MIAMI – The FIU beach volleyball team, coming off its first trip to the NCAA Championships in 2018, begins the 2019 campaign ranked No. 12 in the Preseason DiG Magazine Collegiate Beach Volleyball Poll, announced recently.   

Click here to see complete DiG Magazine Preseason Poll.

"I am happy that we are ranked No. 12 at the beginning of the season, but our goal is to be in the top eight," said FIU beach volleyball Head Coach Rita Buck-Crockett. "I am sure we will move up as the season gets going."

Six of the Panthers' opponents are ranked in the top seven of the poll, including the top four teams – UCLA, USC, Pepperdine and Florida State – and 11 are ranked in the Top 20. In addition, FIU is one of four members of the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association to be ranked among the top 12 teams.

Last season, the Panthers posted a 23-12 record, and a 7-3 mark in Coastal Collegiate Sports Association play, advancing to their first-ever NCAA Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama. FIU finished the year ranked No. 9 in the final AVCA poll, and No. 10 in the final DiG Magazine rankings.

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