DELAND, Fla. – With impressive performances from all five pairs, the 3rd-seeded FGCU beach volleyball team (14-7, 6-4 ASUN) defeated No. 2 Mercer (14-11, 7-3 ASUN) in the first round of the ASUN Tournament on Saturday afternoon.
Going into the match, the Bears had downed FGCU twice already this season and were receiving votes in this week's AVCA Top-15 poll.
Pairs 4 and 5 gave the Eagles nice momentum with a 2-0 lead going into the later matches. FGCU sealed the win with a two-set victory from First Team All-Conference duo
Katie Puisis (Mason, Ohio/William Mason HS) and
Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) at the No. 3 spot. The Eagles split the 1's and 2's, finishing the afternoon with a 4-1 victory over the Bears.
"Great win today," said head coach
Matt Botsford. "We saw really solid performances across the board. The team played with a lot of confidence and did so in some pretty tight spots, which was nice to see. To kick things off with a 2-0 lead after the 4 and 5 pairings was a nice boost.
Madi (Wilcox) and
Leigh (Pudwill) along with
Kati (Krivdo) and
CJ (Caroline Jordan) really set the tone. Overall I think the most important takeaway from this match was the high quality of play as the games got longer. I felt like all our pair were executing better as we got deeper into play."
At No. 5,
Jordan (Orlando, Fla./William R. Boone HS) and
Krivdo (Hope Mills, N.C./Grays Creek HS) sailed to a quick win after sets of 21-16 and 21-13.
After falling in their first set 22-20, No. 4 pair
Madi Wilcox (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein HS) and
Leigh Pudwill (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial High School/Northern Iowa) bounced back with wins in their next two sets to help the Eagles reach their 2-0 start.
Puisis and Rhoades earned the match-winning point in straight sets at No. 3 with scores of 21-16 and 21-14.
At No. 2,
Giovanna Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) and
Ashley Glickert (Chesterfield, Mo/Parkway Central High School) dropped a close first set 21-17, but battled back with 24-22 and 15-12 wins for another Eagles victory.
No. 1 pair
Mackenzie Allen (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast High School) and
Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia High School) were the only Eagles duo to drop a set to Mercer on the afternoon, but not without a fight. The pair fell 20-15 in their first set, but rallied for a 24-22 win in set two. Set three went deep into extras but the duo finally fell to Mercer 22-20 handing the Bears their only win over FGCU.
The Eagles will face No. 1 Stetson tomorrow at 9 a.m. for the second round. The Hatters defeated North Florida 4-1 today and are coming off a historical regular season in which they finished with a perfect conference record of 10-0 and ranked 13th in the latest AVCA Top-15 poll.
The winner of that match will go straight to the Championship, which will take place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, while the loser will have to compete at 1 p.m. to earn their right to play in the finals.
FGCU 4, Mercer 1
1. Penrod/Krogman (MER) def.
Carroll/Allen (FGCU) 21-15, 22-24, 22-20
2.
Borgiotti/Glickert (FGCU) def. E. Peel/S. Peel (MER) 17-21, 24-22, 15-12
3.
Rhoades/Puisis (FGCU) def. Waliczek/Faust (MER) 21-16, 21-14
4.
Wilcox/Pudwill (FGCU) def. Watchorn/Kerr (MER) 20-22, 21-12, 15-9
5.
Jordan/Krivdo (FGCU) def. Otten/MacGilvary (MER) 21-16, 21-13
Order of finish: (5,4,3,2,1)
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 14 wins in 2017. In three seasons, his beach teams have combined for an overall record of 31-44 (.413). 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.
