WILMINGTON, N.C. - The FGCU beach volleyball team improved to 6-4 with a pair of tough victories against Coastal Carolina (4-1) and UNC Wilmington (5-0) to open the Dig and Dive Beach Bash on Saturday.
The Green and Blue, who had 12 sets decided by three or fewer points on Saturday, will wrap up their slate in Wilmington with matches against College of Charleston (8:30 a.m.) and Tusculum College (12:30 p.m.) on Sunday.
"I was very impressed with the way the girls came out and executed our game plan today," FGCU assistant coach
Chris Sweat said. "It was definitely a step in the right direction with some things we have been working a lot on in practice. Our end of game execution was much better during our second match. We played a lot of really tight sets against a really competitive team, and the girls stepped up in a big way."
With two more wins on Saturday,
Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) broke the program's all-time career wins record with her 47th and 48th. She surpassed Madi Wilcox (46-32, .590) for the record and is now 48-30 (.615) in her career. Her partner,
Katherine Puisis (Mason, Ohio/William Mason HS), also now has 44 and is two shy of moving into a tie with Wilcox for second-place on the career list. The duo is 7-3 this year.
Additionally,
Amanda Carroll and
Kirstine Garder (Halden, Norway/Topvolley Norge) went 2-0 on the day. In doing so,
Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) won her 37th and 38th career matches and moved into a tie with
Mackenzie Allen (2015-18) and
Ashley Glickert (2015-18) for fourth-place on the career wins list.
Top 5 In Career Wins
48 -
Karissa Rhoades, 2016-present
46 - Madi Wilcox, 2014-17
44 -
Katherine Puisis, 2016-present
38 -
Mackenzie Allen, 2015-18
38 -
Ashley Glickert, 2015-18
38 -
Amanda Carroll, 2016-present
Meanwhile, the No. 3 tandem of
Snowy Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) and
Kayla Whetstone (Arlington, Texas/Arlington Lamar HS) improved to a team-best 8-2 this year. The duo is now 24-12 in their one-plus year career together.
The Eagles have won four consecutive matches in pairs 1-3, while
Giovanna Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) and
Candace Lacour (Buckeye, Ariz/Verrado HS) pushed their streak to three at the fourth pair.
Despite losing a heartbreaking 16-14 third set in Saturday's opening match against Coastal Carolina,
Cortney VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) and
Emma Hansen (Trophy Club, Texas/Westlake Academy) bounced back with a straight-set win in the finale to improve their record to 4-1 this season.
The Green and Blue are 1-1 all-time against UNC Wilmington and 6-0 against Coastal Carolina.
RESULTS
FGCU 4, Coastal Carolina 1
1.
Carroll/Garder (FGCU) d. Alvis/Hardeman 21-16, 22-20
2.
Rhoades/Puisis (FGCU) d. Campbell/Boyer 21-16, 20-22, 15-10
3.
Whetstone/Burnam (FGCU) d. Ladewig/Djuric 21-19, 21-14
4.
Borgiotti/Lacour (FGCU) d. Gauthier/Federico 21-11, 10-21, 15-10
5. Eske/Nemeth (Coastal Carolina) d.
VanLiew/Hansen 19-21, 21-13, 16-14
FGCU 5, UNC Wilmington 0
1.
Carroll/Garder (FGCU) d. Kline/Hamilton 19-21, 21-18, 15-10
2.
Rhoades/Puisis (FGCU) d. McCullough/Thomas 21-19, 21-11
3.
Whetstone/Burnam (FGCU) d. Montgomery/Rooney 21-19, 21-17
4.
Borgiotti/Lacour (FGCU) d. Hunt/Lewandowski 21-19, 21-19
5.
VanLiew/Hansen (FGCU) d. Augustine/Evans 21-11, 21-18
Notes
UNC Wilmington (5-6) had won three straight before its loss to FGCU. Coastal Carolina fell to 10-6 with their loss to the Eagles.
On Sunday, the Green and Blue will face an undefeated College of Charleston team (10-0), who swept both Carson-Newman and Coastal Carolina on Saturday.
NEXT UP
After Sunday's action, the Eagles will return home to open ASUN play with a pair of matches against No. 10 Stetson on Wednesday beginning at 2 p.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-the minute information and a behind-the-scenes look at the FGCU beach 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 47-32 record over the past three-plus seasons (53-61 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.
#FEEDFGCU
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 raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 75 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 11+ seasons at the Division-I level. Additionally, in just seven+ seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 35 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including both men's and women's soccer again in 2018. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best 6th-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the Spring, 2018 and had an ASUN Conference and State of Florida best five teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
