SALT LAKE CITY — After nine seasons as a sanctioned sport at the University of Utah, the university has chosen to discontinue it as a varsity sport after the academic season.

Utah made beach volleyball its 20th sanctioned sport in 2017 as a member of the Pac-12, which had a thriving beach volleyball league and room to grow. But with a move to the Big 12, and only three other schools participating in the sport in the new conference, Utah didn’t have much of a path to grow the sport.

Additionally, in the Big 12, Utah lost the opportunity to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament even as a conference champion, like it could when a member of the Pac-12.

“This was an extremely difficult decision, and we did not arrive at this conclusion without a significant and appropriate amount of thought, consideration and consultation,” Utah Athletic Director Mark Harlan said in a statement. “We looked at the landscape of intercollegiate beach volleyball and the future opportunities of our student-athletes.”

Harlan said as part of their review, they saw that there were only 12 beach volleyball programs inside power conferences, “with little evidence of the sport expanding at this time.”

“With the sport’s growth stunted, and without the home facilities with amenities that allow us to host championship-level events, we are not providing the world-class experience that we seek to provide to our student-athletes,” Harlan said.

Though it leaves some athletes in limbo, the university said it will honor all scholarships for the duration of the athlete’s pursuit of an undergraduate degree.

The move to cut beach volleyball is not a direct result of a changing college landscape amid an impending House settlement case; however, other schools, such as Grand Canyon University this week cutting men’s volleyball, have made similar moves.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, April 29, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — University of Utah athletic director Mark Harlan has announced the Beach Volleyball program will be discontinued after nine years of competitive play.

The news comes four days after the U announced the retirement of head beach volleyball coach Brenda Whicker.

“This was an extremely difficult decision, and we did not arrive at this conclusion without a significant and appropriate amount of thought, consideration and consultation,” Harlan said in a news release.

“We looked at the landscape of intercollegiate beach volleyball and the future opportunities of our student-athletes. Currently, there are only 12 beach volleyball programs among power conference institutions, with little evidence of the sport expanding at this time.

“With the sport’s growth stunted, and without the home facilities with amenities that allow us to host championship-level events, we are not providing the world-class experience that we seek to provide to our student-athletes.”

For the 2025 season that concluded last Friday in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament, Utah competed as a member of the Big 12 Conference. Currently, there are only three other Big 12 institutions that sponsor beach volleyball, the release says. With only four sponsored programs in the conference, there is no automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament for the Big 12 champion. 

“We are mindful of the impact this decision has on the current students in our beach volleyball program, as well as on the incoming student-athletes who committed to Utah,” Harlan said. “. We will work closely with each of our impacted student-athletes to provide them with all of the support they need.

“Should any member of the team decide to remain at the University, their scholarship will be honored through the receipt of their undergraduate degree, and the incoming student-athletes also will have their scholarship offers honored. Should a current or incoming student-athlete elect to pursue their sport at another school, Utah will do all that it can to facilitate the process.

“Scholarship funds previously dedicated to the beach volleyball program will be redirected to our other women’s sports programs.”

With the discontinuation of beach volleyball, Utah will now sponsor 19 intercollegiate sport programs.

The Bears took third place at the MPSF championship in Los Angeles this weekend.

The first two games yielded expected results. No. 4 Cal beat No. 14 San Jose State 15-7 in its debut match Friday, bringing its record to 4-0 with another decisive victory. Then the Bears lost to No. 1 UCLA the following day, but the 14-15 loss showed improvement from an earlier 7-12 defeat March 8.

The real surprise came Sunday in the third place game: Cal upset No. 2 USC.

In game one, although the Spartans scored first, the Bears quickly dominated with four uncontested goals in the first period. The second quarter had Cal outscoring San Jose State 3-2, which sent the Bears into halftime with a 4-point lead.

Cal similarly outperformed the Spartans 4-2 in the third. To finish off the game, San Jose State burst into the fourth quarter with two quick goals to narrow the deficit to 5 points, but sophomore Julia Bonaguidi, freshman Holly Dunn and sophomore Kate Meyer all scored in the final minutes to propel Cal to a tone-setting 15-7 win in its MPSF debut.

The next day, the underdog Bears faced off against the hometown Bruins.

The first quarter saw multiple changes to the scoreboard as both schools rallied for the lead. In the second quarter, Cal began to break away and led 7-4 with three minutes remaining in the half. But in a defensive lapse amid an offensive surge by the Bruins, UCLA outscored Cal 5-1 before the buzzer, reducing the Bears’ lead to 1 point.

After the half, UCLA gradually increased its advantage to 13-10. Determined to go into the quarter break on a high note, freshman Miriam Bogachenko found the back of the net with three seconds remaining.

The fourth quarter began with a stalemate: Neither team scored for almost two and a half minutes. Suddenly, the ball came flying out of sophomore Feline Voordouw’s hand, penetrating the Bruins’ defense to make it a 1-point game. UCLA fought back, but Bonaguidi put away her fourth goal of the game — tying her career high — to make the score 15-14 with 56 seconds remaining.

The stars aligned for Cal as it forced a turnover in the following possession, and head coach Coralie Simmons called a timeout with 26 seconds left. The opportunity did not pan out though, and the final whistle blew with a bitter loss for the Bears.

“I think we match up well with (UCLA), and we found a fun rivalry with them — with any of the top teams that we face. We’re always in the mix with big games with them, and getting the opportunity to play them again at the NCAA tournament would be awesome,” Simmons said. “I think really highlighting our speed, our center play and our ability to shoot the ball at a very high level is going to be very hard for them to contend with.”

In the final test of the three-day saga, Cal returned Sunday for another uphill battle against the Trojans.

Just 24 seconds into the game, USC scored on a power play. Undeterred, Cal responded with five uncontested goals — three of which came from Voordouw. The Trojans then racked up 3 points, but the Bears got the final word with two more goals to wrap up the first quarter. With the scoreboard already reading 7-4 after the first eight minutes, the game looked poised to be an offensive duel between two powerhouse programs.

Fueled by a penalty shot, Bogachenko notched the first point in the second quarter. USC then reduced its deficit to two, but Cal’s offense was unrelenting. Led by freshman-senior duo Eszter Varró and Ruby Swadling, the Bears went into the half with a 4-point advantage.

Cal’s offense buffered in the second half — the team failed to score in the third quarter and put up 1 point in the fourth.

“We scored one goal in the second half, which made our ability to make stops on defense super important. I thought our defensive plan, and our grit and our grind to get the job done elevated in the second half where things weren’t dropping, we weren’t able to put shots away,” Simmons said. “Our good start and strong finish on the defensive end allowed us to come out on top, and we knew that was going to be a down-to-the-wire finish.”

The Trojans put up one last goal with 3:54 left, but Cal’s stellar defense held on for a stunning 13-12 upset to secure third place.

While the Bears aimed to appear in the championship game, the victory over the Trojans still highlighted Cal’s growth since its 9-13 loss to USC on March 22.

Redshirt junior opposite hitter Skyler Varga smiles and celebrates after one of many LBSU points as UCI beat LBSU 3-0. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko

Watch a Long Beach State men’s volleyball game for five minutes and you will notice that Canadian redshirt junior opposite hitter Skyler Varga is always the most animated presence after each point the team scores; he is the first to initiate a quick team huddle, rallying his teammates with shouts, chants and a vibrantly contagious energy.

Elevating team morale with intensity defines the Canadian who now anchors the top-ranked team in the nation.  

Varga grew up in Muenster, Canada, a village of about 450 people. He played almost every sport just so their town would have enough people to create teams and conduct games.

In 2022, Varga transferred to The Beach from the University of Saskatchewan and quickly rose as a preeminent player across the board.

“Before coming to America, I didn’t even know anything about NCAA volleyball. I didn’t know Long Beach existed, I didn’t know all these teams existed, and how big of a stage it could actually get to,” Varga said. “I’m grateful that I can be given this opportunity, especially coming from such a small town.”

Though he played many sports growing up, Varga committed to volleyball during the COVID-19 pandemic, knowing he would need to travel to pursue volleyball at a high level.

Redshirt junior opposite hitter Skyler Varga dives to the ball after a UC Santa Barbara kill on April 4 at the Walter Pyramid. Varga’s four kills helped Long Beach State beat UCSB 3-0. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko

That decision led to a gold medal with Team Saskatchewan at the 2022 Canada Games and a silver medal with Team Canada at the U23 Bicentennial Independence Cup in Rio.

Playing for his national team and in matches across the globe not only sharpened his ability to handle higher competition, but it also invigorated his passion for the sport.

“He’s been out in the world of volleyball and seen something bigger than college volleyball, so he really knows where he wants to be,” LBSU head coach Alan Knipe said. “It’s not going to shock me at all when you see Sky representing Canada in the Olympics.”

Varga’s first year at The Beach was cut short by a knee surgery, but he returned the following season to be the team leader in aces per set and earn Honorable Mention All-America and All-Conference honors. 

Amid LBSU’s historic season this year, Varga has already achieved the most kills of his career with 235 and sits 14th in the nation in attack percentage at .387. 

Varga is, as described by Knipe, a “five-tool volleyball player” whose versatile abilities on the court make him a threat at every position he is in.

“There’s nothing on the court that Sky doesn’t do to help us score points, so as a coach, you’re very fortunate,” Knipe said. “Those are rare to get.”

Despite his standout statistics, Varga puts the team’s success above all else.

Redshirt junior opposite hitter Skyler Varga goes up for a kill against two UC Irvine defenders at the Walter Pyramid on March 28. Although Varga scored a game-high 13 kills, UCI beat Long Beach State 3-0 as and LBSU lost its first game of the season. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko

This season, he admitted he has not been tracking his own numbers; instead, he is fully locked in on the flow of each game and what the team needs in each moment.

“If I go and kill 20 balls versus two balls, it doesn’t really matter as long as I help the team get the win,” Varga said. “That’s all that matters for me.”

Varga’s impact as an athlete goes beyond his on-court performance– competing alongside elite players showed him how much his attitude influences those around him.

That awareness, shaped by the contrast between playing casually in Muenster and professionally with Team Canada, now fuels the dynamic spark he brings to every LBSU game.

“I just immediately sprung into the role of like, I’m gonna get fired up, and I’m happy that I get to play with people who are just as skilled as me,” Varga said. “It brought me a lot of energy and I think that’s carried over throughout the years.”

With deep reverence for both volleyball and his team, the LBSU team captain represents what it means to be an inspiring athlete. 

Varga leads by example, Knipe said, showing his teammates the ways a top competitor must take care of his own health, training and education through his own daily practices. 

“He’s incredible, he’s our captain– he’s, in a lot of ways, our leader,” Knipe said. “As good of a volleyball player he is, he’s an even better human and teammate.”

The NCAA hosts 24 sports in a final, single-elimination tournament to mark the end of their respective seasons — and beach volleyball is no exception.

Just because March has passed doesn’t mean the madness has.

Cal beach volleyball will be entering the NCAA tournament following its recent showing at the MPSF championship. The Bears finished the MPSF tournament with a heartbreaking and narrow 3-2 loss to No. 3 USC, which knocked Cal out of the tournament but allowed it to maintain its bid to the NCAA finals as the No. 10 seed, per the selection show Sunday.

The last game against the Trojans came down to the final set, with both pairs battling for every point.

The loss was determined on the fifth court where senior Ella Dreibholz and junior Jenna Colligan matched up against USC’s Madison Goeliner and Kaleigh Truslow. The first two sets were determined by extra points, the first going in Cal’s favor and the second going to the Trojans. USC, however, came out strong for the third set and held its lead to win the set and the game.

“Honestly, it is better to learn from those losses,” said sophomore Emma Donley. “We are ready to come at people now.”

Before the semifinal against the Trojans, the Bears twice beat No. 13 Grand Canyon and were swept by No. 1 UCLA.

No. 2 Stanford upset the Bruins 3-1 to advance to the tournament final, where it earned the conference’s first-ever title in a 3-2 win over USC. UCLA has consistently been ranked first in the nation throughout the season, with this upset only proving the true threat of all the teams entering the NCAA tournament from the West Coast.

After returning to Berkeley for the weekend, Cal heads back on the road for its final and farthest trip for the NCAA tournament. This is the Bears’ fourth consecutive appearance in the tournament, having exited in the second round last year.

Cal is set to face off against No. 7 Texas on Friday, whom it has played twice for a 2-3 loss and then a 3-2 win in March. Despite being familiar foes, the Longhorns will be a tough matchup — not just because they are seeking redemption, but because they are hot off of a Coastal Collegiate Sports Association conference championship win against No. 8 Florida State whom they swept for the title.

The Bears have tried to assert their potential at winning a national title all season, but have continued to fall short in some key moments and had some unlucky finishes in notable losses against Stanford, USC and Texas. Nonetheless, the team is putting their all into finishing off this season on a deserving note.

“Cal hasn’t ever won past the second rounds of NCAA,” Donley said. “I think it would be a huge thing, even if it doesn’t mean winning, just being able to make that milestone.”

Donley and her partner junior Portia Sherman remain the top of the lineup at court one, with little changes being made to the roster since the Hawaii Invitational about two weeks ago.

The Bears have three days to practice in Alabama before taking the courts Friday, sorting out last-minute adjustments and adapting to the conditions 2,367 miles away on an away court disadvantage.

Wind forecasts have been a huge factor for Cal this season because it gets less gusts at home pits than many of its opponents, especially those who regularly practice on an actual beach.

Cal’s first game starts at 11 a.m. May 2 and will be streamed on ESPN.

“I hope the team can show to other people how much effort and togetherness we have,” Donley said. “That’s what makes our team so great.”