Florida Gulf Coast University beach volleyball will participate in the final tournament of its regular season at the Gulf Front Invitational on April 17 and 18. The event, hosted by South Florida, will take place on Clearwater Beach.
The Eagles, holding a 17-12 record, are aiming for their first back-to-back 20-win seasons in program history. They will face host USF and No. 5 Florida State on Friday before playing No. 13 LSU and Mercer on Saturday.
Earlier this year, FGCU defeated South Florida for the first time ever with a 3-0 victory during a weather-shortened match in Tallahassee. Nicole De Oliveira & Erin Miller, Andrea Dietz & Sydney Majick, and Kaitlyn Beck & Emma Soncrant all secured two-set wins to clinch the result. USF enters the tournament with an 18-10 record.
Florida State brings a strong presence to the invitational with a 25-2 record this season. The Seminoles have only lost to TCU and Loyola Marymount but have since avenged both defeats. This meeting marks the first between FGCU and FSU in 2026; historically, FSU leads their series seven games to none.
FGCU is also seeking its first-ever win over LSU after three previous losses in their series history. In their last matchup in 2025, Alexis Keeter & Ava Lilliquist earned one pair win for FGCU while Emma Soncrant contributed another alongside Jaci Carpenter; however, LSU won that contest overall by a score of three matches to two.
Mercer arrives at the tournament with a record of four wins and twenty-four losses this season. FGCU has won twelve straight matches against Mercer since 2017 and leads their all-time series eighteen games to seven.
