2022 NCAA Division I Women's Beach Volleyball Championship

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Beach Volleyball 5/8/2022 11:54:00 AM

NCAA Tournament Run Highlights Record-Breaking Season for Sandy Panthers

Beach Volleyball 5/8/2022 11:54:00 AM

NCAA Tournament Run Highlights Record-Breaking Season for Sandy Panthers

A Season for the Record Books

Program high 28-13 final record
Inaugural 2022 Conference USA Beach Volleyball Championship
First conference title in program history
Program-high No. 7 Final AVCA National Ranking
First-ever second-round NCAA Tournament victory in GSU athletics school history (across all sports)
Upset over No. 2 seeded TCU tied the highest-ranking victory in GSU athletics school history (across all sports)
Largest upset in NCAA Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship tournament history (over No. 2 TCU)
Program-best 14 match winning streak
Program-record three pairs named AVCA Top Flight for 2022 (Ferary // Ferary; Whetstone // Kuck; Kleespies // Tresham)
Program-record three pairs named to Conference USA All-Academic First Team
Three pairs named to Conference USA All-Tournament Team (Ferary // Ferary; Whetstone // Kuck; Kleespies // Tresham)
All-Conference USA First-Team pair Angel Ferary and Bella Ferary charted a 37-2 final record for the spring; the most wins and highest winning percentage for any individual or pair in program history

Georgia State beach volleyball opened its 2022 season at the Green Wave Invitational in New Orleans with a .500 start at 2-2. The team dropped dual matches against host Tulane and LSU on Feb. 25, and followed up the first day of competition with wins facing Spring Hill College and Nicholls on Feb. 26.

For nine seasons, head coach Beth Van Fleet has helped to build and grow the Sandy Panthers' beach volleyball program into a national brand with a winning pedigree. After the lackluster start to the spring in the team's opening weekend, Van Fleet remained confident knowing it was only the beginning of a long season.

"We have to play better," Van Fleet said. "We will."

The team traveled to Fort Worth, Texas for the Horned Frog Challenge on March 4-5. Though the Panthers fell to host No. 5 TCU and No. 3 Florida State, the trip was highlighted by ranked victories over No. 16 Stetson and No. 18 South Carolina as GSU charted a 3-2 record for the weekend. Teaming for a 4-1 mark on the weekend that included a victory over fifth-ranked TCU at the second flight, Kayla Whetstone and Yasmin Kuck earned Conference USA Pair of the Week honors for the duo's performance in Fort Worth.

The team was beginning to find its form, and momentum seemed to be building in Atlanta.

The Panthers returned home to host the team's annual Day of Duals on March 9 as GSU opened C-USA play with a battle facing Coastal Carolina. GSU posted a resounding sweep, 5-0, against the conference foe, and followed up the shutout performance with two additional 5-0 victories over Tusculum and Mercer to finish 3-0 at the first of two home tournaments to be hosted by the Panthers in the spring.

With six of the team's 12 early-season outings seeing the Panthers take on ranked opponents, GSU entered a well-deserved bye week before gearing up for the fourth annual March to May in Gulf Shores, Ala. beginning on March 18. The tournament hosted by C-USA member institution UAB would include eight nationally ranked opponents in what was to be a preview of the NCAA Championship taking place at the same site later in the spring.

Climbing to No. 13 in the AVCA collegiate beach volleyball poll, the Panthers opened the tournament with back-to-back victories over conference foe and host UAB as well as No. 20 Tulane in a rematch. Following the first day of March to May competition, 13th-ranked GSU improved to 10-4 for the spring.

With scheduling conflicts due to weather forcing GSU to face three top-10 opponents in the span of six hours for the second day of tournament competition in Gulf Shores, the Panthers dropped three straight duals against No. 7 Grand Canyon, No. 1 UCLA and No. 5 LSU as the team closed out the weekend holding a 10-7 record on the year.

Despite the adversity, the team battled the top-ranked Bruins of UCLA to a thrilling 2-3 decision with the dual match decided by a narrow three-set defeat at the top court. Taking the Bruins' opposing pair to three sets, top pair Elise Saga and Kelly Dorn found themselves within a point of downing UCLA's first court and securing an upset victory in favor of GSU.

Stringing together wins in 14 of 15 outings at the fourth flight for the Panthers having been defeated only once facing a No. 5 ranked TCU, twin sisters Angel Ferary and Bella Ferary would drop a second match facing No. 1 UCLA at the No. 4 court. The loss would be the pair's last for the 2022 season, and the Panthers maintained their grit as the team continued to compete in every outing.

Traveling to DeLand, Fla. on March 26, GSU once again saw back-to-back narrow losses in tournament play against conference opponents No. 19 FIU and No. 10 FAU. Finding a way to regroup for the second day of competition on March 27, the Panthers returned to play in DeLand and charted another sweep, 5-0, against C-USA opponent Coastal Carolina.

GSU followed up the victory by downing host No. 18 Stetson as the Panthers moved to 12-9 for the spring. The battle-tested beach team climbed to No. 11 in the AVCA rankings.

Less than a week later, the team was in Jacksonville, Fla. for the North Florida Invite set to rematch No. 10 FAU. The weekend's slate of competition would also include a second meeting with No. 4 FSU, a ranked matchup with No. 18 Pepperdine and a dual match against host North Florida.

GSU dropped for a second time facing the C-USA foe FAU in a narrow decision, 2-3. The Panthers responded with victories over the 18th-ranked Pepperdine, 3-2, and host UNF in a sweep, 5-0.

The team closed out the weekend in Jacksonville with a battle against the fourth-ranked Seminoles falling short of a win, 1-3. Grinding through a highly competitive schedule, the Panthers' streak of 13 straight dual matches on the road included 10 meetings against nationally ranked opponents.

Following the streak of road matches, the Panthers returned home once more for the team's second tournament of the spring hosted in Atlanta. Welcoming C-USA opponent UAB as well as non-conference competitors Tampa, Austin Peay and UTC to the annual GSU Digging Duals on April 8-9, 13th-ranked GSU downed all four teams and closed out tournament play at home unbeaten for the season at 7-0.

The 4-0 performance over the weekend was the start of a 14-match winning streak and what would be the team's longest streak of victories in school history.

GSU closed the regular season with ranked wins over No. 20 Florida Gulf Coast followed by No. 18 South Carolina in the teams' second matchup of the spring facing the Gamecocks. The Panthers notched dominant victories over College of Charleston and Coastal Carolina, each at a count of 4-1 and with the latter serving as a third win against the conference opponent in 2022.

Finishing the regular season of competition ranked No. 15 overall with a 22-11 mark for the spring, the Sandy Panthers entered the inaugural Conference USA Beach Volleyball Championship in Huntsville, Ala. as the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament.

The first day of C-USA Championship play on April 28 saw 15th-ranked GSU make quick work of No. 6-seeded Southern Miss in a win, 4-1, as the Panthers advanced to the second round of competition. Later that evening, GSU was to rematch second-seeded No. 13 FIU having previously fallen to the conference foe earlier in the year.

The No. 3 seeded Panthers quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead against No. 2 seed FIU, collecting straight-set victories at the fifth flight from Chloee Kleespies and Becky Tresham as well as from Whetstone and Kuck at the third flight. Preseason All-Conference USA pair Eden Hawes and Maddy Delmonte clinched the victory for GSU with a win at the second flight, and GSU played out the match to a 4-1 final against the 13th ranked FIU.

GSU's biggest test to-date at the time would see the Panthers face top-seeded No. 10 FAU for a third meeting with the conference's top-ranked team. Battling for a trip to the first-ever C-USA Beach Volleyball Championship title match, the Panthers fell behind early, 2-0, with losses at each of the top two courts.

Finding hard-fought three-set victories at flights No. 3 and No. 4, GSU evened the count at 2-2 and the match was to be decided at the fifth flight. Kleespies and Tresham secured a GSU victory in a thrilling battle to three sets ending in a win for the pair at the No. 5 position, and the Panthers defeated the No. 1-seeded FAU, 3-2, to advance to the conference title.

With a double elimination format for tournament play, No. 2 seed FIU defeated No. 1 seed FAU and GSU was to rematch FIU for the first-ever Conference USA Beach Championship title on April 30.

Staying true to form, GSU entered the match with confidence and posted a resounding victory in a sweep, 3-0, as the Panthers defeated FIU to capture the first-ever C-USA Championship title crown and the team's first-ever conference championship in program history. With the sweep, the Panthers accounted for 11 shutouts in dual match play for the 2022 season.

Charting a 34-2 record on the year with the pair's victory over FIU, the Ferary duo bested the single-season school record for wins by a pair previously standing at 33 while tying the school-record for individual wins with 34 each. The Ferary's were named All-Conference USA First-Team for 2022, and the sisters were among three pairs for the Panthers to receive All-Tournament Team honors following the championship in Huntsville.

Kuck and Whetstone partnered for a 3-1 mark at the third flight in C-USA Championship competition while Kleespies and Tresham posted an unbeaten record at 4-0 as each pair joined the Ferary's for All-Tournament Team honors.

The conference championship earned GSU the league's automatic bid to the NCAA National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship in Gulf Shores. Receiving the No. 10 overall seed for the national tournament, GSU was to face No. 7 seed Grand Canyon on May 4.

Entering NCAA Championship play, the Panthers dropped first sets at four of five court positions and fell behind, 0-1, as the team dropped at the top flight. Momentum shifted as the Ferary sisters collected a 35th victory on the year and evened the match for GSU with a three-set win, 21-15, 19-21, 15-5, at the fourth court.

With the sisters' victory, both Ferary's broke the school-record for individual victories in a season at 35 each.

GSU earned a second point with another three-set victory from Kuck and Whetstone at court No. 3. GCU once again evened the count at 2-2 as the Panthers dropped a competitive three-set battle at the fifth court.

Battling for the dual at the No. 2 flight, Hawes and Delmonte downed opponents for GCU in three sets, 13-21, 21-17, 16-14, and secured the win for the Panthers in the first round of the NCAA Championship. No. 10 seed GSU would advance to the second round of the national tournament with the victory, and the team was to face No. 2 overall seed TCU in the eight-team, double-elimination portion of championship play.

The Panthers started slow facing TCU as the team dropped on courts No. 1 and No. 5 and fell behind to the second-ranked team, 0-2. GSU saw first-set defeats at all three remaining court positions.

Fighting for survival, GSU rallied for second-set victories at courts No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 and forced a third set at each position. The Ferary's accounted for the team's first point of the match with a 36th victory for the season at the fourth flight.

Hawes and Delmonte fought to secure an additional point for GSU with a win in three sets, 16-21, 21-14, 15-13, evening the dual at 2-2. With the match to be decided by results at the third flight, Kuck and Whetstone downed opponents for TCU, 16-21, 23-21, 15-13, and clinched the upset victory for the Panthers.

The win marked the largest upset in NCAA National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship history and earned the school a second NCAA Tournament win for a team in a season for the first time in GSU athletics history. The victory over No. 2-ranked TCU also tied the school-record for highest-ranking win in GSU athletics history across all sports.

Advancing to the round of six on May 7, GSU battled No. 3 UCLA in a Saturday morning outing that saw the Panthers ultimately fall short of victory. Later that evening, No. 10-seeded GSU faced No. 4 seed LMU with each team fighting to extend tournament play.

GSU came out swinging facing No. 4 LMU and gained early first-set leads across all flights. The Ferary sisters downed opponents on court four to chart a 37-2 final record for the season while finishing the spring posting a .949% single-season winning percentage— the highest in school history.

With the Panthers leading, 1-0, LMU closed the gap in dual match play as GSU dropped at flights No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 and ultimately fell to the Lions, 1-3. GSU's historic 2022 season and tournament run had come to an end, and the Sandy Panthers wrapped their spring campaign having posted one of the most successful seasons for a team in GSU athletics history.

Third flight pair Whetstone and Kuck, fourth flight pair Ferary and Ferary and fifth flight pair Kleespies and Tresham all received AVCA Top-Flight Award honors for 2022. GSU finished the season posting a 28-13 final record for the year.

The Sandy Panthers will return in the fall of 2022 for limited tournament play before preparing to open the team's spring 2023 campaign with high expectations. Follow the Sandy Panthers on social media (@GSUBeachVB) for continued news and updates throughout the offseason.

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Players Mentioned

#14 Maddy Delmonte: 5' 10"; Sophomore

#5 Kelly Dorn: 5' 9"; Sophomore

#23 Eden Hawes: 5' 8"; Junior

#24 Becky Tresham: 5' 8"; Sophomore

#4 Elise Saga: 5' 9"; Freshman

#1 Angel Ferary: 5' 4"; Sophomore

#12 Bella Ferary: 5' 4"; Sophomore

#10 Yasmin Kuck: 5' 11"; Graduate Student

#2 Kayla Whetstone: Graduate Student

#7 Chloee Kleespies: 6' 2"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

#14 Maddy Delmonte
: 5' 10"; Sophomore

#5 Kelly Dorn
: 5' 9"; Sophomore

#23 Eden Hawes
: 5' 8"; Junior

#24 Becky Tresham
: 5' 8"; Sophomore

#4 Elise Saga
: 5' 9"; Freshman

#1 Angel Ferary
: 5' 4"; Sophomore

#12 Bella Ferary
: 5' 4"; Sophomore

#10 Yasmin Kuck
: 5' 11"; Graduate Student

#2 Kayla Whetstone
: Graduate Student

#7 Chloee Kleespies
: 6' 2"; Graduate Student