BERKELEY – The California beach volleyball team is going dancing for the fourth straight year after earning an NCAA Championship berth Sunday morning. The No. 10 Golden Bears (27-9) will face seventh-seeded Texas (27-9) in the first round Friday at 11 a.m. PT in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
 
Cal has won two straight opening-round duals defeating Long Beach State in both 2023 and 2024, while the Longhorns will be making their first NCAA Championship appearance. The two programs met twice this year and split the season series 1-1. The Bears handed Texas its first home loss of the season on March 21 winning in walk-off fashion 3-2.
 
On the other side of the bracket lies a first-round matchup between No. 2 TCU and No. 15 Georgia State.
 
The 16-team, single-elimination tournament will be televised on the ESPN family of networks and live stream coverage of all five courts will be available on ESPN+.