FSU Seminoles retain top position of UNF Invitational – Volleyball news
The Seminoles of Florida State University (FSU) secured the first three positions at the UNF Invitational, which rounded off on Sunday, April 1.
A total of seven teams entered the competition and competed for the top honours. The Seminoles displayed stellar performances and held the No. 1 position in tournament.
The beach of Jacksonville hosted all the action of UNF Sand Invitational, while Chicago Pizza and Metro PCS sponsored the event. The bad weather and rain tried to create bit of problem but the tournament successfully ended on Sunday.
The Florida State University was represented by five tandems in the competition and did exceptionally well. FSU played without Jekaterina Stepanova on the final day as she could not participate in the final feat duo to her sprained ankle but the team still
gave out wonderful performance and seized the title trophy.
In the last match of Sunday, FSU pair of junior Aurora Newgard and sophomore Brittany Tiegs was challenged by fantastic Hawaii team of Jane Croson and Ashley Lee. One of the Hawaiian players, Croson, was a world champion and used to train the national team.
The final match featured a close fight between the two top duos of the tournament. The UH pair started out well and picked up an early lead. They pushed the FSU team behind the attack line and claimed the opening set of the match with final score of 21-16.
The Seminoles hit back aggressively in the following set and tried to cover the deficit. It was not an easy task to overcome the experience Croson and Lee but the FSU duo kept trying. Finally, the hard work paid off and FSU won second set, 21-19.
As the score tied at the end of two frames, a tough competition was expected in the third decisive set. Both teams played to their full potential and tried to touch the finish line in the first place. Nonetheless, the final word was given in the favour of
Croson/Lee as they posted 15-11 in third set.
UH managed to win the gold-bracket match but overall settled in the second position, while FSU went on top with an overall record of 34-6.
“We had great weather today and fantastic crowds for the finals. There was a great crowd for Hawaii and a great crowd for us. What's impressive to me is the level of volleyball for these young women. I'm really excited for USA Volleyball in general and for
what collegiate sand volleyball is going to do for the sport. It was a great, fun weekend competing at the beach,” said the head coach of Seminoles Danalee Corso.
The winning FSU squad is scheduled to participate in the upcoming three-team event on Friday. The competition will be hosted by Stetson University, where Seminoles will be joined by Hatter and sand volleyball team of Florida Atlantic University (FAU).
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