskine College with a score of 5-0. Later that afternoon they faced off against Eckerd College where they picked up another win, defeating the Titans 4-1.
Friday morning the badgers suffered their first loss of the tournament at the hands of fifth ranked Texas A&M Kingsville University. After being defeated by Kingsville the Badgers had to face the number one seed from another pool. Friday afternoon the Badgers competed against third ranked Palm Beach Atlantic. The Badgers flight one fell early to the Sailfish, despite their tough battle the second flight wasn't far behind. The Badgers flights three through five were able to pull out much needed wins for the Badgers allowing them to secure a 3-2 win to upset the Sailfish and move into the gold bracket on Saturday.
Saturday morning the Badgers were set to play against the second ranked Concordia Irvine. The Badgers were neck and neck with Concordia throughout the whole match. The Badgers dropped flight three but flight five was right behind them to secure their first win of the dual. The next two matches to finish was again another split one for the Badgers one for Concordia. The Badgers flight one got a clutch win and flight two lost another very hard fought match. The team match came down to the flight four pair with the Badgers tied two all with Concordia. The fourth flight was able to secure the last win to put the Badgers up 3-2. The Badgers again upset a higher ranked team. Saturday afternoon the Badgers played Colorado Mesa in the championship, but despite the Badgers efforts they fell 3-2 to Mesa.
The Badgers will again bring home the national runner up trophy to the hill. For more information on Badger Athletics visit ShcBadgers.com for all the latest updates on badger athletics.