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NCAA National Championship Bracket

GULF SHORES, Ala. - The inaugural 2016 NCAA National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship kicks off Friday in Gulf Shores, Ala. with No. 1-seed Florida State taking on No. 8 Stetson at 10 a.m. ET, before No. 7-seed Georgia State will face No. 2-seed Southern California in the first round at noon ET.

The players and coaches took to the beach Thursday morning for their first practice on the match courts before posing for pictures and talking with members of the Turner Sports broadcast crew.

The day continued at the Hangout, a popular stop for beach goers in the Gulf Shores community, as all eight teams participated in an hour long autograph session. Teams later returned to the Hangout later in the evening for the championship banquet signaling the official start to Friday's first day of competition.

Every match of the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship will be streamed live on NCAA.com. The afternoon matches on Friday beginning at 2 p.m. CT and four matches on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. CT will all air live on truTV. The championship final on Sunday, May 8 will be broadcast live on TBS beginning at 1 p.m. CT.

The winner of the Florida State/Stetson match will advance to the winner's bracket and play the winner of No. 4 UCLA and No. 5 Hawaii on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. CT on truTV. The loser of the match will face the loser of UCLA/Hawaii on Friday at 1 p.m. CT in an elimination match.

Georgia State is on the other end of the bracket taking on No. 2 Southern California. The team is excited to compete among the nation's best. 

"This is an incredibly special team with clearly defined goal and big dreams," head coach Beth Van Fleet said. "We are so honored to represent the east coast schools and are looking forward to competing on the biggest stage."

Georgia State finished the season with a 25-8 record and advanced all the way to the title match against Florida State at last week's Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) Tournament.