ESTERO, Fla. – In its return to nonconference action, the FGCU beach volleyball team looks to even up its record Thursday against Webber International. The Eagles (4-5, 3-5 Atlantic Sun) and Warriors are scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. at Estero Community Park as the beach season approaches the conference tournament.

LAST TIME OUT
The Eagles secured its most successful Atlantic Sun campaign since 2013 with a pair of wins over Mercer at Estero Community Park. The Green and Blue hosted UNF and Mercer last weekend, falling just short of defeating the Ospreys Friday but securing wins over the Bears both Friday and Saturday. FGCU currently sits in third place, two matches in front of Jacksonville (1-3).

Caroline Jordan (Orlando, Fla./William R Boone High School) and Marlene Moeller (Lüdinghausen, Germany/Pascal Gymnasium) went 3-1 from the No. 5 position. Madi Wilcox (Mundelein, IL/Mundelein High School) and Elisa Anne Aldrich (Charleston, S.C./Wando High School) lost their first two matches of the season as the duo debuted at No. 4 last weekend. The pairing also won two matches, improving to a team-best 7-2. The Moeller-Jordan duo checks in right behind them at 6-3 this season. Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia High School) and Ashley Glickert (Chesterfield, Mo/Parkway Central High School) made their season debut as a tandem, appearing at No. 3 and securing the match victory over Mercer on Saturday.

On Friday, it was Vanessa Benke (Toledo, Brazil/College of Central Florida) and Eleonora Kazarian (Tibilisi, Georgia/College of Central Florida) that sealed the victory over Mercer at No. 1. The senior pairing is now 3-6 in 2016.

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Webber International enters the weekend 0-6. A member of the Sun Conference in NAIA, the Warriors top pairings are Lauren Dehls and Dawson Boese at No. 3 and Alex Spadaro and Nikki McDaniel at No. 2.

Webber International features five seniors and three juniors along with three freshmen.

FGCU defeated Webber 4-1 last season in Estero in the only prior meeting between the Eagles and Warriors. The two were scheduled to meet in 2014 but the match was cancelled.

UP NEXT
The final true road contest of the season awaits the Eagles. FGCU travels to St. Petersburg to face Eckerd Tuesday (April 5).

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.