LEXINGTON, Ky. — Melanie Paul and Vilhelmiina Prihti of LMU beach volleyball players have been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association's (AVCA) 11th annual Collegiate Beach All-America Teams. For the third time consecutive season, LMU has had the ones pair named to All-America teams. This year, the first and second teams include 16 members each, and the 32 players honored represent 15 schools.
 
WCC Pair of the Year Paul and Prihti went 22-9 this season as the ones pair for LMU. This is Paul's second time earning All-American status, but first with the Lions. Last season Paul was a second-team All-American while competing for Pepperdine. Prihti is the lone sophomore on the All-American team, with the other 15 members being juniors, seniors, or grad students. In total, only three underclassmen make up the 32 selections between the first and second team.

"Melanie and V have been such great leaders for our program all season," said Head Coach John Mayer. "They are both so focused at weights, practice, film and in all phases of life. They are constantly striving for excellence and push us all to be better. I'm so proud of the season they've had as it hasn't always been easy, but they've continued to grow and learn. A huge contributor to their growth is their head coach Angie Akers. She's invested and put in so many hours to helping guide them to be the best they can be. Huge congrats to Mel, V and Angie!"

The recipients of the 2023 AVCA Pair of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Assistant Coach of the Year awards will be announced Monday, May 8, following the conclusion of the National Collegiate Beach Championship.
 
The awards selections were made by the AVCA Collegiate Beach All-America Committee: Beth Van Fleet of Georgia State (chair), Andrew Fuller of Stanford, Hector Gutierrez of TCU, Kristina Hernandez of Stetson, Darin Van Horn of UT Chattanooga, and Allison Voigt of Boise State. 

Coming off a fourth-consecutive West Coast Conference Championships, the Lions are back in Gulf Shores, Ala., to compete in the NCAA Championships on May 5-7. The Lions open the National Championships on Friday as the six-seed and will face 11-seed Hawai'I in an opening round matchup. The dual is scheduled to begin at 4:00 PM CST, which is 2:00 PM back in Los Angeles. The opening round matchups will air on ESPNU and ESPN Plus. This year's tournament is a single elimination style bracket with the winners advancing and the teams that lose ending their seasons.
 
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