BATON ROUGE, La. (February 27, 2025) – The North Alabama Beach Volleyball team is set for its second outing of the spring season with the Tiger Beach Challenge this weekend in Louisiana.
UNA is set for a rematch against the No. 10 Tigers before taking on Louisiana-Monroe and Southeastern Louisiana. The Lions also will face South Florida for the first time in program history, as USF is playing in its inaugural season in 2025.
UNA starts the morning of Feb. 28, opening against No. 10 LSU at 9:15 a.m. The Lions conclude day one with a 4:45 p.m. matchup against ULM. On March 1, day two begins against Southeastern Louisiana at 8 a.m. before capping the weekend versus South Florida at 11:45 a.m.
All four duals will be available for viewing via live stream, courtesy of VBTV. Fans can watch the matches free of charge by creating an account with VBTV.
Full results and a recap will be posted on RoarLions.com at the end of each day.
DUAL 1 INFO
Matchup: North Alabama at No. 10 LSU
Date: Friday, February 28
Time: 9:15 a.m.
Watch: VBTV
DUAL 2 INFO
Matchup: North Alabama vs. Louisiana Monroe
Date: Friday, February 28
Time: 4:45 p.m.
Watch: VBTV
DUAL 3 INFO
Matchup: North Alabama vs. Southeastern Louisiana
Date: Saturday, March 1
Time: 8 a.m.
Watch: VBTV
DUAL 4 INFO
Matchup: North Alabama vs South Florida
Date: Saturday, March 1
Time: 11:45 a.m.
Watch: VBTV
NOTES
SPRING 2024 RECAP: The 2024 campaign served as a record year for UNA Beach Volleyball, posting a 22-13 record and setting the new single-season program record for wins. The Lions defeated two Power Four opponents —Oregon and Nebraska — and earned the first win over a ranked opponent in program history with a win against No. 20 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The season was also a record year for postseason accolades with seven, including four first-team honorees in former standout pair Paula Klemperer and Taylor Seney, along with current mainstays Katy Floyd and Selma Robinson. VanDePerre was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year following the season – the first such award in UNA's Division I history across all sports.
FALL 2024 RECAP: The Lions competed in its second-ever fall season in 2024, prepping for the Spring season with six events across October and November. UNA won 23 matches in the month of action, appearing in three tournaments along with two duals against UT Martin. North Alabama also earned an at-large bid to the AVCA Pair National Championships in November, which saw senior Ryenne Gepford and junior Selma Robinson finish 54th in a field of top pairs from around the NCAA.
SCOUTING THE LIONS: Opening the 2025 season at the Beach Burg Invitational, North Alabama faced tough competition in No. 6 Florida State, No. 8 LSU, ASUN foe FGCU and host Southern Miss. The Lions took home a 4-1 win against the Golden Eagles but fell in competitive bouts to the rest of the field. Top-flight pair Katy Floyd and Selma Robinson tied teammates Ryenne Gepford and Pien Grooters with two wins each, with Gepford and Grooters taking a win against Florida State and Southern Miss. Floyd and Robinson gained their first win against the Golden Eagles along with one against FGCU. Third-flight pairing Paige Griner and Aurora Bibolotti picked up their first season win against Southern Miss, along with fourth-flight pairing Lucy Wedding and Hailey Benesz. Gepford also won her 50th career match with the victory against Southern Miss.
SCOUTING LSU: North Alabama opens the weekend against the Tigers, playing No. 10 LSU for the second-consecutive match. The Tigers have a 4-1 record on the season to start, playing in the Beach Burg Invitational to open their year. Seven individual players have at least four wins early on the season, led by Emily Meyer with five victories. Meyer and teammate Camryn Chatellier are 5-0 so far, all coming from the third flight. The head coach for the Tigers is Russell Brock.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE TIGERS: LSU leads the series, 4-0. North Alabama faced the Tigers in the opener at the Beach Burg Invite last week with LSU taking the dual, 5-0.
SCOUTING LOUISIANA-MONROE: The Warhawks and Lions face each other in the second dual of the invitational for both teams. Louisiana-Monroe enters with an early 3-1 record, earning three-straight wins to open the Coastal Carolina Invitational last time out. Prior to the season, the Warhawks were picked to finish seventh in the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Ten players have two or more wins, with pair Gracie Behneke and Zsa Zsa Ferguson leading with a perfect 4-0 record from the fourth flight. Louisiana-Monroe's head coach is Baylee Young.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE WARHAWKS: North Alabama and Louisiana Monroe meet for the third time ever and first since the 2022 season. The Warhawks won with a 3-2 victory in the first meeting in 2019, but the Lions earned their first win in 2022 with a 3-2 triumph.
SCOUTING SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA: Day two in Louisiana opens with North Alabama taking on the Lady Lions. Southeastern Louisiana enters with a 1-3 record on the season, taking home a win at the Tulane Invitational against New Orleans, 4-1. The Lady Lions were picked to finish sixth in the Southland Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Makayla Hicks and Mia Sauers leads the team with two pair wins, picking up wins against New Orleans and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the opening invitational. The head coach for the Lady Lions is Amy Blanke.
SERIES HISTORY VS. LADY LIONS: The fourth all-time meeting, North Alabama sports a perfect 3-0 record against Southeastern Louisiana. The first meeting led to a 3-2 win by UNA on March 4, 2023. UNA swept the most recent two with 5-0 wins.
SCOUTING SOUTH FLORIDA: The final dual of the weekend, North Alabama concludes the weekend in the first-ever matchup against South Florida. The Bulls are among the newest programs in the sport, with South Florida announcing the addition of Beach Volleyball on February 1, 2022. For the 2025-26 academic year, the Bulls will play in Conference USA as an affiliate member. In 2024, South Florida played its first-ever fall season, highlighted by hosting the Bulls Beach Bash Invitational on Oct. 26. The Bulls are led by Pri Piantadosi-Lima.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
