Team competition schedule | Pairs competition schedule | H-TV: Championships Preview | Serves Up! Gulf Shores Updates

HONOLULU – With the regular season in the rearview mirror, the University of Hawai'i women's sand volleyball team heads to Gulf Shores, Ala. for the 2015 AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championship. The tournament, which runs from May 1-3, will feature both team and pairs competitions.
 
The second-seeded 'Bows will open with No. 7 Long Beach State whom they are 2-0 against this season including a 4-1 win in the championship match of the Aloha Invitational just last week. Also joining Hawai'i for the team competition are top-seeded Southern California, No. 3 Florida International, No. 4 Pepperdine, No. 5 Georgia State, No. 6 Florida State and No. 8 Stetson. Overall, UH is 3-1 against the field this season including an opening-day win against defending national champion and then-No. 1 Pepperdine.

Each school fields five doubles teams ranked in order and plays the corresponding pair from an opponent. The tournament format is double-elimination with the championship match slated for Saturday at 4:00 p.m. CT (11:00 a.m. HT).
 
The tournament concludes with the Pairs Championship on Sunday, May 3. 16 pairs will be seeded into a single elimination bracket based on their results during the season including matches played during the team competition at the championships. 10 'Best of the Rest" duos—selected from schools not in the team competition—engage in pool play on May 1 and 2 with the top two finishers seeded into Sunday's 16-team single elimination bracket.
 
CBS Sports Network will televise portions of the competition in a special broadcast that will premiere on Saturday, May 23 at 1:00 p.m. ET (7:00 a.m. HT)
 
The 'Bows enter the tournament boasting a 17-1 team record. UH's No. 2 pair of Olivia Urban and All-American Katie Spieler lead the team with a 29-8 record with another pair of All-Americans in Brittany Tiegs and Nikki Taylor boasting a 22-7 mark at the No. 1 flight. Tiegs is returning to Gulf Shores just one year removed from a runner-up pairs finish with partner Karissa Cook.