CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – The Southeastern Louisiana University beach volleyball team finished day one of the 2026 Southland Conference Beach Volleyball Championship Tournament with a historic 2-0 outing Wednesday afternoon at Water's Edge Park.
Southeastern (17-14, 4-2 SLC) closed out the opening day of the tournament undefeated as the squad extended its two-match winning streak. SLU ended the day on a historic run, claiming two postseason wins, the most in program history.
The Sandy Lions gained a dominant 3-0 victory over conference rival Nicholls (8-22, 0-6 SLC) to start the day in the sand. Southeastern came out to a hot start as SLC All-Conference (Second Team) selections Makayla Hicks and Cadie Kusy claimed a 21-9, 21-12 win to set the tone against the Colonels, 1-0. Nicholls' pair two battled to equalize the match, but Mia McKinney and Maggie Paiva locked in to secure a 21-9, 21-12 victory, 2-0.
SLU maintained its momentum late in the midway through the match as Mia Sauers and Gabriela Hrubanova took care of business with a 21-14, 21-11 win, 3-0. The green and gold recorded its fourth victory against the seventh-seed Colonels this season to advance to the second round of the tournament.
Southeastern returned to the sand later in the afternoon posting a 3-0 win over third-seed McNeese (22-6, 4-2 SLC) to close out the day. The Sandy Lions came out to a slow start, but recovered down the stretch as McKinney and Paiva claimed a tough 23-21, 21-19 victory. The Cowgirls' pair four weathered the storm to force three-sets down the stretch, but Hicks and Kusy kept their composure to secure a hard-fought 23-21, 17-21, 15-7 win.
McNeese refused to back down as its pair five fought to cut into its deficit, forcing the match into three-sets. Second team All-Conference selections Elizabeth Hardouin and Geneiveve Schubert stepped up for Southeastern to rally back and gain a 13-21, 21-17, 15-11 victory to seal the deal.
The Sandy Lions will return to the sand Thursday at 1 p.m. to face No.1 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the semifinals match. Thursday's match against the Islanders will be streamed on ESPN+ and all matches will be hosted at the Water's Edge Park.
Wednesday's Results:
GOLDEN SAND CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the Southeastern beach volleyball program are encouraged to join the Golden Sand Club. Lion beach volleyball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
All membership fees and donations to the Golden Sand Club are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern beach volleyball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.lionsports.net/sports/2026/1/29/golden-sand-club.aspx.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lady Lions Volleyball, follow @LionUpBeach on Twitter, @LionUpBeach on Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
