Florida State University Athletics
Freire, Paranagua Named AVCA Beach All-Americans
5/17/2018 1:12:33 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State beach volleyball’s Vanessa Freire and Tory Paranagua earned All-American honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), the coaches’ association announced on Thursday (May 17).
Freire and Paranagua are one of eight teams selected as AVCA All-Americans this season. The pair earned wins over four other All-American pairs this season, including CCSA opponents Frasca/Bianchin of FIU, Coppola/Nuss of LSU and Mertz/McHugh of Tulane, and Hawaii’s Maglio/Schucht.
As FSU’s trusted pair in the No. 1 position this season, Freire and Paranagua collected an 18-6 record, with a 15-4 record in dual matches, all earned on the first court. After teaming up midway through the season, the two went on to earn eight ranked wins and help FSU win its third consecutive CCSA Championship and finish as the NCAA National Runners-Up for the second time in their careers.
Paranagua became the fifth player in FSU history to reach 100 career overall wins, and Freire followed right behind her partner to become the sixth player in program history to ever reach the milestone.
The two will leave the program with their names covering the record books, as Paranagua holds the record for most career dual match wins (99), while Freire falls right behind her partner (96). Paranagua holds the second-most career overall wins in program history (116), the second-most wins at the No. 2 position (42) and is tied for the third-most wins at No. 1 (29). Freire’s 109 career overall wins ranks fifth all-time, she holds the third-most wins at the No. 2 position (36) and the No. 3 position (28).
The pair first made an appearance at the Surf N Turf Invitational in Miami this season, earning a pair of wins in their first two dual match together against Tulane and FIU, helping FSU sweep both teams. They went on to win 10 consecutive matches, helping FSU take down tough conference opponents LSU and Georgia State.
They went 4-1 at the CCSA Championship, including a win over FIU’s All-Americans, Frasca and Bianchin, to send the Seminoles to the finals. They continued on in the postseason at the No. 1 position, picking up a close three-set win over Hawaii’s Maglio/Schucht in the NCAA Championship semifinals.
At the USA Volleyball Collegiate Beach Championships, the pair finished first in Pool B and entered the playoff bracket as the No. 2 duo. They advanced to the semifinals with a pair of straight-set wins, and ultimately fell to teammates Katie Horton and Hailey Luke and finished fourth in the women’s tournament.
Florida State has accumulated 13 AVCA All-American recognitions among 10 different players in its seven-year history. Head coach Brooke Niles has seen a pair earn All-American honors every year since coming to FSU prior to the 2016 season.
2018 AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball All-Americans
Torrey Van Winden, California Polytechnic State University
Tia Miric, California Polytechnic State University
Federica Frasca, Florida International University
Margherita Bianchin, Florida International University
Victoria Paranagua, Florida State University
Vanessa Freire, Florida State University
Claire Coppola, Louisiana State University
Kristen Nuss, Louisiana State University
Madeline Mertz, Tulane University
Kaylie McHugh, Tulane University
Megan McNamara***, UCLA
Nicole McNamara***, UCLA
Emily Maglio**, University of Hawai’i
Ka’iwi Schucht, University of Hawai’i
Abril Bustamante, University of Southern California
Tina Graudina, University of Southern California
2018 AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball Honorable Mention
Lily Justine, UCLA
Sarah Sponcil, UCLA
Deahna Kraft, Pepperdine University
Corinne Quiggle, Pepperdine University
Nele Barber, Long Beach State University
Molly Turner, Grand Canyon University
Florida State All-Americans
Aurora Davis (2012)
Jekaterina Stepanova (2012)
Brittany Tiegs (2012)
Jace Pardon (2013)
Sarah Wickstrom (2013)
Aurora Davis (2014)
Jace Pardon (2014)
Julie Brown (2016)
Jace Pardon (2016)
Leigh Andrew (2017)
Brooke Kuhlman (2017)
Vanessa Friere (2018)
Tory Paranagua (2018)
The 2018 selections were made by the AVCA Beach Volleyball All-America Committee: chairperson Beth Van Fleet (Georgia State), Kristen Rohr (Grand Canyon), Wayne Holly (Tulane), Capri Grotowski (FAU), Jeff Hall (Hawai’i), Anna Collier (Southern California).
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