Eight schools. 40 pairs. Three days. One trophy.

The inaugural NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship begins Friday at 10 a.m. ET. The committee awarded Florida State the top seed, with West Coast powerhouses USC and Pepperdine coming in at No. 2 and 3, respectively. Both USC and Pepperdine have AVCA national titles under their belts, but which team will earn the first-ever NCAA beach volleyball championship?

Here's a look at Friday's first-round match-ups, and our predictions for how things will shake out.

No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 8 Stetson, 10 a.m. ET

A David-and-Goliath battle, top-seeded Florida State will take on No. 8 Stetson. The Hatters have been a strong program every year since forming a team in 2012, and earned their first postseason win at last year's AVCA championship. Florida State enters the tournament with only one loss on the season and a history as one of the strongest teams in the country. The top three Seminole pairs boast records of 26-3, 27-2, and 24-3. We predict this one will follow the rankings and send Stetson into the contenders' bracket.

No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 5 Hawaii, 11 a.m. ET

UCLA and Hawaii are old foes and have already played each other twice this season. The Bruins won both meetings, but the margins were slim--each game finished 3-2. Hawaii proved itself a team to contend with this season after handing No. 1 seed Florida State its sole loss this year and winning the Big West conference championship. UCLA also enjoyed a successful season highlighted by a win over formerly top-ranked Pepperdine on March 30. This will be a battle, but the adage about how tough it is to beat a good team three times in a season applies here. We have Hawaii coming out on top.

No. 2 USC vs. No. 7 Georgia State, 12 p.m. ET

USC is NCAA beach volleyball's juggernaut. The Trojans' top pair of Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes is undefeated, and the last time these two teams played, USC won 4-1. Only Georgia State's No. 4 team snuck away with a three-set win. The Trojans will roll into the NCAA championships with momentum from their Pac-12 championship victory on Sunday, and they won't let this early contest slip through their fingers.

No. 3 Pepperdine vs. No. 6 Arizona, 1 p.m. ET

If there was a Most Improved Team award, we'd give it to Arizona. The Wildcats went 16-1 in 2015, but didn't have the most challenging schedule. This season, led by twin Arizona natives Madison and McKenna Witt, the Wildcats went 19-5. During that run, they challenged Pepperdine, falling 2-3; defeated Georgia State 3-2; and eliminated UCLA in the Pac-12 conference championship. That said, Pepperdine plays with consistency that Arizona will struggle to match. We picked the Waves to qualify for the second round.

The NCAA will stream live coverage of Friday and Saturday's matches on ncaa.com, with the exception of each day between 3 and 6 p.m. ET, when truTV will provide coverage. The championship round will air on TBS on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.

Here's how we see the weekend's action playing out. What are your predictions?