FORT MYERS, Fla. – With a dramatic 2-1 win in the final flight of the day, the No. 20 FGCU beach volleyball team picked up a thrilling 3-2 victory over Tampa at The ROC on Friday afternoon to celebrate Senior Day. The Eagles extended their win streak to seven consecutive as the Green and Blue improved to 17-5 overall this season, while Tampa fell to 9-10 overall.
Maddison Parmelly and
Kacie Johnson, who celebrated her birthday on Friday, rallied back in the No. 1 flight to win the second set forcing a match-deciding third set. The two pairs traded points throughout the final set with Parmelly and Johnson eventually pulling off a 25-23 win to clinch the match victory.
"It's always great to give the seniors one last win on their home courts. Tampa gave us all we could handle and every match was decided by 2-3 points," said head coach
Chris Sweat. "I'm really proud of Maddie and Kacie pulling out a tough win versus an extremely talented No. 1 team for Tampa. These are the battles that you love to see your team compete in during this stretch of the season."
FGCU jumped out to a 2-0 lead after wins by
Emma Hansen and
Kaitlyn Luebbers in the fifth flight and
Cortney VanLiew and
Snowy Burnam in the fourth flight. Tampa came back to win the No. 2 and No. 3 flights in three sets each to tie the match, 2-2.
After Tampa won the first set of the No. 1 flight, Parmelly and Johnson won the second 21-18.
Burnam moved into a tie for fourth all-time in program history recording her 57
th career win on the day. Hansen earned her 17
th win of the season to move up into a tie for seventh with 46 career wins.
With 17 wins on the year, the Eagles need just one more to match the program record set by the 2018 squad during its ASUN runner-up campaign.
Prior to the match, FGCU honored its graduating class of Burnam, Hansen, and VanLiew along with
Kirstine Garder. The quartet have led the Eagles to 70 wins over the span of their careers for the Green and Blue.
The two programs will play again up in Tampa this Tuesday, April 5 at 2 PM. The Eagles will then take part in the FAU Paradise Classic (4/8-9) and the Palmetto Invitational (4/15-16) as the final tune-ups before the ASUN Tournament.
No. 20 FGCU 3, Tampa 2
The ROC – Fort Myers, Fla.
1.
Maddie Parmelly/Kacie Johnson (FGCU) vs. Julia Oswald/Rachel Rosequist (Tampa) W, 2-1 (17-21, 21-18, 25-23), 5
th
2.
Lexie Hamilton/Jaci Carpenter (FGCU) vs.
Kierstan Anderson/Payton Brunick (Tampa) L, 2-1 (18-21, 21-15, 11-15), 4
th
3.
Trinity Rosales/
Shelby Beisner (FGCU) vs.
Melissa Elias/Madison Brunick (Tampa) L, 2-1 (21-19, 19-21, 15-17), 3
rd
4.
Cortney VanLiew/Snowy Burnam (FGCU) vs. Katie McKiel/Sara Szalay (Tampa) W, 2-0 (21-18, 21-12), 2
nd
5.
Emma Hansen/Kaitlyn Luebbers (FGCU) vs. Tatiana Gutierrez/Valerie Rosequist (Tampa) W, 2-0 (21-18, 21-12), 1
st
6.
Skylar English/Mia Thompson (FGCU) vs. Cassidy Ehrie/Selina Pfuner (Tampa) W, 2-1 (21-10, 12-21, 15-10), Extra Match
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 38-20 record to open his head coaching tenure.
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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.
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