HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (November 17, 2024) – The University of North Alabama beach volleyball team's Ryenne Gepford and Selma Robinson left with two wins from this weekend's AVCA Pairs National Championships in Huntsville.The final event of the beach volleyball fall season, the UNA pair competed as one of the top pairs in the country in a deep playing field of NCAA Division I programs. Gepford and Robinson started slow, but they found their groove in bracket play to the tune of two wins in the final four matches. The pair defeated UT Martin and Mercer in the consolation brackets, finishing in 54th place as the two look on to the 2025 championship season.
Opening in pool play, the two dropped consecutive matchups in battles against Florida State and Georgia State.
Gepford and Robinson first faced the Seminole's Alexis Durish and Bailey Higgins, dropping the first set, 21-17, before responding with a 21-17 set win of their own. The deciding set went in favor of the FSU pair, taking the match with a 15-10 third set.
The second match against Georgia State's Savannah Ebarb and Destiny White opened with a 21-11 win towards the Panthers pair. Gepford and Robinson answered back with a stronger second set before narrowly falling in the second set, 21-19.
Heading into the main bracket, the UNA pair nabbed it's first win in the opener against UT Martin's Olivia O'Keefe and Riley Rushing. It was a straight-set victory for Gepford and Robinson, starting with a solid 21-14 first set before a stronger 21-8 second set. The next match would come against FGCU's Nicole De Oliveira and Kaitlyn Luebbers, falling in a competitive 21-17, 23-21 bout.
The ensuing match resulted in the pair's second win, beating Kathryn Corbett and Liv Diaz of Mercer, 21-15, 21-14. The next round came against UAB's Isabel Day and Klea Sirois, with the opening set resulting in a marathon. Seventy points were played between the two pairs, but the Blazers duo secured the opening win in exciting fashion, 36-34. The second set played to the normal 21-point limit, but Gepford and Robinson would fall short with a 21-16 defeat.
Gepford and Robinson will play a key role in the Lions' 2025 spring season, looking to build on the program-record season from 2024. With reigning Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year Kaleb VanDePerre at the helm, North Alabama looks to tech new heights with the season only months away.
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