RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Coastal Carolina beach volleyball's Emma Kunaus and Maya McNabney finished tied for ninth at the 2024 FISU Beach World University Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

The World University Championships for various sports take place during every even-numbered year, filling the gap in the international university sports calendar between the two FISU World University Games events. 

Kunaus and McNabney, the lone pair representing Canada, opened play in Pool B by bouncing back from a loss to Natalie Myszkowski/Taylor Wilson from the U.S. to beat Hong Kong's Ngok Ling Tsang/Man Ching Wong, 21-19, 16-21, 15-13. The two Chants then swept Deepika Kandasamy/Pavithra Sudalaikasi of India, 21-15, 21-13, to finish second in Pool B and advance to the Round of 32.

Kunaus and McNabney met China's Yeling Zhang/Yueyun Gao, the third-place finishers in Pool G, in the Round of 32. The Chants delivered a 21-8, 21-17 victory to punch their ticket to the Round of 16. 

In the Round of 16, Kunaus and McNabney faced Xolani Hodel/Alexis Durish from the U.S. The Chanticleer duo became the first pair of the tournament to push the eventual silver-medal winners past the 25-point mark, dropping the first set 24-26 before falling 10-21 in the second set to end the tournament tied for ninth-place.

For complete coverage of CCU beach volleyball, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalBeachVB (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @ccubeachvb (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.