FORT WORTH, Texas – The FGCU beach volleyball team (12-14, 4-4 ASUN Conference) earned a 4-1 victory Saturday afternoon against Houston Christian (13-13) on the second day of the TCU Invitational.
  
The Green & Blue dropped its second match of the day, falling 4-1 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (21-9).
  
"We had a great team win against HCU this morning but could not follow it up against a solid team like Corpus Christi," said FGCU head beach volleyball coach Chris Sweat. 
 
"We made too many unforced errors to beat a team that is as consistent as them. They showed why they are conference champions, and really put pressure on us from the serving line in big moments. I'm looking forward to practice this week before we recognize our amazing group of seniors on Wednesday, and then head to South Carolina on Thursday for our final weekend of the regular season."
  
The Eagles started off hot against HCU, as sophomore Mia Thompson (Latana, Texas/Guyer High School) and fifth-year Lily Felts (Knoxville, Tenn/Berean Christian) earned a 21-18, 21-17 victory at No. 5.
 
Graduate Lexie Hamilton (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS/UNCW) and freshman Kristina Gluc (Kissimmee, Fla./Osceola Virtual) teamed at No. 4 to win 21-15, 21-15.
 
Juniors Kacie Johnson (Frisco, Texas/ Lebanon Trail) and Maddison Parmelly (Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall Health) clinched the match by rallying to a 25-23, 21-11 victory at No. 1.
 
The Eagles capped the victory when sophomore Kaitlyn Luebbers (Union, Ky./Randall K. Cooper) and Nicole De Oliveira (Cary, N.C./ Green Level HS) won 21-18, 21-16 at No. 3.
 
Against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, sophomore Jacqueline Carpenter (Dublin, Ohio. /Dublin Jerome) and Gluc delivered a 21-14, 23-21 victory.
 
The Eagles return to action Wednesday, hosting No. 15 Florida Atlantic for two matches. The first match will be at 1 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, HCU 1
1. Kacie Johnson/Maddison Parmelly (FGCU) def. Butters, Maddie/Stanfill, Alison (HCU) 25-23, 21-11
2. Harris, Lindsay/Kleymeyer, Kristen (HCU) def. Shelby Beisner/Dylan Brewer (FGCU) 21-17, 25-23
3. Kaitlyn Luebbers/Nicole De Oliveira (FGCU) def. Alper, Mary/Palmer, Paige (HCU) 21-18, 21-16
4. Kristina Gluc/Lexie Hamilton (FGCU) def. Reinard, Abbey/Axelrod, Gabi (HCU) 21-15, 21-15
5. Mia Thompson/Lily Felts (FGCU) def. Pearce, Audrey/Bufkin, Abbey (HCU) 21-18, 21-17  
 
Order of Finish: 5, 4, 1, 2, 3
 
FGCU 1, TAMUCC 4
1. Lewis, Kiley/Poletti Corrales, G. (TAMUCC) def. Kacie Johnson/Maddison Parmelly (FGCU) 21-12, 20-22, 15-10
2. Bobay, Kristin/Tome, Chloe (TAMUCC) def. Shelby Beisner/Trinity Rosales (FGCU) 18-21, 30-28, 15-12
3. Bennett, Jade/Johnson, Tori (TAMUCC) def. Nicole De Oliveira/Kaitlyn Luebbers (FGCU) 21-12, 21-16
4. Jacqueline Carpenter/Kristina Gluc (FGCU) def. Fernandes de Melo, M/Doyle, Hannah (TAMUCC) 21-14, 23-21
5. Slusser, Shea/Moreno, Kela (TAMUCC) def. Mia Thompson/Lexie Hamilton (FGCU) 21-13, 21-9
 
Order of Finish: 4, 5,3,1,2
 
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 62-38 (.620) 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 97 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 in 2021-22 and No. 22 in 2022-23), baseball (No. 15 in 2023), beach volleyball (No. 20 in 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 3.67 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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