HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (Seminoles.com) — The fourth-ranked Florida State Seminoles (28-9) defeated No. 6 LSU and No. 2 TCU in pursuit of earning their sixth consecutive CCSA Championship title. FSU has earned the automatic bid for the NCAA Championships next week in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Morgan Chacon and Jordan Polo earned Pair of the Tournament as they went undefeated on the weekend on court four and earned the match-clinching point in the championship dual against TCU.
Maddie Anderson/Brook Bauer and Caitlin Moon/Raelyn White earned spots on the All-Tournament Team as well. Anderson and Bauer went 3-1 on court one this weekend with their only loss to TCU on Friday. Moon and Raelyn finished the weekend 3-1 on court five with their only loss due to forfeit to LSU.
FSU 4, LSU 1
The Seminoles started the day with another big win over the Tigers of LSU. Florida State defeated LSU on four courts in two sets apiece. FSU improved the all-time series lead to 17-2.
Brook Bauer and Maddie Anderson earned the first match point for the Seminoles on court one. The pair absolutely dominated, winning 21-15 in the first set and 21-13 in the second set.
Madison Fitzpatrick and Alaina Chacon finished up quickly after on court two. The pair held the Tigers to only 26 points total, winning 21-14, 21-12. Fitzpatrick and Chacon have accumulated 52 wins together, placing them at fourth all-time for victories by a pair at Florida State.
The match-clinching point was earned on court three by Kate Privett and Anna Long. Privett and Long held the lead throughout both sets, winning 21-17, 21-16.
Jordan Polo and Morgan Chacon earned the final match point for the Seminoles on court four. Polo and Chacon defeated the Tigers 21-17, 21-18.
The Tiger’s only match point came by forfeit on court five. Raelyn White and Caitlin Moon resigned from the match after winning the first set 26-24. They were trailing the second set 12-9 when the match was abandoned.
FSU 3, TCU 1
The Seminoles avenged yesterday’s loss to the Horned Frogs with a dominant 3-1 win over TCU. Florida State is credited with two of TCU’s three losses this season and lead the series 14-3.
Maddie Anderson and Brook Bauer came out strong today, earning the first match point for the Seminoles on court one. After losing in two sets yesterday, the pair switched roles, winning in two sets today. TCU had a hot start in the first set until Anderson and Bauer started gaining momentum and could not be stopped. The All-American duo defeated TCU’s All-Americans 21-14, 21-18.
TCU earned their only match point due to injury on court three. Kate Privett and Anna Long dominated in the first set, winning 21-14. In the midst of the second set, Privett could no longer continue due to injury resulting in a forfeit.
Caitlin Moon and Raelyn White earned the second match point for the Seminoles on court five. The pair defeated the Horned Frogs in two sets for the second time this weekend. Moon and White defeated TCU 21-13, 21-19.
The match-clinching point came down to courts two and four as both were forced to three sets. On court four, Jordan Polo and Morgan Chacon earned the third set after losing the first set in extra points 25-23 and winning the second set 22-20. Polo and Chacon earned Pair of the Tournament with the match-clinching point against TCU. They defeated the Horned Frogs 15-9 in the third set, sealing the championship for the Seminoles.
Even though the match was played to decision, Madison Fitzpatrick and Alaina Chacon came up big on court two. The pair were able to force TCU to three sets after losing the first set 21-15 and winning the second set 21-18. In the third set, Fitzpatrick and Chacon came back from a 10-5 deficit to gain the lead 15-14 as the final point was earned on court four.
Scoring Summary – FSU 4, LSU 1
1. Maddie Anderson/Brook Bauer (FS) def. Bella Bauman/Parker Bracken (LSU) 21-15, 21-13
2. Alaina Chacon/Madison Fitzpatrick (FS) def. Kylie Deberg/Kelli Greene-Agnew (LSU) 21-14, 21-12
3. Kate Privett/Anna Long (FS) def. Holly Carlton/Reilly Allred (LSU) 21-17, 21-16
4. Jordan Polo/Morgan Chacon (FS) def. Grace Seits/Ellie Shank (LSU) 21-17, 21-18
5. Sierra Caffo/Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope (LSU) def. Caitlin Moon/Raelyn White (FS) 26-24, 9-12, UNFINISHED
Order of Finish: 1,2,3,4
Scoring Summary – FSU3 , TCU 1
1. Maddie Anderson/Brook Bauer (FS) def. Daniela Alvarez/Tania Moreno (TCU) 21-19, 21-15
2. Alaina Chacon/Madison Fitzpatrick (FS) vs. Sutton Mactavish/Kaylie McHugh (TCU) 15-21, 21-18, 15-14 UNF
3. Alexis Filippone/Hailey Brockett (TCU) def. Kate Privett/Anna Long (FSU) 14-21, 15-15 DQ
4. Jordan Polo/Morgan Chacon (FS) def. Maria Gonzalez/Ana Vergara (TCU) 23-25, 22-20, 15-9
5. Caitlin Moon/Raelyn White (FS) def. Megan Muret/Rochelle Scott (TCU) 21-13, 21-19
Order of Finish: 1,3,5,4
Looking Forward
The Florida State beach volleyball team will hold the No. 5 seed in the sixth year of the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship. Florida State opens the tournament against No. 12 seed Cal Poly on Wednesday, May 4th at 4:00 PM EST.
The Seminoles are the only program in the nation to make an appearance in every national championship event, starting with the AVCA Championship (2012-15) and now the NCAA Championship (2016-19, 2021-22). FSU finished as the runner-up in 2014, 2016, and 2018.
“We’ve had our ups and downs this year, but this team continues to believe in themselves, believe in the coaches and the program and continue to fight for us,” said head coach Brook Niles. “I can’t tell you how proud I am and how good this feels right now.”
Florida State earned the automatic bid for the NCAA Championship after winning a sixth CCSA Championship title this afternoon. Florida State is the only beach volleyball program in the country to win six straight conference championships.
This season, the Seminoles faced 17 opponents ranked in the AVCA Top-10 with nine wins and played 28 matches against AVCA Top-20 opponents. Florida State enters the weekend 28-9, with only three losses to teams ranked lower than the Seminoles. The remaining six losses were to AVCA Top-3 teams.
The Noles posted 13 sweeps throughout the season and only got swept once to No. 1 USC. One of FSU’s most recent sweeps was to LSU in the CCSA semi-final, it was LSU’s first time being swept this season.
The 2022 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship will feature 16 teams for the first time in history. The first round will be single-elimination, reducing the field to eight teams. After the first round, it resumes the typical bracket format with double elimination. The championship match will be played on Sunday, May 8th at 4:00 PM EST.
The 2022 Beach Volleyball Championship includes automatic bids for conference champions and the remaining teams are selected by the NCAA Women’s Beach Volleyball Committee.
