ESTERO, Fla. - The FGCU beach volleyball team (7-5) will open ASUN play on Wednesday at 2 p.m. with a doubleheader against No. 10 Stetson (14-4) at Estero Community Park.

The Eagles will enter the match having won five of its past six, while the Hatters have taken down eight ranked opponents this year. In fact, all four of their losses are to top-10 nationally-ranked teams.

Storylines
This past weekend, Karissa Rhoades became FGCU's all-time career wins leader and now sits at 49. Her partner, Katherine Puisis, sits at 45 and is two shy of moving into sole possession of second-place. The senior duo is 8-4 this year at the No. 2 pair.

Meanwhile, Amanda Carroll now has 39 career victories, which moves her past Mackenzie Allen (2015-18) and Ashley Glickert (2015-18) for sole possession of fourth-place on the program's career wins list. Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) has 30 of her wins at the No. 1 pair, which is the most in program history.

Top 5 In Career Wins
49 - Karissa Rhoades, 2016-present
46 - Madi Wilcox, 2014-17
45 - Katherine Puisis, 2016-present
39 - Amanda Carroll, 2016-present
38 - Mackenzie Allen, 2015-18
38 - Ashley Glickert, 2015-18

Thus, Puisis (Mason, Ohio/William Mason HS) and Carroll, along with Rhoades, have the potential to give this year's team the top three players in career wins by season's end. Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) is one of just three players, along with Puisis and Madi Wilcox, to have 20 or more career wins at multiple pairs. She is the program's all-time leader in wins at No. 2 (23) and No. 3 (26), while Wilcox leads the way at No. 4 (25) and No. 5 (20).

In addition to her 49 career victories overall, Rhoades has 16 all-time wins in ASUN play, which is second in program history behind Madi Wilcox (20-14, 2014-17). Only nine players in program history have won double-digit conference matches, while Kayla Whetstone and Snowy Burnam are next closest with seven apiece.

All-Time Leaders in ASUN Wins
Madi Wilcox - 20
Karissa Rhoades - 16
Katherine Puisis - 15
Ashley Glickert - 15
Giovanna Borgiotti - 14
Mackenzie Allen - 14
Caroline Jordan - 13
Amanda Carroll - 13
Olivia Mesner - 12

In fact, the No. 3 pair of Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) and Whetstone (Arlington, Texas/Arlington Lamar HS) pushed its winning streak to six on Sunday and improved to a team-best 10-2 overall. Not only did they hold their opponents to single digits in three of the four sets on Sunday, but they tied the record for the best 12-game start to the season since Madi Wilcox and Olivia Mesner did the same en route to a 12-2 start in 2015.
 
Career Wins Against Ranked Teams
Madi Wilcox - 6
Elisa Anne Aldrich - 3
Katherine Puisis - 3
Karissa Rhoades - 3
Snowy Burnam - 2
Kayla Whetstone - 2
Amanda Carroll - 2
Mackenzie Allen - 2
Olivia Mesner - 2
Giovanna Borgiotti - 1
Alayna Ryan - 1
Kaiti Krivdo - 1
Ashley Glickert - 1
Kaitlin Holm - 1
Whitney Masters - 1
Leigh Pudwill - 1
 
Stetson Preview
Stetson (14-4) enters Wednesday's match with a solid record and a strong strength of schedule. They are 8-4 against ranked teams with wins over No. 8 Long Beach State, No. 10 South Carolina, No. 12 Loyola Marymount, No. 13 Georgia State, No. 15 Arizona, No. 16 Florida Atlantic (twice) and No. 18 Georgia State. Their lone losses this year have all been to ranked teams - No. 2 USC, No. 3 Florida State, No. 8 Long Beach State and No. 10 Florida International.
 
Ten of Stetson's 16 players are upperclassmen, and they are returning 11 players from the 2018 team that won a school-record 30 matches. Darby Dunn and Sammee Thomas, the 2018 ASUN Pair of the Year, are back for their respective junior and senior seasons. Last year, they went 30-6 overall and 10-0 in ASUN play - all while winning 20 of 21 sets. They won five matches against ranked teams. This year, they are 13-5 as the No. 2 pair and have won six straight. Dunn has been a part of two straight ASUN pairs of the year.

Sunniva Helland-Hansen, the 2017 ASUN Freshman of the Year, and Carly Perales are also 13-5 this year from the top pair, while sophomore duo Quinci Birker and Rebecca Ingram are 13-3 at No. 4. If you had to pick one pair where the Hatters have struggled this year, it's at No. 4. The duo of Samantha Harris and Julie Varga are 6-7, while Yasmin Kuck and Alexa Richardson are 3-1. Overall, the team has a .556 winning percentage (10-8) from that spot.
 
Last Time Out
The Eagles are coming off a 3-1 record at the Dig and Dive Beach Bash hosted by UNC Wilmington on Saturday and Sunday. FGCU's only loss was to undefeated College of Charleston, while they picked up victories over Coastal Carolina, UNC Wilmington and Tusculum College.
 
Next Up
After Wednesday's doubleheader, the Green and Blue will be back in action on Tuesday against Florida Southern at 4 p.m. The match will be held on FGCU's campus at the ROC, and the program will honor Amanda Carroll, Karissa Rhoades and Katherine Puisis as part of senior day.
 
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 48-33 record over the past three-plus seasons (54-62 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.