ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - After a tough 3-2 loss to Tampa in the opener, the FGCU beach volleyball team (2-2) rebounded with a 5-0 win over UT Martin on Saturday to split the second day and conclude Eckerd College's Battle on the Bay at North Shore Courts.

"We did some really good things against a very talented Tampa team, but I was disappointed by the way we closed out sets," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "We have to find ways to apply more pressure to the opponent in end-game situations."

In the opener, Karissa Rhoades and Katherine Puisis registered a straight-set win at the No. 2 pair, and then Candace Lacour (Buckeye, Ariz./Verrado HS) and Giovanna Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) won 18-16 in the third set to put the Eagles up 2-1. Tampa, however, took a third set at the No. 3 pair to even things up and then won the No. 1 pair by taking the final two sets 27-25 and 15-12.

In the finale against UT Martin, Emma Hansen was inserted into the No. 5 pair to team with Cortney VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS). The duo won in straight sets to give Hansen (Trophy Club, Texas/Westlake Academy) her first collegiate win. The rest of the Green and Blue followed suit to finish a 10-set sweep in a first-ever matchup between the two teams.

Notes
With two more wins on Saturday, Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) now has 44 in her career, which is three shy of surpassing Madi Wilcox (46-32, .590) for the program record. Her teammate, Puisis (Mason, Ohio/William Mason HS) continues to hold the career winning percentage record with .615 (40-25), while Rhoades is second at .611 (44-28).
 
Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) teamed with Kirstine Garder (Halden, Norway/Topvolley Norge) to produce her 25th career win at the No. 1 pair. She is 34-33 in her career.
 
FGCU's No. 2, 3 and 4 pairs are now all 3-1 this year.

Saturday's Results

Tampa 3, FGCU 2
1. Oswald/Rosequist (Tampa) d. Garder/Carroll 9-21, 27-25, 15-12
2. Puisis/Rhoades (FGCU) d. Thompson/Rosequist 21-19, 21-15
3. McKiel/Houghton (Tampa) d. Burnam/Whetstone 18-21, 21-16, 15-12
4. Lacour/Borgiotti (FGCU) d. Elias/Pfuner 21-17, 19-21, 18-16
5. Duffy/Haslag (Tampa) d. Ryan/VanLiew 21-17, 19-21, 15-12

FGCU 5, UT Martin 0
1. Garder/Carroll d. Gyori/Phillips 21-14, 21-18
2. Puisis/Rhoades d. Hinshaw/Scanlon 21-14, 21-8
3. Burnam/Whetstone d. Fair/Walker 21-12, 21-11
4. Lacour/Borgiotti d. Geurin/Reynolds 21-8, 21-9
5. Hansen/VanLiew d. Conley/Wallick 21-11, 21-13
 
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. Despite a 48-60 record in his tenure, he's improved or steadied 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 59-75. 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.