DeLAND, Fla. – The No. 25 FGCU beach volleyball team picked up a pair of key wins on Friday as the Eagles defeated North Florida, 3-2, before earning their first win over a ranked team this season, 4-1, against No. 17 Stetson on day one of the Stetson Challenge. The Green and Blue improved to 12-5 on the year and will return to action on Saturday morning against North Alabama (8 AM) and Palm Beach Atlantic (Noon).
"We played two very competitive teams today and I'm happy we came away with wins. Our team stepped up when it mattered most and battled to some great finishes," said head coach
Chris Sweat. "The atmosphere was what college beach volleyball conference matches are all about and I love seeing all the girls' hard work pay off."
In the 3-2 win over the Ospreys,
Shelby Beisner and
Trinity Rosales picked up a three-set win for the match-winning point in the third flight. It marked the second win of the season against North Florida as FGCU also won 3-2 on Wednesday at the FIU Invitational in Miami.
Against the Hatters, the Eagles jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead after wins in the fourth and fifth flights to kick things off. Beisner and Rosales again had the match-winning point in the third flight as they won in three sets.
Florida Gulf Coast 3, North Florida 2
Doubles competition
1.
PARMELLY, Maddison/JOHNSON, Kacie (FGCU) def. Taryn Griffey/Callie Workman (UNF) 21-11, 21-15
2. Carleigh Semeniuk/Lauren Galinis (UNF) def.
Jacqueline Carpenter/HAMILTON, Lexie (FGCU) 21-14, 22-20
3.
BEISNER, Shelby/ROSALES, Trinity (FGCU) def. Leah Maloney/Marisa Rogers (UNF) 15-21, 22-20, 15-11
4. Gabby O'Connell/Madeline Camp (UNF) def.
Snowy Burnam/VANLIEW, Cortney (FGCU) 12-21, 21-14, 15-10
5.
HANSEN, Emma/LUEBBERS, Kaitlyn (FGCU) def. Chantel McMillan/Hayden Wooldridge (UNF) 21-17, 20-22, 15-13
Ext.
ENGLISH, Skylar/THOMPSON, Mia (FGCU) def. Zoe Cahill/M. Feliciano Sanchez (UNF) 23-21, 21-17
Order of finish: Doubles (4,5,1,2,3);
Florida Gulf Coast 4, #17 Stetson University 1
1.
Maddison Parmelly/Kacie Johnson (FGCU) def. Shae Henson/Kylie Neuschaeferova (STET) 21-13, 18-21, 15-12
2. Carolina Ferraris/Anete Namike (STET) def.
Jacqueline Carpenter/Lexie Hamilton (FGCU) 21-9, 21-12
3.
Shelby Beisner/Trinity Rosales (FGCU) def. Karin Zolnercikova/Gabriella Bramante (STET) 23-21, 21-13
4.
Snowy Burnam/Cortney Vanliew (FGCU) def. Lauren Della/Colene Hamilton (STET) 21-19, 25-23
5.
Emma Hansen/Kaitlyn Luebbers (FGCU) def. Audrey Gauthier/Klea Sirois (STET) 19-21, 21-16, 15-12
Ext. Aleksandra Stadnik/Katie Keefe (STET) def.
Skylar English/Mia Thompson (FGCU) 21-16, 21-19
Order of finish: Doubles (4,5,2,3,1)
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
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 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 33-20 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 90 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 10 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 44 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. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) 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 25 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2021) 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.
---FGCUATHLETICS.COM---
