The No. 3 duo of sophomores Snowy Burnam and Kayla Whetstone swept all four sets to help the FGCU beach volleyball team (1-1) split a pair of season-opening matches in Eckerd College's Battle on the Bay with a 5-0 win over NCAA DII Saint Leo (3-7) and a 4-1 loss to Arizona State (5-3), who was in the receiving votes section of the latest AVCA poll.
"I thought we had a solid first day to the season," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "All the pairs got off to a nice start against Saint Leo, and I really liked the in-game adjustments our players were making as the matches went on. Against Arizona State, we had some great opportunities that we just couldn't take advantage of. I was really pleased with the way each team competed and think that we learned a lot about what areas we need to work on collectively."
Burnam and Whetstone opened the day with a 21-12, 21-16 win over Saint Leo's Kirsten Kaiser and Sam Bogdan. They closed with a 21-12, 21-18 victory over Katie Cross and Cierra Flood of Arizona State. The duo is now 18-10 in just over one year together in the Green and Blue.
"Snowy and Kayla played extremely well in their matches, and I thought their effectiveness and transition really set the tone," Botsford said.
In the opener against Saint Leo, freshman Kirstine Garder teamed with senior Amanda Carroll at the No. 1 pair on won her collegiate debut in comeback fashion, 19-21, 21-19, 15-5. Coming off their record-breaking season, the No. 2 duo of seniors Katherine Puisis and Karissa Rhoades won the No. 2 pair in straight sets.
Another highlight was the new pair of junior Giovanna Borgiotti and redshirt sophomore Candace Lacour at the No. 4 spot. Borgiotti lost Ashley Glickert due to graduation, but Lacour transferred in from Florida Atlantic and the duo swept the No. 4 pair.
Against Arizona State, Garder and Carroll, along with the duo of Puisis and Rhoades, each took the Sun Devils to three sets before dropping their matches.
Against Saint Leo, Rhoades picked up her 42nd career victory, which puts her just five shy of surpassing Madi Wilcox (46, 2014-17) for the most in program history. Puisis, who currently ranks third on the list with 38, remains No. 1 all-time in career winning percentage (38-25, .603).
Borgiotti, who finished last year with eight straight wins, picked up a new program record ninth-straight victory against Saint Leo. She was previously tied with Elisa Anne Aldrich and Madi Wilcox, who achieved their streak from April 5-22 of 2016.
The Green and Blue will be back in action on Saturday against Tampa (12 p.m.) and the University of Tennessee at Martin (4 p.m.)
Saturday's Schedule
Tampa vs North Florida, 10 a.m.
Arizona State vs UT Martin, 11 a.m.
Tampa vs FGCU, 12 p.m.
Saint Leo vs North Florida, 1 p.m.
Arizona State vs Eckerd, 2 p.m.
Saint Leo vs Webber, 3 p.m.
UT Martin vs FGCU, 4 p.m.
Eckerd vs Webber, 5 p.m.
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