The FGCU beach volleyball team (4-4) moved back to .500 with a pair of victories (4-1, 5-0) over Eckerd College (1-14) in the home opener at Estero Community Park on Wednesday.
"It was nice," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "I wish the weather would have cooperated a little more. We started to get some people out here, and I think they got chased out by the rain. It's always nice to play close to home - not having to travel, sleeping in your own bed - it always plays a role."
Senior Karissa Rhoades picked up two more wins alongside fellow senior Katherine Puisis to tie the program's all-time wins record with 46. Puisis also has 42 wins as the duo is on pace to finish top two in career victories and winning percentage.
"Karissa is such a great talent and has been so consistent since the start of her beach career here at FGCU," Botsford said. "It's exciting to see her reach this benchmark. She has such a great feel for the game and understands how to manage match-ups to put herself and her teammates in really good situations. Karissa is among the most well-rounded players I have coached and those skills have served her extremely well in that march to the wins record."
Not only did the duo win all four sets on Wednesday, but Rhoades and Puisis did so in dominating fashion by holding Eckerd to single digits in three of the four, including just three in the second set of the finale.
Three other pairs also swept the day in just four sets apiece - senior Amanda Carroll and freshman Kirstine Garder at No. 1, sophomores Kayla Whetstone and Snowy Burnam at No. 3 and sophomore Cortney VanLiew and freshman Emma Hansen at No. 5.
Whetstone and Burnam improved to a team-best 6-2 this year and both now have 22 career victories, which ties them for 9th-most in program history.
Carroll pushed her career win total to 36 as she sits just outside the top five. Her senior-freshman pairing with Garder has now netted four victories in eight matches this year.
Junior Giovanna Borgiotti and redshirt sophomore Candace Lacour bounced back from a loss in today's first match to produce a 21-17, 21-17 victory in the finale and improve to 4-4 on the season.
Hansen improved to 3-0 on the season while teaming with VanLiew.
Up Next:
The Eagles will now head to UNCW's Dig and Dive Beach Bash in Wilmington, N.C. on Saturday and Sunday where they will face Coastal Carolina, UNC Wilmington, College of Charleston and Tusculum College.
"I think we're getting an awful lot of really good performances over the past couple weeks, and that includes some of the matches we've lost, but just in terms of the quality of play, I feel good about it," Botsford said. "But everyone 1-5 has had moments of inconsistency, which is what we're most concerned about. We have to play more effectively for longer periods of time and that's going to be a challenge heading into the weekend. If we can do that, I think our upside is really high."
Career Wins
46 - Karissa Rhoades (2016-present, 46-30, .605)
46 - Madi Wilcox (2014-17, 46-32)
42 - Katherine Puisis (2016-present, 42-27, .609)
38 - Mackenzie Allen (2015-18, 38-44, .463)
38 - Ashley Glickert (2015-18, 38-45, .458)
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