No. 15 Florida Atlantic Sweeps Opening Day of Chanticleer Challenge

Friday, March 6

Conway, S.C.

8 a.m.

Florida Atlantic

Tulane

No. 15 Florida Atlantic Sweeps Opening Day of Chanticleer Challenge

3/6/2026 8:43:00 PM | No. 15 Women's Beach Volleyball

CONWAY, S.C. – The No. 15-ranked Florida Atlantic beach volleyball team swept its opening day of the Chanticleer Challenge, earning a pair of wins over Tulane, 3-2, and Coastal Carolina, 4-1.

Florida Atlantic improved to 9-1 overall, while Tulane fell to 5-5 overall and Coastal Carolina dropped to 3-6 on the season.

In the Chanticleer Challenge opener, Klaire VanDeusen and Mia Scanlon put the Sandy Owls on the board first, capturing a straight-set win at the 4s, 21-19, 21-15. Olivia Strandberg and Ava Koehl extended FAU's lead to 2-0, rallying to capture a three-set comeback win on court two, 12-21, 21-19, 15-13. Cameron Knifton and Allison Spittal clinched the match for the Owls, earning another straight-set win on court five, 21-19, 21-18. Tulane took courts three and one to eventually close out the Owls' 3-2 victory.

The Sandy Owls closed out the day with a 4-1 win over Coastal Carolina. Strandberg and Koehl got FAU started, winning 21-15, 21-15 on court two. Reese Edwards and Kendall Mignerey extended the Owls' lead to 2-0 after earning a straight-set win at the 4s, 21-17, 21-18. VanDeusen and Scanlon clinched the match for Florida Atlantic, earning a dominant 21-14, 21-14 win on court three. Knifton and Spittal pushed the Owls' lead to 4-0 after capturing their second straight-set win of the day at the 5s, 21-16, 24-22. The Chanticleers eventually got on the board with a win on court one to close out the 4-1 win.

No. 15 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 3 – TULANE 2
Scores
1. 1 Emma Morris/Katie Hansen (TULA) def. Denisse Morgenstern/Shantel Starling (FAU) 21-10, 26-28, 15-10
2. Olivia Strandberg/Ava Koehl (FAU) def. Molly Trodd/Skylar Ensign (TULA) 12-21, 21-19, 15-13
3. Amirah Ali/Tawny Ensign (TULA) def. Reese Edwards/Kendall Mignerey (FAU) 21-12, 21-11
4. Klaire VanDeusen/Mia Scanlon (FAU) def. McKenzie Cutler/Sam O'Connor (TULA) 21-19, 21-15
5. Cameron Knifton/Allison Spittal (FAU) def. Avery Burks/Gigi Gallegos (TULA) 21-19, 21-18

Order of finish: 4, 2, 5, 3, 1

No. 15 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 4 – COASTAL CAROLINA 1
Scores
1. Frida Meincke Lyo/Emma Kunaus (CCU) def. Denisse Morgenstern/Shantel Starling (FAU) 21-15, 15-21, 15-11
2 Olivia Strandberg/Ava Koehl (FAU) def. Kristyna Koblizkova/Maya McNabney (CCU) 21-15, 21-15
3 Klaire VanDeusen/Mia Scanlon (FAU) def. Courtney Burnham/Madeline Sigmon (CCU) 21-14, 21-14
4 Reese Edwards/Kendall Mignerey (FAU) def. Jillian Stein/Anna Rita (CCU) 21-17, 21-18
5 Cameron Knifton/Allison Spittal (FAU) def. Ava Novello/Ella Wadsworth (CCU) 21-16, 24-22,

Order of finish: 2, 4, 3, 5, 1

NOTABLES

Florida Atlantic improved to 12-4 all-time against the Green Wave, and 4-1 against the Chanticleers.
The Owls' win over Coastal Carolina was their second this season.
Knifton and Spittal earned another pair of wins on Friday, improving their season record to a team-best 9-1.
Koehl and Strandberg, and VanDeusen and Scanlon also finished 2-0 on the day, improving to 8-1 and 7-2 on the season, respectively.
Mignerey and Reese finished 1-1 on Friday, moving to 4-5 as a pair this season.

UP NEXT
The Owls will wrap up the Chanticleer Challenge on Saturday, taking on No. 4 Cal Poly and Georgia State.

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