GULF SHORES, Ala.— Colorado Mesa University's record-setting beach volleyball season came to an end at the hands of the University of Tampa, which went on to win its third straight AVCA Small College Beach Championship on Saturday here at Gulf Shores Public Beach.
 
The Mavericks fell 3-0 in the quarterfinal round of the Gold Bracket as they finished the year with a 21-11 record and their most wins in program history.
 
The Spartans then went on to win the title with a 3-0 semifinal win over Palm Beach Atlantic and a 3-2 win over Concordia University Irvine in the title match.  The Spartans were seeded second in the tournament and have now won it five times, including four times in the last five years.
 
CMU went 3-2 throughout the 3-day tournament and suffered losses only to the top two seeds and the two tournament finalists as they had a tough draw.  The Mavs were seeded fourth out of the 18 teams and advanced to the Gold Bracket in all six of their tournament appearances since 2019.
 
Their 21 wins were two more than the 2023's team total of 19.  They had two different pairs that also ended up with 21 wins.
 
Senior Barett Nolan and sophomore Ania Swartzendruber finished 21-9 at No. 3 and were leading their match over Tampa's Madleynn Hokanson and Hailey Peterson by a 21-19, 16-12 margin when the Spartans clinched the dual.
 
CMU No. 2 pair Riley Daugherty and Lizzy Hood finished the year 21-10, but went down to defeat, 21-12, 21-18 at the hands of sisters Hailey and Nevaeh Wolfe on Saturday.
 
The Spartans also picked up wins at No. 1 and No. 4 in Saturday's victory.