BOCA RATON, Fla. – The FGCU sand volleyball team will continue action for the 2015 season with a midweek matchup with Florida Atlantic University. The Eagles will travel to the East Coast to take on the Owls Tuesday at 4 p.m.
FGCU enters their first nonconference match with a record of 0-2 after falling to Stetson and Jacksonville last weekend. Despite the winless weekend, the Eagles made progress at each pairs position, seeing an increase in wins throughout the weekend.
The no. 5 pair of
Olivia Mesner (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River High School) and
Madi Wilcox (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein High School) remain undefeated through four matches on the season, with two wins over Jacksonville and Stetson. The pair has won each match 2-0 and will look to lead the Eagles to victory Tuesday.
Senior
Whitney Masters (Muncie, Ind./Wapahani High School) and junior Eleonora Kazarian (Tibilisi, Georgia/College of Central Florida) will take the no. 1 position in Tuesday's matchup. The duo fell in two matches this weekend but battled through two three-set affairs against Jacksonville Saturday.
FAU enters Tuesday's tilt with a record of 3-4 on the season. The Owls picked up wins over North Florida and Jacksonville at the USF Sand Invitational last weekend and earned a 5-0 win over Eckerd earlier in the year. Most recently, FAU fell 5-0 to Georgia State and South Carolina on Mar. 15, also as part of the USF Sand Invitational.
A season ago, the Owls and Eagles faced off three times with FAU holding a 2-1 advantage. In the Eagles' lone win, at the FIU Invitational at South beach, the Eagles won 3-2 with victories and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd pairs.
Complete results will be available via FGCUAthletics.com following Tuesday's matchup.
The team will continue Atlantic Sun Conference play next weekend with four matches in Macon, Ga. The Green and Blue will take on North Florida and Mercer, each for a pair of matches over two days.
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.
