July 16th marked the first day of the FISU Summer University Games which took place in multiple cities around the Rhine- Ruhr region in Germany. The FISU Summer University Games, often called the Universiade, is one of the world’s largest multi-sport events, bringing together the best student-athletes from across the globe. Organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU), the Games are held every two years and showcase a mix of Olympic-style competition and vibrant cultural exchange. Open to athletes aged 17–25 who are enrolled in or recently graduated from a university, the event features an array of summer sports including Women’s beach volleyball.
Representing the United States for the women’s beach volleyball event were Florida State (FSU) standouts Audrey Koenig and Alexis Durish. Koenig and Durish played the whole 2025 season together at the top flight for the Seminoles boasting a record of 24-9 with wins against notable teams including LSU, Texas, LMU and USC.
The American duo went undefeated in pool play beating teams from Romania, Japan and China without dropping a set. As they entered tournament play, Koenig and Durish faced off against Sarah Burton and Cassandra Dodd from Australia in the round of 16. Both Dodd and Burton play collegiately in the United States with Cassandra Dodd playing for UCLA and Sarah Burton playing for Hawaii this past season. Koenig and Durish lost the first set 21-15 but came back firing in the second and third set beating the Australians with set scores of 15-21, 21-17 and 15-12.
Koenig and Durish matched up against Lithuania’s Skalve Krizanauskaite and Ariana Rudkovskaja in the quarterfinals of tournament play. After a close first set, the Americans closed the door in a dominate second set beating Lithuania in straight sets with set scores of 21-19 and 21-13.
Advancing to the semifinals, the FSU duo played a tight match against Nigella Negenman and Floor Hogenhout who were representing the Netherlands. Although they lost the first set, Koenig and Durish bounced back in the second to force a third set tiebreak. Koenig was a force at the net having 6 total blocks and 22 kills. Despite their second set performance, the Netherlands team took the third set with a set score of 16-14. Although they lost their first match of the event in the semifinals, Koenig and Durish were not done as they played in the bronze medal match on July 26th.
In the bronze medal match, Koenig and Durish played against Malgorzata Ciezkowska and Urszula Lunio of Poland. The Americans won in straight sets concluding the FISU Summer University Games with a podium finish.
