Catawba College of North Carolina edged Wayne State 3-2 Sunday afternoon in the title match of the Copper Bracket at the 2026 AVCA Small College Beach Volleyball Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The Wildcats end the year at 12-8, going 2-4 at the AVCA Tournament, while the Indians have an 11-19 record.
Three of the five matches went all three sets, with a fourth needing extra points in the second set to determine a winner.
Wayne State's No. 3 pairing of Reese Johnson and Mattie Kamery recorded a win in extra points over Catawba's Peyton Fendley and Sidney Kettelkamp 21-15, 22-20 to end the AVCA Championships with four straight wins.
The other Wildcat victory came from the No. 2 duo of Channatee Robles and Chloe Hanel, who rallied for an 18-21, 21-11, 15-11 win over Lily Landis and Eliza Liva of Catawba.
Wayne State's No. 4 and No. 5 pairings both saw their matches go all three sets before Catawba came back in the third set to post wins. Ella Myler and Molly Romano in the No. 4 spot suffered a 21-17, 12-21, 15-7 defeat to Alleigh Johnson and Valentina Rodriguez from Catawba, while in the No. 5 match it was Mia Berg and Delaney Miller falling 23-21, 19-21, 15-8 to Lauren Bodell and Mae Henning of Catawba.
The other result in the No. 1 pairing saw Wayne State's Taylor Bunjer and Anna Borner fall 21-17, 21-13 to Emma Christensen and Marcella Hermont from Catawba.
Wayne State ends the 2026 season with a winning record in beach volleyball for the fifth straight season, finishing at 12-8 overall.
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Wayne State College
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