MACON, Georgia (April 3, 2018) –For the second-straight week, the FIU women's beach volleyball tandem of Federica Frasca (Rome, Italy) and Margherita Bianchin (Treviso, Italy) have earned Pair of the Week honors, this time from the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association, the conference announced on Tuesday. 
 
The Panthers' No. 1 pair continues to be one of the most dominating tandems in collegiate beach volleyball, turning in a 4-2 record this past weekend, and improving their record to a stellar 23-3 on the year. They are one of just three tandems at No. 1, nationwide, that has 20-or-more wins this season. Their 23 wins are currently the most in the nation this year.  

The duo, currently ranked the No. 4 pair at the No. 1 spot, defeated their opponents from No. 11 Grand Canyon (21-12, 16-21, 15-13), No. 8 South Carolina (21-18, 21-17), Tulane (21-16, 15-21, 15-7) and No. 9 Georgia State (21-18, 21-18). Of their four wins, two came against pairs that are currently ranked in the top 30 of the Collegebeachvb.com pairs rankings – the No. 29 duo of Shannon Williams and Ali Denney from South Carolina, and the No. 12 pair of Annika and Teegan Van Gunst from Georgia State. The tandem has won 16 of their last 18 matches on the year. As a pairing, Bianchin and Frasca are 43-8 all-time, including 34-8 at No. 1. 

FIU, ranked No. 10 in both the American Volleyball Coaches Association and DiG Magazine national polls, turned in a 3-3 record this past weekend, hosting its signature event, the FIU Surf 'N' Turf Invitational on South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida. The Panthers defeated No. 11 Grand Canyon (3-2), No. 8 South Carolina (4-1) and No. 9 Georgia State (3-2) during the two-day event. FIU also improve to 5-3 in Coastal Collegiate Sports Association play. 

The Panthers remain almost unbeatable at the No. 1 and No. 5 positions. In addition to Frasca and Bianchin at the top spot, five pairs – Erin Byrne/Mariana Dal Pozzo (4-1), Dal Pozzo/Taija Thomas (14-4), Dal Pozzo/Mariana DePaula Silva (0-1), Erin Byrne and Mackenzie Walker (1-0), and Estefani Bethancourt and Natalia Giron (1-0) – have combined for a record of 20-6 at No. 5. Bethancourt and Giron have also been impressive at the No. 4 position, boasting an impressive 16-7 record on the year. 

FIU will get a break from match competition until it closes the regular season with back-to-back duals against UAB on April 13-14 at the FIU Beach Volleyball Courts in Miami.

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