FORT MYERS, Fla. – No. 20 Florida Gulf Coast University beach volleyball prepares for its regular season finale event this Friday and Saturday, the Palmetto Invitational hosted by the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina.
FGCU cracked the Top 20 for the first time this season in the latest rankings on Tuesday after earning the second most votes during the last two weeks. FGCU added a pair of ranked wins this past weekend in Boca Raton, taking down No. 15 Florida Atlantic twice with statement victories to win the Capri Championship and improve to 18-10 overall.
FGCU has three Top 20 wins to its 2025 resume as the Eagles also upset No. 14 FIU, 4-1, during its inaugural home tournament. The Eagles have faced 10 ranked opponents this season, going 3-7 in those matches. Five of those seven losses have come by a single point. FGCU lost 3-2 to No. 4 USC, No. 8 LSU, No. 20 Georgia State, Stetson and FIU.
The Eagles will get a rematch opportunity against now No. 15 Georgia State and South Carolina this weekend in the Palmetto State. On March 7, FGCU penciled in another dreaded 3-2 defeat to the Gamecocks, who were receiving votes at the time. FGCU will first face event host South Carolina at 11 a.m. on Friday, before facing a familiar foe in Atlantic Sun Conference opponent Jacksonville at 3 p.m.
On Saturday, FGCU squares off against the No. 15 Panthers bright and early at 9 a.m. and finishes out the event with an 11 a.m. match against Coastal Carolina.
Kaitlyn Luebbers is going for win No. 91 in her FGCU career and has already broken the FGCU Beach Volleyball all-time career wins record this season. FGCU's No. 4 duo of Mia Thompson and Andrea Dietz collected the ASUN Pair of the Week honors on Wednesday.
