DeLAND, Fla. – After dropping its morning match, 5-0, to No. 18 South Carolina, the No. 20 FGCU beach volleyball team (1-1) bounced back in the afternoon with a 5-0 win over the College of Charleston (0-1) at Stetson's Cooper Beach Courts on day one of the 2022 Stetson Spring Fling.
South Carolina (1-1) fell later in the afternoon to host No. 19 Stetson (2-0).
"We knew today was going to be tough and both teams gave us all we could handle," said head coach
Chris Sweat. "In the first match against South Carolina, we were too high-error against a really well coached and disciplined team. We settled down against C of C and showed some of the flashes of the great volleyball that I've been seeing at practice. There were some tight games and some matches going to a third set, so I was pleased with coming away with the win."
The No. 1 pair of
Jacqueline Carpenter and
Kirstine Garder split their matches on the day. They picked up a three-set win (19-21, 21-16, 15-12) against the Cougars.
After falling in two sets against South Carolina, the No. 2 pair of
Kacie Johnson and
Maddison Parmelly bounced back with a 21-17, 21-15 win in the afternoon session.
Three other matches played out over three sets with
Snowy Burnam and
Lexie Hamilton at No. 3,
Emma Hansen and
Kaitlyn Luebbers at No. 4, and
Trinity Rosales and
Shelby Beisner at No. 5 all picking up tightly contested wins against the Cougars.
The win for Hansen was the 30
th of her career which moved her into a tie for 11
th all-time in program history alongside Caroline Jordan. Hamilton moved into a tie for 17
th all-time with her 20
th win matching her with
Cortney VanLiew.
The Eagles will return to action on Saturday for day two of the Stetson Spring Fling as they take on Mercer at 10 AM before facing No. 19 Stetson at 2 PM.
No. 18 South Carolina 5, No. 20 FGCU 0
1. Skylar Allen/Alyssa Keller (S. Carolina) def.
Jacqueline Carpenter/Kirstine Garder 19-21, 21-17, 15-12
2. Lauren Wilcock/Jordan Smith (S. Carolina) def.
Maddison Parmelly/Kacie Johnson 21-13, 22-20
3. Sophie Manson/Peyton Gray (S. Carolina) def.
Snowy Burnam/Lexie Hamilton 21-12, 21-17
4. Kaeli Crews/Sophie Bengoechea (S. Carolina) def.
Emma Hansen/Kaitlyn Luebbers 21-18, 21-13
5. Whitney Ballard/Hannah Mackenhausen (S. Carolina) def.
Shelby Beisner/Elizabeth Richmond 21-14, 21-17
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 2, 3, 1
No. 20 FGCU 5, College of Charleston 0
1.
Jacqueline Carpenter/Kristine Garder def. Sofie Vogel/Sky Benjamin (CofC) 19-21, 21-16, 15-5
2.
Kacie Johnson/Maddison Parmelly def. Amani Dunston/Emma Falk (CofC) 21-17, 21-15
3.
Snowy Burnam/Lexie Hamilton def. Kyra Thompson/Ella Reames (CofC) 21-16, 19-21, 15-7
4.
Emma Hansen/Kaitlyn Luebbers def. Maria Zweig/Gabi Bailey (CofC) 13-21, 21-19, 15-7
5.
Trinity Rosales/Shelby Beisner def. Rebecca Olariu/Jasmin Goei (CofC) 21-15, 21-19
Order of Finish: 5, 4, 2, 3, 1
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 third 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 22-16 record to open his head coaching tenure.
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ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 87 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 43 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. 25, 2021-22), 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 24 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. 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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