GULF SHORES, Fla. – The Saint Leo University Beach Volleyball team opened play with 2026 AVCA Small College Beach Volleyball Championships on Friday. The Lions earned the 7-seed in Pool B, taking on Wingate and Erskine on day one. Saint Leo use a pair of quick  decisions to go 2-0 in Pool Play. Josie Villareal and Abrie Green took home a championship with a Pool C Pairs Challenge win.

The Lions opened the day taking on Wingate. Abby VanBuskirk and Paige Reeves got off to a hot start putting the Lions up 1-0. After Wingate tied the match at 1-1, Saint Leo's two pair of Anna Intagliata and Madison Moore battled to a straight set victory for the 2-1 lead. Emma Laade and Thalie Brossard ended the match with a win as the number one pair. Saint Leo defeated Wingate 3-1.

The second match of the day pitted the Lions against the Erskine Flying Fleet. Courts one, two, and three all earned wins to defeat the Flying Fleet, 3-0. The match opened with a win at court two by Intagliata and Moore. Laade and Brossard put the Lions up 2-0. The match was clinched by Paula Perez Rosales and Erin Johnson on court three.

The Pairs Challenge gave Josie Villareal and Abrie Green a pair of matches. First up was a straight set win over Southern Virginia. After about a three hour wait, the duo was back to take on Carson-Newman in the finals of Pool C. The opening set was a bit of back-and-forth through the beginning before the Lions began to separate before clinching the first set. The final set saw the Lions go up big early but the Eagles were did not go down without a fight as the lead evaporated at 15-15. They battled through the end and earned the win in straight sets.

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Saint Leo will return to pool play on Saturday to take on the Mckendree and Colorado Mesa.