ATLANTA - TCU's Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno highlighted the CCSA Beach Volleyball Postseason All-Conference accolades with their second consecutive Pair of the Year honor, voted on unanimously by the league's head coaches, announced Wednesday by the league office. The Horned Frogs' Anhelina Khmil earned the Freshman of the Year nod while Head Coach Hector Gutierrez was named the Coach of the Year.
Alvarez and Moreno continued their dominance in the sand in 2023 to lead their squad to their first-ever national No. 1 ranking during the regular season. The Horned Frogs remained at No. 1 for six-straight weeks and enters the CCSA Championship as the #1 seed after a 31-1 record. The duo racked up 28 wins on the season with half of their victories coming against ranked opponents. The pairing set a program record for the best regular season record (28-1) by any pairing at TCU and also holds the program's career wins as a pairing record at 82-16 (83.67%) and career ranked wins at 39-14 (72.59%), achieving both records over the course of just three seasons.
Khmil is the second-ever TCU Beach Volleyball student-athlete to be named Freshman of the Year in program history following Ana Vergara last season. The Kremenchuk, Ukraine native instantly rose to the top of the lineup, playing all matches from either the No. 2 or No. 3 positions. Khmil posted a 26-3 record including a 12-3 record over ranked opponents. A few of her most notable victories include triumphs over No. 3 Florida State, No. 5 LSU (twice), No. 3 USC, No. 9 California and No. 10 Georgia State. She is also responsible for two major match-clinching victories this season over No. 5 LSU and No. 9 California.
Gutierrez went back-to-back as the league's Coach of the Year after leading his program to a 31-1 record in the regular season. The Horned Frogs earned their first-ever No. 1 ranking in the AVCA National Coaches Poll on March 7. TCU enters the CCSA Championship as the No. 2 ranked team in the national polls while being the #1 overall seed in the championship for the second-straight season looking to capture the program's first league title.
Unanimous Pair of the Year: Daniela Alvarez & Tania Moreno, TCU
Freshman of the Year: Anhelina Khmil, TCU
Coach of the Year: Hector Gutierrez, TCU
*Daniela Alvarez$, TCU
*Tania Moreno$, TCU
Samaya Morin, Grand Canyon
Allanis Navas, Grand Canyon
Kylie Deberg#, LSU
Ellie Shank, LSU
Skylar Allen, South Carolina
Simone Priebe, South Carolina
Hailey Brockett, TCU
Rochelle Scott, TCU
*Anhelina Khmil, TCU
*Alexis Durish, Florida State
*Jolie Cranford, South Carolina
Brooke Birch, Grand Canyon
Jessica Drake, Grand Canyon
# - Denotes a two-time selection to the All-Conference Team
$ - Denotes a three-time selection to the All-Conference Team
The Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) is a progressive NCAA Division I conference dedicated to the enhancement of opportunities for students. The conference was founded in 2008 to provide a championship opportunity for Swimming and Diving student-athletes and extended that opportunity with the addition of Beach Volleyball in the summer of 2015. The league's footprint extends into several states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia. The CCSA is dedicated to the student-athletes who compete in its championships and their success in the classroom, in the field of competition, and life after graduation.