LakePoint, Ga. - Florida State is back-to-back CCSA Beach Volleyball Champion after defeating Florida International 3-0 in Sunday's final at the Rally Volleyball courts at Lakepoint Sporting Community. Victoria Paranagua and Vanessa Freire clinched the final point and were named Pair of the Tournament.
On a rainy day the Seminoles prevailed with straight set victories on Courts 5, 3 and 2. The first point of the match was decided on Court 5, where Hailey Luke and Eva Torruella won 21-12 and 21-7. The duo only needed 30 minutes as they took control from the start to secure the first point for the Seminoles. The next point came on Court 3 where CCSA Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Macy Jerger, and partner Sierra Sanchez were victorious.
The duo played a tightly contested first set that went in favor of the Seminoles 21-19, then turned it on in the second set as they won 21-9. The straight set victory gave Florida State a 2-0 lead in the dual, just one point away from clinching the match and a second consecutive CCSA Championship.
The action turned to Court 2, where Pair of the Tournament Paranagua and Freire took the opening set 21-16 and took control in the second set early on. FIU's pair of Katie Friesen and Taija Thomas battled back and took a late lead in the second set, but the Seminoles' pair persevered and had match point with a 20-19 lead. The final point was scored by Paranagua who had a nice roll shot find the back corner to send the Seminole team storming onto the court and into celebration after winning the dual 3-0.
CCSA Beach Volleyball All-Tournament Team:
- Victoria Paranagua / Vanessa Freire, Florida State - MVP Pair of Tournament
- Francesca Goncalves / Katie Horton, Florida State
- Lina Bernier / Katie Hogan, Florida International
- Gabby Dischler / Candace Lacour, Florida Atlantic
- Maddie Ligon / Emmy Allen, LSU
- Olivia Stasevich / Georgia Johnson, Georgia State
- Maddy Mertz / Tarin Mergener, Tulane
Florida State and the other CCSA teams now turn their attention to the NCAA Championship Selection Show on April 30 where the committee will select eight teams to participate in the 2017 NCAA Championship in Gulf Shores, Ala. The Selection Show will air at 7 PM live on NCAA.com. The Championship will be held on May 5-7.