BOCA RATON, Fla. – After falling to No. 12 FAU in the morning match of the Beach Burrow Bash, the No. 26 FGCU beach volleyball team bounced back to pick up a win over UNC Wilmington in the afternoon session at the FAU Beach Volleyball Complex on Friday.
 
The Eagles fell to the Owls, 4-1, before picking up the 5-0 win over the Seahawks to move to 3-3 overall on the year.
 
"We came out strong at the start of our first match but couldn't equal their aggressiveness in the wind. FAU had control in some of the top flights with some very aggressive serving and did a great job keeping us out of system," said head coach Chris Sweat. "I thought we bounced back really well the second match and we are looking forward to competing again tomorrow."
 
The Eagles will begin day two of the Beach Burrow Bash on Saturday morning against Austin Peay at 10 AM followed by a match against Palm Beach Atlantic at 2 PM.
 
Emma Hansen and Kaitlyn Luebbers picked up wins in both matches to improve to 4-2 on the year.
 
In match against FAU, Hansen and Luebbers won in the fifth flight (21-15, 21-19) for the Eagles' lone victory against the Owls. Shelby Beisner and Trinity Rosales played a tightly contested three-set match at the No. 4 flight that saw the duo win the second set 21-19 before falling 15-13 in the third.
 
In the afternoon session, the Eagles won each flight in two sets with the duo of Jaci Carpenter and Lexie Hamilton having the deciding win at the No. 2 match (21-2, 21-19).
 
#12 Florida Atlantic 4, #26 FGCU 1
1. Erica Brok/Mackenzie Morris (FAU) def. GARDER, Kirstine/CARPENTER, Jaci (FGCU) 21-19, 21-11
2. Courtney Moon/Marketa Svozilova (FAU) def. PARMELLY, Maddison/JOHNSON, Kacie (FGCU) 21-15, 21-15
3. Ellie Austin/Julie Honzovicova (FAU) def. BURNHAM, Snowy/HAMILTON, Lexie (FGCU) 21-15, 21-12
4. Jillienne Cangelosi/Christine Jarman (FAU) def. BEISNER, Shelby/ROSALES, Trinity (FGCU) 21-16, 19-21, 15-13
5. HANSEN, Emma/LUEBBERS, Kaitlyn (FGCU) def. Maylin Bouffard/Abby Jackson (FAU) 21-15, 21-19
Ext. Mica Allison/Logan Mignerey (FAU) def. ENGLISH, Skylar/RICHMOND, Elizabeth (FGCU) 21-9, 21-16
Match Notes:
FGCU 2-3
#12 Florida Atlantic 2-2
Order of finish: 5,4,3,2,1
 
#26 FGCU 5, UNCW 0
1. PARMELLY, Maddison/JOHNSON, Kacie (FGCU) def. Mattie Johnson/Ashley Thompson (UNCW) 21-7, 21-14
2. CARPENTER, Jaci/HAMILTON, Lexie (FGCU) def. Sadie Sharkey/Grace Melnick (UNCW) 21-2, 21-19
3. BURNHAM, Snowy/ROSALES, Trinity (FGCU) def. Holly Cornelius/Brianna Haggerty (UNCW) 21-13, 21-9
4. LUEBBERS, Kaitlyn/HANSEN, Emma (FGCU) def. Ellie Bucci/Tessa Rogers (UNCW) 21-17, 21-19
5. BEISNER, Shelby/RICHMOND, Elizabeth (FGCU) def. Tyla Cutrie/Kaley McLaughlin (UNCW) 21-17, 21-14
Ext. Jadyn Barry/Maddy Folks (UNCW) def. THOMPSON, Mia/ENGLISH, Skylar (FGCU) 21-19, 21-15
Match Notes:
FGCU 3-3
UNCW 4-1
Order of finish: 4,5,2,1,3
 
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.
 
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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 24-18 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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