FORT MYERS, Fla. --- The No. 20 FGCU beach volleyball team (10-10) will compete in the Battle on the Bay on Saturday with matchups against Mercer at 8 a.m., Tampa at 12 p.m. and Eckerd at 4 p.m. All the action will take place at the North Shore Sports Complex in St. Petersburg.
The event was originally supposed to feature four matches over two days but was adjusted to a one-day event due to the threat of bad weather on Sunday.
The Eagles were nationally-ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll earlier this week and will look to pick up a few more wins ahead of Wednesday's home opener against Eckerd College.
One key storyline this weekend will be what
Kayla Whetstone and
Kacie Johnson do at the No. 2 pair. They have not only won five consecutive matches, but
Whetstone (Arlington, Texas/Arlington Lamar HS) has moved into sole possession of second place in career victories with 58 and is just three shy of moving into a tie for the lead with Karissa Rhoades (61, 2016-19).
Johnson (Frisco, Texas/Lebanon Trail HS) is 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,
Giovanna Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) sits just four wins behind Whetstone in fourth place for career victories. Last weekend, the senior became the first player in program history to compete in her 100th match.
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 |
Junior
Emma 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 last weekend. Her partner at the No. 4 pair,
Madie Lichty (Clemmons, N.C./West Forsyth), reached 10 victories in her rookie campaign to join Johnson in the club while
Trinity Rosales (Wilmington, N.C./Eugene Ashley) is one win away from making it three.
Following this weekend, FGCU will host Eckerd College on Wednesday at The ROC on campus before concluding the regular season in the UNF Classic on April 17-18. The ASUN tournament is slated for April 23-25 in DeLand.
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
www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
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.
#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 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.
--
FGCUATHLETICS.COM--
