MACON, Georgia (April 18, 2018) – FIU beach volleyball standouts
Margherita Bianchin and
Lina Bernier have been named to the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) All-Academic Team, the league announced on Wednesday.
Bianchin holds a 3.82 grade-point-average in International Relations. On the court, the junior from Treviso, Italy, holds a 24-4 record with her partner at the No. 1 spot, and is currently part of the tandem that is ranked No. 5 in the nation, by Collegebeachvb.com, at the top spot. She has recorded a 5-2 record against tandems that are currently ranked in the top-20 of the Collegebeachvb.com poll and are 3-2 against duos in the top-10. Bianchin and her teammate,
Federica Frasca, have won 17 of their last 20 matches on the year, which includes a stretch of 13-straight wins.
Bernier boasts a 3.8 grade-point-average in Biomedical Engineering. She Is 15-12 on the year, 11-7 at the No. 3 position, and 4-3 at No. 2. In addition, the sophomore from San Juan, Puerto Rico is 12-4 in her last 16 matches to close out the regular season, having played with
Madison Besterfield (11-4) and
Erika Zembyla (2-0) in those 16 outings. The 16-match stretch includes a span of nine-straight wins.
No. 10-ranked FIU will get back on the sand this Friday, April 20, as the Panthers face the College of Charleston (CoC) on the first day of the CCSA Tournament in Emerson, Georgia. First serve at the Lakepoint Sporting Community is slated for 10:30 a.m. FIU comes into the three-day event as the No. 3 seed, while the Cougars are the No. 7 seed.
The Panthers, who come into this weekend with a 20-8 record and a 7-3 slate in CCSA play this year, closed out the regular season, last weekend, with commanding back-to-back dual wins over UAB, 5-0 on April 13, and 4-1 on April 14.
##########
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUVolleyball) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUVolleyball) for all the latest FIU volleyball news.
Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
