FORT MYERS, Fla. - Playing in its second-ever match on campus at The Roc, the FGCU beach volleyball team (8-7) celebrated senior day on Tuesday with a 5-0 defeat of Florida Southern (10-9). Each pair finished in straight sets, and the outcome ended a six-match winning streak for the Mocs.
"It was clean," FGCU head coach
Matt Botsford said of his team's win. "We talked a lot about managing unforced errors. Of course, there's going to be mistakes and you're not going to be able to execute perfectly, but over the course of a 21-point game, you better make sure you're paying close attention to how points are being scored. There's been times we've been a little bit too error prone, but today I thought there was a nice emphasis on managing that better, and they did."
Karissa Rhoades became the first player in program history to reach 50 career wins with a 21-8, 21-8 win at the No. 2 pair along with her senior partner
Katherine Puisis. She previously became the all-time leader in career victories and is now 50-33 (.602) in her career.
Puisis (Mason, Ohio/William Mason HS), meanwhile, won her 46th career match and is now tied for second-most wins with Madi Wilcox (46, 2014-17).
Career Wins Leaders
50 -
Karissa Rhoades, 2016-present
46 - Madi Wilcox, 2014-17
46 -
Katherine Puisis, 2016-present
40 -
Amanda Carroll, 2016-present
38 -
Mackenzie Allen, 2015-18
38 -
Ashley Glickert, 2015-18
35 -
Giovanna Borgiotti, 2017-present
The team's third senior,
Amanda Carroll, also reached a milestone by becoming just the fourth player in program history with 40 career wins.
Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) teamed with
Kirstine Garder (Halden, Norway/Topvolley Norge) to produce a 21-14, 21-13 victory at the No. 1 pair and is now six wins shy of matching Wilcox for third-most victories.
Meanwhile, a sophomore duo continued a fantastic campaign as
Snowy Burnam and
Kayla Whetstone recorded a 21-5, 21-12 victory at No. 3. In doing so, the tandem improved its team-best record to 12-3, and they are two wins shy of reaching 30 career victories. On top of that,
Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) and
Whetstone (Arlington, Texas/Arlington Lamar HS) have a chance to surpass the program's single-season wins record of 17, which was set by Puisis and
Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) last year.
Another big win for the Green and Blue came from the No. 4 duo of
Giovanna Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) and
Candace Lacour (Buckeye, Ariz./Verrado HS). While it was the closest matchup of the day at 21-19, 21-17, they managed to end a 10-match winning streak for Florida Southern's Haley Goodrich and Celia Greco, who were 11-0 on the season at that pair after mixing in time at No. 3.
Cortney VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) and
Alayna Ryan (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS) produced the fifth win for the Eagles with a 21-13, 21-10 win at the five pair. It was the duo's second win of the season together.
Notes
Prior to the match, the FGCU beach volleyball program honored its three seniors - Carroll, Rhoades and Puisis. The trio comprises the winningest senior class in program history. They are on pace to produce double-digit victories for the fourth straight season and have registered a 49-35 record in three-plus seasons so far. On top of that, they have a chance to finish 1-2-3 in individual career victories by season's end.
Tuesday featured just the second all-time match played at The ROC after the Green and Blue knocked off Tampa 4-1 on March 16 of last season. The team typically plays at Estero Community Park.
Next Up
The Eagles will travel to Tampa on Saturday for matchups against Florida Southern (12 p.m.) and Tampa (2 p.m.) at the Tampa Beach Volleyball Complex.
RESULTS
FGCU 5, Florida Southern 0
1. Carroll/Garder d. Wilson/Montoya 21-14, 21-13
2. Rhoades/Puisis d. Whiteleather/Trefren 21-8, 21-8
3. Whetstone/Burnam d. Mathews/Calhoun 21-5, 21-12
4. Borgiotti/Lacour d. Goodrich/Greco 21-19, 21-17
5. VanLiew d. Burgeron/Cleary 21-13, 21-10
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 49-35 record over the past three-plus seasons (55-64 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 66-79. 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.
