ESTERO, Fla. – In two hard-fought contests, the FGCU beach volleyball team split a pair of Atlantic Sun matches to begin the final weekend of conference play. FGCU and UNF featured in multiple close matches but the Ospreys defeated the Eagles 4-1 to start the day. The Green and Blue rebounded though, claiming a 3-2 win against Mercer to end the day. FGCU now stands at 3-4 overall and 2-4 in the A-Sun. Mercer ended the day 6-6 and 0-2 in the conference while UNF is 12-3 and 3-1 in the A-Sun.

"I was very pleased with the way our girls came out today to compete," said head coach Matt Botsford. "We put ourselves in some good positions against UNF and just couldn't capitalize. We played extremely well at the 4 and 5 against Mercer and then saw Ella and Vanessa rebound at the 1's. That was a nice response from them after a difficult match earlier in the day."

UNF 4, FGCU 1
The first round of matches were hotly contested, with UNF and FGCU both coming away with first set wins. The Osprey duo of Chaney Howard and Ambre Desaulnay defeated Madi Wilcox (Mundelein, IL/Mundelein High School) and Elisa Anne Aldrich (Charleston, S.C./Wando High School) 21-16 in the first set. Moments later, Marlene Moeller (Lüdinghausen, Germany/Pascal Gymnasium) and Caroline Jordan (Orlando, Fla./William R Boone High School) came away with a 21-16 first set win over Carina Hoff and Brittany Pase.

Both No. 4 and No.5 led from the early stages in the second sets. Aldrich and Wilcox looked to maintain their undefeated season, fighting back to win the second set 21-15. On the second court, it was Moeller and Jordan securing the first point of the match with a 21-15 win at No. 5. UNF tied the match as Aldrich and Wilcox suffered their first loss of the season, falling 15-13 in the third set.

As the top three pairings took the courts, Mackenzie Allen (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast High School) and Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior High School) kept their first set with Lauren Ford and Kimberly Ferguson close, but the UNF duo pulled away late to secure the first set 21-14. Eleonora Kazarian (Tibilisi, Georgia/College of Central Florida) and Vanessa Benke (Toledo, Brazil/College of Central Florida) battled back in their first set at No. 1, but fell 21-17 to Megan Crenshaw and Jessalyn Kinlaw. Allen and Rhoades later dropped their second set 21-11 to put UNF in front 2-1. The Ospreys then clinched the match, coming from behind to win 22-20 at No. 1.

At No. 3, Ashley Glickert (Chesterfield, Mo/Parkway Central High School) and Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia High School) lost their first set 21-16.The Eagle duo bounced back to win the second set by the same score line but dropped the third set 15-7, bringing the final tally to 4-1.

FULL RESULTS
1) Grawshaw/Kinlaw (UNF) def. Benke/Kazarian (FGCU) 21-17, 22-20
2) Ford/Ferguson (UNF) def. Allen/Rhoades (FGCU) 21-14/21-11
3) Raicevic/Miller (UNF) def. Glickert/Carroll (FGCU) 21-16, 16-21, 15-7
4) McPherson/DeBolt (UNF) def. Aldrich/Wilcox (FGCU) 21-16, 15-21, 15-13
5) Moeller/Jordan (FGCU) def. Hoff/Pase (UNF) 21-16, 21-15
Order of Finish: 5, 4, 2, 1, 3

FGCU 3, MERCER 2
Aldrich and Wilcox started the afternoon for FGCU on a positive note, defeating Madison Kerr and Morgan MacGilvary 21-14, 21-12 at No. 4. The No. 5 pairing of Moeller and Jordan meanwhile took the first set 21-14, putting the Green and Blue in position to increase the lead to 2-0. Moeller and Jordan fought off a late rally from Demi-Shay Watchorn and Ellie James to win 21-18.

The match tightened when Sophie Peel and Emma Peel defeated the No. 2 duo of Allen and Rhoades 21-14, 21-9. The drama would not carry on long, as the senior pairing of Benke and Kazarian sealed the victory with a 21-19, 21-17 win at No. 1 over Tori Penrod and Emily Krogman.

In the final match of the afternoon, Gretja Otten and Jessica Johnson defeated Glickert and Carroll in three sets. After dropping the first set 22-20, the Eagle team forced a third set with a 21-17 win in the second set. In the final game, the Eagles lost 15-6.

FULL RESULTS
1) Benke/Kazarian (FGCU) def. Penrod/Krogman (Mercer) 21-19, 21-17
2) S. Peel/E. Peel (Mercer) def. Allen/Rhoades (FGCU) 21-14, 21-9
3) Otten/Johnson (Mercer) def. Carrol/Glickert (FGCU) 22-20, 17-21, 15-6
4) Aldrich/Wilcox (FGCU) def. Kerr/MacGilvary (Mercer) 21-14, 21-12
5) Moeller/Jordan (FGCU) def. Watchorn/James (Mercer) 21-14, 21-18
Order of Finish: 5, 4, 2, 1, 3

UP NEXT
The Eagles face both Mercer and UNF Saturday at Estero Community Park. With the first match at 12 p.m., the Eagles look to match their win total from last season while improving their position in the A-Sun.

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.