DELAND, Fla. – The FGCU beach volleyball team swept Coastal Carolina before dropping a 3-2 result to Mercer in its second ASUN doubleheader of the weekend. The Eagles finish the day with a program-best record of 13-4 (6-2 ASUN), while Mercer moves to 12-9 (5-2 ASUN) and Coastal Carolina falls to 1-9 (0-4 ASUN).
 
"I thought today we played a much cleaner brand of volleyball, and that showed in our early match with Coastal," said head coach Matt Botsford. "Katie and Karissa had a great day, and I was really happy with how they adjusted versus Mercer in a 24 hour turnaround. Madi and Leigh also provided a nice spark in that match with a hard-fought three-set win."
 
COASTAL CAROLINA
FGCU snagged a 5-0 victory over Coastal Carolina to start the day. Four of the Eagle's five wins came in two sets.
 
Caroline Jordan (Orlando, Fla./William R. Boone HS) and
Halie Wekmeister (Spring Hill, Fla./Weeki Wachee HS) won court four due to an injury forfeit.
 
At No. 5, senior tandem Madi Wilcox (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein HS) and
Leigh Pudwill (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial High School/Northern Iowa) won back-to-back sets by scores of 21-16 and 21-14.
 
Pair 3, Katie Puisis (Mason, Ohio/William Mason HS) and
Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) sealed the victory for the Eagles by downing Coastal Carolina's Autumn Otto and Aleksandra Djuric with 21-14 and 21-15 set wins.
 
No. 1 pair Mackenzie Allen (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast High School) and
 Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia High School) sailed to an easy victory with sets of 21-12 and 21-15.
 
After dropping their first set 18-21, No. 2 pair Giovanna Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) and Ashley Glickert (Chesterfield, Mo/Parkway Central High School) rallied to win back-to-back sets, completing the Eagles sweep.
 
FGCU 5, Coastal Carolina 0
1. Carroll/Allen (FGCU) def. Bishop/Savovic (COASTAL) 21-12, 21-15
2. Borgiotti/Glickert (FGCU) def. Davis/Boothe (COASTAL) 18-21, 21-16, 15-12
3. Puisis/Rhoades (FGCU) def. Otto/Djuric (COASTAL) 21-14, 21-15
4. Werkmeister/Jordan (FGCU) def. Cahill/Mandic (COASTAL) 21-0, 21-0
5. Wilcox/Pudwill (FGCU) def. Lulic/Federico (COASTAL) 21-16, 21-14
Order of finish: Doubles (4,5,3,1,2);
* FGCU won court four due to injury forfeit
 
MERCER
The Eagles fell to Mercer 2-3 in their second match of the day. Wins came from pairs 3 and 4.
 
FGCU split their first pairs of their afternoon match with a three-set victory from Pudwill and Wilcox after a two-set loss from Jordan and Werkmeister.
 
Borgiotti and Glickert were next to finish, falling 15-21 in back-to-back sets.
 
Rhoades and Puisis knotted up the match at 2-2 with 21-17 wins in two-straight sets, but No. 1 pair Carroll and Allen fell in two after going to extras in their first set.
 
Mercer 3, FGCU 2
1. Penrod/Krogman (MER) def. Carroll/Allen (FGCU) 23-21, 21-15
2. E. Peel/S. Peel (MER) def. Borgiotti/Glickert (FGCU) 21-15, 21-15
3. Puisis/Rhoades (FGCU) def. Faust/Waliczek (MER) 21-17, 21-17
4. Wilcox/Pudwill (FGCU) def. Watchorn/Kerr (MER) 19-21, 25-23, 15-12
5. Otten/Johnson (MER) def. Werkmeister/Jordan (FGCU) 22-20, 21-17
Order of finish: Doubles (5,4,2,3,1)
 
The Eagles return home to face Stetson in a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 12. The first match begins at 4 p.m. with the second immediately following.
 
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 28-40 (.412). 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.