TAMPA, Fla. – The FGCU beach volleyball team (2-4, 1-0 ASUN Conference) battled against two of the top-10 teams in the nation on the opening day of the Tampa Tournament.
The Green & Blue's No. 1 pair of junior
Kacie Johnson (
Frisco, Texas/Lebanon Trail HS) and
Maddison Parmelly (
Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall Health) delivered a 21-14, 19-21, 15-10 victory against No. 10 Georgia State (6-2) – the Eagles' only victory of the day.
The Eagles fell short 4-1 against Georgia State, and lost 5-0 to No. 3 TCU in the evening session.
"We had our moments, but when you play this caliber of competition, you can't give up any free points. We did not execute the game plan as well as we wanted to," said FGCU head beach volleyball coach
Chris Sweat. "All pairs are showing flashes of how good they could be, but we need to do a much better job of making the most of every moment."
Sophomore
Kaitlyn Luebbers (
Union, Ky./Randall K. Cooper) and graduate
Lexie Hamilton (
Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS/UNCW) fought their way through three sets before ultimately falling 19-21, 22-20, 10-15 at No. 4 against Georgia State.
Freshman
Kristina Gluc (
Kissimmee, Fla./Osceola Virtual) and sophomore
Jacqueline Carpenter (
Dublin, Ohio. /Dublin Jerome) teamed at No. 5 and kept within striking distance before falling 21-9, 24-22 against TCU.
The Eagles return to action Sunday for day two of the Tampa Tournament, taking on host Tampa (1-5) at 8 a.m. and then second-ranked Florida State (5-0) at 2 p.m.
No. 10 Georgia State 4, FGCU 1
1.
Kacie Johnson/
Maddison Parmelly (FGCU)
def. Angel Ferary and Bella Ferary (GSU) 21-14, 19-21, 15-10
2. Elise Saga and Kelly Dorn (GSU) def.
Shelby Beisner /Trinity Rosales (FGCU) 21-16, 21-18
3. Yasmin Kuck and Lila Bordis (GSU) def.
Dylan Brewer/Nicole De Oliveira (FGCU) 21-15, 21-17
4. Ayla Johnson and Maddy Delmonte (GSU) def
. Lexie Hamilton/Kaitlyn Luebbers (FGCU) 21-19, 20-22, 15-10
5. Destiny White and Aliisa Vuorinen (GSU) def.
Jacqueline Carpenter/Kristina Gluc (FGCU) 21-15, 21-14
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 2, 3, 1
No. 3 TCU 5, FGCU 0
1.
Daniela Alvarez/Tania Moreno (TCU) def. (FGCU) def.
Kacie Johnson/
Maddison Parmelly (FGCU) 21-15, 21-12
2.
Sutton MacTavish and Kate Privett (TCU) def. Shelby Beisner /Trinity Rosales (FGCU) 21-16, 21-16
3. Ana Vergara and Anhelina Khmil (TCU) def
. Dylan Brewer/Nicole De Oliveira (FGCU) 21-15, 21-19
4.
Hailey Hamlett and Maria Gonzalez (TCU) def.
Lexie Hamilton/Kaitlyn Luebbers (FGCU)
21-13, 21-18
5.
Josie Sek and Rochelle Scott (TCU) def.
Jacqueline Carpenter/Kristina Gluc (FGCU) 21-19, 24-22
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 1, 2, 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.
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 52-27 (.658) 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 95 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), 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 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 26 consecutive semesters. The past six semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 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.
