MIAMI (Feb. 19, 2020) – The Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) announced its beach volleyball preseason honors on Wednesday. The FIU beach volleyball duo of Federica Frasca and Margherita Bianchin was named to the Preseason All-Conference Team for a second-straight season.
Click here for full CCSA release.
The pair comes into their final season, having received All-American recognition by the America Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) following the 2019 and 2018 campaigns.
Last season, the tandem finished with an impressive 22-6 overall record, including a stellar 20-5 ledger on court one, and a 2-1 mark on court two. Bianchin and Frasca, who ended the season ranked No. 6 in the nation at the number one position by Collegiatebeachvb.com, earned CCSA Pair of the Week and AVCA National Pair of the Week once each, and were selected to the CCSA All-Conference Team.
In 2018, the tandem went 27-8 and was one of just six duos nationwide, at No. 1, that posted 25-or-more wins. The pair finished the year ranked the No. 10 pair in the nation at the No. 1 spot (according to Collegebeachvb.com), having won 20 of their last 27 matches on the year. Bianchin and Frasca also helped the Panthers to their first-ever NCAA Championships during their sophomore seasons.
Lina Bernier was named to the CCSA Watch List, the league announced. The senior received honors all-tournament honors following a perfect 4-0 record with then partner Erika Zembyla at the 2019 CCSA tournament. On the year, the duo was 16-4 overall, while going 13-3 on court four, 2-0 on court five and 1-1 on court three.
FIU begins its 2020 campaign with the UNF Beach Invitational on Friday, Feb. 21. The team faces Georgia State, Florida Atlantic, Mercer, and host North Florida during the two-day tournament.
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Get all the latest information on the team by following @FIUVolleyball on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook or @FIU_Beach on Instagram and @FIUBeach on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.
