BOCA RATON, Fla. - The FGCU beach volleyball team (2-0) opened its 2018 campaign with a pair of wins over Houston Baptist (3-2) and Webber International (5-0) at FAU's Burrow Beach Bash.

"It was nice to get a couple matches under our belt as we head into tomorrow," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Overall, I was pleased with our performance considering this was our first time out, but we definitely need to clean up a few things. I think we are going to have to serve tougher as the season progresses, and I think our setting needs to get a little more consistent. The wind was definitely a factor today, but I don't think we used it to our advantage often enough."

Three duos picked up a pair of wins including Katherine Puisis and Karissa Rhoades, Snowy Burnam and Kayla Whetstone, and Kaitlan Krivdo and Alayna Ryan. Mackenzie Allen and Amanda Carroll teamed up as the No. 1 pair and went 1-1, while Giovanna Borgiotti and Ashley Glickert also went 1-1 from the No. 2 spot. 

Kellie Pernula and Cortney VanLiew swept an extra match in the opener against Houston Baptist.

"Snowy and Kayla put together two really solid matches, which was nice to see from a freshmen pairing," Botsford said. "Getting off to a 2-0 start in both matches with the help of our 4 and 5 pairs is always a nice momentum builder."

Against Houston Baptist, the tandem of Whetstone (Arlington, Texas/Arlington Lamar HS) and Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) were the first to finish in a 21-16, 21-18 victory. Ryan (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS) and Krivdo (Hope Mills, N.C./Grays Creek HS) followed with a 21-14, 19-21, 15-10 decision. Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) and Glickert (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central HS) then lost, but Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) and Puisis (Mason, Ohio/William Mason HS) clinched the team's victory in comeback fashion with an 18-21, 21-12, 17-15 final.

In the sweep of Webber International, Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Allen (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) picked up an easy 21-9, 21-15 win as the top pair, while Whetstone and Burnam improved to 2-0 with a 21-14, 21-4 rout in the four spot. The pairs of Krivdo/Ryan and Rhoades/Puisis also won in two sets, while Glickert/Borgiotti won 15-10 in the third.

SERIES HISTORY
FGCU is now 2-0 all-time against Houston Baptist with a pair of 3-2 wins, including the match on March 18 of last season. Meanwhile, the Eagles are now 6-0 all-time against Webber International, and today's result was the first sweep in series history. Previously, there were four 4-1 results and one 3-2 outcome.

NEXT UP
FGCU will battle a pair of top-15 teams on Saturday - No. 11 Georgia State and No. 15 Florida Atlantic. The matches were originally scheduled for 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively, but there is an attempt to push each match up an hour due to impending weather. We'll update our schedule page as any potential changes become official.

RESULTS
FGCU 3, HOUSTON BAPTIST 2 (PDF)
1. Wooten/Horton (HBU) d. Carroll/Allen (FGCU) 21-11, 18-21, 16-14
2. Armer/Hinojosa (HBU) d. Borgiotti/Glickert (FGCU) 21-16, 21-17
3. Rhoades/Puisis (FGCU) d. Banks/Silviera (HBU) 18-21, 21-12, 17-15
4. Whetstone/Burnam (FGCU) d. Miller/Wheeler (HBU) 21-16, 21-18
5. Ryan/Krivdo (FGCU) d. Carter/Miller (HBU) 21-14, 19-21, 15-10
Extra: Pernula/VanLiew (FGCU) d. Vivens/Fluke (HBU) 22-20, 21-14

FGCU 5, WEBBER INTERNATIONAL 0 (PDF)
1. Carroll/Allen d. Baxter/Bowen 21-9, 21-15
2. Glickert/Borgiotti d. Lake/Tannone 18-21, 21-9, 15-10
3. Rhoades/Puisis d. Embry/Rautiainen 21-12, 21-12
4. Whetstone/Burnam d. Fusarelli/Allston 21-14, 21-4
5. Krivdo/Ryan d. Mills, Terry 21-15, 22-20

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 34-46 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.