No. 20 Florida Gulf Coast University beach volleyball closed the Palmetto Invitational and the regular season with two more wins, taking down No. 15 Georgia State and Coastal Carolina 3-2 in Columbia, South Carolina.
FGCU opened against No. 15 Georgia State, making easy work and going up 2-0 over the Panthers with wins on court four and five. Erin Miller and Sydney Majick swept their opponent on five 22-20, 21-17 while Andrea Dietz and Mia Thompson pulled off a three-set comeback at No. 4.
Dietz and Thompson dropped their opening set 17-21, but rallied in set two and flipped the script for a 21-17 victory to force a third. In the third, the pair capped off the Eagles' second point by winning 15-10.
From there, the Eagles needed just a single point to clinch and win, but Georgia State tied the ranked matchup though its No. 3 and No. 1 pairs. The Panthers took a three-set battle of their own at the No. 3 spot and swept the Eagles' top pair, making the fate of the match come down to the No. 2 results.
FGCU's freshmen Ava Lilliquist and Alexis Keeter were up to the task. Despite losing 25-27 in the opening frame, Lilliquist and Keeter rallied in set two, 21-15 and prevailed 15-12 in set three to officially take down the Panthers. The ranked win marked the fourth Top 20 victory the Eagles have pulled off this season: No. 14 FIU, No. 15 FAU (twice) and now No. 15 Georgia State.
FGCU has won 16 of its last 18 matches, including six straight against ASUN teams. Three of the four ranked wins have come during that span.
FGCU fell behind 2-0 against Coastal Carolina. With limited rest, the Eagles succumbed to a three-set defeat on five and a sweep on four. FGCU won the next three counting matches to pull another thrilling win.
Nicole De Oliveira and Kaitlyn Luebbers tied the match on court one with a 21-18, 21-17 sweep. Paving the way for Keeter and Lilliquist to clinch the match once again. This time, Keeter and Liliquist did so in dominating fashion, winning 21-15 and 21-12.
FGCU (21-11, 6-2 ASUN) shifts its focus to the ASUN Tournament next week, April 24-26 in Huntsville, Alabama. The Eagles have earned a No. 3 seed in the field and will open the double-elimination bracket against No. 6 EKU at 1:30 p.m. The winner likely awaits No. 2 North Florida.
