Hansen Proves Worth, @FGCU_BeachVB Splits Opening Day Of ASUN Tournament

DELAND, Fla. - Snowy Burnam and Kayla Whetstone pushed their winning streak to six, and Emma Hansen proved her worth after being inserted into the starting lineup, but the No. 3 seed FGCU beach volleyball team (15-10) dropped a heartbreaking 3-2 match to No. 2 North Florida on Thursday to conclude the first day of the ASUN tournament at Cooper Beach.

The Eagles opened the first day of the double-elimination tournament with a sweep of No. 6 North Alabama (10-11) in the winner's bracket quarterfinals. The ensuing matchup against North Florida featured seven of 14 sets decided by two points or less and four pairs that went three sets, but FGCU dropped its third 3-2 match to the Ospreys this year.

"I thought we played well collectively, but in tight matches like that, we have to close out better," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Our matchup against UNF was as expected - extremely competitive and close at the end. Unfortunately, we didn't do a good enough job closing out some key sets and that ultimately came back to haunt us."

Hansen (Trophy Club, Texas/Westlake Academy), a freshman, teamed with Giovanna Borgiotti at the four pair and produced a pair of victories in her postseason debut. After opening with a 21-11, 21-12 victory over North Alabama, the duo let a lead slip away and dropped the opening set against UNF. However, they produced a 21-13 win in the next set and made key plays down the stretch in a 15-13 third-set win.

Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS), meanwhile, improved her program-best postseason record to 7-2. Hansen, who was previously 5-3 in the fifth pair, improved her season winning percentage to .700.

In the third pair, Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) and Whetstone (Arlington, Texas/Arlington Lamar HS) had to fight their way to becoming the program's first-ever 20-game winners. The duo opened the day with a 21-18, 21-18 win and then lost a tough first-set against UNF by two points. After evening things up with a four-point win in the second, they came from behind to tally a 17-15 tiebreaking set.

In doing so, the sophomore pair is now 21-4 on the season, raising their program-record season winning percentage to .840. They are also one win away from tying Mackenzie Allen (2015-18) and Ashley Glickert (2015-18) for sixth-place on the career wins list.

"Gio and Emma did an outstanding job, especially with their limited time together," Botsford said. "Snowy and Kayla did a great job responding to a tough first set and found a way to get us a much needed win at the 3's."

Furthermore, Burnam and Whetstone's win against UNF provided some hope for FGCU as it tied the match at two apiece, but Amanda Carroll and Kirstine Garder dropped a 16-14 third-set decision on the first court to end the match less than a minute later.

Despite that, the duo pushed its season win total to 15, which puts Garder (Halden, Norway/Topvolley Norge) just one win shy of tying the program's freshman wins record set by Burnam and Whetstone last year. Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) moved into sole possession of third place on the program's career wins list with 47.

The program's career wins leaders, Karissa Rhoades and Katherine Puisis, lost a pair of two-point sets to North Florida to conclude the day, but not before they stretched their program-record winning streak record to 10 in a 21-12, 21-3 win over North Alabama.

Longest Winning Streaks In Program History
10 - Karissa Rhoades and Katherine Puisis - 2019
8 - Giovanna Borgiotti and Ashley Glickert - 2018
8 - Elisa Anne Aldrich and Madi Wilcox - 2018

FGCU's No. 5 pair of Cortney VanLiew and Alayna Ryan split the day, as well. VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) is just shy of moving her career winning percentage to .500 as she sits at 15-16 overall, while Ryan (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS) also won her 15th career match in the opener against North Alabama.

Notes
For the third-consecutive season, FGCU tied the program's single-season wins record in the North Alabama match. They can set a new standard with a victory against Austin Peay on Friday.

Next Up
The Green and Blue will resume play with a 7:30 a.m. matchup on Friday against No. 5 Austin Peay in a loser's bracket quarterfinal. Should they advance, they would close the day with a 1:30 p.m. tilt against the winner of No. 4 Coastal Carolina and North Alabama in a loser's bracket semifinal.

Whoever comes out of that group tomorrow will advance to face the loser of Friday's winner's bracket final between No. 1 Stetson and North Florida on Saturday. The winner-take-all championship will follow that.

Tournament Results
Thursday
Match 1: No. 4 Coastal Carolina d. No. 5 Austin Peay 5-0
Match 2: No. 3 FGCU d. No. 6 North Alabama 5-0
Match 3: No. 1 Stetson d. No. 4 Coastal Carolina 4-1
Match 4: No. 2 North Florida d. No. 3 FGCU 3-2

Friday
Match 5: No. 5 Austin Peay vs FGCU, 7:30 a.m.
Match 6: No. 6 North Alabama vs No. 4 Coastal Carolina, 9 a.m.
Match 7: No. 1 Stetson vs No. 2 North Florida, 11:30 a.m.
Match 8: Match 5 winner vs Match 6 winner, 1:30 p.m.

Saturday
Match 9: Match 8 winner vs Match 7 loser, 11 a.m.
Championship: Match 7 winner vs Match 9 winner, 1 p.m.

Follow Along
Live stats are available for each match of the tournament here. The link is the same for all matches. Also, every match is being aired on ESPN+. As the tournament progresses, specific links will be posted here and on social media.

FULL RESULTS
FGCU 5, North Alabama 0
1. Carroll/Garder d. Brandstetter/Klemperer 21-19, 21-16
2. Puisis/Rhoades d. Ladner/Faulk 21-12, 21-3
3. Burnam/Whetstone d. Carnley/Jump 21-18, 21-18
4. Hansen/Borgiotti d. Kapovich/Maldanado 21-11, 21-12
5. VanLiew/Ryan d. Pacheco/Benitez 21-8, 21-18

North Florida 3, FGCU 2
1. Pase/Howard (UNF) d. Carroll/Garder 19-21, 21-17, 16-14
2. Harrison/Cain (UNF) d. Puisis/Rhoades 23-21, 21-19
3. Burnam/Whetstone (FGCU) d. McCarty/DeBolt 19-21, 21-17, 17-15
4. Hansen/Borgiotti (FGCU) d. Roskic/Workman 18-21, 21-13, 15-13
5. Smith/Galinis (UNF) d. VanLiew/Ryan 18-21, 21-16, 15-11

FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-the minute information and a behind-the-scenes look at the FGCU beach volleyball program, follow on Twitter at @FGCU_BeachVB, on Facebook at /FGCUVolleyball and on Instagram at @FGCU_BeachVB.

COACH BOTSFORD
Head coach Matt Botsford, who is also the head coach of the FGCU indoor volleyball program, is in his sixth season at the helm of the FGCU beach volleyball program in 2019. He has compiled a 57-37 record over the past three-plus seasons (63-66 overall) while improving or steadying the team's win total each season. In fact, he led the program to 11 wins in 2016, 15 in 2017 and 15 more in 2018 - all three of which either tied or set new records for most wins in a season. The beach volleyball program is in just its eighth season in 2019 and has an overall record of 74-81. Prior to his time in Southwest Florida, Botsford held successful stints as an assistant at Notre Dame, Miami, IUPUI, Indianapolis and most recently Colorado State. A former professional volleyball player, he is a 1998 graduate of Tri-State University (now Trine), where he earned a degree in Social Studies Education. He earned a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Indianapolis.

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 76 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 11+ seasons at the Division-I level. Additionally, in just seven+ seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 35 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including both men's and women's soccer again in 2018. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best 6th-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the Spring, 2018 and had an ASUN Conference and State of Florida best five teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.

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