No. 1-Seed Florida Atlantic Falls in CUSA Championship Final

Saturday, April 25

Youngsville, La.

10 a.m.

Florida Atlantic

UAB

No. 1-Seed Florida Atlantic Falls in CUSA Championship Final

4/25/2026 7:01:00 PM | No. 19 Women's Beach Volleyball

YOUNGSVILLE, La. – The No. 1-seed Florida Atlantic beach volleyball team defeated No. 2 UAB 3-2 to earn a spot in the CUSA Championship final, but came up just short, falling 3-0 against No. 5 Tulane on Saturday at Sugar Beach.

SEMIFINAL
Kendall Mignerey and Shayna Wolf put the Sandy Owls on the board first, earning a 21-19, 21-10 straight-set sweep on court four. Cameron Knifton and Allison Spittal extended the Owls' lead to 2-0 after taking the court five win in two sets, 21-16, 21-14. UAB cut the Owls' lead in half after taking a two-set win at the 1s. The Blazers tied up the match 2-2 after taking a 22-20, 22-20 battle on court three. However, Olivia Strandberg and Ava Koehl earned the dual-winning point on court two, rallying for a comeback three-set victory, 15-21, 21-16, 15-11, to clinch the Owls' 3-2 semifinal win.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
In the championship match, Tulane struck first, taking a 22-20, 21-19 win on court five. The Green Wave extended their lead to 2-0 after taking a 21-17, 23-21 two-set win on court one. Tulane eventually clinched the win on court three, holding off the Sandy Owls' late rally to take a three-set battle, 21-13, 15-21, 15-9, to close out the championship final, 3-0.

No. 1 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 3 – No. 2 UAB 2
Scores
1. Olivia Stant/Jasmine Haas (UAB) def. Denisse Morgenstern/Shantel Starling (FAU) 25-23, 21-11
2. Olivia Strandberg/Ava Koehl (FAU) def. Pien Grooters/Virginia Voitier (UAB) 15-21, 21-16, 15-11
3. Ava Knott/Olivia Chychrun (UAB) def. Klaire VanDeusen/Mia Scanlon (FAU) 22-20, 22-20
4. Kendall Mignerey/Shayna Wolf (FAU) def. Isabel Day/Claudia Stockard (UAB) 21-19, 21-10
5. Cameron Knifton/Allison Spittal (FAU) def. Sadie Sharpe/Ashley Torsone (UAB) 21-16, 21-14

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

No. 1 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 0 – No. 5 TULANE 3
Scores
1. Molly Trodd/Skylar Ensign (TU) def. Denisse Morgenstern/Shantel Starling (FAU) 21-23, 17-21
2. Olivia Strandberg/Ava Koehl (FAU) vs. Emma Morris/Katie Hansen (TU) 21-23, 21-18, 2-2 (unf.)
3. Amirah Ali/Tawny Ensign (TU) def. Klaire VanDeusen/Mia Scanlon (FAU) 21-13, 15-21, 15-9
4. Kendall Mignerey/Shayna Wolf (FAU) vs. McKenzie Cutler/Sam O'Connor (TU) 17-21, 21-20 (unf.)
5. Avery Burks/Lauren Mann (TU) def. Cameron Knifton/Allison Spittal (FAU) 22-20, 21-19

Order of finish: 5, 1, 3

NOTABLES

Florida Atlantic finishes the season with a 22-16 overall record, marking the second-most season wins in program history.
The pairs of Strandberg and Koehl, as well as Mignerey and Wolf were named to the CUSA All-Tournament Team‎.
The Sandy Owls improve to 13-1 all-time against UAB, while moving to 12-6 against Tulane.
With their wins over UAB, Strandberg and Koehl finish with a team second-best 20-15 record, while Knifton and Spittal and Mignerey and Wolf improves to 13-11 and 3-1, respectively, to close out the season.

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