Moving On! @FGCU_BeachVB Survives Marathon Day At ASUN Tournament

DELAND, Fla. - The No. 3 seed FGCU beach volleyball team (17-10) survived an 11-hour marathon day at the ASUN tournament on Friday by defeating 5th-seeded Austin Peay (15-15) 3-0 and 4th-seeded Coastal Carolina (21-11) 3-2 at Cooper Beach on the campus of Stetson University.

The Green and Blue will now face North Florida (20-13) at 11 a.m. Saturday in a loser's bracket final with the winner advancing to the winner-take-all championship match at 1 p.m. against top-seeded and nationally 8th-ranked Stetson (28-8).

Due to impending weather, all matches on Friday were moved up at least 90 minutes and played to clinch. Thus, FGCU had to arrive at the court at 6:45 a.m. for a 7:30 a.m. match. After dispatching Austin Peay in a sweep, the Eagles got underway against Coastal Carolina at 12:35 p.m.

As feared, however, the match was suspended due to lightning just after 2 p.m. with the Eagles leading 2-1 and the other pairs in progress. Then, after a three-plus hour delay, Coastal Carolina evened up the match with a win in the third set of the No. 4 pair. However, Karissa Rhoades and Katherine Puisis finished off a two-set sweep at the No. 2 spot to advance the Green and Blue.

"Amanda and KG had a great win in the second set against Coastal that extended things to a third," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "That comeback ended up being a huge result for our group. Katie and Karissa played an outstanding match in a position where the overall team result hung in the balance. As we have come to expect, they were outstanding when it mattered most. That's the benefit of having seniors in that position."

Prior to the break against Coastal Carolina, Amanda Carroll and Kirstine Garder fought off three match points to win the second set, and then the duo claimed the third to put the Eagles up 2-1. That proved to be critical once the Chanticleers claimed the four pair after the lightning delay.

Snowy Burnam and Kayla Whetstone, meanwhile, continued to roll with a hard-fought 21-18, 21-17 win over Austin Peay to open the day, which was followed by a 21-18, 21-18 win over Coastal Carolina. The No. 3 pair is now 23-4 overall this year while winning eight straight and 12 of their past 13 matches - and seven of those past eight have come in straight sets.

Notes
With the win over Austin Peay, FGCU set a new single-season wins record. Including both wins on Friday, the Eagles now have 17 after recording 15 in each of the past two seasons.

Garder (Halden, Norway/Topvolley Norge) became the program's single-season wins leader for a freshman with her triumph in the finale. She now has 17 victories this year, which moves her past Burnam and Whestone's 16 from last season.

Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) became the program's first-ever 60-game winner with the win over Coastal Carolina. She is now 60-34 (.638) in her career, while Puisis (Mason, Ohio/William Mason HS) is 56-31. Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) is one shy of her 50th win, as well.

On top of that, Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) and Whetstone (Arlington, Texas/Arlington Lamar HS) slid past Mackenzie Allen (2015-18) and Ashley Glickert (2015-18) for sole possession of sixth-place on the program's career wins list with 39.

This will be the first time the Eagles have played at least five matches at the ASUN tournament. The previous record of four was set in each of the past three seasons.

The win over Austin Peay represented the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Meanwhile, the Eagles improved to 7-0 all-time against Coastal Carolina.

Should FGCU defeated UNF and Stetson on Saturday, they would have a win over each seed in the tournament after having already defeated No. 6 North Alabama, No. 5 Austin Peay and No. 4 Coastal Carolina.

Full Tournament Results
Thursday
Match 1: No. 4 Coastal Carolina d. No. 5 Austin Peay 5-0
Match 2: No. 3 FGCU d. No. 6 North Alabama 5-0
Match 3: No. 1 Stetson d. No. 4 Coastal Carolina 4-1
Match 4: No. 2 North Florida d. No. 3 FGCU 3-2

Friday
Match 5: No. 3 FGCU d. No. 5 Austin Peay 3-0
Match 6: No. 4 Coastal Carolina d. No. 6 North Alabama 3-0
Match 7: No. 1 Stetson d. No. 2 North Florida 3-1
Match 8: No. 3 FGCU d. No. 4 Coastal Carolina 3-2

Saturday
Match 9: No. 2 North Florida vs No. 3 FGCU, 11 a.m.
Championship: No. 1 Stetson vs Match 9 winner, 1 p.m.

Follow Along
Live stats are available for each match of the tournament here. The link is the same for all matches. Also, every match is being aired on ESPN+. As the tournament progresses, specific links will be posted here and on social media.

FULL RESULTS
FGCU 3, Austin Peay 0
1. Carroll/Garder d. Panning/Turner 21-14, 26-24
2. Puisis/Rhoades - unfinished
3. Burnam/Whetstone d. Gerig/Stitt 21-18, 21-17
4. Hansen/Borgiotti - unfinished
5. VanLiew/Ryan d. Arrington/Waite 21-15, 21-17

FGCU 3, Coastal Carolina 2
1. Carroll/Garder (FGCU) d. Alvis/Hardeman 14-21, 24-22, 15-8
2. Puisis/Rhoades (FGCU) d. Boyer/Campbell 21-6, 21-14
3. Burnam/Whetstone (FGCU) Federico/Gauthier 21-18, 21-18
4. Djuric/Ladewig (CC) d. Hansen/Borgiotti 11-21, 21-19, 15-11
5. Nemeth/Eske (CC) d. VanLiew/Ryan 21-16, 21-17

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 58-38 record over the past three-plus seasons (64-67 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 75-82. 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.

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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 76 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.

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