ESTERO, Fla. – The FGCU sand volleyball squad is back in action this weekend as they compete at Estero Community Park to open the 2015 season. The Eagles will open the slate with Atlantic Sun competition against the Stetson Hatters Friday, Mar. 20, before facing Jacksonville University Saturday, Mar. 21. Both matches are slated for 10 a.m.
In its fourth year of competition on the sand, the Green and Blue looks to improve upon last season's record of 2-18, that included wins over Warner and FAY. In the A-Sun Championship, the underdog squad battled hard but ultimately fell short as the no. 5 seed to no. 4 Mercer and eventual champion and no. 2 Stetson.
Second year head coach
Matt Botsford will be without half of top pairing in
Kaitlin Holm in addition to losing prominent no. 2 pairing player
Karina Mambuca. The volleyball standouts graduated last spring as some of FGCU's most accomplished sand players of all-time but left behind a strong core of returners
Notable holdovers from last year's squad include indoor standouts
Whitney Masters (Muncie, Ind./Wapahani High School),
Olivia Mesner (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River High School),
Caroline Jordan (Orlando, Fla./William R. Boone High School) and
Eleonora Kazarian (Tibilisi, Georgia/College of Central Florida).
The first match begins at 10 a.m. against a Stetson team that won the A-Sun Tournament last spring. At the AVCA National Tournament, the Hatters fell to the no. 3 Florida State 5-0 and the no. 1 USC by a score of 4-1. The Eagles and Hatters face off again the same day at 12 p.m.
The very next day the Green and Blue will host Jacksonville at 10 a.m. and again at 12 p.m. The Dolphins were the only team to defeat Stetson in last year's conference tournament, coming away with a 3-2 victory.
Full results from both events will be posted at FGCUAthletics.com as matches are completed.
Following the team's opening weekend, the Eagles will head to Boca Raton for a tilt against Florida Atlantic University on Tuesday, Mar. 24 at 4 p.m. Next the team heads to Macon, Ga. to continue conference action with North Florida and Mercer.
For up-to-the minute information and a behind-the-scenes look at the FGCU volleyball program, follow on Twitter at @FGCU_VB, on Facebook at /FGCUVolleyball and on Instagram at @FGCU_VB. Head coach Matt concluded his first year at the helm of the FGCU volleyball program with a record of 19-11 with a second-place finish in Atlantic Sun Conference play. Botsford's team also had five players recognized as All-Conference winner to set a new program high. Prior to his time in Southwest Florida, Botsford held successful stints as an assistant at Notre Dame, Miami, IUIPI, Indianapolis and most recently Colorado State. Botsford is a former professional volleyball player and is a 1998 graduate of Tri-State University, where he earned a degree in Social Studies Education. He earned a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Indianapolis.
