BOCA RATON, Fla. – Coming off their most historic season in program history, the Florida Atlantic University beach volleyball team finished as the No. 8 team in the country in the final AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball Poll. The ranking is the first time the team has sported a single-digit ranking, meaning its’ the Owls’ highest ranking in program history.
FAU is coming off its first NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship appearance last week. The Owls knocked off ninth-seeded No. 8 Stanford in the opening round, 3-0. In that match, Courtney Moon recorded 18 kills on 28 attempts on court two and Aby Jackson logged 21 kills, including the match point. With the win, the Owls advanced to the Elite 8 and the double-elimination format of the tournament. Although FAU lost to first-seed No. 1 USC and fourth-seed No. 5 Loyola Marymount, both 3-0, the Sandy Owls showed they belonged on the big stage.
The Sandy Owls finish the season 23-12, with 23 victories marking a program record. FAU also swept in all Conference USA superlative awards, winning Pair of the Year (Erica Brok/Mackenzie Morris), Freshman of the Year (Julie Honzovoivoa) and Coach of the Year (Capri Grotowski). National recognition was also granted to Steve Grotowski for winning AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year and Brok/Morris for being tabbed as AVCA First Team All-Americans for the second consecutive year. The Sandy Owls finished the year with 10 wins over ranked opponents.
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Top 20 AVCA Poll
1. USC (13) – 37-1
2. Florida State – 33-11
3. UCLA – 34-9
4. Loyola Marymount – 32-9
5. LSU – 32-12
6. TCU – 39-5
7. Georgia State – 28-13
8. Florida Atlantic – 23-12
9. Grand Canyon – 26-7
10. Cal Poly – 23-17
T11. Cal – 26-14
T11. Stanford – 24-12
13. Hawaii – 24-17
14. Stetson – 23-17
15. Long Beach State – 22-14
16. FIU – 22-11
17. Pepperdine – 22-12
18. Arizona – 19-12
19. South Carolina – 20-12
20. Florida Gulf Coast – 29-9
Others receiving votes: Tulane (5), Arizona State (3)
( ) – indicated number of first-place votes
Italic – denotes 2022 opponent
