FGCU BVB: A-SUN Conference Tournament Preview

The FGCU beach volleyball team (13-9, 7-3 A-SUN) now prepares for the A-SUN Conference Tournament at the Cooper Beach Volleyball Courts in Deland hosted by Stetson.

Last Time Out:
The Eagles wrapped up their regular season with five straight home games where they finished 4-1. They would beat NAIA Webber International 4-1 on April 10. On April 13, the Eagles would split two matches beating Jacksonville 5-0 before losing to UNF 2-3, but would beat UNF 3-2 in a rematch before shutting out Jacksonville again by a score of 5-0.

Final Five:
The standing are as noted with the teams' overall and conference standings for the tournament with five teams going:

1. Stetson (27-8, 10-0 A-SUN)
2. FGCU (13-9, 7-3 A-SUN)
3. UNF (17-10, 7-3 A-SUN)
4. Mercer (8-11, 3-7 A-SUN)
5. Jacksonville (5-16, 3-7 A-SUN)

Coastal Carolina (1-15, 0-10 A-SUN) did not qualify for the conference tournament based on their record. This was the second straight season that the Chanticleers did not win a single conference game.

Bracket Breakdown:
The tournament is double elimination with a single elimination championship final. Since Stetson is the No. 1 seed in the tournament, they will have a first-round bye in the tournament.

No. 4 seed Mercer and No. 5 seed Jacksonville will play each other at 9 A.M. to determine who will play Stetson. The winner of that match will play Stetson at 1 P.M. and the losing team will be sent to the losers bracket. The Eagles, who drew the No. 2 seed, will play No. 3 seed UNF at 11 A.M.

Awarded Eagles:
Five of the Eagles earned awards and recognition during the season:

Juniors Karissa Rhoades and Katherine Puisis unanimously earned spots on the A-SUN All-Conference First Team after finishing with a program record-breaking 16 wins. This was the second straight season the pair were named members of the A-SUN All-Conference First Team.

Freshman History:
The Freshman duo of Kayla Whetstone and Snowy Burnam were unanimous selections on the A-SUN All-Freshman Team, but Burnam was also named a unanimous selection for the A-SUN Freshman of the Year. This was the first time in A-SUN history that a player has won A-SUN Freshman of the Year in indoor and beach volleyball in the same school year. In fact, Burnam is the second player in NCAA history to do so (Kathryn Plummer, Stanford 2016).

Rhoades, along with fellow junior Amanda Carroll were named members of the A-SUN All-Academic Team.

Prior to the awards, senior Ashley Glickert and sophomore Giovanna Borgiotti were named A-SUN Co-Pair of the Week after going 5-0 in their matches at home.

ESPN+:
The A-SUN Conference Tournament will air on the new, subscription-based digital platform ESPN+ which will be the new home for select FGCU and ASUN game and event broadcasts. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month after.