As the end of the regular season approaches, it is safe to say the FSU womenâs beach volleyball team has had an impressive season on the sand. Though last season the girls ended the year as national runner-up, second place is not what Seminoles play the game for and these girls know that. This playoff season, the No. 3 Seminoles are fighting for their first national championship and to be crowned the first non-California based school to take home the trophy.
Last year after a hard-fought regular and post-season, the FSU womenâs beach volleyball team went into the tournament as a number four seed. Going into the national championship, like every great Florida State story, the Seminoles were the underdogs. However, the ladies proved their value through their notable win over the reigning champs, the USC Trojans, and their undefeated run into the final round. Though the ladies fought to defeat many other giants in the championship, the girls were stopped short to the No. 1 UCLA Bruins as they claimed their first national championship.Â
This season, the beach volleyball team is on track to cross the 20-win mark; however, they have lost five games to some pretty familiar and challenging opponents. Their losses have come to LSU, UCLA and USC. Donât worry though, there is time to fix the mistakes and to prepare for those big names that the âNoles will face if they want to win that national title. The girls closed out at home play against Georgia State, FAU and FIU on Apr. 5-6 and will end the season in Texas against UAB, Texas A&M Corpus Christi and TCU on Apr. 12-13. Following, the CSSA tournament play will start Apr. 19 in Emerson, Georgia and most importantly, the NCAA national championship play will take place May 3-5 in Gulf Shores, Alabama.Â
Currently, the FSU womenâs beach volleyball team is flying high and coming off of an impressive finish to the Surf-N-Turf Invitational with a 3-1 finish, with the only loss coming against UCLA. In the loss to UCLA, senior Macy Jerger and freshman Kate Privett gave the Seminoles their first and only point against the Bruins. On another note, on Mar. 27, sophomore pair Madison Fitzpatrick and Alaina Chacon earned their second CCSA Pair of the Week for 2019. Fitzpatrick and Chacon lead the team with a 13-5 dual record so far this season. They improved to 4-0 on court one this year after capturing three wins on that court this past weekend. The pairing is also 8-5 on court two and 1-0 on court three. Impressively, this is the third time this season that an FSU pair has received this honor. With such standouts and the team’s history of coming in second place two out of the three years of the sport’s existence, the FSU beach volleyball team has a motivation that can lead them to a national title.
Though the team was handed some hard-fought losses this season to some of the top teams, now is the best time to rally behind the girls in garnet and gold as they look to dominate in the NCAA tournament.Â