ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — The Florida Gulf Coast University beach volleyball program made its presence felt on the summer circuit, as multiple Eagle duos battled through a loaded open field at the Sunshine State Outdoor Volleyball Association (SSOVA) tournament spanning June 20–21.

The tandem of FGCU’s Elaina Millaway and Houston Christian University’s Mollie Thomas, as well as in-coming FGCU player Cora Darling and her FGCU teammate Emma Soncrant, led the charge, securing a two-way tie for third place overall. Also competing in the open draw was the duo of in-coming FGCU player Hanna Hall and future Eagle Madison Rantin, finishing in a four-way tie for ninth place in the 17-team field to wrap up their weekend on the sand.

Entering as the No. 5 seed, Millaway and Thomas opened their weekend with a 21-11, 21-18 straight-set victory over No. 12 Lilly Russell and Morgan Willis. The win set up a second-round showdown against Darling and Soncrant. Millaway and Thomas claimed the opening frame 21-15, but Darling and Soncrant rallied to secure the second set 29-27 before taking the deciding third set 15-12.

Pushed into the contender’s bracket, Millaway and Thomas bounced back by grinding out a 28-22 victory in the bracket’s single-set format over No. 2 seed Kendall Edwards and Sarah Murczek. They followed with another hard-fought victory, outlasting No. 11 Lola Hufnagel and Karsyn Smith 28-26 to advance.

Their deep run finally ended in a three-set semifinal battle against top-seeded tournament champions Andrea Da Silva Encinas and Taylor Pierce. After dropping the first set 21-12, Millaway and Thomas drew even with a 21-19 win in the second before falling 15-7 in the final set.

Seeded No. 13 in the open draw, Darling and Soncrant kicked off their tournament run with a 21-10, 21-17 straight-set upset over No. 4 seed Emerson Gitt and Kathilia Paraspolo. The duo followed it up by outlasting Millaway and Thomas in three sets (15-21, 29-27, 15-12).

Their winner’s bracket run was halted by Da Silva Encinas and Pierce in a tight 21-15, 21-19 battle. Darling and Soncrant recovered in the contender’s bracket with a 28-21 single-set win over No. 7 seed Emmery Capra and Kirra Snider. Their weekend wrapped up in the semifinals with a 21-11, 21-18 loss to No. 15 seed and tournament runner-up Valeria Flores Franco and Keishlyann Sanchez Viera.

Seeded No. 9 in the open draw, the future FGCU tandem of in-coming freshman Hall and verbal commit Rantin kicked off their weekend with a three-set victory over the No. 8-seeded duo of Charley Chickanosky and Natalie Harvey. Hall and Rantin set the tone early by taking the opening frame 21-17. After dropping the second set 21-14, the future Eagles showed their resilience in the tiebreaker, recovering to edge out a tight 15-13 victory in the deciding third set.

The celebration was short-lived as the pair fell to Da Silva Encinas and Pierce in a hard-fought 21-12, 21-17 battle. Hall and Rantin faced another tough draw against No. 3 seed Rebecca Bach and Sammy Dill in the contender’s bracket, ultimately falling 28-14 to conclude their tournament run.