In the first-ever beach volleyball match at the FGCU facility, the Eagles defeated Tampa by a score of 4-1.
“I thought this was a great opportunity to show off our campus for the first time,” head coach Matt Botsford said. “It means a lot to our staff and our players to see so many fans come by. I’m sure a lot of them have not seen beach volleyball before and what an opportunity.”
With only two courts available, the Eagles won four out of the five matches.
Kaitlan Krivdo and Alayna Ryan won a three-set match to open the scoring with a 25-23, 19-21, 15-13 win over Nyla Demps and Marisa Beisner.
FGCU quickly got two more wins and clinched the match following a 21-12, 21-16 win from Karissa Rhoades and Katie Puisis. Minutes later, the reigning ASUN Players of the Week in Snowy Burnam and Kayla Whetstone dropped just 19 points in their match and cruised to a two-set win for their fourth of the season.
“I think we played really well today,” Whetstone said. “We had really good ball control and it has been something we have really been working on and our connection is getting better every day we play. We work really well together being best friends. Winning with my best friend is awesome.”
The lone loss came from Giovanna Borgiotti and Ashley Glickert in three sets, but the outcome was already in doubt as the Eagles moved to 5-2 on the season.
FGCU will be back in action on Wednesday, Mar. 21 at 4 P.M. at FIU.