The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Beach Volleyball Reveals Slate for 2025
1/23/2025 1:42 PM | Beach Volleyball
Utes to participate in eight invites before Big 12 Championship in April
SALT LAKE CITY – University of Utah beach volleyball head coach Brenda Whicker has officially announced her program's schedule for 2025 and it includes eight regular season tournaments, including one at home, before the squad heads to Fort Worth, Texas on April 24-25 for the Big 12 Beach Volleyball Tournament.
"This is the most experienced team we've had and I feel like we are ready to take on our most challenging schedule yet," said Whicker, who enters her eighth season at the helm. "We return six of the 10 who competed for us last year, and five are seniors. This group has some strong chemistry and leadership. I'm excited to see how they come together this season."
The Utes will be diving into a slate that will pit them against eight squads who ended 2024 either ranked or receiving votes, as well as a tournament hosted by No. 4 Stanford and one played at the home of a Tulane team that ended the year just outside the top 20. Whicker's team will be visiting five different states in 2025 while also hosting the Utah Beach Classic in Salt Lake City on March 28 and 29.
For the second straight year, Utah will kick off the campaign in Davis, Calif., where, on Feb. 22 and 23, they'll take on the UC Davis Aggies and the Santa Clara Broncos sandwiched around two tilts against San Jose State. The Utes will follow that with trip to Miami for a tournament hosted by FIU, which is set for Feb. 28 and March 1, before traveling to back to The Golden State, where CSUN will hold an invitational on March 7-8.
On March 14-15, Whicker will take her team to Stanford for the first time since they made two trips there in 2023. The Utes will follow that with two days of competition on Tulane's home courts on March 22-23 before hosting their only home tournament a week later.
Utah is scheduled to hold the Utah Beach Classic on March 28-29, where they'll take on UC Davis and Boise State on day one and Arizona and Oregon on day two. The Utes will be trying to extend a win streak that includes five straight successful defenses of their home turf.
After the conclusion of the Utah Beach Classic, the Utes will travel to Tucson and Los Angeles for their last two weekends of regular season play before heading south for the first-ever Big 12 Beach Volleyball Tournament, which will be hosted by TCU. The final event on the schedule for the Utes is the NCAA National Championships, which is scheduled to take place on May 2-4 in Huntington Beach, Calif.
"This will be our first year competing in the Big 12 Conference, and we are honored they chose to support beach volleyball," Whicker added. "We know it's going to be a tough season and we will face many challenges but I can't think of a better group of women to do it with."
