ESTERO, Fla. - The FGCU beach volleyball team (10-8) battled through a 30-minute lightning delay to defeat two-time defending small college national champion Webber International (12-12) 4-1 on Tuesday afternoon at Estero Community Park.

"I don't think we played as crisp or cleanly as we have recently, so I was a little disappointed in that," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "We did play well at the end of sets, though, and that was probably the difference today."

The No. 4 freshmen pair of Kayla Whetstone and Snowy Burnam routed Kaxandra Naranjo and Molly Fusarelli 21-7, 21-5 to give the Eagles the early lead. Webber International's Kobi Allston and Teryn Mills then knocked off Alayna Ryan (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS) and Kaitlan Krivdo (Hope Mills, N.C./Grays Creek HS) in a three-set battle to even the match up.

Following that, the No. 3 duo of Ashley Glickert and Giovanna Borgiotti didn't let a lightning delay faze them in a 21-12, 21-16 win. Mackenzie Allen and Amanda Carroll went three sets, but Allen (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) and Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) produced a 15-10 win in the decider after dropping a narrow 21-19 second set to clinch the match.

With their teammates finished and cheering them on, the No. 2 pairing of Karissa Rhoades and Katherine Puisis picked up a hard-fought 21-17, 21-18 victory to achieve a team-high 13th win on the season.

"I didn't think today was one of their best performances, but they're playing at such a high level they can find themselves in a hole, dig themselves out and still pull out a win," Botsford said of his No. 2 pair.

The team's effort overall helped the Green and Blue secure its third straight season with 10 or more wins. After producing a program-record 15 wins last year, they are now 36-25 over the past three seasons.

"Double digit wins is big," Botsford said. "It shows the trend. We've known that it's been going upward the past few years. It's about sustainability. That benchmark means something to us, and I'm hoping we can continue to build upon it."

Puisis (Mason, Ohio/William Mason HS) and Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) are now 13-5 this year, which is two wins ahead of the 11-7 Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) and Whetstone (Arlington, Texas/Arlington Lamar HS) for the team-best record. Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) and Glickert (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central HS) evened their record at 9-9 overall.

FGCU is now 7-0 all-time against Webber International and completed the season sweep with the most recent victory.

With Tuesday in the rearview mirror, FGCU will now focus on a tough weekend of home matches to conclude the regular season. The Eagles will host Jacksonville and North Florida on Friday and Saturday, while Stetson will be in action as well. The full schedule is listed below.

Friday
12 p.m. - Stetson vs North Florida
2 p.m. - FGCU vs Jacksonville
4 p.m. - FGCU vs North Florida
6 p.m. - Stetson vs Jacksonville

Saturday
10 a.m. - FGCU vs North Florida
12 p.m. - Stetson vs North Florida
2 p.m. - FGCU vs Jacksonville
4 p.m. - Stetson vs Jacksonville

"(This weekend) is big," Botsford said. "North Florida is having a great season and is off to an undefeated conference start. This is our first opportunity to even see them. We're going to have to play well. And Jacksonville has pushed some teams and is very capable. We can't afford a loss as we're trying to secure a second seed."

Stetson and North Florida are currently 6-0 in ASUN play, while FGCU is 4-2 - just ahead of Jacksonville at 3-3. Thus, this weekend will determine seeding for the ASUN Championship April 21-22.

All matches at Estero Community Park this week have free admission. The park is located at 9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd in Estero.

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 40-54 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.