SANTA MONICA, Calif. — The 2022 West Coast Conference Championship takes place this weekend, with Saint Mary's Beach Volleyball entering the tournament as the third seed. The Gaels will look to improve on their third-place finish from last season, and they begin play on Friday at 10:30 am against San Francisco.
 
THE DETAILS
2022 West Coast Conference Beach Volleyball Championship
Friday, April 29 – Saturday, April 30
Ocean Park Beach – Santa Monica, Calif.
Double-Elimination Begins at 10:30 am on April 29
WCC Championship Central
 
LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's closed out the 2022 regular season at Stanford taking on four teams inside the top-25 of the AVCA, including three ranked teams. Despite Saint Mary's dropping all four matches, they were able to take a point from both (RV) Washington and No. 11 California. The Gaels twos, led by Jasmin Suarez and Jennifer "Boo" Laird, snagged the win over the Golden Bears, making it the first time this season Saint Mary's earned a victory over a ranked opponent. Earlier in the week, Saint Mary's hosted both Santa Clara and San Francisco, and won both matches on their home sand.
 
ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT
The West Coast Conference Championship features a double-elimination style bracket, with 12 overall matches taking place across two days. Saint Mary's will begin play on April 29 at 10:30 am in the #3/#6 matchup with San Francisco, with the winner moving on to play at 12:00 pm against either #2 Pepperdine or #7 Pacific. The loser of those 10:30 am matches will play at 1:30 pm in an elimination contest.
 
The winner of the 12:00 pm contest would not play again until April 30, where they would begin the day at 10:30 am against either #1 Loyola Marymount, #4 Santa Clara, or #5 Portland. For Saint Mary's to win the tournament, they will need four wins while in the winner's bracket. If they suffer a loss, they would have the potential to play three-consecutive matches on April 30 to try and win the championship.
 
Loyola Marymount has won the tournament each of the last two seasons, breaking a streak of three-straight titles won by Pepperdine. Both LMU and Pepperdine are ranked inside the top-20 of the AVCA, the only two schools in the West Coast Conference to be featured.