The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Grand Canyon
No. 4 Beach Volleyball splits day two of Death Volley Invitational
03.21.2026 | Beach Volleyball
Longhorns record three ranked wins in Baton Rouge; return to Austin for March 27-28 invitational.
BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 4 Texas Beach Volleyball finished the Death Volley Invitational with a 3-2 win over No. 16 Grand Canyon and a 2-3 loss to No. 9 California on Saturday at LSU Beach Volleyball Stadium, improving to 13-5 overall. The Longhorns concluded the tournament with three victories over ranked opponents.
Texas remained undefeated against Grand Canyon this season, securing the win on Court 2 when Emma Grace Robertson and Lily Davis defeated Katie Keefe and Sarah Edler 21-14, 21-17 to clinch the match.
The Longhorns fell 2-3 to California despite holding a 2-1 lead. Wins came from Eva Liisa Kuivonen and Chloe Charles on Court 4 and Robertson and Davis on Court 2, but the Golden Bears sealed the match on Court 1 with a victory over Brecht Piersma and Katie Hashman. Texas now holds a 2-1 record against California this season.
Next up, Texas returns to Austin to host the highly competitive Texas Invitational on March 27-28. The Longhorns will face several of the nation's top programs — No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Stanford, No. 5 USC and No. 11 Long Beach State. The invitational will also include No. 12 LSU, No. 14 Florida Atlantic and No. 17 North Florida. Texas matches will be held at the Wright-Whitaker Sports Complex, while all other matches in the event will be played at ATX Beach.
#4 Texas 3, #16 GCU 2
- Karynn Garrow / Becca Drake (GCU) def. Brecht Piersma / Katie Hashman (TEX) 21-13, 21-18
- Emma Grace Robertson / Lily Davis (TEX) def. Katie Keefe / Sarah Edler (GCU) 21-14, 21-17
- Rhea Kohl/ Mae Manthe (GCU) def. Macey Butler / Devin Kahahawai (TEX) 21-15, 19-21, 15-9
- Ella Keeven/ Chloe Charles (TEX) def. Youna Coens / Isabelle Tucker (GCU) 21-13, 21-14
- Vivian Johnson/ Karin Zolnercikova (TEX) def. Jessica Drake / Jordyn Decker (GCU) 21-14, 21-18
Order of finish: 5, 4, 2, 1, 3
#9 California 3, #4 Texas 2
- Portia Sherman / Emma Donley (CAL) def. Brecht Piersma / Katie Hashman (TEX) 15-21, 21-19, 19-17
- Emma Grace Robertson / Lily Davis (TEX) def. Marilu Pally / Grace Hong (CAL) 27-25, 21-16
- Ava Haughy / Gia Fisher (CAL) def. Macey Butler / Devin Kahahawai (TEX) 21-17, 18-21, 15-11
- Eva Liisa Kuivonen / Chloe Charles (TEX) def. Elle Evers/ Sofia Williams (CAL) 21-14, 21-13
- Mila Vugrincic / Jenna Colligan (CAL) def. Vivian Johnson / Karin Zolnercikova (TEX) 21-18, 21-18
Order of finish: 4, 5, 2, 3, 1
