ESTERO, Fla. – The 2016 beach volleyball season gets underway Tuesday for the FGCU beach volleyball team against Stevenson at Estero Community Park. The season-opener for the Eagles is set to begin at 4 p.m.

Entering the fifth year of competition and the first in which beach volleyball will have an NCAA Tournament, the Eagles are hoping to improve upon a 4-11 record in 2015 and a second-round exit at the Atlantic Sun Championships. The Green and Blue played the role of spoiler in the conference tournament, ending second-seeded Jacksonville's season to open the tournament.

Head coach Matt Botsford returns seven players from last season including senior Eleonora Kazarian (Tibilisi, Georgia/College of Central Florida) and fellow senior Vanessa Benke (Toledo, Brazil/College of Central Florida) who missed 2015 due to an injury suffered during the indoor season.

FGCU will have to fill the voids left by Whitney Masters and Olivia Mesner, both of whom were prominent features in the Eagle lineup. Masters paired with both Kazarian and Mackenzie Allen (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast High School) at No. 1 while Mesner played No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 last season. Allen was named to the Atlantic Sun's Preseason Watch List in February.

Other notable returners include Caroline Jordan (Orlando, Fla./William R Boone High School), Marlene Moeller (Lüdinghausen, Germany/Pascal Gymnasium), Madi Wilcox (Mundelein, IL/Mundelein High School) and Ashley Glickert (Chesterfield, Mo/Parkway Central High School). Glickert and Moeller went 3-8 from the No. 2 position last season while the duo of Jordan and Allen went 4-5 from the No. 3 spot. Wilcox made up half of FGCU's most successful pairing from last season, teaming with Mesner to earn a 12-3 record.

In addition to the six returners, Botsford brings six newcomers to the beach side including four from the indoor team. Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia High School), Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior High School), Leigh Pudwill (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial High School/Northern Iowa) and Elisa Anne Aldrich (Charleston, S.C./Wando High School) hope to transition from the indoor game to the beach. Also joining the team in 2016 are freshmen Katherine Puisis (Mason, Ohio/William Mason HS) and Kellie Pernula (Plant City, Fla./ Plant City HS) following decorated high school careers.

With a brand new program, Stevenson made its debut with a pair of losses to Carson-Newman University. The Mustangs lost 4-1 and 5-0 to the Eagles with a roster featuring three juniors, five sophomores and four freshmen. Annika Schwartz and Megan Hren earned the programs first win last weekend playing at No. 2.

UP NEXT
The Eagles begin A-Sun play against the defending regular season and tournament champions, Stetson Friday and Saturday in DeLand, Florida. The Eagles will also play Jacksonville, last season's runners-up. Friday's action begins at 2 p.m. against the Dolphins while Saturday's matches begin at 10 a.m. also against Jacksonville.

FOLLOW ALONG
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_BeachVB.
 
COACH BOTSFORD
 Head coach Matt Botsford is in his second year at the helm of the FGCU volleyball program and his teams have combined for an overall 40-22 (.645) record, including a 21-7 (.750) mark in A-Sun play. In his inaugural season, the Eagles finished with a record of 19-11 with a second-place finish in the A-Sun. Botsford has also coached 10 All-Conference selections in just two seasons at FGCU. Prior to his time in Southwest Florida, Botsford held successful stints as an assistant at Notre Dame, Miami, IUPUI, 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.