The fourth-ranked Florida State beach volleyball team (18-6) finished off the Staybridge Suites Invitational with their third 5-0 victory of the weekend, this time against No. 11 South Carolina.
“Our team came ready to play this weekend,” Florida State head coach Brooke Niles said. “This is what I have been waiting for all year. On all five spots they worked hard and the people who did not play were supporting each other. It was just a great weekend overall. I am proud of how they competed. There were a lot of different changes in the schedule and the way our schedule has been all year I think we are ready for everything and are peaking at the right time.”
For the third time this weekend, the Noles grabbed a 5-0 victory. Florida State captured the first point of the match with a three-set victory on court four as redshirt junior Katie Horton and sophomore Nikki Esposito won 21-18, 14-21, 15-12. Redshirt junior Hailey Luke and redshirt freshman Eva Torruella extended the Garnet and Gold’s lead to 2-0 as they came back to win in three sets on court five, 17-21, 21-15, 16-14. The Seminoles clinched the match as the No. 3 duo of junior Victoria Paranagua and sophomore Macy Jerger won 21-18, 21-12.
Florida State kept it rolling as graduate senior Leigh Andrew and sophomore Brooke Kuhlman won in three sets on court one, 21-12, 14-21, 15-11. The Noles captured the final point of the morning as junior Vanessa Freire and freshman Francesca Goncalves grabbed a straight set win 33-31, 21-14. Freire and Goncalves battled in the marathon first set as the match kept going back and forth until the duo finally pulled away on court two.
“In matches that go over 21, you just have to keep your momentum,” Freire said. “If you slow down and end up dropping that set it completely changes the whole outcome of the game.”
The Seminoles are back in the sand next week as they host Pepperdine (3 p.m.Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday), Grand Canyon (8:30 a.m. Saturday) and FIU (10 a.m.Saturday.) during Alumni Weekend in Tallahassee, Fla.
No. 4 Florida State 5, No. 11 South Carolina 0 – Tallahassee, Fla.
- Leigh Andrew/Brooke Kuhlman (FSU) def. Adrianna Culbert/Katie Smith (SC) 21-12, 14-21, 15-11
- Vanessa Freire/Francesca Goncalves (FSU) def. Shannon Williams/Ali Denney (SC) 33-31, 21-14
- Macy Jerger/Victoria Paranagua (FSU) def. Katie Zimmerman/Macie Tendrich (SC) 21-18, 21-12
- Katie Horton/Nikki Esposito (FSU) def. Julia Mannisto/Carly Schnieder (SC) 21-18, 14-21, 15-12
- Hailey Luke/Eva Torruella (FSU) def. Jade Vitt/Franky Harrison (SC) 17-21, 21-16, 15-11
Ext. Ali Eager/Breana Edwards (FSU) def. AJ Baumann/Hannah Edelman (SC) 15-21, 21-15, 16-14
Order of finish: 4, 5, 3*, 1, 2
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News courtesy of Florida State Athletics.
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