COLUMBIA, S.C. – After falling to No. 14 Georgia State to open day one of the Palmetto Invitational, the No. 20 FGCU beach volleyball team bounced back to defeat Coastal Carolina in the afternoon session on Friday at South Carolina's Wheeler Beach Courts. With a win against the Chanticleers, FGCU graduate Snowy Burnam moved into a tie for second all-time with her 61^st career win.
 
The results moved the Eagles to 21-8 overall on the year, while Georgia State improved to 20-11 overall including its win over the College of Charleston. Coastal Carolina fell to 17-12 including its loss to No. 18 South Carolina.
 
"I thought we played pretty consistent and patient volleyball against a very well coached Georgia State team," said head coach Chris Sweat. "They made some great plays and came up with some close wins. Maddie [Parmelly] and Kacie [Johnson] played one of their best games of the year, and I'm happy to see all their hard work and dedication to their craft paying off."
 
Parmelly and Johnson defeated Georgia State's top pair of Kelly Dorn and Elise Saga 21-18, 21-15 for the Eagles' lone win of the opening match. Burnam and Cortney VanLiew played a tightly contested fourth flight (21-16, 21-19), while Kaitlyn Luebbers and Emma Hansen dropped a tight three-set fifth flight with the second and third sets each decided by just two points.
 
In the win over Coastal Carolina, Parmelly and Johnson earned the match-clinching point to secure the team win. Hansen and Luebbers earned a quick win in the fifth flight for the Eagles' first point of the day, while Burnam and VanLiew extended the lead to 2-0. The Chanticleers earned a point in the third flight to make the lead 2-1 before Parmelly and Johnson won 21-18, 21-15 in the No. 1 flight.
 
Hansen moved into a tie for sixth all-time in program history for career wins with her 50^th alongside FGCU Hall of Famer Amanda Carroll.
 
FGCU will close out the regular-season on Saturday against host South Carolina in a top-20 match-up starting at 11 AM before taking on the College of Charleston at 1 PM. Following this weekend's play, the Eagles will play in the ASUN Championship on April 22-25 in Huntsville, Ala.
 
#14 Georgia State vs #20 Florida Gulf Coast
Apr 15, 2022 at Columbia, S.C.
(Wheeler Beach)
#14 Georgia State 4, #20 Florida Gulf Coast 1
1. Maddison Parmelly/Kacie Johnson (FGCU) def. Kelly Dorn/Elise Saga (GSU) 21-18, 21-15
2. Maddy Delmonte/Eden Hawes (GSU) def. Jacqueline Carpenter/Lexie Hamilton (FGCU) 21-10, 21-12
3. Kayla Whetstone/Yasmin Kuck (GSU) def. Shelby Beisner/Trinity Rosales (FGCU) 21-17, 21-15
4. Bella Ferary/Angel Ferary (GSU) def. Snowy Burnam/Cortney VanLiew (FGCU) 21-16, 21-19
5. Chloee Kleespies/Becky Tresham (GSU) def. Kaitlyn Luebbers/Emma Hansen (FGCU) 21-13, 19-21, 15-13
Ext. Destiny White/Ayla Johnson (GSU) def. Skylar English/Mia Thompson (FGCU) 21-13, 21-16
Order of finish: 4,5,3,1,2
 
Florida Gulf Coast vs Coastal Carolina
Apr 15, 2022 at Columbia, S.C.
(Wheeler Beach)
#20 Florida Gulf Coast 3, Coastal Carolina 2
1. Maddison Parmelly/Kacie Johnson (FGCU) def. Kragholm, Martine/Riedell, Sarah (CCU) 21-9, 21-14
2. Hanford, Ellie/Drobnjak, Irena (CCU) def. Jacqueline Carpenter/Lexie Hamilton (FGCU) 21-13, 21-17
3. Honzovicova, Natalie/Lichty, Madie (CCU) def. Trinity Rosales/Shelby Beisner (FGCU) 21-19, 20-22, 15-13
4. Snowy Burnam/Cortney VanLiew (FGCU) def. Ginther, Carli/Ehlers, Raychel (CCU) 21-13, 22-24, 17-15
5. Emma Hansen/Kaitlyn Luebbers (FGCU) def. Gonzalez, Emma/Allred, Madison (CCU) 21-10, 21-11
Ext. Skylar English/Elizabeth Richmond (FGCU) def. Eske, Kalin/Sanchez, Elena (CCU) 21-18, 13-21, 15-8
Order of finish: 5,4,2,1,3
 
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.
 
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 42-23 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---