MIAMI (April 20, 2017) - The No. 10-ranked FIU beach volleyball team (21-12, 8-5) finds itself seeded fifth in the 2017 Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) Beach Volleyball Championship that is set to begin on Friday, April 21 at the Lakepoint Sporting Community Park in Emerson, Georgia. FIU is in Pool A along with (one seed) Florida State, (four seed) South Carolina, and (eight seed) Tulane.  
 
The tournament begins on April 21 and runs through the April 23. The ten teams will be divided into two five-team pools to begin the Championship. The top-two teams in each pool will advance to the semifinals. The championship match will be streamed live on ESPN3.
 
This is the Panthers' second appearance at the CCSA championship tournament, after being defeated by South Carolina, 4-1, last season in quarterfinals.

Coach Rita Buck-Crockett has one comment to say before the Panthers head to the conference championships, "Started from the bottom now we're here. FIU has arrived." 
 
Looking at the Gamecocks: No. 12 South Carolina (21-7, 11-5) enters the conference tournament as the No. 4 seed. The Panthers have faced the Gamecocks twice this season, with South Carolina defeating FIU 3-2 and 5-0. The Panthers will face the Gamecocks on Friday at 10:30 a.m. 
 
Looking at the Green Wave: Tulane (20-11, 4-10) will play as the No. 8 seed in the CCSA Tournament. FIU has defeated the Green Wave twice this season, 4-1 at the Tiger Beach Challenge and 5-0 at the Fifth Annual Surf 'N Turf Invitational on Miami Beach. The Panthers will face the Green Wave on Friday at 3 p.m. 
 
Looking at the Seminoles: No. 4 Florida State (21-7, 8-0) is the No. 1 seed in the CCSA Tournament. The Panthers have dropped two contests to Florida State this season, with a score of 3-2 in both match-ups. FIU will face the Seminoles on Saturday at 12 p.m. 
 
Looking at the Seahawks: UNCW (13-9) enters the conference tournament as the No. 9 seed. The Panthers took down the Seahawks earlier this season at the UNF Beach Invitational, 5-0. FIU will face UNCW on Saturday at 3 p.m. 
 
Groups/Seeding 
 

Pool A	Pool B
No. 1 Florida State	No. 2 LSU
No. 4 South Carolina	No. 3 Georgia State
No. 5 FIU	No. 6 FAU
No. 8 Tulane	No. 7 College of Charleston
No. 9 UNCW	No. 10 UAB

 
 
Friday, April 21
9 a.m.              Match 1 – Florida State vs. UNCW - Courts 1-5
                        Match 2 – LSU vs. UAB - Courts 6-10
10:30 a.m.       Match 3 – South Carolina vs. FIU - Courts 1-5
                        Match 4 - Georgia State vs. College of Charleston - Courts 6-10
12:00 p.m.       Match 5 – Florida State vs. Tulane - Courts 1-5
                        Match 6 - LSU vs. FAU - Courts 6-10
1:30 p.m.         Match 7 – South Carolina vs. UNCW - Courts 1-5
                        Match 8 - College of Charleston vs. UAB - Courts 6-10
3 p.m.              Match 9 – FIU vs. Tulane - Courts 1-5
                        Match 10 - Georgia State vs. FAU - Courts 6-10
 
Saturday, April 22
9 a.m.              Match 11 - LSU vs. College of Charleston - Courts 1-5
                        Match 12 - Florida State vs. South Carolina - Courts 6-10
10:30 a.m.       Match 13 – FAU vs. UAB - Courts 1-5
                        Match 14 - Tulane vs. UNCW - Courts 6-10
12:00 p.m.       Match 15 - LSU vs. Georgia State - Courts 1-5
                        Match 16 - Florida State vs. FIU - Courts 6-10
1:30 p.m.         Match 17 - FAU vs. College of Charleston - Courts 1-5
                        Match 18 - South Carolina vs. Tulane - Courts 6-10
3 p.m.              Match 19 - Georgia State vs. UAB - Courts 1-5
                        Match 20 - FIU vs. UNCW - Courts 6-10
 
Sunday, April 23
9 a.m.              Semifinal 1 - Group 1 #1 vs. Group 2 #2 - Courts 1-5
                        Semifinal 2 - Group 2 #1 vs. Group 1 #2 - Courts 6-10
1 p.m.              Championship Match - Winner Semifinal 1 vs. Winner Semifinal 2 - Courts 5-9
 
* Awards Ceremony will follow immediately after the Championship Match
 
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Riccardo Silva Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $8.9 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.