In the first season that beach volleyball has been recognized as an NCAA Championship sport, the 'Noles very nearly took home the inaugural title, falling in the championship match to Southern Cal, which swept the beleaguered Seminoles 3-0 on Sunday afternoon.
FSU came into the national championship tournament with a 29-1 record, including a CCSA Conference Championship. The top-seeded 'Noles disposed of Stetson and avenged their only loss of the season at that point by topping Hawaii as well. The Trojans then knocked Florida State out of the winners bracket, but the Seminoles fought their way back to the title game by beating UCLA this morning. Unfortunately, USC was playing on fresh legs, and they bested FSU for the second time in as many days.
Head Coach Brooke Niles was nevertheless very proud of her team and its season, and is quite confident about the future of the program. Said Niles: "The beach volleyball world has to look out for Florida State. Recruits want to come here and we want to coach them to be the best players that they can be. It's huge for us and it puts east coast beach volleyball on the map."