BOCA RATON, Fla. --- The No. 20 FGCU beach volleyball team (10-10) found a way to finish the weekend on a high note by knocking off No. 11 Florida Atlantic 4-1 to conclude the Sandy Owls Invite at the FAU Beach Volleyball Complex on Saturday. It was the highest-ever ranked team the Eagles have defeated.
"It was great to pull out a win in our last match after a bunch of close losses this weekend," FGCU head coach
Chris Sweat said. "The team knows what they are capable of and although we did not execute to our full extent this weekend, we are looking forward to a hard week of practice before our next tournament in a few days."
The Eagles opened the weekend with a trio of tough 3-2 losses, including one to North Florida to open Saturday's action. By the end of the day, however, they had a historic victory in hand and a pair of players -
Kayla Whetstone and
Giovanna Borgiotti - etched their name in the program's record book.
Whetstone (Arlington, Texas/Arlington Lamar HS), who pushed her winning streak to five straight and improved to 14-6 overall at the No. 2 pair along with her partner
Kacie Johnson, is now in sole possession of second place in career victories with 58. She surpassed Katie Puisis (57, 2016-19) and now trails only Karissa Rhoades (61, 2016-19). If that isn't enough, she broke a tie with Madi Wilcox (2014-17) for the most wins over ranked teams in a Green and Blue career with seven.
Johnson (Frisco, Texas/Lebanon Trail HS) is now one win shy of becoming just the fifth freshman in program history to win 15 matches, and she is four victories shy of matching
Kirstine Garder's rookie wins record of 18 that was set in 2019.
Meanwhile,
Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) paired with
Garder (Halden, Norway/Topvolley Norge) at the top pair and finished 1-1 on the day, including the match-clinching victory against FAU in three sets. In doing so, the graduate senior became the first player in program history to compete in 100 career matches. Her 54 all-time victories put her alone in fourth-place in program history.
FGCU Career Wins
| 1. |
61 |
Karissa Rhoades |
2016-19 |
61-35 |
.635 |
| 2. |
58 |
Kayla Whetstone |
2018-present |
58-21 |
.734 |
| 3. |
57 |
Katie Puisis |
2016-19 |
57-32 |
.640 |
| 4. |
54 |
Giovanna Borgiotti |
2017-present |
54-46 |
.540 |
| 5. |
50 |
Amanda Carroll |
2016-19 |
50-42 |
.543 |
At the No. 4 pair,
Emma Hansen and
Madie Lichty knocked off North Florida in the opener. In doing so,
Hansen (Trophy Club, Texas/Westlake Academy) tied Olivia Mesner (2012-15) and Whitney Masters (2012-15) for the 12th-most victories in program history with 22. For
Lichty (Clemmons, N.C./West Forsyth), the win gives her 10 victories on the season as the Eagles now have a pair of rookies with double-digits, and
Trinity Rosales is one win away from making it three.
The No. 5 duo of
Jenna Banz and
Rosales (Wilmington, N.C./Eugene Ashley) also split a pair of matches on the day, including a big sweep over FAU in the finale. In doing so,
Banz (Cambridge, Ontario/St. Benedict Catholic Secondary/Hawaii) reached double-digit victories in the Green and Blue after transferring in from Hawaii.
At No. 3,
Lexie Hamilton (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) and
Maddison Parmelly (Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall Heath HS) split the day, as well. They both pushed their season win total individually to 11 apiece.
The Eagles will be back in action next weekend in Eckerd College's Battle on the Bay April 10-11.
North Florida 3, No. 20 FGCU 2
1. Antonia Harrison/Dana Roskic (UNF) def.
Giovanna Borgiotti/Kirstine Garder 21-15, 21-12
2.
Kacie Johnson/Kayla Whetstone (FGCU) def. Taryn Griffey/Callie Workman 21-12, 21-23, 15-13
3. Lauren Galinis/Carleigh Semeniuk (UNF) def.
Lexie Hamilton/Maddison Parmelly 15-21, 21-14, 15-11
4.
Emma Hansen/Madie Lichty (FGCU) def. Leah Maloney/Marisa Rogers 21-16, 18-21, 15-10
5. Carolyn Cain/Chantel McMillan (UNF) def.
Jenna Banz/Trinity Rosales 10-21, 21-18, 15-13
No. 20 FGCU 4, No. 11 FAU 1
1.
Giovanna Borgiotti/Kirstine Garder (FGCU) def. Kenley Adams/Ellie Austin 21-17, 16-21, 15-13
2.
Kayla Whetstone/Kacie Johnson (FGCU) def. Jillienne Cangelosi/Logan Mignerey 19-21, 24-22, 15-13
3.
Maddison Parmelly/Lexie Hamilton (FGCU) def. Courtney Moon/Abby Jackson 21-17, 21-16
4. Savannah Pesante/Maylin Bouffard (FAU) def.
Emma Hansen/Madie Lichty 21-14, 21-15
5.
Trinity Rosales/Jenna Banz (FGCU) def. Lily Richman/Alivia Orvieto 21-15, 22-20
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 14-10 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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