FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast beach volleyball (9-8) will host the Eagle Invitational on March 20-21, featuring FIU, Sam Houston State, Jacksonville and Palm Beach State. Saturday's match at 10 a.m. against Palm Beach State will be FGCU's senior day.

"This is definitely one of the best weekends of our season as we get to honor our seniors at home," head coach Chris Sweat said. "They've all had such different paths getting to this point and are really showing why they are seniors on this team. All three of them exemplify exactly what it means to be a hardworking, dedicated collegiate athlete on the courts and in the classroom. I'm excited for them to enjoy this weekend and take it all in at home one last time."

Nicole De Oliveira, Kaitlyn Beck and Kristina Gluc are FGCU's three seniors on the 2026 squad. De Oliveira was named 2026 Preseason All-ASUN after back to back First Team All-ASUN selections in 2025 and 2024. She was named to the 2025 CSC Academic All-District team and has multiple ASUN Pair of the Week awards. She enters the weekend with 67 career wins, including ranked victories over TCU, FAU, Stetson and FIU throughout her four years at FGCU.

Beck is in her first season in the Green & Blue after spending three years at Louisiana Monroe. She has 74 career wins going into the Eagle Invitational. So far in 2026, she earned a ranked win over No. 15 Stetson last week with Gluc, took a set off of the defending national champion TCU in Fort Worth and helped FGCU sweep USF in Tallahassee.

Gluc has several ranked wins during her FGCU career, including multiple over Stetson and FAU. The 2023 ASUN All-Freshman team recipient has 30 career wins. This season, she earned a ranked win over No. 15 Stetson with Beck, took another ranked win over No. 14 Stetson earlier in 2026 with Vanessa Moriarty, and helped FGCU upset South Carolina.

FIU enters the weekend at 5–8 on the season with wins over Coastal Carolina, Mercer, and Eastern Kentucky. The Panthers have faced several common opponents with FGCU, including Jacksonville, North Florida, and Florida Atlantic. FGCU defeated Jacksonville 5-0, while both teams fell to North Florida and FAU. FIU is currently on a four-match losing streak heading into its matchup with the Eagles.

Palm Beach State comes in at 12–6 overall with a perfect 6–0 conference record and will be a first-time opponent for FGCU. The Panthers have wins over Florida State College at Jacksonville and Lake-Sumter State, but have dropped matches to TCU, FIU and Palm Beach Atlantic. 

Sam Houston enters at 1–10 on the season, with its lone win coming against ULM. The Bearkats have not faced FGCU yet, but have struggled against a schedule featuring teams comparable to FGCU opponents, including Texas A&M–Corpus Christi.

Jacksonville sits at 8–8 overall and has already faced FGCU once this season, falling 5–0 to the Eagles. The Dolphins also share common opponents with FGCU in North Florida and Stetson, both teams dropped close 3–2 matches to those squads.

The full weekend schedule is listed below.

Friday, March 20
8 a.m.  – Sam Houston State vs. Palm Beach State
10 a.m. – FIU at FGCU
Noon – Palm Beach State vs. Jacksonville
2 p.m. – Sam Houston State at FGCU
4 p.m. – FIU vs. Jacksonville

Saturday, March 21
8 a.m. – Sam Houston State vs. Jacksonville
10 a.m. – Palm Beach State at FGCU (Senior Day)
Noon – Sam Houston State vs. FIU
2 p.m. – Jacksonville at FGCU
4 p.m. – Palm Beach State vs. FIU

For more information on FGCU beach volleyball, follow @FGCU_BeachVB on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook, and visit fgcuathletics.com.