MIAMI (April 16, 2019) – The No. 9-ranked FIU beach volleyball team has earned the No. 3 seed in the upcoming 2019 Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) Beach Volleyball Championship set to begin on Friday, April 19, and run through Sunday, April 21, as all 12 league teams return to the Lakepoint Sporting Community in Emerson, Georgia.

The Panthers will begin pool play on April 19, at 10:30 a.m., against 10^th-seeded UAB, before closing out the afternoon against the six-seeded Florida Atlantic at 4:30 p.m.

The No. 3 seed ties FIU's highest seeding in CCSA Championship history. The Blue and Gold comes in with a 14-10 mark on the season, 5-3 against CCSA opponents this year. The Panthers enter the tournament having won two of their last three duals, three of their last five, and nine of their last 15 to end the regular season.

The following are the pool seedings for the CCSA Championships:
Pool 1: #1 Florida State, #8 College of Charleston, #12 Southern Mississippi
Pool 2: #2 LSU, #7 TCU, #11 UNCW
Pool 3: #3 FIU, #6 FAU, #10 UAB
Pool 4: #4 South Carolina, #5 Georgia State, #9 Tulane

The tournament, beginning on April 19, will feature pool play with an Elimination Round and quarterfinal competition on April 20, followed by the semifinals and final on April 21. Pool play will take place within four groups of three teams. The championship will be played at 12 p.m. on Sunday.

The top team from each pool after the conclusion of pool play will receive a bye to the quarterfinals. Teams finishing second or third in their pool will participate in an elimination round with winners advancing to the quarterfinals.

For quarterfinal pairings, the top ranked pool winner will be designated as 1A and be the top seeded team in the quarterfinal round, with 1B, 1C and 1D to follow as quarterfinal seeds 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The Elimination Round winners will be ranked in order based on the Tournament Tiebreaker formula. The top ranked Elimination Round winner shall be designated as E1, with E2, E3 and E4 to follow as quarterfinal seeds 5-8, respectively. No quarterfinal matchup shall be a replay of a pool play matchup. Seed 1A shall be the highest seed in the quarterfinal bracket and will face the lowest seeded Elimination Round winner that it has yet to face in the event. If this matchup is a rematch from pool play, 1A will face E3 (or E2, ensuring no rematches). The same process will follow for seeds 1B, 1C, and 1D.

2019 CCSA Tournament Schedule

Friday, April 19
9:00 a.m.
Match 1 - Pool I: #1 FSU vs. #12 Southern Miss. - Courts 1-5
Match 2 - Pool II: #2 LSU vs. #11 UNCW - Courts 6-10

10:30 a.m.
Match 3 - Pool III: #3 FIU vs. #10 UAB - Courts 1-5
Match 4 - Pool IV: #4 South Carolina vs. #9 Tulane - Courts 6-10

12:00 p.m.
Match 5 - Pool I: #8 College of Charleston vs. #12 Southern Miss. - Courts 6-10
Match 6 - Pool II: #7 TCU vs. #11 UNCW - Courts 1-5

1:30 p.m.
Match 7 - Pool III: #6 FAU vs. #10 UAB - Courts 6-10
Match 8 - Pool IV: #5 GSU vs. #9 Tulane - Courts 1-5

3:00 p.m.
Match 9 - Pool I: #1 FSU vs. #8 College of Charleston - Courts 6-10
Match 10 - Pool II: #7 TCU vs. #2 LSU - Courts 1-5

4:30 p.m.
Match 11 - Pool III: #3 FIU vs. #6 FAU - Courts 6-10
Match 12 - Pool IV: #4 South Carolina vs. #5 GSU - Courts 1-5

Saturday, April 20
9:00 a.m.
Match 13 - Elimination Round: Pool I #2 vs. Pool IV #3 - Courts 1-5
Match 14 - Elimination Round: Pool II #2 vs. Pool III #3 - Courts 6-10

10:30 a.m.
Match 15 - Elimination Round: Pool III #2 vs. Pool II #3 - Courts 1-5
Match 16 - Elimination Round: Pool IV #2 vs. Pool I #3 - Courts 6-10

1:30 p.m.
Match 17 - Quarterfinal: 1A vs. E4 (or next lowest E seed if 1A has faced E4 already) - Courts 1-5
Match 18 - Quarterfinal: 1B vs. E3 (or next lowest E seed if 1B has faced E3 already) - Courts 6-10

3:00 p.m.
Match 19 - Quarterfinal: 1C vs. E2 (or next lowest E seed if 1C has faced E2 already) - Courts 1-5
Match 20 - Quarterfinal: 1D vs. E1 (unless E seed changed due to rematch conflict for 1A, 1B or 1C) - Courts 6-10

Sunday, April 21
10:00 a.m.
Match 21 - Semifinal: Winner Match 17 vs. Winner Match 20 - Courts 1-5
Match 22 - Semifinal: Winner Match 18 vs. Winner Match 19 - Courts 6-10

12:00 p.m.
Match 23 - Final: Winner Match 21 vs. Winner Match 22 - Courts 1-5
The CCSA Awards ceremony will take place immediately following the championship match.

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