Florida State beach volleyball will seek its second straight conference championship. The Seminoles will begin this seasons new journey on October 9 in Manhattan Beach CA, at the West Coast Championships.
Florida State beach volleyball will begin its fall season with a series of tournaments starting on October 9 with the West Coast Championship in Manhattan Beach CA.
This fall Florida State will also play October 10-11 at the AVCA East Tournament in Fort Walton Beach, October 24-25 at the Hickory Point Bid Event in Tavares FL, November 6-7 at the UNF Fall Invitational, November 6-8 at the AVCA Pairs Championship in Huntsville AL, and they will finish their fall schedule on Nov 20-22 at the Kauai Beach College Invitational in Lihue HI.
Last season Florida State finished their season 35-3 and won the Big 12 Beach Volleyball Championship in its first year in the conference. They were the No. 1 seed going into the conference championship defeating TCU 3-0 for the title.
In the NCAA Tournament, Florida State entered as the No. 5 seed. They beat Stetson, and the reigning champion USC, but lost in the Final Four 3-1 to the Stanford Cardinal.
Key players who contributed to the successful run were Alexis Durish and Audrey Koenig. The pair finished their season as the only pair to go undefeated on court one in 2026. To date, only USC and LSU have ever had a pair go undefeated.
They were named Big 12 Pair of the Year and Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Pair, and were finalists for AVCA National Pair of the Year. Both players received All-American honors in 2026.
Head Coach Brooke Niles will have a new roster and will need to replace the senior leadership of players like Paige Kalhoff and Carra Sassack, both fifth-year seniors. Kalhoff was a freshman All-American during her time at FIU, before coming to Florida State.
Niles will depend on a mix of returning players, plus freshmen and transfers. Koenig and Durish headline the key players coming back. Gella Andrew (along with Koenig and Durish), was also a member of last year's All-Big 12 Championship team.
Niles signed USC transfer Jess Horwath and Camryn Haworth from Indiana. Niles also got star-studded twins Addison and Avery Junk to commit, and to enroll early so they could compete in the fall season.
Niles herself is coming off of an impressive year. In 2026 she notched win No. 300 and was named Big 12 Coach of the Year. In her time at Florida State Niles has led them to nine straight NCAA Tournament appearances, and has won seven conference titles.
