ESTERO, Fla. – Hoping to solidify its position prior to the conference tournament, the FGCU beach volleyball team welcomes UNF and Mercer for the final weekend of conference action. Action at Estero Community Park begins Friday at 11 a.m. and picks up Saturday at 10 a.m.

The Eagles and Ospreys kick off the weekend at 11 a.m. before UNF meets Mercer at 1 p.m. Friday concludes at 3 p.m. with a dual between FGCU and Mercer. The Bears and Ospreys begin Saturday's contests at 10 a.m. The Green and Blue then take to the courts to face the Bears at noon and the Ospreys at 2 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
FGCU earned its first Atlantic Sun victory since 2013 last weekend, defeating Jacksonville, 4-1. The No. 5 pairing of Elisa Anne Aldrich (Charleston, S.C./Wando High School) and Madi Wilcox (Mundelein, IL/Mundelein High School) ended the week 5-0, including four A-Sun wins. Caroline Jordan (Orlando, Fla./William R Boone High School) and Marlene Moeller (Lüdinghausen, Germany/Pascal Gymnasium) tallied three wins for the Eagles while the top two pairings of Vanessa Benke (Toledo, Brazil/College of Central Florida) and Eleonora Kazarian (Tibilisi, Georgia/College of Central Florida) as well as Mackenzie Allen (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast High School) and Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior High School) each tallied two wins.

SCOUTING THE OSPREYS
UNF pulled off an early upset in the beach season, knocking off No. 9 Stetson Wednesday. The Ospreys defeated the Hatters 3-2 after falling 4-1 earlier in the day. At 10-3 overall and 1-1 in conference play, UNF sits second in the league, behind only Stetson. After losing its first two matches of the season, UNF won nine-consecutive before the loss to the Hatters. The Ospreys lineup is consistent at the top-three positions. Megan Crawshaw and Jessalyn Kinlaw have compiled a 6-7 record from No. 1 this season. Meanwhile, Kimberly Ferguson and Lauren Ford have amassed eight wins in 13 tries from No. 2 and Courtney Miller and Katarina Raicevic are 9-4 at No. 3.

FGCU is winless against UNF in 11 previous meetings.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
With three wins in its last four games, Mercer enters conference play with a 6-4 record. The sister duo of Emma and Sophie Peel have appeared at both No. 1 and No. 2, tallying five wins against five losses. While at the No. 1 position, the duo is 3-4. Emily Krogman and Tori Penrod have had a very successful run at No. 2, winning six of their first seven matches to open the season. From there, Mercer has used a variety or pairings, more than three at each of the remaining positions. Mercer has had success regardless of the team on the court at No. 5, winning seven of the 10 matches at that position.

The Eagles are 4-5 against the Bears all-time. The Green and Blue claimed the first-ever meeting 4-1 in 2012 and swept the season series in 2013. Since that time, Mercer has had the upper hand, winning each of the last five matches including both from last season.

UP NEXT
The Eagles remain at home, welcoming Webber International to Estero, Thursday (March 31). The match is the first of the final two at home for the Eagles.

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.