Two Beach Volleyball Pairs Earn AVCA Top Flight Honors

5/23/2023 11:35:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball

Malia Gementera and Taylor Hagenah along with Natalie Glenn and Maggie Walters garnered the award.

By: Collin Robinson, Associate Director of Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State had two pairs awarded the AVCA's Top Flight Award for the 2023 season. Malia Gementera and Taylor Hagenah earned it for both flights two and three while Natalie Glenn and Maggie Walters earned it in flight five.

The Big West Co-Freshman of the Year, Gementera and Hagenah enjoyed a historic rookie season at the Beach. After going 12-6 in flight number three, they were promoted to flight two where they improved to a 16-1 mark earning a bump up to the top flight heading into the postseason. They finished the year as the all-time record holders for single-season individual and pairs victories as the only athletes to surpass the 30-win mark.

Glenn and Walters were also tremendous in their first years at the Beach, combining for a 12-3 mark in flight number five before moving up and playing with different partners the rest of the season. For the year, they finished with 27 and 22 individual wins, respectively.

The Top Flight program, in its fifth year, recognizes beach pairs who compete in at least 15 matches together at a specific flight and win at least 75% of their matches.