Florida State beach volleyball enters NCAAs confident, on win streak

For the Florida State beach volleyball team, a week-long trip to California earlier this season could make all the difference this weekend.

The Seminoles (30-6) -- the No. 4 seed in this weekend's NCAA Championship in Gulf Shores, Alabama -- spent their spring break on the beautiful beaches of California taking on some of the best teams in the sport.

With each of the top three and four of the top five seeds in the double-elimination tournament hailing from California or Hawaii, the importance of that trip is not lost on the team.

"It helps a lot in terms of scouting. That's one of my favorite things to do," FSU head coach Brooke Niles said.

"We definitely know we can compete with them and we're ready to challenge ourselves at NCAAs."

The results of the trip weren't what FSU was looking for -- a 2-5 record with close 3-2 losses to UCLA and USC -- but the experience gained is immeasurable.

"We didn't do as well as we wanted to in California, but just seeing the competition and what it's like, a lot of those games could have gone either way," senior Tory Paranagua said.

"Just seeing how close we were, even when things weren't going our way, was really encouraging. I think we have all the tools we need now moving forward."

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During its West Coast trip, FSU was still tinkering to figure out its pairs and which lines they would compete on.

Figuring it out since, it will give any teams from that area that the Seminoles come across this weekend in Gulf Shores a new look.

"We have some pairs that a lot of the teams haven’t seen yet on the West Coast and I think that’s really to our advantage," senior Vanessa Freire said.

"I think we’re a much stronger team now. These West Coast teams are not going to know what hit them."

Since returning from the California trip, the Seminoles have won 20 of their last 21 matches and enter NCAAs on an 18-match win streak.

Not only have the Seminoles been winning, they have been dominating their opponents. Of the 18 matches on the current win streak, 14 of the victories have been shutouts.

"We worked really hard in conference to be one of the top teams in the East," sophomore Sara Putt said.

"I think we’re going to peak at the right time."

The Seminoles have made the Final Four in the eight-team tournament each of the two years it has been an NCAA-sanctioned sport.

Their opening-round opponent, No. 5 USC, is the two-time defending national champion.

"With eight teams in the tournament, everyone is really good," Niles said.

"We’re just really excited to get to this point in the season and just compete."

FSU's opening match against the Trojans is set for 11 a.m. on Friday.

NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships

When: Friday, May 4th-Sunday, May 6th

Where: Gulf Beach Place, Gulf Shores, Alabama

TV: ESPNU/ESPN2/Championship Game on ESPN