MACON, Ga. – The FGCU sand volleyball team continues Atlantic Sun action this weekend with a two-day trip to Mercer. The Eagles will take on the Bears and the University of North Florida with a match against each team Friday, Mar. 27 and Saturday, Mar. 28.
 
The team will face UNF at noon on Friday at the Mercer Sand Volleyball Complex and will follow with a 2 p.m. match against the host. The next day, the Green and Blue will face the Ospreys at 10 a.m. and will conclude the weekend's play against Mercer at noon.
 
FGCU enters the weekend with a record of 0-5 after dropping a four A-Sun matches against Stetson and Jacksonville last weekend and falling at FAU Tuesday afternoon. Despite the losing record, the Eagles have continued to make progress at all five positions and will look to continue competing at a high level.
 
The no. 5 pair of Olivia Mesner (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River High School) and Madi Wilcox (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein High School) stand as the team's most consistent duo. Mesner and Wilcox hold a 4-1 record on the season, with their only loss coming in a three-set battle at FAU.
 
Senior Whitney Masters (Muncie, Ind./Wapahani High School) and junior Eleonora Kazarian (Tibilisi, Georgia/College of Central Florida) will continue play at the no. 1 position this weekend. The duo stands at 0-5 on the season but challenged FAU to a three-set match on Tuesday and continues to improve in each round of competition.
 
In the no. 4 slot, Caroline Jordan (Orlando, Fla./ William R. Boone High School) and Mackenzie Allen (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast High School) earned a two-set win over Jacksonville last week and have consistently fought for points together.
 
NORTH FLORIDA
North Florida enters the weekend with a 5-5 record this season and has yet to play a conference match. The Ospreys went 2-2 at LSU's tournament last weekend and finished competition with a 5-0 loss to FIU.
 
Last season, the Ospreys went 18-6 on the year with three wins over FGCU. UNF went on to compete well at the A-Sun Championship but fell to Stetson in the conference championship match.
 
Cari Whitmire and Cameron McGuire lead UNF in the no. 1 slot and picked up four wins in the team's first six matches.  UNF is led by fourth year head coach Steve Loeswick.
 
MERCER
Mercer welcomes UNF and FGCU for its first home matches of the season this weekend. The Bears are 4-4 in nonconference action and will begin conference play Friday. The team most recently went 3-1 at Tulane's Pelican Classic.
 
A year ago, the Bears went 9-13 with two 3-2 wins over FGCU. Mercer also defeated FGCU 5-0 in the A-Sun Championship Tournament before falling to eventual champions, Stetson.
 
This year, the team is led by the sophomore duo of Emma Peel and Tori Penrod. The pair won two matches on the final day of competition at the Pelican Classic two weeks ago.  Mercer is led by fourth-year head coach Damian Elder.
 
Complete results will be available via FGCUAthletics.com following each day of competition.
 
Following the A-Sun matchups, the team will return to the Estero Community Park for a pair of home matches. FGCU will host Webber International at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Mar. 31 and will welcome Eckerd on Wednesday, April 1 also at 4 p.m.
 
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.