03/24/2026

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Florida Gulf Coast University beach volleyball team completed a perfect run at the Urban Buzz Eagle Invitational on Saturday, sweeping Palm Beach State 5-0 before securing a 4-1 victory over Atlantic Sun Conference rival Jacksonville.

Before the action began at the FGCU Beach Volleyball Courts, the program held a Senior Day ceremony to honor the careers of Nicole De Oliveira, Kristina Gluc, and Kaitlyn Beck.

With this being the only home appearance of the season for the Eagles, FGCU Head Coach Chris Sweat emphasized that their grueling travel schedule was designed specifically for this moment.

“We knew from the beginning we wanted to get as challenging a schedule as possible,” Sweat said. “Going places like Tallahassee to play FSU, Dallas to play TCU—we knew that was the goal from the start to get us prepared for conference. Our fans here are why we really want to play at home.”

For Sweat, the celebration was about more than just the scoreboard, reflecting on the deep impact the three seniors have had on the program’s identity both on and off the sand. “All three of them had very different paths getting here as seniors,” Sweat noted. “All three of them are not just great players like physically volleyball, but off the court. The culture that they bring, the intensity they bring on the court, the friendships they’ve made on the court, the leadership they have off the court. It is everything I could ever ask for with seniors and I couldn’t be more proud to celebrate them.”

For Nicole De Oliveira, the day was defined by the presence of family and the rare opportunity to perform for the FGCU community. “It’s always a good time to be around our family and friends and have that support,” De Oliveira said. “We are from all over the place, but I think our families prioritized coming to this event, so it’s really fun to have everyone here. I think it’s fun to show the rest of the athletes here and all the students what we’ve been working on, and we do only get one time to do that.”

Heading into the final match of the day against Jacksonville, Sweat pointed to the technical improvements he saw during the morning session as the key to keeping the momentum alive. “Beach volleyball starts with first contact and serve receive and I mean that’s really something we’ve been working on in practice,” Sweat explained. “Being able to watch that against Palm Beach State—I thought we passed very well. If we can continue that against JU (Jacksonville), we got a great chance.”

In the invitational finale, the Eagles (13-8) jumped to an early lead as Emma Soncrant and Vanessa Moriarty took a straight-set win 21-18, 21-17 over Jacksonville’s Maddie Fiedler and Katie Martinez. The Dolphins (10-9) responded at the No. 5 spot, where Morgan Perry and Kate Taylor defeated the senior duo of Beck and Gluc 21-18, 21-17 to level the match at 1-1.

FGCU regained control and swept the final three courts to seal the win. Andrea Dietz and Sydney Majick dominated their match against Avery Kliethermes and Jamie Seward 21-14, 21-9, followed by a clinching performance from De Oliveira and Erin Miller 21-14, 21-15. On the No. 1 court, Alexis Keeter and Ava Lilliquist capped the afternoon by fending off Megan Hair and Claire Mrukowski 21-17, 21-19.

As the home slate concluded, De Oliveira reflected on her time in the Green and Blue. “I think just the friendships that I’ve built and the people at this program have given me, it’s been amazing,” she said. “Chris Sweat has made this program what it is, and I just want to thank everybody for giving me the most amazing career. My teammates—thank you guys so much. I wouldn’t have had the experience I had without you guys. Thank you to everyone who came to support us and keep continuing to support us.”

Coach Sweat echoed that gratitude: “We’re just very grateful for all our fans getting to come out and watch us play after we’ve been such a battle-tested team on the first four weeks. Watching them battle against three teams in front of our fans is all we can ask for and we just love the support of everyone and looking forward to hosting more in the future.”

FGCU 5, Palm Beach State 0:

Earlier in the day, the Eagles made quick work of the Panthers. Gluc and Beck set the tone with a 21-13, 21-14 victory over Georgie Vanloo and Liepa Kucinskaite. Soncrant and Moriarty followed with a lopsided 21-11, 21-10 win over Kadence Roche and Emma Hanagan. Dietz and Majick officially clinched the match by defeating Camila and Larissa Villegas Gonzalez 21-10, 21-13.

The sweep was finalized with wins from De Oliveira and Miller (21-10, 21-7) and the top pair of Keeter and Lilliquist (21-10, 21-14).

FGCU returns to the road for the Wildcat Spring Challenge from April 3-4 in Tucson, Arizona. The Eagles will play Hawaii at 10:15 a.m., followed by Arizona at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 3.