Beach Volleyball 4/23/2024 2:07:00 PM Payne Moses

NAIA Primer: First-Time Firestorm Battle-Ready

Glendale, Ariz. - On April 15th, Arizona Christian officially punched a ticket to its first national championship. From first-year head coach Vanessa Burwick being voted GSAC Coach of the Year to four Sandy Birds being selected to the 2024 All-GSAC team, ACU Beach Volleyball has been competing at a historic level. The Firestorm are not done yet, however, with seven teams standing between them and national hardware at the 2024 NAIA Women's Beach Volleyball Invitational (April 25-27).

ACU's path to championship Saturday begins with pool play on Thursday and Friday. They landed in Pool A, home to #1 Corban, #5 Webber International and #8 Ave Maria. All three programs will present unique challenges to the Firestorm, as none have met in Arizona Christian's six-year history.

Following the third match in pool play, all eight teams will move on to a single-elimination format for the remainder of the tournament, beginning with quarterfinals. Match-ups will be determined by each teams' finish in their respective pools (ex. Pool B2 vs Pool A3).

Both semifinal matches at Greeneville Beach Volleyball Complex will be contested on Saturday at 11:00 AM EST (8:00 AM MST), with the title match set for 2:00 PM EST (11:00 AM MST).

Game Details

#4 Arizona Christian vs. #8 Ave Maria - Thursday, April 25 at 9:00 AM
#4 Arizona Christian vs. #5 Webber International - Thursday, April 25 at 1:00 PM
#4 Arizona Christian vs. #1 Corban - Friday, April 26 at 7:00 AM
#4 Arizona Christian vs. TBD - Friday, April 26 at TBD

Greeneville Beach Volleyball Complex - Greeneville, TN

*All Time Listed Are Arizona Time

Arizona Christian

A 2-0 deficit proved too high of a mountain to climb, as Arizona Christian fell 3-2 to 1-seed OUAZ and was eliminated from the 2024 GSAC Beach Volleyball Tournament on the doorstep of the championship match. Four-seed Vanguard then defeated OUAZ 4-1 in the title game to cement a fourth consecutive conference championship.

Amaya Brown/Emily Katzer put the finishing touches on a 3-0 performance at Brookhurst Courts with a two-set victory (21-12, 21-15) to give the Firestorm a puncher's chance with the one and three pairs still competing. The duo secured their 11th win over a GSAC opponent and 18th of the season (18-9, 11-2 GSAC).

Following a competitive first set (21-17), Eliana Cho/Railey Dykstra were doubled up in the second and ACU was officially out of the match. Mia Scheepens/Misty McCall would not go winless in the tournament as they knocked off the Spirit's one pair (21-15, 21-19) for the second straight match (2-1 win on March 30th).

ACU Key Pairs

Amaya Brown/Emily Katzer - 18-9
Haley Brown/Riley Brown - 13-14
Misty McCall/Mia Scheepens - 12-13
Eliana Cho/Railey Dykstra - 4-10
Sydney Shaw/Brianna Boeckman - 4-11

Series Notes

The Firestorm's invitational opener with the Gyrenes will be the programs' first all-time meeting.

Arizona Christian and Webber International will match up for the first time in program history on Thursday.

The Firestorm will engage their third new opponent in three matches, as ACU and Corban play each for the first time on Friday morning in the Pool A finale.

Ave Maria

The Ave Maria University Gyrenes (13-3, 10-0 Sun) were ranked eighth in the final NAIA Coaches' Top-10 poll and finished as runner-up to #5 Webber International in the Sun Conference Championship. They not only posted a perfect regular-season conference record (10-0), but the Gyrenes were honored with four First Team All-Conference selections (a conference-high). Within these end-of-the-year awards, Reina Thomas was named Player of the Year, Reina Thomas/Lily Grasso Pair of the Year and Teigan McCormick Coach of the Year. Three pairs closed with at least 10 wins (led by Thomas/Grasso with 14) and AMU had five wins over teams either receiving votes or NAIA Top-10.

Webber International

The Webber International University Warriors (18-8, 9-1 Sun) earned their third straight Sun Conference Championship title by defeating #8 Ave Maria in Bradenton, Florida. The win vaulted WIU up two spots from seventh to fifth in the final NAIA Coaches' Top-10 poll and avenged their only regular-season loss in conference play (3-2 to Ave Maria on February 24th). Lily Arnold and Nadia Reid were tabbed First Team All-Conference while Janna Morrissey was selected Second Team All-Conference.

Corban

The Corban University Warriors (20-3, 11-1 CCC) punctuated their pre-NAIA Invitational schedule with six straight wins including an NAIA West Championship title in which they swept their opponents (5-0) and defeated #6 Saint Katherine in the championship match. The Warriors claimed the number one spot in the final NAIA Coaches' Top-10 poll, surpassing #2 OUAZ who occupied the spot for much of the season. Six players (three pairs) received All-Conference recognition. Megan Dennis, Emma Bischoff, Jessica McMillian and Danae Stokes made the All-Conference team, while Nicole Bantilan and Emmi Marks were selected as Honorable Mention. Of note, Dennis and Bischoff were named CCC Pair of the Year after a 13-4 overall performance, two CCC Pair of the Week honors and one NAIA Pair of the Week distinction.

Roll Storm!

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Players Mentioned

#14 Brianna Boeckman: 5' 8"; Junior

#18 Amaya Brown: 5' 8"; Senior

#17 Haley Brown: 5' 5"; Sophomore

#15 Riley Brown: 5' 6"; Sophomore

#7 Railey Dykstra: 5' 8"; Junior

#4 Misty McCall: 5' 6"; Junior

#9 Sydney Shaw: 5' 5"; Junior

#19 Emily Katzer: 5' 7"; Freshman

#3 Eliana Cho: 5' 6"; Junior

#8 Mia Scheepens: 6' 0"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#14 Brianna Boeckman
: 5' 8"; Junior

#18 Amaya Brown
: 5' 8"; Senior

#17 Haley Brown
: 5' 5"; Sophomore

#15 Riley Brown
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

#7 Railey Dykstra
: 5' 8"; Junior

#4 Misty McCall
: 5' 6"; Junior

#9 Sydney Shaw
: 5' 5"; Junior

#19 Emily Katzer
: 5' 7"; Freshman

#3 Eliana Cho
: 5' 6"; Junior

#8 Mia Scheepens
: 6' 0"; Junior

Arizona Christian University

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NAIA Primer: First-Time Firestorm Battle-Ready

Players Mentioned

#14 Brianna Boeckman

#18 Amaya Brown

#17 Haley Brown

#15 Riley Brown

#7 Railey Dykstra

#4 Misty McCall

#9 Sydney Shaw

#19 Emily Katzer

#3 Eliana Cho

#8 Mia Scheepens

Players Mentioned

#14 Brianna Boeckman

#18 Amaya Brown

#17 Haley Brown

#15 Riley Brown

#7 Railey Dykstra

#4 Misty McCall

#9 Sydney Shaw

#19 Emily Katzer

#3 Eliana Cho

#8 Mia Scheepens