Two Southern California natives announced Thursday they are teaming up to chase gold in beach volleyball during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.  World champion and two-time Olympian Kelly Cheng and former USC teammate Megan Kraft have set their sights on qualifying for the 2028 Olympics.

“Everything has been like a whirlwind, but in the best way,” Kraft said. “I’m just really excited for it to keep going.”

The new partners were All-Americans and won multiple NCAA national titles while they competed for the Trojans.

The two share a love for their alma mater and have faith in one another.

“Beach volleyball is like (a) marriage between partners,” Cheng said. “I feel like Meg has had to make a lot of very big decisions. She’s 23, and I’ve just been absolutely impressed (by) how she’s handled every step of the way.”

Cheng, from Fullerton, and Kraft, from San Diego, want to compete in front of a home crowd and play on a global stage.

“I think you’ll see it on the court, the joy of the way we play and pursuing this, not just for ourselves individually, but for each other and for our team and for the United States,” Cheng said. “I think it’s so much bigger than just the two of us.”

Beach volleyball will be played at Alamitos Beach Stadium in Long Beach during the 2028 Games.

24 women’s teams will qualify for beach volleyball. As a host nation, the U.S. is guaranteed one team, with the possibility of qualifying a second team.

TUCSON, Ariz. – The Arizona Beach Volleyball team has announced its 2026 schedule. Arizona’s will host three regular season home tournaments and the Big 12 Championship. 

The season opens at home with a Red vs. Blue scrimmage on Feb. 13 in Tucson, giving fans an early look at the Wildcats. Arizona then heads to Phoenix for the Lopes Invitational hosted by Grand Canyon on Feb. 20-21, where the Wildcats will face TCU, GCU, UC Davis, and Colorado Mesa.

The Wildcats return home to host the Cactus Classic on Feb. 27-28 at Bear Down Beach, welcoming UTEP, Arizona State, Oregon, and Georgia State. Arizona continues conference and non-conference play the following weekend at the Sun Devil Classic in Tempe March 6-7 against Southern Mississippi, Nebraska, Arizona State, and Arizona Christian.

Mid-March sends Arizona to California for the Mustang Roundup hosted by Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo March 13-14, with matches against Cal Poly, CSUN, Santa Clara, and UC Davis. The Wildcats then return to Tucson to host the Arizona Invitational March 20-21, facing Tarleton State, UTEP, Missouri State, and San Francisco.

Arizona will travel to Fort Worth, Texas for the Big 12 Preview hosted by TCU March 27-28, competing against a strong field that includes TCU, Arizona State, Boise State, South Carolina, and Florida State. The Wildcats are back home April 3-4 for the Wildcat Spring Challenge, hosting South Carolina, FGCU, Colorado Mesa, and Hawaii, with Saturday’s matches marking senior day.

The regular season wraps up on the road at the NOLA Classic hosted by Tulane April 17-18 in New Orleans, Louisiana, where Arizona will face Tulane, Louisiana Monroe, New Orleans, and Florida International. Postseason play begins in Tucson as Arizona hosts the Big 12 Championship April 23-24. The Wildcats will look to advance to the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships, scheduled for May 1-3 in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

 

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. –  The UC Santa Barbara Men’s Volleyball team served off their 2026 campaign with a victory over Kentucky State, taking down the Thorobreds 3-0 on Thursday afternoon in their first match of the ASICS Invitational.

Redshirt freshman Raglan Kear took to the court for the first time in his collegiate career and crushed, leading the team with six kills and two block assists. Veteran Owen Loncar also launched six kills, and both hit .455. 

Ben Pearson followed up with four kills as well as three service aces, tying his career high in the stat. The team as a whole totaled 11 aces. Cole Schobel tossed 19 assists and led the team in digs with seven. 

Santa Barbara put up six block assists and George Bruening locked a solo block. Andreas Schuetz matched Kear’s two assists and had two aces of his own. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

After leading for the entirety of the set, the Gauchos emerged from the first 25-14. The Thorobreds stayed within reasonable distance through 10-6, but the Gauchos made headway and ended the set with an 11-point lead. 

Kentucky State also stayed tight through the second set’s first era, but by 17-10, Santa Barbara had made their move. The Thorobreds only scored three more points before the Gauchos claimed the set 25-13. 

The Gauchos secured their highest win margin in the third, clinching it 25-12. With a 17-11 lead, the Blue and Gold went on a seven-point run that forged their way to victory.

UP NEXT

The Gauchos continue their Robertson Gymnasium-based tournament, facing Maryville University on Friday, Jan. 9 at 4:30 and Harvard on Saturday, Jan 10 at 7:00 p.m.

Box Score

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard Men’s Volleyball opened its 2025 season with a loss to UC Irvine on Thursday night at the ASICS Tournament, hosted by UC Santa Barbara.

The Crimson showed flashes of offensive efficiency throughout the match, highlighted by a strong second set in which Harvard finished with a .360 kill percentage. Sawyer Nichols led the team with six kills, while Quinn Bishop followed with five to pace the attack.

Zach Berty, Brian Thomas, and Owen Woolbert also contributed offensively, each recording multiple kills as Harvard spread production across the lineup. One of the Crimson’s key strengths on the night was its ability to navigate UC Irvine’s block, with swings frequently deflecting off the hands for out-of-bounds points and helping extend rallies.

The match also marked the first career appearances for Eric Su and Kai Gan, who both saw action in the season opener. Adrian Shevchuk delivered a strong performance at setter, effectively distributing the offense and keeping Harvard’s attack in rhythm throughout the match. Thomas Phung was a standout in the back row, making multiple vital saves to keep points alive and allow Harvard to stay competitive in extended rallies. 

Despite The Crimson’s best efforts, UC Irvine claimed the win in three sets.

Harvard Highlights

Harvard will look to carry forward its offensive efficiency and rally control as they face CSUN on Friday, January 9th at 5:00pm ET.

GOLETA, Calif. — Junior Jalen Phillips led all hitters with 15 kills and sophomore Hank Kaufman added a career-high 14 as CSUN opened the 2026 season with a four-set victory over Maryville (Mo.) at the Asics Invitational on Thursday night at UCSB’s Rob Gym.

The Matadors pulled away late to win 25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21, hitting an efficient .318 (50-16-107) as a team. Sophomore Owen Douphner made his first career start at setter and posted 39 assists, three kills, four digs, one ace, and one block.

CSUN was out-aced (5-3) and out-blocked (6-5) by the Saints, but wound up posting 37 team digs to 34 for Maryville. The Matadors, who totaled 50 kills to the Saints’ 49, also forced Maryville into 22 hitting errors as the Saints hit .235 (49-22-115) as a team. 

Phillips, who finished with a match-high 18.0 points, hit .300 on 30 swings and was effective from the service line with one ace. Kaufman hit .429 on 28 swings to go with four digs and a pair of assists. Sophomore Joao Avila added nine kills (.250), and Shane Nhem chipped in seven kills on 14 errorless swings to hit .500.

CSUN controlled the first two sets behind a balanced offense and steady sideout play, then responded after Maryville extended the match with a strong third set. The Matadors hit .217 in the fourth set while limiting the Saints to a .000 clip in the fourth to seal the win.

Maryville was led by Aiden Whitemountain and Makai Scott, who each had 10 kills to lead the Saints.

CSUN improves to 1-0 on the season, while Maryville dropped its opener to fall to 0-1.

HEAD COACH THEO EDWARDS SAID

“It’s nice to get the first one out of the way. Maryville is a fantastic team; they did some really nice things and challenged us. Hank (Kaufman) was fantastic, hitting over .400 and Shane (Nhem) was really efficient and at times had some really nice blocks at the net. I felt that Jalen (Phillips) was good too, especially coming off an injury, he hit .300 and looked at times like himself, which was nice to see.”

UP NEXT

CSUN plays its second match of the 2026 Asics Invitational on Friday, taking on Harvard at 2 p.m. at Rob Gym on the UCSB campus.

#GoMatadors