ESTERO, Fla. – With just two weeks remaining until the 2015 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship, the FGCU sand volleyball team will host a pair of midweek nonconference matches at the Estero Community Park this week. The Eagles will take on Webber International Tuesday, Mar. 31 and will host Eckerd University Wednesday, April 1. Both matches are slated for 4 p.m. start times.
 
FGCU enters the week with a record of 0-9 after falling to North Florida and Mercer in a pair of matches over the weekend. The team has struggled to produce wins as a unit but has found success in several pairs.
 
The no. 5 duo of Olivia Mesner (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River High School) and Madi Wilcox (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein High School) stands as the team's most successful pair. Mesner and Wilcox hold a 7-2 record on the season and earned two wins in Saturday's play.
 
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 earned their first win Saturday in the team's 3-2 loss to UNF.
 
WEBBER
Webber International enters Tuesday's matchup with a 1-5 record on the season. Under first-year head coach Julie Dougherty, the team defeated Eckerd 4-1 in a split double header Saturday but has recorded losses to FAU, Stetson and Eckerd.
 
The Warriors are in their second year of competition on the sand.
 
ECKERD
In its first year with a sand program, Eckerd travels to Southwest Florida with a record of 1-5 on the season. The team split a double header with Webber this weekend and picked up a 3-2 win for its first of the season. Aside from a 4-1 loss to Webber on the same day, the team has been swept in all other matches, with losses to FAU, FIU and Stetson.
 
Under head coach Michelle Plantadosi, the team is led by the No. 1 pair of Tjasa Kotnik and Ali McAlvany.
 
This week marks the first meeting between the Eagles and each Florida-based team.
 
Complete results will be available via FGCUAthletics.com following each day of competition.
 
Following the weekday contests, the team will travel to Babson Park, Fla. next Tuesday for another match with Eckerd. The team will use the final contest as preparation for the 2015 A-Sun Conference Championship, which will be held at the Estero Community Park Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18.
 
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.