AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball Nationall Poll - March 19
LakePoint, Ga. - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) released its latest Beach Volleyball national rankings and CCSA Beach Volleyball teams were well represented among the top-20. Seven total teams earn recognition this week, with four of those teams finding themselves in the top-10.
Florida State remains the highest ranked CCSA team as the Seminoles sit at No. 6 this week. The Seminoles own a 12-5 overall record this season. The Seminoles have had a signature win on the season when they defeated No. 3-ranked Hawai'i, while also getting wins against several CCSA teams as well. South Carolina moved up one spot from No. 9 to No. 8 in this week's AVCA Beach Volleyball national rankings. The Gamecocks sit at 12-2 on the year and our coming off another successful Gamecock Grand Slam event at home. They went 3-1 on the weekend, with their only loss coming to top-ranked Pepperdine.
Georgia State and LSU are sitting right behind the Gamecocks at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively. Both teams competed along side South Carolina at the Gamecock Grand Slam this past weekend. The Panthers posted a 2-2 team record, which included a narrow 3-2 win over LSU. The Tigers finished the weekend at 1-3, as they dropped a couple spots in the national ranking this week. Georgia State will be at home this weekend for the Diggin' Duals event, while the Tigers are also going to be on home sand when they host the Tiger Beach Challenge.
FIU comes in at No. 13 this week, posting a 10-5 overall record on the 2018 season. They posted a perfect 4-0 record last week at the Stetson/Hickory Point Bash, and are going to be at home later today to face FGCU. The Panthers are led by their No. 1 duo of Federica Frasca and Margherita Bianchin who are 10-1 at the top court. The duo has defeated top-ranked pairs from No. 1 Pepperdine, No. 3 Hawai'i and No. 4 UCLA this season and look to continue that momentum the rest of the season.
No. 18 Tulane and No. 20 Florida Atlantic round out the CCSA selections in this week's national rankings. Tulane owns a 9-3 record on the season, while FAU comes in at 8-8. The Green Wave and the Owls are headed to the LSU Tiger Beach Challenge this weekend, where they will face each other, along with No. 10 LSU and No. 17 Stetson out of the ASUN Conference.