ATLANTA, Ga. - The No. 3 duo of Kayla Whetstone and Snowy Burnam produced a win over No. 10 South Carolina Tuesday at the GSU Sand Complex, but the FGCU beach volleyball team (2-4) fell in a pair of matches to nationally-ranked opponents, No. 10 South Carolina (4-1) and No. 18 Georgia State (5-0).

"Today was tough," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "We played two high-caliber teams and found ourselves playing reactive most of the day. While I thought our effort was great against South Carolina, we continue to struggle with execution in late-game situations. Nevertheless, today was extremely valuable as we know precisely the areas we need to focus more on in our training."

Whetstone (Arlington, TX/Arlington Lamar HS) and Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) dropped the opening set, but fought back to pick up a pair of thrilling set wins, 24-22 and 15-13, to capture the opener. Despite the ensuing loss to No. 18 Georgia State, they're a team-best 4-2 this year.

"Snowy and Kayla performed at a very high level all day," Botsford said. "Their chemistry on the court is always evident, and they continue to complement one another out there. Their ball control and defense in the early part of this season has been so consistent, which translates into always being competitive."

Giovanna Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) and Candace Lacour (Buckeye, Ariz./Verrado HS) fell 15-12 in the third set to South Carolina in FGCU's only other three-set match aside from Whetstone and Burnam.

No. 10 South Carolina 4, FGCU 1
1. Bates/Williams (SC) d. Carroll/Garder 21-15, 21-18
2. Dimke/Smith (SC) d. Rhoades/Puisis 21-11, 21-19
3. Whetstone/Burnam (FGCU) d. Harrison/Schnieder 18-21, 24-22, 15-13
4. Vastine/Edelman (SC) d. Borgiotti/Lacour 17-21, 24-22, 15-12
5. Skaff/Ballard (SC) d. Ryan/VanLiew 21-16, 21-17

No. 18 Georgia State 5, FGCU 0
1. Johnson/Hawes d. Carroll/Garder 21-16, 21-16
2. Stasevich/Delmonte d. Rhoades/Puisis 21-15, 21-17
3. Weiner/Novack d. Burnam/Whetstone 18-21, 21-17, 15-5
4. Gordon/Tresham d. Borgiotti/Lacour 21-15, 21-13
5. McGinn/Dorn d. Ryan/VanLiew 21-14, 21-12

Notes
South Carolina also knocked off No. 2 ranked and two-time national champion USC on Tuesday. Georgia State is now 17-2 at home over the past three seasons.

FGCU is 1-3 all-time against South Carolina, with the win coming April 9, 2016 at the Fiesta on the Siesta. Meanwhile, the Eagles are now 0-2 against Georgia State.

Next Up
The Green and Blue will open its home slate with a doubleheader against Eckerd College on Wednesday, March 20 at 2 p.m.

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_BeachVB.

COACH BOTSFORD 
Head coach Matt Botsford, who is also the head coach of the FGCU indoor volleyball program, is in his sixth season at the helm of the FGCU beach volleyball program in 2019. He has compiled a 43-32 record over the past three-plus seasons (49-61 overall) while improving or steadying the team's win total each season. In fact, he led the program to 11 wins in 2016, 15 in 2017 and 15 more in 2018 - all three of which either tied or set new records for most wins in a season. The beach volleyball program is in just its eighth season in 2019 and has an overall record of 60-76. 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.