EL PASO, Texas – UTEP beach volleyball heads to Youngsville, Louisiana, for the 2026 Conference USA Championship, set for April 23–25 at Sugar Beach. The Miners (7-19, 3-4 CUSA) enter as the No. 7 seed and will face No. 2 seed UAB (24-9, 5-0 CUSA) in the opening round on Thursday at 9 a.m. MT / 10 a.m. CT.

UTEP meets UAB in the tournament opener for the second straight season, looking to build on a year highlighted by a pair of 5-0 sweeps over Sam Houston and a key 3-2 victory against Tarleton State. The Miners also faced UAB twice this season, falling 5-0 in both contests, and will aim to flip the result at Sugar Beach.

The 2026 Conference USA Beach Volleyball Championship begins competition from Thursday to Saturday in Youngsville, La., hosted by CUSA and the city of Youngsville at the Youngsville Sports Complex (Sugar Beach). The event will feature all nine CUSA beach volleyball programs.  

The three-day event opens with eight matches on Thursday beginning at 8:30 a.m. CT with eight-seed Tarleton State taking on nine-seed Sam Houston. The format is a double-elimination bracket with a single-elimination championship match. Friday will feature six matches, followed by two matches on Championship Saturday with the final scheduled for 11:30 a.m. CT. All matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.  

Heading into the championship, three CUSA teams appear in the latest AVCA national rankings: 
Florida Atlantic (19)
UAB and Tulane (RV) 

The conference championship match is slated for 11:30 a.m. CT on Saturday, April 25.  

2026 Conference USA Beach Volleyball Championship
April 23-25 – Youngsville, LA (Hosted by CUSA and Sugar Beach)  

BVB Championship Central 

Give a gift to UTEP Beach Volleyball by donating to the BVB Gift Fund.

For complete coverage of UTEP Beach Volleyball, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at UTEP Beach Volleyball (Facebook), @utepbeachvb (Instagram) and @UTEPBeachVB (X) or visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at UTEPMiners.com.