In November 2018, senior volleyball powerhouse Ashton Dunnigan made a commitment to pursue her volleyball career playing beach volleyball for D1 Coastal Carolina University.

Dunnigan, a four-year varsity player, served as a team captain and led the Huskies night in and night out during the 2018 season.

During her junior season, Dunnigan suffered from a torn ACL injury. With a remarkable recovery, hard work and a positive attitude, she made a comeback just in time for her final high school season.

“Coastal Carolina has a perfect atmosphere,” Dunnigan said. “I love the beach and my family used to go on vacations down south in OBX and Myrtle.”

“The training facility is top notch and the weight room and sand courts are very nice,” Dunnigan continued. “They also have excellent training and two mandatory maintenance days, which is  important to me because I tore my ACL and had to go through a lot of physical therapy.”

In addition to receiving an offer from Coastal Carolina, she also received another D1 offer from the University of New Orleans. For Dunnigan, Coastal Carolina was always her top choice.

At Coastal Carolina, Dunnigan will be pursuing her academic career and will study marine science.

“I am super excited to be going to Coastal Carolina because they have the best marine science program on the east coast. I am very passionate about the environment. I love the beach and ocean so combining both is perfect,” Dunnigan said.

Outside of high school volleyball, Dunnigan also plays for Grit Volleyball, formerly known as Dulles Volleyball. With Grit Volleyball, she plays on both the indoor and outdoor teams.

In addition to Ashton, the Dunnigan family will look to continue their successful volleyball careers with sisters junior Meghan Dunnigan and freshman Kaitlyn Dunnigan.

The Tuscarora community looks forward to watching Ashton on the sand playing under Coastal Carolina head coach Steve Loeswick.