The Florida Atlantic University beach volleyball team, ranked No. 15 nationally, began its 2026 season with two victories on the opening day in Boca Raton. The team defeated Coastal Carolina by a score of 3-2 and later secured a 4-1 win against Boise State.
Florida Atlantic now holds a 2-0 record to start the season. Coastal Carolina’s record stands at 0-1, while Boise State is even at 1-1 after their first matches.
In the match against Coastal Carolina, Cameron Knifton and Allison Spittal gave Florida Atlantic an early lead with a three-set win on court five. After several back-and-forth results across the courts, Kendall Mignerey and Reese Edwards clinched the overall victory for Florida Atlantic by winning their match on court two in three sets.
Against Boise State, Klaire VanDeusen and Mia Scanlon secured Florida Atlantic’s first point with a straight-set victory on court four. Olivia Strandberg and Ava Koehl followed with another win, and Knifton and Spittal clinched the match for the Owls with a comeback victory in three sets. Denisse Morgenstern and Shantel Starling added another point before Boise State won the final contest of the match.
Both Coastal Carolina and Boise State received votes in the AVCA preseason poll. With these wins, Florida Atlantic improves its all-time record to 3-1 against Coastal Carolina and remains undefeated at 2-0 versus Boise State.
The pairs of Knifton/Spittal and Strandberg/Koehl finished the day unbeaten at 2-0, both playing together as pairs for the first time. VanDeusen/Scanlon, Mignerey/Edwards, and Morgenstern/Starling each ended opening day with one win and one loss. For Morgenstern and Starling, it was their debut as partners.
Florida Atlantic will continue play in the Beach Burrow Bash on Saturday, February 21, facing Palm Beach Atlantic at 2 p.m., followed by a matchup against conference rival FIU at 4 p.m.
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