Beach Volleyball Earns No. 16 Seed at 2025 NCAA Tournament; Will Face No. 1 UCLA on Friday

CHATTANOOGA — Chattanooga beach volleyball is headed to Gulf Shores, Alabama, once again, as the Sandy Mocs received the No. 16 overall seed pitting UTC against top-seeded UCLA in the tournament’s opening round of action, the 2025 NCAA Selection Show revealed on Sunday.

The Mocs have put together a historic 2025 campaign as head coach Darin Van Horn led the squad to a program-best record of 26-5 including an undefeated 10-0 conference record in the Ohio Valley Conference. Chattanooga then added a pair of exclamation marks to their already record-breaking season, as the Mocs finished the year as 2025 OVC regular season and tournament champions for the second consecutive year.

“Getting to see your name pop up during the Selection Show is always an exciting point in the journey,” Van Horn said. “It makes it more and more real. I always remind our girls that we should enjoy every moment along the way, whether it’s the Selection Show or arriving at Gulf Shores or conversations on the bus; you’re going to want to remember these memories forever.”

UTC now takes on UCLA, the nation’s top-ranked beach volleyball program in the opening round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The Bruins have been the tournament runners-up in three of the last four seasons and took home back-to-back national titles in 2016 and 2017.

“Playing UCLA is obviously super exciting,” Van Horn added. “They’re a very historic beach volleyball program so to be able to go against them and show them what we have is going to be a lot of fun. Being the 16 seed, everyone is probably thinking that you’re just somebody who is lucky to get in, but I think having the opportunity to show up and compete and showcase the best versions of ourselves is what’s important.

“Hopefully we can give them a little bit of a scare.”

The Mocs will take the court against UCLA at 11 a.m. ET on Friday, May 2 in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Fans not able to make the trip down to support the Sandy Mocs will be able to catch UTC’s first round matchup on ESPN2.

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