DELAND, Fla. – After a record-setting 13 wins in the regular season, the FGCU beach volleyball team (13-7, 6-4 ASUN) will travel to Deland, Fla. to compete in the ASUN Tournament. As the No. 3 seed, the Eagles will face No. 2-seeded Mercer (14-10, 7-3 ASUN) in the first round on Saturday, Apr. 22 at 11 a.m.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
Eagle fans can catch the action on ESPN3. Live stats will also be available from StatBroadcast. Links to both outlets can be found on the beach volleyball schedule page at FGCUAthletics.com.
 
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The tournament is double-elimination format. The winner of the FGCU and Mercer match will face either No. 1 Stetson or the winner of No. 4 North Florida and No. 5 Jacksonville on Sunday at 9 a.m. The loser will battle with the loser of North Florida and Jacksonville on Saturday at 3 p.m. for the right to move on in the tournament.
 
THE GREEN AND BLUE
For FGCU, the 2017 season consisted of a program-best 13 wins, helped by a six-match winning streak to start the year. The Eagles also earned six wins during ASUN play – doubling last year's output – to secure the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.
 
Aided by 13 wins from ASUN award-winners Katie Puisis (Mason, Ohio/William Mason HS) and Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS),
FGCU has used strong performances from its No. 3 and No. 5 pairings squeeze out wins in tight matches. The Green and Blue were 13-7 from No. 3 and No. 5 this season, with the 5 pairing seeing four different combinations.
 
Mackenzie Allen (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast High School) and Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia High School) saw success this year as the No. 1 pair, finishing the regular season with a 12-8 record. The Eagles most successful No. 5 pair, Caroline Jordan (Orlando, Fla./William R. Boone HS) and
Halie Wekmeister (Spring Hill, Fla./Weeki Wachee HS) also reached double-digit wins with a record of 11-5.
 
FGCU has notched six wins all-time in five tournament appearances. Last season, the Eagles saw victories over Coastal Carolina and North Florida before dropping their last two matches to fall just shy of reaching the championship match.
 
SCOUTING MERCER
The No. 2 Bears enter the quarterfinals round with their highest postseason seeding ever after a record-breaking regular season that ended with them receiving votes in this week's AVCA Top-15 poll.
 
Two of Mercer's 14 regular-season wins came against FGCU – both 3-2 affairs – on April 7-8 in DeLand.
 
Mercer is 1-2 against FGCU in three ASUN Tournament meetings, most recently defeating the Eagles 5-0 in the 2014 tournament's opening round.
 
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 begins his fourth season at the helm of FGCU beach volleyball. He's already led the team to a program-high 13 wins in 2017. In three seasons, his beach teams have combined for an overall record of 30-44 (.405). In 2016, Botsford's indoor squad produced one of its most successful seasons ever at 27-6, with the win total representing the most in Division I program history and falling two shy of the all-time mark. His teams have combined for an overall 65-27 (.707) record, including a 32-10 (.762) mark in ASUN play. In his inaugural season, the Eagles finished with a record of 19-11 with a second-place ASUN finish. Botsford has coached 15 All-Conference selections in his three seasons. 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. A former professional volleyball player, he is a 1998 graduate of Tri-State University (now Trine), where he earned a degree in Social Studies Education. He earned a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Indianapolis.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help.