DeLAND, Fla. – The FGCU beach volleyball team (2-2, 1-1 ASUN Conference) dropped a close 3-2 battle Saturday against Stetson (3-0), but immediately recovered with a 5-0 victory over Mercer (0-4) on the second day of the 2023 Stetson Season Opener at Stetson's Cooper Beach Courts. 

"There were a lot of positives for us in the Stetson match," said FGCU head beach volleyball coach Chris Sweat. " So many competitive games, especially against the team at the top of our conference for so long, we have to do a better job of executing the game plan.
 
"The match was really fun to be a part of, and this is what collegiate volleyball is all about. I was also very proud of how we responded to a loss, and how we played in our first match against Mercer. All the girls came ready to play, and it was a very solid match all around."

FGCU's No. 1 pair of Junior Kacie Johnson (Frisco, Texas/Lebanon Trail HS) and Maddison Parmelly (Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall Health) delivered back-to-back wins – battling 21-15, 23-25, 15-12 against the Hatters, and then winning 21-6, 21-9 against the Bears.
 
Sophomore Kaitlyn Luebbers (Union, Ky./Randall K. Cooper) and graduate Lexie Hamilton (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS/UNCW) also picked up two wins, firstly winning 21-18, 21-19 against Stetson and 21-16, 21-11 at the No. 4 pair to give the Eagles its second point against Mercer.
 
Freshman Kristina Gluc (Kissimmee, Fla./Osceola Virtual.) and sophomore Jacqueline Carpenter (Dublin, Ohio. /Dublin Jerome) split their matches on the day. Gluc and Carpenter dropped their match 21-15, 21-16 against Stetson at No. 5 before winning 21-14, 21-11 against Mercer at No. 5.
 
Senior Shelby Beisner (Port Charlotte, Fla/Charlotte) and junior Trinity Rosales (Wilmington, N.C./Eugene Ashley) won the Eagles fourth point over Mercer with a 21-19, 21-7 victory at No. 2.
 
The Green & Blue pair of freshman Dylan Brewer (Lantana, Texas/John H. Guyer HS) and freshman Nicole De Oliveira (Cary, N.C/Green Level HS) secured the Eagles final point of the match with a 21-12, 21-11 victory.
 
The Eagles return to action March 4 for the Tampa Tournament, taking on Georgia State (4-0) at 2 p.m. followed by TCU (1-0) at 6 p.m. on the first day.

For complete coverage of the FGCU 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.
 
Stetson 3, FGCU 2
1. Kacie Johnson/Maddison Parmelly (FGCU) def. Shae Henson /Karin Zolnercikova (STET) 21-15, 23-25, 15-12
2. Anete Namike /Carolina Ferraris (STET) def. Shelby Beisner/Trinity Rosales (FGCU) 21-15, 19-21, 12-15
3. Gabriella Bramante/Audret Gauthier (STET) def. Dylan Brewer/Nicole De Oliveira (FGCU) 21-18, 21-11
4. Lexie Hamilton/Kaitlyn Luebbers (FGCU) def. Jenna Gathright/Aleksandra Stadnik (STET) 21-18, 21-19
5. Noelle Weintraub/Klea Sirois (STET) def. Jacqueline Carpenter/Kristina Gluc (FGCU) 21-15, 21-16


Order of Finish: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
 
FGCU 5, Mercer 0
1. Kacie Johnson/Maddison Parmelly (FGCU) def. Lexi Polychrones/Jordan Paddock (MER) 21-6, 21-9
2. Shelby Beisner /Trinity Rosales (FGCU) def. Kate Hardie /Nicole O'Mara (MER) 21-19, 21-7
3.  Dylan Brewer/Lily Felts (FGCU) def. Sydney Benson /Jordyn Thomas-Warren (MER) 21-12, 21-11
4. Lexie Hamilton/Kaitlyn Luebbers (FGCU) def. Jordyn Thomas-Warren/Alyssa Scoggins (MER) 21-16, 21-11
5. Jacqueline Carpenter/Kristina Gluc (FGCU) def. Kathryn Corbett/Jordan Morris (MER) 21-14, 21-11

Order of Finish: 5, 4, 1, 2, 3
 
COACH SWEAT
Sweat's 2022 team finished with a program-high 29 wins, and Sweat earned his 50th career victory in just his third season as coach. Sweat became the first coach in FGCU program history to earn ASUN Coach of the Year accolade after guiding his team to its 11th-consecutive appearance in the ASUN Championship. The Eagles earned wins over two top-25 teams in 2022, downing No. 17 Stetson and No. 18 South Carolina while also taking down seven different conference squads. Sweat's FGCU program again ascended to a No. 20 ranking in the AVCA Top 20 in March 2022 and maintained that ranking through the ASUN Tournament. He is in his fourth 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 52-25 (.675) record
 
#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 94 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 47 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22 and No. 25 in 2022-23) beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green & 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 3.66 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2022 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 27 consecutive semesters. The past seven semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. 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.