St. Petersburg, Fla. - The FGCU beach volleyball team (3-2) dropped a 3-2 decision to Eckerd College on the road Wednesday despite a freshmen pair improving to a team-best 4-1.
"It was a disappointing result, but Eckerd definitely earned it," FGCU head coach
Matt Botsford said. "There was not a lot of consistency today, and I didn't think we handled the end of sets particularly well. We will learn from this, though, and hopefully take something valuable away from the experience."
The freshmen duo of
Snowy Burnam and
Kayla Whetstone dominated Jordan Duffy and Rachel Cornatzer in the No. 4 spot 21-13, 21-18. With the result,
Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) and
Whetstone (Arlington, Texas/Arlington Lamar HS) are now 4-1 this year, which is the best record on the team.
The team's top pair,
Mackenzie Allen (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) and
Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS), had match point and a chance to secure the win, but lost a tough 22-20, 18-21, 16-14 matchup against Eckerd's Paula Hoffmann and Kaitlyn Sibson.
Aside from the Burnam/Whetstone duo,
Giovanna Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) and
Ashley Glickert (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central HS) won the No. 2 matchup 21-18, 21-18.
Katherine Puisis (Mason, Ohio/William Mason HS) and
Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) fell in three sets, but they're 3-2 overall this year, which is second best on the team behind the Burnam/Whetstone.
FGCU will be back in action on Friday when the team hosts the University of Tampa on at 3 p.m. It will be held at The ROC, representing the first time the team has played on campus in program history. Typically, home matches are held at the Estero Rec Center.
RESULTS
ECKERD 3, FGCU 2
1. Hoffmann/Sibson (EC) d.
Carroll/Allen (FGCU) 22-20, 18-21, 16-14
2.
Borgiotti/Glickert (FGCU) d. Redner/Cary (EC) 21-18, 21-18
3. Whiting/Erillo (EC) d.
Rhoades/Puisis (FGCU) 21-19, 18-21, 15-12
4.
Whetstone/Burnam (FGCU) d. Duffy/Cornatzer (EC) 21-13, 21-18
5. Boatwright/Bogda (EC) d.
Ryan/Krivdo (FGCU) 21-17, 21-19
Extra: Reis/Bevalaczua (EC) d.
Pernula/VanLiew (FGCU) 17-21, 21-19, 16-14
FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-the minute information and a behind-the-scenes look at the FGCU volleyball program, follow on Twitter at @FGCU_BeachVB, on Facebook at /FGCUVolleyball and on Instagram at @FGCU_VB.
COACH BOTSFORD
Head coach Matt Botsford, who is also the head coach of the FGCU indoor volleyball program, is in his fifth season at the helm of the FGCU beach volleyball program in 2018. In his tenure, the team has compiled a 35-48 record, and he's improved the team's win total each season. In fact, he led the program to 11 wins in 2016 and 15 in 2017 - both of which were new records for most wins in a season. The beach volleyball program is entering just its seventh year at FGCU and has an overall record of 44-61. 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.
