FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU beach volleyball team (5-5, 3-1 ASUN Conference) delivered 4-1 and 5-0 victories against Jacksonville (4-7, 0-2 ASUN) Wednesday evening for its season opener at the newly expanded ROC.
 
"There's nothing like playing your first home match of the season," said FGCU head beach volleyball coach Chris Sweat. "I'm so thankful for our administration, generous parents, and so many others that helped make this new court possible.
 
"Coach Hough is putting together a great squad at JU and they made us battle at every court all day, so it was nice to come away with a win in front of the home crowd."
 
FGCU's No. 1 pair of junior Kacie Johnson (Frisco, Texas/Lebanon Trail HS) and senior Maddison Parmelly (Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall Health) delivered a 21-19, 21-15 victory in match No. 1 to clinch the first match for the Eagles, and returned in the second match with a 21-17, 17-21, 15-13 win at No. 1.

FGCU's No. 2 pair of senior Shelby Beisner (Port Charlotte, Fla/Charlotte) and junior Trinity Rosales (Wilmington, N.C./Eugene Ashley) dropped their match 21-13, 19-21, 11-15 in the first battle against the Dolphins, but made major changes to deliver a 21-12, 21-17 victory in their second matchup.
 
The Green & Blue's No. 3 pair of Dylan Brewer (Lantana, Texas/John H. Guyer HS) and Nicole De Oliveira (Cary, N.C./ Green Level HS) delivered back-to-back victories – battling 17-21, 21-15, 15-11 against JU in the first match, and taking a 21-13, 24-22 victory in the second match.
 
The other double-victory pair was sophomore Kaitlyn Luebbers (Union, Ky./Randall K. Cooper) and graduate Lexie Hamilton (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS/UNCW) – who delivered a 21-18, 21-19 decision at No. 4 and then produced a 21-11, 21-11 victory.
 
The No. 5 pair of Kristina Gluc (Kissimmee, Fla./Osceola Virtual) and sophomore Jacqueline Carpenter (Dublin, Ohio. /Dublin Jerome) won 21-17, 21-6 in the first match, and then got their second victory on the day with 21-17, 22-20 showing.

 
The Eagles return to action Friday, crossing Alligator Alley for the FIU Surf and Turf Invitational. The Green & Blue will battle the host Panthers (6-2) at 8:30 a.m., followed by No. 13 FAU (7-5) at 1:30 p.m.
 
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.
 
FGCU 4, Jacksonville 1
1. Kacie Johnson/Maddison Parmelly (FGCU) def. McNamara, Jenna/ Kubicsko, Emily (JU) 21-19, 21-15
2. Eckhardt, Sydney/Szyszkiewicz, Olivia (JU) def. Shelby Beisner/Trinity Rosales (FGCU) 13-21, 21-19, 15-11
3. Dylan Brewer/Nicole De Oliveira (FGCU) def. Dunbar, Anna/ Freeland, Aly (JU) 17-21, 21-15, 15-11
4. Lexie Hamilton/Kaitlyn Luebbers (FGCU) def. Knifton, Cameron/ Nika, Kristina (JU) 21-18, 21-19
5. Jacqueline Carpenter/Kristina Gluc (FGCU) def. Reames, Miller/Ziegelmaier, Colleen (JU) 21-17, 21-6


Order of Finish: 5, 4, 2, 1, 3


FGCU 5, Jacksonville 0
1. Kacie Johnson/Maddison Parmelly (FGCU) def. McNamara, Jenna/ Kubicsko, Emily (JU) 21-17, 17-21, 15-13
2. Shelby Beisner /Trinity Rosales (FGCU) def. Eckhardt, Sydney/ Szyszkiewicz, Olivia (JU) 21-12, 21-17
3. Dylan Brewer/Nicole De Oliveira (FGCU) def. Dunbar, Anna/ Freeland, Aly (JU) 21-13, 24-22
4. Lexie Hamilton/Kaitlyn Luebbers (FGCU) def Hart, Haley/ Reames, Miller (JU) 21-11, 21-11
5. Jacqueline Carpenter/Kristina Gluc (FGCU) def. Knifton, Cameron/ Nika, Kristina (JU) 21-17, 22-20

Order of Finish: 4, 5, 3, 2, 1
 

COACH SWEAT
Chris 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 55-29 (.654) 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 96 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 48 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. Nine FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22 and No. 22 in 2022-23), baseball (No. 20 in 2023), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022), and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as five 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.
 
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