MIAMI, Fla. --- The No. 20 FGCU beach volleyball team (9-7) dropped a pair of 3-2 matchups to top-15 nationally-ranked teams on Saturday to conclude the FIU Surf 'N Turf.
The No. 3 pair of
Maddison Parmelly and
Lexie Hamilton won both of their matches, opening with a 25-23, 21-16 win over No. 12 FAU before concluding their action with a 21-19, 21-23, 16-14 win over No. 13 FIU.
Emma Hansen and
Madie Lichty also produced a win in the opener against FAU at the No. 4 spot, taking down the Owls 25-17, 27-25. In the finale,
Kacie Johnson and
Kayla Whetstone knocked off FIU 21-12, 21-11 at the No. 2 pair.
"I am really proud of how we fought for every point against two schools that are consistently in the top 15 in the country every year," FGCU head coach
Chris Sweat said. "They are both well-coached with great athletes, and we went point for point with them in so many of the matches. Our 3's pair of Maddie and Lexie really impressed me today with some big wins in high pressure situations and are really starting to click as a team."
With her win, Whetstone produced her sixth career win over a ranked team, which ties her with Madi Wilcox (2014-17) for the most such victories in program history.
In the chase for the program's all-time wins record,
Whetstone (Arlington, Texas/Arlington Lamar HS) moved two victories ahead of
Giovanna Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) for third place all-time. She is now three shy of matching Katie Puisis (57, 2016-19) for second place.
The Eagles will be back in action on April 2-3 in the FAU Burrow Beach Bash in Boca Raton, where they will face Tampa and Palm Beach Atlantic on Friday before taking on North Florida and FAU on Saturday. This Tuesday's home match against Eckerd was postponed and a rescheduled date is being worked on.
No. 12 FAU 3, No. 20 FGCU 2
1. Erica Brok/Mackenzie Morris (FAU) def.
Giovanna Borgiotti/Kirstine Garder 21-15, 21-17
2. Kenley Adams/Ellie Austin (FAU) def.
Kayla Whetstone/Kacie Johnson 16-21, 21-14, 15-10
3.
Lexie Hamilton/Maddison Parmelly (FGCU) def. Kaila Dorish/Jillenne Cangelosi 25-23, 21-16
4.
Emma Hansen/Madie Lichty (FGCU) def. Savannah Pesante/Lily Richman 21-17, 27-25
5. Abby Jackson/Courtney Moon (FAU) def.
Trinity Rosales/Jenna Banz 21-18, 15-21, 15-10
No. 13 FIU 3, No. 20 FGCU 2
1. Federica Frasca/Roberta Ribeiro (FIU) def.
Giovanna Borgiotti/Kirstine Garder 21-17, 17-21, 15-9
2.
Kayla Whetstone/Kacie Johnson (FGCU) def. Sophia Brandstetter/Shannon Gormally 21-12, 21-11
3.
Lexie Hamilton/Maddison Parmelly (FGCU) def. Gina Lipscomb/Lina Bernier 21-19, 21-23, 16-14
4. Abbie Hughes/Paige Kalkhoff (FIU) def.
Emma Hansen/Madie Lichty 21-11, 21-14
5. Giada Bianchi/Rachele Mancinelli (FIU) def.
Jenna Banz/Trinity Rosales 21-13, 21-14
For complete coverage of the beach volleyball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter and Instagram at @FGCU_BeachVB, on Facebook at /fgcubeachvb and online at FGCUathletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU beach volleyball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting
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COACH SWEAT
Chris Sweat is in his second season as head coach of the FGCU beach volleyball program after spending the prior five seasons as an assistant coach. A member of VolleyballMag.com's Under 40 Coaching Hotshots list in January 2020, he led the Eagles to a 4-0 start in 2020 prior to the Covid-19 shutdown and has compiled a 13-7 record to open his head coaching tenure.
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FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 85 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 40 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 23 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, and 2020 Fall semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
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