HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (November 5, 2024) – The University of North Alabama beach volleyball team took home seven total wins and an at-large bid to the AVCA National Championships in this past weekend's AVCA Pairs Qualifiers in Huntsville.
The Lions competed against some familiar foes with hopes to secure a bid in the national tournament later this month. Sending three pairs, UNA took home four wins in pool play before making into the full bid bracket. Three more wins came in bracket play from the pairs, with North Alabama cementing sixth, 12th and 14th finishes in the weekend tournament.
North Alabama's pair of senior Ryenne Gepford and junior Selma Robinson took home the sixth-place finish, also earning the at-large bid to return to Huntsville for the national tournament. Robinson makes her second appearance at the tournament, marking the second-straight year that a UNA pair competes at the championships. Her, along with former UNA Beach Volleyball standouts Mackenzie Martin, Taylor Seney and Paula Klemperer, competed at the tournament last season, with Klemperer and Seney finishing 23rd and Martin and Robinson finishing 29th.
Sophomore Aurora Bibolotti and freshman Mabrey Whitehead took home a 12th-place finish this weekend, while the rookie/vet pairing of graduate Kaitlyn Holbrook and freshman Pien Grooters finished 14th.
Recapping the matches, Robinson and Gepford went 2-0 in pool play, defeating Austin Peay's Alyson Cooper and Jordan Morris, 21-13, 21-5, and UT Martin's Olivia O'Keefe and Riley Rushing, 21-19, 21-14. The two opened bracket play with a 21-13, 24-22 triumph over Mercer's Sydney Benson and Lexi Polychrones but fell to the Bear's Kathryn Corbett and Liv Diaz in the ensuing round, 21-19, 21-17.
Robinson and Gepford rebounded with a three-set battle in the fifth-place bracket, coming back to win 22-24, 21-17, 15-9 over UAB's Isabel Day and Klea Sirois. In the final, the two took on Sun Belt powerhouse Georgia State but fell in three sets to Savannah Ebarb and Destiny White, 21-14, 19-21, 15-8.
Bibolotti and Whitehead began with an opening win in pool play, defeating Central Arkansas's Katie Atkinson and Naya Tan, 21-10, 21-16. The second match was a battle, but the two narrowly fell in a 21-17, 16-21, 16-14 loss to Southeastern Louisiana's Gabriela Hrubanova and Maggie Paiva. They would advance to bracket play, but the two were defeated in the opener to Tulane's McKenzie Cutler and Emily Heintzelman, 21-8, 21-7.
The pair continued on in the 9th-place bracket and opened play with a 21-19, 17-21, 15-13 win in a rematch over Southeastern Louisiana's Hrubanova and Paiva. The next match resulted in Mercer's Benson and Polychrones defeating Bibolotti and Whitehead, 19-21, 21-16, 20-18, with the two rounding out the tournament with a 21-13, 18-21, 15-10 defeat to Central Arkansas's Anna Linskey and Riley Melton.
Grooters and Holbrook took one win from pool play in day one of the tournament, using three sets to defeat EKU's Emily-Kate Lonergan and Paityn Walker, 18-21, 21-14, 15-5. The pairing played UAB's Day and Sirois close in the second pool play match, but the two fell in a 21-18, 21-19 bout.
In bracket play, Grooters and Holbrook fell in the opening match to Georgia State's Ebarb and White, 21-10, 21-16. The pair moved on to the 9th-place bracket, but they were defeated by Tulane's Skylar Ensign and Giselle Gallegos, 21-12, 21-14.
They would play the next match against Southern Miss's Kitija Martini and Zuzanna Michalska, earning a second win in a 21-18, 16-21, 15-12 victory. The final match for Grooters and Holbrook saw the two narrowly defeated by Southeastern Louisiana's Ysabella Lockwood and Mia Sauers.
UP NEXT
North Alabama preps for two outings Nov. 9-10, first having the Purple/White/Gold Intrasquad match on Nov. 9 at the UNA Beach Volleyball Courts. Following the action, the Lions will take on UT Martin in two matches at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
