GULF SHORES, Ala.— Claiming the inaugural Sun Belt Conference Beach Volleyball Championship Title for the 2023 season, No. 14-ranked Georgia State beach volleyball received an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship in Gulf Shores for a second consecutive season, as Sandy Panthers' head coach Beth Van Fleet and the team prepare to open the 2023 tournament facing No. 3-seeded, defending national champions Southern California on Friday, May 5.
Georgia State (20-16) looks to follow up a landmark season in 2022 that saw the team record a program-best 28-13 final record for the spring that included a pair of victories at the NCAA Tournament to advance to the Round of 6. The 2022 campaign saw the No. 10-seeded Sandy Panthers post victory over No. 7 seed Grand Canyon for the first round, then notch a win over No. 2 seed TCU in the second round of the tournament to mark the largest upset in NCAA collegiate beach volleyball tournament history.
The win facing the second-ranked Sandy Frogs would also serve as the first second-round victory for any team in the history of Georgia State athletics, as well as earn GSU a No. 7 overall ranking to conclude the 2022 season— the highest national ranking for any team in GSU sports history.
The Sandy Panthers earned the No. 14 seed for the 2023 championship after blanking Coastal Carolina, 3-0, in the SBC title match to secure 20 total wins for a seventh consecutive season. GSU posted four consecutive sweeps in dual match play at the conference tournament in Huntsville, Ala., winning in straight sets for all fourteen flight-victories over the course of the tournament.
The NCAA tournament bid marks the third appearance for GSU at the NCAA Championship, and the fourth appearance in total for national tournament play (GSU participated in the 2015 AVCA National Championships prior to beach volleyball becoming an officially recognized NCAA collegiate sport.)
Now in her 10th season as head coach at GSU, Van Fleet has guided the team to 10 consecutive winning seasons. 2023 saw the Sandy Panthers' head coach reach career win number 200 following the team's victory over Arizona State on March 25.
Van Fleet was named the Sun Belt Conference's 2023 Coach of the Year after leading GSU to its latest 20-win season in a year that saw the team face 21 nationally ranked opponents for the spring. Van Fleet coached three different Sandy Panthers' pairs to a total of four Sun Belt Pair of the Week nods for the season.
In addition to the Coach of the Year accolade, top-flight pair Angel Ferary and Bella Ferary were named the Sun Belt Conference Pair of the Year for 2023. The sisters also received All-Sun Belt First-Team honors for the spring after charting 17 victories for regular-season competition to go with another two victories at the SBC tournament.
Highlighting the first-flight duo's season this spring were consecutive victories at Manhattan Beach on April 1 facing top pairs from No. 3 USC and No. 2 UCLA. The sisters' win over top-flight pair Megan Kraft and Delaynie Maple of No. 3 USC marked the first and only loss to date for the No. 3-ranked Trojans' top pair in 2023.
Junior Lila Bordis earned the Sun Belt's 2023 Newcomer of the Year Award after securing 17 wins for the regular season pairing alongside teammate Yasmin Kuck at the second and third flights. Bordis currently stands at 20 wins for the spring following the SBC tournament in Huntsville last weekend.
Fifth-year Maddy Delmonte and sophomore Ayla Johnson rounded out the team's 2023 honorees, as the pair received All-Sun Belt Second-Team honors after notching 19 victories at the fourth and fifth flights this spring. The duo earned SBC Pair of the Week honors in consecutive weeks after notching back-to-back unbeaten 4-0 performances in dual match competition to close the regular season.
Delmonte reached 80 career victories this spring after securing a win over No. 20 Stetson on April 7. The fifth-year graduate currently touts 90 total victories for GSU— just two wins shy of the program-high 92 win mark set by Brooke Weiner in 2019.
Joining Delmonte in securing 80 career wins, fifth-year Kelly Dorn would also hit the 80 win mark following a win over No. 20 Arizona on April 16, while Bella Ferary earned career win number 80 with a victory at the top flight facing Coastal Carolina in last weekend's SBC Championship.
In just her third season with the Sandy Panthers, the junior reaches the 80 win milestone with a full season of eligibility remaining. Sister Angel Ferary currently charts 75 career wins for her tenure at GSU.
No. 14 seed GSU will open NCAA Championship play facing the No. 3-seeded USC Trojans on Friday, May 5. Southern California (28-5) is making its seventh appearance at the NCAA Championship having earned a bid to the national tournament in every season since 2014.
GSU previously fell to USC, 4-1, at East Meets West in Manhattan Beach on April 1.
This season's tournament will feature a 17-team field and begin with an opening-round matchup on Wednesday. The single-elimination round will follow on Friday, with its eight winners advancing to the double-elimination bracket on May 6-7.
The Sandy Panthers' first-round matchup in Gulf Shores will be contested at Gulf Beach Place outside The Hangout and hosted by the City of Gulf Shores, University of Alabama at Birmingham and Gulf Shores | Orange Beach Sports and Events. The dual match outing will be nationally televised on ESPNU with coverage of the entire event beginning at 10 a.m. ET on Friday.
For additional information regarding the 2023 NCAA Championship, visit the tournament's champ info page on NCAA.com.
Follow Georgia State beach volleyball on social media (@GSUBeachVb) for news and updates as the team nears this week's NCAA tournament beginning May 5.
