Photo Gallery
EMERSON, Ga. - Florida State took home the inaugural Coastal Collegiate Sports Assocation (CCSA) Beach Volleyball Championship defeating Georgia State in the final match on Sunday at the Rally Volleyball courts at LakePoint Sporting Community.
Final Recap
The Seminoles secured the first CCSA Championship trophy with a 3-0 win over the Georgia State Panthers. FSU won four of the five first sets to set the tone in the Championship match. CCSA All-Tournament team selection Sierra Sanchez and Vanessa Freire secured the first point of the match with a straight-set win (26-24, 21-12) at the No. 3 position. CCSA Pair of the Tournament, Julie Brown and Jace Pardon, followed suit with a hard fought straight-set win (21-16, 21-19) over Jansen Button and Sara Olivova to give the Noles a 2-0 lead.
The other three matches all went to three sets as the Panthers looked for a big comeback to get back into the dual. The match clinching point came down to Court No. 5 where CCSA Co-Freshman of the Year Nikki Esposito and Hailey Luke faced Alexis Townsend and Chloe Cook. In the third and final set, Esposito and Luke got off to a quick start to take a three point lead. After trading points and maintaining the three-point lead, Esposito got the final kill on match point to win the third set 15-11 and set off the celebrations on Court 5 for the Seminoles.
During the awards ceremony the CCSA recognized the following pairs as members of the 2016 All-Tournament Team:
Julie Brown / Jace Pardon from Florida State (Pair of Tournament)
Aren Cupp / Tina Toghiyani from Florida International
Andrea Galinis / Chelsey Tekavec from Florida Atlantic
Macie Tendrich / Katie Reilly from South Carolina
Helen Boyle / Lilly Kessler from LSU
Milani Pickering / Delaney Rohan from Georgia State
Sierra Sanchez / Vanessa Freire from Florida State
Semifinals Recap
Florida State advanced to the final earlier in the day when the Seminoles defeated South Carolina 5-0. All five matches were won in straight-sets with the third win coming at the No. 1 court by Julie Brown and Jace Pardon. Macy Jerger and Annie Montgomery won the first match , with Esposito and Luke finishing second.
In the second semifinal, Georgia State moved on with a 3-2 victory over LSU. Olivova and Button secured a point on Court 1 in straight sets, while Pickering and Rohan picked up the second point. The match was won on Court 4 where Brooke Weiner and Natalie Wilson picked up a straight set win, 21-19, 21-14 to clinch the match.