DALLAS – Conference USA announced its beach volleyball all-conference and superlative awards today. No. 12 Florida Atlantic earned three superlative awards in a vote of the league’s six head coaches. The Owls top pair Julie Honzovicova and Jillienne Cloud were named Pair of the Year, while Ashleigh Adams and UAB’s Jasmine Haas earned co-Freshman of the Year honors. FAU head coach Steve Grotowski was tabbed the Coach of the Year.

Four of the league’s six programs are represented on the All-Conference First Team Pairs and All-Freshman Team. This is the second season of beach volleyball in Conference USA.
 
Honzovicova, the 2022 Freshman of the year and Cloud have produced an unbeaten 9-0 record this season, including a 3-0 record during the league championship, as well as earning wins over then No. 3 Florida State, No. 18 Stetson, and two wins over No. 12 FIU. Cloud and Honzovicova are also individually the Sandy Owls best players this season. Cloud boasts a team and career-best 25-6 record, including a perfect 3-0 on court one, 9-0 on court two, and 2-0 on court four, while also posting an impressive 11-6 record for court three wins. Honzovicova ranks second on the team with a career-best 24-8 record, including a 9-2 record on court one, career-best 13-5 record on court two, and a 2-1 record on court three. The duo led FAU to its first Conference USA Championship title this season, garnering tournament MVP honors and the Sandy Owls’ second appearance in the NCAA Championship.
 
Adams has produced a 20-11 overall record so far this season, including a season-best 7-5 record on court two and a 6-2 record for court one wins. As a pair, Adams has a season-best 15-7 record teamed up with Julie Honzovicova, and a 5-3 record paired with Emma Grace Robertson. Ashleigh has earned ranked wins against then No. 15 Stetson, No. 14 FIU, No. 17 Stetson, No. 7 LMU, No. 18 Stetson, and twice against No. 12 FIU.

Haas is the winningest freshman in UAB program history. She played at the top of the Blazers’ lineup all season long and finished with an overall record of 20-14 on courts one and two. Haas became just the fifth player in school history to earn 20 individual wins in a single season. She earned All-Tournament honors at the C-USA Championship. Her top wins this season came over South Carolina, FIU, Pepperdine, Tulane (x2), UT Martin and Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
  
In his first year as head coach and eighth with the program, Grotowski has been instrumental in FAU’s continual ascent among the nation's elite. The Sandy Owls followed up last year’s historic season with 19 wins in 2023, including their first C-USA Championship title and second berth to the NCAA Championship. Grotowski was tabbed the AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2022, the first national coaching award achieved by an FAU beach volleyball coach. He continues to build on the foundation of the program as a national contender, which was developed alongside his wife, Capri, the 2022 Coach of the Year, who passed away last June.

Joining Honzovicova and Cloud on the All-Conference First Team Pairs are teammates Ellie Austin and Christine Jarman, Milica Vukobrat and Lucie Pokorna of No. 15 FIU, Mollie Ebertin and Kendall Peters of No. 18 Tulane and (ARV) UAB’s Haas and Arden Copping.

The coaches also selected an All-Freshman squad.
 
2023 C-USA Beach Volleyball Postseason Awards
 
Pair of the Year
Julie Honzovicova /Jillienne Cloud, Florida Atlantic
 
Co-Freshman of the Year
Ashleigh Adams, Florida Atlantic
Jasmine Haas, UAB
 
Coach of the Year
Steve Grotowski, Florida Atlantic
 
All-Conference First Team Pairs
Milica Vukobrat/Lucie Pokorna, FIU
Julie Honzovicova /Jillienne Cloud, Florida Atlantic
Ellie Austin/Christine Jarman, Florida Atlantic
Mollie Ebertin/Kendall Peters, Tulane
Arden Copping/Jasmine Haas, UAB
 
All-Freshman Team
Ashleigh Adams, Florida Atlantic
Jasmine Haas, UAB
Kendra Brown, FIU
Emma Grace Robertson, Florida Atlantic
Molly Trodd, Tulane
 
 
-ConferenceUSA.com-