Beach Volleyball 3/5/2024 9:34:00 PM

FGCU Beach Volleyball delivers show for home crowd with solid performances

FORT MYERS, Fla - Florida Gulf Coast University's beach volleyball delivered a 5-0 sweep against Eckerd College and fought to the wire in a close 3-2 defeat against No. 20 Tampa.

Kacie Johnson was honored between matches for breaking FGCU's All-Time win records of 69 games last weekend against Jacksonville, and she now has 73 wins.

"We started off the day very strong against Eckerd and played a great brand of very clean volleyball," said head coach Chris Sweat. "The Tampa match had every pair go to a tie break, and with the intense competition and screaming of fans, it was a great atmosphere for our first home match."

"Jeff has done a great job building their program, and they were just a few points better than us today. I liked how we battled back to force some third sets and get the playoff-like atmosphere this early in the season."

Once again, Kaitlyn Luebbers and Nicole De Oliveira delivered double wins at No. 3, going 21-10, 21-12 against Eckerd before giving the Eagles (7-3) its first win against Tampa with 16-21, 21-19, 15-13 score.

The No. 2 pair of Shelby Beisner and Trinity Rosales also picked up a pair of wins with an easy 21-14, 21-5 victory over the Tritons before pushing through three sets to produce a 21-15, 18-21, 15-12 win.

Mia Thompson and Lily Hafner won the first match against EC (0-6) with a dominant 21-9, 21-6 showing but fell versus Tampa 19-21, 21-16, 15-9.

Jaci Carpenter and Sydney Majick won 21-16, 21-17 versus the Tritons and rallied through three sets but were defeated 21-18, 13-21, 15-13.

Johnson and Emma Soncrant cruised to a 21-11, 21-16 showing against the Tritons before captivating the home crowd with their fighting spirit versus the Trojans (5-5). The pair won the first set 21-17 but dropped the second 17-21. Both teams took turns holding the lead and passed the third-set winning mark of 15, but eventually, the Trojans prevailed 19-17.

FGCU will head to the Tampa Invite and first take on Coastal Carolina (4-4) Friday, with a first-serve set for 9 a.m.

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Players Mentioned

#14 Shelby Beisner: 5' 9"; Junior

#33 Kacie Johnson: 5' 11"; Sophomore

#22 Trinity Rosales: 5' 6"; Sophomore

#11 Mia Thompson: 5' 8"; Freshman

#3 Kaitlyn Luebbers: 5' 10"; Freshman

#4 Jaci Carpenter: 5' 11"; Freshman

#12 Nicole De Oliveira: 5' 8"; Sophomore

#1 Emma Soncrant: 5' 8"; Freshman

#13 Sydney Majick: 5' 8"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#14 Shelby Beisner
: 5' 9"; Junior

#33 Kacie Johnson
: 5' 11"; Sophomore

#22 Trinity Rosales
: 5' 6"; Sophomore

#11 Mia Thompson
: 5' 8"; Freshman

#3 Kaitlyn Luebbers
: 5' 10"; Freshman

#4 Jaci Carpenter
: 5' 11"; Freshman

#12 Nicole De Oliveira
: 5' 8"; Sophomore

#1 Emma Soncrant
: 5' 8"; Freshman

#13 Sydney Majick
: 5' 8"; Freshman