The FGCU beach volleyball team improved to 6-4 with a pair of tough victories against Coastal Carolina (10-7) (4-1) and UNC Wilmington (5-6) (5-0) to open the Dig and Dive Beach Bash on Saturday.
The Green and Blue, who had 12 sets decided by three or fewer points on Saturday, will wrap up their slate in Wilmington with matches against College of Charleston (10-0) (8:30 a.m.) and DII Tusculum College (4-7) (12:30 p.m.) on Sunday.
"I was very impressed with the way the girls came out and executed our game plan today," FGCU assistant coach Chris Sweat said. "It was definitely a step in the right direction with some things we have been working a lot on in practice. Our end of game execution was much better during our second match. We played a lot of really tight sets against a really competitive team, and the girls stepped up in a big way."
With two more wins on Saturday, senior Karissa Rhoades broke the program's all-time career wins record with her 47th and 48th. She surpassed Madi Wilcox (46-32, .590) for the record and is now 48-30 (.615) in her career. Her partner, senior Katherine Puisis, also now has 44 and is two shy of moving into a tie with Wilcox for second-place on the career list. The duo is 7-3 this year.
Additionally, senior Amanda Carroll and freshman Kirstine Garder went 2-0 on the day. In doing so, Carroll won her 37th and 38th career matches and moved into a tie with Mackenzie Allen (2015-18) and Ashley Glickert (2015-18) for fourth-place on the career wins list.
Top 5 In Career Wins
48 - Karissa Rhoades, 2016-present
46 - Madi Wilcox, 2014-17
44 - Katherine Puisis, 2016-present
38 - Mackenzie Allen, 2015-18
38 - Ashley Glickert, 2015-18
38 - Amanda Carroll, 2016-present
Meanwhile, the No. 3 tandem of sophomores Snowy Burnam and Kayla Whetstone improved to a team-best 8-2 this year. The duo is now 24-12 in their one-plus year career together.
The Eagles have won four consecutive matches in pairs 1-3, while junior Giovanna Borgiotti and redshirt sophomore Candace Lacour pushed their streak to three at the fourth pair.
Despite losing a heartbreaking 16-14 third set in Saturday's opening match against Coastal Carolina, sophomore Cortney VanLiew and freshman Emma Hansen bounced back with a straight-set win in the finale to improve their record to 4-1 this season.
The Green and Blue are 1-1 all-time against UNC Wilmington and 6-0 against Coastal Carolina.
RESULTS
FGCU 4, Coastal Carolina 1
1. Carroll/Garder (FGCU) d. Alvis/Hardeman 21-16, 22-20
2. Rhoades/Puisis (FGCU) d. Campbell/Boyer 21-16, 20-22, 15-10
3. Whetstone/Burnam (FGCU) d. Ladewig/Djuric 21-19, 21-14
4. Borgiotti/Lacour (FGCU) d. Gauthier/Federico 21-11, 10-21, 15-10
5. Eske/Nemeth (Coastal Carolina) d. VanLiew/Hansen 19-21, 21-13, 16-14
FGCU 5, UNC Wilmington 0
1. Carroll/Garder (FGCU) d. Kline/Hamilton 19-21, 21-18, 15-10
2. Rhoades/Puisis (FGCU) d. McCullough/Thomas 21-19, 21-11
3. Whetstone/Burnam (FGCU) d. Montgomery/Rooney 21-19, 21-17
4. Borgiotti/Lacour (FGCU) d. Hunt/Lewandowski 21-19, 21-19
5. VanLiew/Hansen (FGCU) d. Augustine/Evans 21-11, 21-18
Notes
UNC Wilmington (5-6) had won three straight before its loss to FGCU. Coastal Carolina fell to 10-6 with their loss to the Eagles.
On Sunday, the Green and Blue will face an undefeated College of Charleston team (10-0), who swept both Carson-Newman and Coastal Carolina on Saturday.
NEXT UP
After Sunday's action, the Eagles will return home to open ASUN play with a pair of matches against No. 10 Stetson on Wednesday beginning at 2 p.m.
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