ESTERO, Fla. - The FGCU beach volleyball team (9-8) will wrap up its non-conference portion of the regular season schedule on Tuesday with a 4 p.m. match against Webber International at Estero Community Park.
The Warriors (12-11) will enter the match having won five straight and capturing the program's second consecutive small college national championship on Sunday. They defeated Stevenson University 4-1 in the championship match after advancing through pool and bracket play in the 15-team tournament that had teams from NCAA Division III, NAIA and CCCAA schools.
Tuesday's meeting will be the second of the season for the two teams. The Green and Blue swept Webber International on March 9 in Boca Raton at the Burrow Beach Bash hosted by FAU. It was the second match of the season for FGCU and the ninth for Webber. The result represented the first sweep in the series history between the two teams with the Eagles holding a 6-0 record all-time.
Thus far, the duo of
Katherine Puisis (Mason, Ohio/William Mason HS) and
Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) are a team-best 12-5 - just ahead of
Kayla Whetstone (Arlington, Texas/Arlington Lamar HS) and
Snowy Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS), who are 10-7.
Following Tuesday's match, FGCU (4-2 ASUN) will host Jacksonville (3-3 ASUN), North Florida (6-0 ASUN) and Stetson (6-0 ASUN) this weekend at Estero Community Park to close the regular season. The matches will help determine this year's regular season champion and No. 1 seed heading into the ASUN Championship April 21-22 in DeLand, Fla. The senior duo of
Mackenzie Allen (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) and
Ashley Glickert (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central HS) will be honored on Saturday prior to the 10 a.m. match. The full schedule for this weekend 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
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 39-54 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.
