YOUNGSVILLE, LA – The third-seeded FIU beach volleyball team advanced to the semifinals of the Conference USA Beach Volleyball Championships after going 2-1 on day two of the double-elimination tournament. The Panthers defeated fifth-seeded University of Texas – El Paso (3-0) and fourth-seeded University of Alabama – Birmingham (3-2).

FIU opened the day against Tulane, ultimately falling in a close 3-2 contest. The Green Wave struck first on court two, but seniors Zoe Cahill and Arianna Franklin responded with a straight-sets win on court four, 21-18, 21-15. Tulane regained the lead with a win on court five and secured the match victory with a final win on court one.

(2) Tulane 3, (3) FIU 1

P1: Emily Heintzelman/Kenzie Cutler (TUL) def. Ella Gray/Julia Panko (FIU) 13-21, 21-16, 15-13

P2: Skylar Ensign/Molly Trodd (TUL) def. Sophia Vogel/Nicole Robinson (FIU) 21-13, 21-12

P3: Sam Green/Sara Hall (TUL) 21-19, Katarina Drozd/Brianna Luoma (FIU) 22-20, unf

P4: Zoe Cahill/Arianna Franklin (FIU) def. Sam O’Connor/Gigi Gallegos (TUL) 21-18, 21-15  

P5: Amelia Mullen/Avery Burks (TUL) def. Aleksandra Chudzik/Kendra Brown (FIU) 17-21, 21-16, 17-15

Later in the day, the Panthers rebounded in dominant fashion against fifth-seeded UTEP to stave off elimination. Senior Ola Chudzik and junior Kendra Brown took court five convincingly, 21-11, 21-7. Sophomore Ella Gray and junior Julia Panko followed with a straight-sets victory on court one, cruising to a 21-12 first set and edging out a 22-20 second set. Sophomore Katarina Drozd and freshman Brianna Luoma sealed the dual on court three with a 21-15, 21-16 win, advancing FIU to the quarterfinals against UAB.

(3) FIU 3, (5) UTEP 0

P1: Ella Gray/Julia Panko (FIU) def. Madison Hill/Ema Uskokovic (UTEP) 21-12, 22-20

P2: Paulina Acuna/Marian Ovalle (UTEP) 21-16, Sophia Vogel/Nicole Robinson (FIU) unf

P3: Katarina Drozd/Brianna Luoma (FIU) def. Krista Paegle/Milana Popovic (UTEP) 21-15, 21-16

P4:  Zoe Cahill/Arianna Franklin (FIU) 21-11, Emma Schubert/Lauren Perry (UTEP) unf 

P5: Aleksandra Chudzik/Kendra Brown (FIU) def. Adriana Oporto/Mackenzi Davis (UTEP) 21-11, 21-7  

Order of Finish: 5, 1, 3

In their third and final match of the day, the Panthers edged out UAB in a thrilling 3-2 win to earn a spot in Saturday morning’s semifinal against second-seeded Tulane. The Blazers struck first on court one, but Drozd and Luoma responded on court three, winning in straight sets, 21-18, 21-15. FIU took the lead on court five, with Chudzik and Brown rallying after dropping the first set to win the next two, 18-21, 21-11, 15-12. UAB evened the score with a win on court two, setting up a decisive battle on court four. Cahill and Franklin came through for the Panthers, taking set one 25-23, dropping set two, and clinching the victory in set three, 15-7.

(3) FIU 3, (4) UAB 2

P1: Olivia Stant/Jasmine Haas (UAB) def. Ella Gray/Julia Panko (FIU) 21-18, 21-14 

P2: Azmabeth Infante/Isabel Day (UAB) def. Sophia Vogel/Nicole Robinson (FIU) 15-21, 21-13, 16-14

P3: Katarina Drozd/Brianna Luoma (FIU) def, Klea Sirois/Lauren Cairo (UAB) 21-18, 21-15 

P4: Zoe Cahill/Arianna Franklin (FIU) def. Claudia Stockard/Olivia Chychrun (UAB) 25-23, 16-21, 15-7

P5: Aleksandra Chudzik/Kendra Brown (FIU) def. Addison Atkins/Sarah Smith (UAB) 18-21, 21-11, 15-12

Order of Finish: 1, 3, 5, 2, 4

UP NEXT

The Panthers will play Tulane in the CUSA Beach Volleyball Championships semifinals on Saturday, April 26 at 10 a.m. ET. The winner will advance to the championship round where they will face one-seed Florida Atlatnic with a chance to take the Conference USA crown and an automatic bid into the NCAA Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

SOCIAL MEDIA 

Get all the latest information on the team by following @FIUbeach on Instagram, or @FIUBeachVB on Twitter, and @FIUBeach on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.

IRVINE, Calif. — The fourth seeded UC San Diego women’s water polo team defeated fifth-seeded UC Davis, 15-10, in a Big West Championship quarterfinal Friday afternoon at Anteater Aquatics Complex in Orange County.

The Tritons advance to Saturday’s semifinal round and will face top-seeded Hawai’i at noon. The Rainbow Wahine punched their ticket into the semis with a 16-6 thumping of Cal State Fullerton, the eighth seed, in Friday’s first game.

There are still two quarterfinals to be played as of press time. Second-seeded Long Beach State takes on No. 7 CSUN while No. 3 UC Irvine, the Big West Championship host, plays No. 6 UC Santa Barbara for the remaining two semifinal spots.

The final is set for Sunday at noon. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Courtney Okumura scored the game’s opening goal at 5:07 of the first quarter and UC San Diego enjoyed a lead for the rest of the contest.

The Tritons led 4-1 after the first, 7-4 at halftime, and 11-7 following three quarters of play.

Late in the second period the Aggies closed within a goal. Trailing 4-1, they scored two straight times to make it 4-3. However, UC San Diego responded by putting three-consecutive goals on the board to go up 7-3.

After trading multiple goals in the third, Kendall Thomas, Abigail Schechter, and Lucia Doak went back-to-back-to-back, bringing the score to 12-7 Tritons at the 7:18 mark of the fourth frame. The Aggies couldn’t gain any momentum as the Tritons kept the pressure on until the final horn.

Ten different Tritons scored in the game and Okumura lead the way with a hat trick. Caroline Christl, Doak, and Holly Roberts each scored twice. Six other UC San Diego players contributed one goal apiece.

Lexi Stahl was busy in net for the Tritons, making 15 saves, two short of her career high, in the complete game victory.

For UC Davis, Sam Yoo netted three goals while Gianna Nocetti scored twice. Lucy Holland and Eva Stein split time in goal and made seven and four saves, respectively.

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About UC San Diego Athletics

After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world’s preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.