USF to launch its inaugural beach volleyball season

By Savannah Ruiz, University Communications and Marketing intern

The USF beach volleyball team is gearing up to make history as it heads into its inaugural season with head coach Pri Piantadosi-Lima leading the way. Players have spent months practicing at McDugald Park in Tampa and will play their first home match at Clearwater Beach.

For Piantadosi-Lima, the opportunity to lead USF's first-ever beach volleyball team was serendipitous. Before the program even existed, the idea had come to life in her mind. Living in Tampa and familiar with USF, Piantadosi-Lima recalls thinking how incredible it would be if USF launched a beach volleyball program. Even more, she marveled at the idea of coaching it herself. Soon enough, that dream became reality.

While the initial opportunity drew her to USF, the overall support convinced her to stay.

"What really drew me to accept the position was the support from administration and athletics," Piantadosi-Lima said. "The alignment the school has with athletics really helps support us inside and out. To start a first-year program with so many resources, and to be able to pull some of the greatest talents in the country, that was really a hit."

A native of Brazil -- the mecca of beach volleyball -- Piantadosi-Lima began playing beach volleyball for fun before competing on the junior circuit. Eventually, she moved to the United States, and after graduating from college, she realized she wanted to pursue the sport professionally, a journey that ultimately led her to coaching.

Now, she describes leading the team as an honor.

"To do this with these student-athletes is going to be so sweet. They're invested. They understand alignment, being uncomfortable and putting the program's goals ahead of personal feelings. That's rare. I know this is going to be a special group. It's going to be a special year."

One of those student-athletes is sophomore Sasha Pasloski. According to Pasloski, Piantadosi-Lima was the main reason she decided to join USF. It was during the recruiting process that the head coach mentioned a small detail that stuck with Pasloski - one that suggested a sense of care and involvement in the team.

"On one of our first recruiting calls, she told us a random fact that a lot of her past players call her 'Mama Pri,'" Pasloski said. "I was like, 'yeah, this is my girl.' It just felt right."

"It's 100% in our hands how accountable we're going to hold ourselves and what we're going to make of this program. Hopefully it's something little girls can look up to and something that establishes a real legacy." - USF beach volleyball player Sasha Pasloski

It's a unique opportunity to make history and this fact is not lost on Pasloski. With the beach volleyball program being brand new, there is no roadmap to follow. Some might find that intimidating, but these athletes find a sense of freedom to make their own opportunities, standards and goals.

When graduate student Josephine Sek was invited to join the team, she was excited to step into a new chapter - one with a beautiful city, a great coaching staff and an environment that felt like home.

As Sek prepares for the matches, she explains the way the players work to uphold their internal standards. "We have expectations of ourselves," she said. "We're excited to put everything we've been learning into our gameplay and really show up."

As far as her personal goals, Sek wants to soak it all up. It's her final year playing collegiate beach volleyball, and she is grateful for every opportunity that came from this journey. "I just want to enjoy every last minute of it."

For these athletes, preparation goes far beyond practice. Piantadosi-Lima emphasizes how important it is that her players spend as much time focusing on academics, nutrition, sleep, community involvement and personal growth as they do on athletic performance.

It also doesn't hurt playing beach volleyball in the sunshine state. Florida has beach weather year-round, which is vital to Pasloski and Sek. Both are from Canada, where beach volleyball is limited to a short season.

Sek also said that attending a beach volleyball match is a win-win for fans. "You're at the beach, you get to watch beach volleyball and you'll probably get a nice tan," she said. "You really can't lose."

Fans will have several chances to catch the team in action. USF kicks off the season at Tulane University Feb. 20-21. Their first home competitions are March 27-28 and will be played on Clearwater Beach. The Bulls will return to Clearwater Beach April 17-18 for another home event featuring several top 25-ranked teams, including Florida State University, Louisiana State University and Florida Gulf Coast University.

"It's going to be really fun," Piantadosi-Lima said. "You'll see the fire, how exciting beach volleyball is and hopefully you'll become fans for life."

The competition courts are located near the parking lot between Frenchy's Rockaway Grill and the Palm Pavilion Beachside Grill & Bar. Admission is free.

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