After a successful start to the season, the FGCU volleyball team prepares themselves for another three game weekend in the Homewood Suites Sunshine State Classic. The Eagles welcome UCF, FAU and Miami for the tournament.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles (3-0) opened their season at home in the FGCU Hilton Garden Inn Invitational that featured FIU (0-3), Georgia Southern (1-2) and IUPUI (2-1). They shutout all three teams 3-0: FIU (25-13, 25-21, 25-23), Georgia Southern (25-16, 25-16, 25-16) and IUPUI (25-21, 25-23, 25-13).
Since their transition to DI in the 2007-08 season, the FGCU volleyball team has had a total of 105 shutouts as of August 26th.
Leading the charge offensively throughout the tournament was junior outside hitter Amanda Carroll. The Albuquerque native and former A-SUN Freshman of the Year had a total of 51 kills, five aces, 29 digs, and 57 points. In addition, she was named a member of the FGCU Hilton Garden Inn Invitational All-Tournament Team as well as being named tournament MVP.
Junior setter Maggie Rick and junior libero Karissa Rhaodes also joined Carroll on the All-Tournament.
Hoping to defend her title as A-Sun Setter of the Year, Rick, a native of Alpharetta, Georgia, had a total of 116 assists in all three matches.
Rhaodes was selected as A-Sun Player of the Week. The Valrico, Florida native that transitioned from outside hitter to libero had 43 digs in the tournament.
The Eagles welcome three teams that will be participating in the tournament: UCF, FAU and Miami
Scouting UCF:
UCF (1-2) recently competed in the UNC Bears/ CSU Rams Classic in Greeley, Colorado. The Golden Knights beat co-host Northern Colorado by a score of 3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 20-25, 25-23, 17-15), but would fall to 2-3 to Duke (25-18, 15-25, 25-17, 23-25, 15-8) and 1-3 (19-25, 27-25, 25-14, 25-18) to co-host Colorado State.
Redshirt senior Kia Bright leads the team offensively. The former Auburn transfer has 52 kills and three aces.
Junior Miranda Watkins leads the team in assists (71).
Defensively, redshirt senior Taylor Wickey leads the team with 14 blocks while junior Jordan Pingel leads the team with 49 digs.
Last time FGCU and UCF met, was in 2011 where the Golden Knights were victorious with a 3-0 shutout. FGCU is 1-2 against the Golden Knights. The lone win the Eagles had on UCF was in 2008 where they won 3-1.
Scouting FAU:
FAU (3-0) recently competed in the Stetson Invitational. They shutout Central Connecticut (25-19, 25-17, 25-23), Stephen F. Austin (25-11. 25-22, 25-19) and host Stetson (25-17, 25-9, 25-13). Their 3-0 start to the was occurred the first time in three years.
Offensively, the duo of sophomore Sigourney Kame and redshirt senior Kristi Tekavec combine a total of 71 kills while junior Ivone Martinez leads the team with 136 assists.
Defensively, junior Abbi Reid has 10 blocks while junior Alex Cardona leads with 43 digs.
The Eagles are 3-5 against the Owls. The last match between the two teams was in 2016 where FGCU won 3-2 in the FAU Tournament hosted by the Owls.
Scouting the "U":
Miami (3-0) recently competed in the Southern Miss Invitational. The Hurricanes won all three matches beating Little Rock 3-1 (25-20, 16-25, 25-22, 25-13), host Southern Miss 3-2 (24-26, 22-25, 25-22, 25-12, 15-13) and Nicholls State University 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-12).
Senior Olga Strantzali leads the offense. A native of Pylala, Greece, Stranzali leads the team with 64 kills and eight aces.
Redshirt junior Haley Templeton leads with 111 assists.
Senior Sylvia Hernandez leads with 44 digs.
The last time FGCU and Miami faced each other was in 2014 where the Hurricanes were victorious with a 3-0 win. FGCU is 0-2 against The "U".
FAU and UCF will face each other first at 10 am on Friday and will follow with FAU face Miami at 4:30 pm before FGCU faces UCF at 7 pm.
The tournament will continue with FGCU facing at 11 am and Miami face UCF at 1:30 before FGCU wraps up the tournament by facing Miami at 7 pm.
The game against UCF will be a Green Out while the game against Miami will be a Blue Out.
About Me
FGCU Women's Golf Bios
We now go to talking about the next sport for FGCU: women's golf.
The FGCU women's golf team had a very successful season last year. Of course in golf, there is no standings or win and loss record. It's simply put by team placement.
The women's golf team won matches at the Women's Mid-American Match Play Challenge in Lakewood Ranch, Florida where they beat Fort Wayne 5-0 and Eastern Michigan 4-0-1 in the first round and quarterfinals before claiming a third place finish after falling to Lamar in the semifinals. Their highest finish last season was in the MSU Citrus Classic where they finished in 2nd place out of 14 teams.
They still managed to have successful finishes as high as second and third place and made it to the conference championship before becoming runner-up and finishing second behind UNF. It was still a good year for them.
The team is led by head coach Sarah Trew. Trew enters her seventh season as head coach with plenty of experience behind the tee.
Prior to her coaching career, Trew played collegiate golf for the University of Georgia where she was a Dean’s List honoree and named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll. After her stint with the Bulldogs, the Marietta, Georgia native transferred over to the University of Arkansas where she was a three-year letterwinner and SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient all while helping the Razorbacks to its first-ever NCAA Championship appearance in 2005.
A year later, Trew helped the Razorbacks return to the NCAA Championship, finishing 10th overall after the four-round tournament in Columbus, Ohio. While being a Razorback, Trew currently holds the 14th-lowest career stroke average in Arkansas' women's golf history.
After graduating, Trew turned professional and competed in numerous select events. She was a qualifier for the 2006 and 2007 finals of the Re-Max World Long Drive Challenge, finishing 11th in 2006 and earning a district championship with a 325-yard drive.
After her stint as a pro golfer, Trew earned a job opportunity to being an assistant coach for the University of Kansas and assisted in coaching four individual tournament champions at KU, highlighted by 2007 Big 12 Conference champ Amanda Costner, who was the first individual Big 12 champion in school history.
After five years of being an assistant coach, Trew landed the head coaching position for FGCU.
In her first season, Trew led FGCU to eight Top 10 finishes including four inside the Top 5. FGCU recorded their best finish under her direction at the 36-hole NIU Snowbird Classic (Mar. 15-16), where they took third place in the field of 11, posted a trio of fourth place finishes throughout the year and wrapped up the year with a seventh place finish at the 2012 A-SUN Conference Championship.
In her second season, Trew's Eagles finished with their best-ever showing at the Atlantic Sun Championship, coming in third. The team produced its low-team round with a score of 291 at the conference championship, while also producing its best-ever scores in 36-holes (589) and in 54-holes (887).
Trew's Eagles in her third season saw records broken on the course and in the classroom. FGCU set a new single-season scoring record with a team average of 307.88, while also setting a new benchmark academically and earned a team grade point average of 3.8 in the fall semester and set the FGCU team record with a 3.92 during the spring of 2014. Trew led FGCU to earn three top-five finishes and four more top-11 rankings while competing in a challenging schedule when the season began the season with a first-place finish at the Eagle Invitational and culminated their success this season with a fourth-place finish at the 2014 A-SUN Conference Championship.
In her fourth season, the team saw eight top-10 finishes and placed among the top-five in five tournaments, including the conference championship. The team earned a third place finish at the conference championship and ranked second nationally among Division I teams with a cumulative GPA of 3.781. In addition to the team’s recognition, seven players from the team produced GPAs at 3.50 or above.
In Trew's fifth season, she was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year in 2016 after guiding the program to a record year. The Eagles produced a program-best stroke average of 305.29 through the season and took a second-place finish at the 2016 A-SUN Conference Championship. Trew led alumni golfer Mei Khuan Yong to a First Team All-Conference honor and the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, helped Madeline Marck-Sherk to All-Freshman Team honors and Sara Detlefsen to All-Academic Team accolades.
In her sixth season, rew led the Eagles to six top-five finishes, including a second place showing at the A-SUN Championship, which ties a program best. For the third time since she took over the team, Trew's squad set a new record for team stroke average carding 302.30 on the season which produced a program-high 310 birdies.
With her strong coaching ability, there is no doubt in my mind that coach Trew will guide the team along the path to victory.
Helping Trew with a experience as a golfer is Katie Detlefsen.
A native of Eagan, Minnesota, Detlefsen joined the team with more passion than Paula Creamer.
Prior to her coaching career, Detlefsen played collegiately for the University of Central Florida. There, she was an All-Conference USA selection, named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team on three occasions and earned National Golf Coaches’ Association All-American Scholar accolades for four-consecutive years. She also earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American status and received the prestigious Dinah Shore Award as a junior.
After gradauting, Detlefsen earned her TPI certification and became a Trackman Level 2 Teaching Professional, continued her career as a Class A member of the LPGA and is currently competing on the Symetra Tour and was a member of the Golf Channel’s Big Break: Myrtle Beach.
Detlefsen joined FGCU during the Summer of 2015 and with her strong background in golf competition and instruction, she will give it all she's got to make sure the team plays their hardest.
Last season, there was only one senior that departed from the team: Megan Blonien. The transfer from Atlus, Oklahoma graduated, so there are seven returners and one newcomer that are on the team.
Currently on the team, there are two seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and one freshman.
The two seniors on the team with plenty of experience are Ashley Kimbrough and Madison Easterbrook.
The first of two seniors is Ashley Kimbrough.
A native of Clearwater, Florida, Kimbrough has fought through some obstacles, but never gave up.
In her freshman year, Kimbrough played 16 rounds in six events for her rookie season. She recorded a stroke average of 83.19. She opened her collegiate career with scores of 80, 79, 81 at the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational, carded two rounds of 76 at the Johnie Imes invitational and appeared in a dual match against K-State and the Eagle’s home event in the spring. As a result of her hard work, Kimbrough was named a WGCA Scholar All-American.
The other senior is Madison Easterbrook.
The first of three juniors is Kelsy Holbert.
Hailing from Lutz, Florida, Holbert comes with passion like Michelle Wie.
In her freshman year, Holbert produced a stroke average of 80.81 through 16 rounds, where she opened her collegiate career at the Marilynn Smith Invitational. She carded two scores under 80 at the Pat Bradley Invitational, produced scores of 78 and 84 at the Fresno State Classic and carded a season-best score of 72 at the MSU Spring Citrus Challenge. Holbert was named a WGCA Scholar All-American for her successful freshman year.
In her sophomore year, Holbert played 24 rounds in eight events and finished her sophomore campaign with a stroke average of 77.20 where she improved from 80.00 in the fall to 76.00 in the spring. She shot six rounds of 75 or better, including five of her last six rounds and produced two top-10 finishes. Holbert finished 21st at the MSU Spring Citrus Challenge with rounds of 73, 78 and 76, tied for 8th with a career-best total score of 222 after rounds of 74, 73 and 75 at the John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate and carded a season-best score of 72 in the first round of the A-SUN Championship where she finished tied for 10th.
For Holbert and her junior year, it's a journey for the ages to give it 100%.
Next is Madeline Marck-Sherk.
Coming from Ridgeway, Ontario, Canada, Marck-Sherk, like Easterbrook, is also one of Canada's best women's golfers.
In her freshman year, she played in 28 rounds at 10 tournaments for FGCU where she finished her rookie season with a stroke average of 77.79. Marck-Sherk shot eight rounds of 75 or better in the spring season, including five rounds in the final three events. She carded a 72 in the third round of the Pat Bradley Invitational, took a top-20 finish at the John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate with scores of 75, 77, 75, finished in eighth place at the A-Sun Championship with a three-round score of 226 and carded rounds of 79, 70 and 77 in the championship to finish third among all rookies.
Because of her strong finish, Marck-Sherk was named a member on the A-SUN All-Freshman Team.
Marck-Sherk's sophomore year was her moment to shine. She played 30 rounds over 10 events where she finished her sophomore campaign with a stroke average of 76.04 where she shot 10 rounds of 75 or under and produced three top-10 finishes. She finished first overall at the MSU Spring Citrus Classic after rounds of 71, 71 and 7. Her total score of 212 was the second-lowest in program history. She tied for 12th at the Redbird Invitational with rounds of 74, 74 and 76, shot rounds of 79, 76 and 71 for a total score of 226 at the 39th Annual FIU Pat Bradley Invitational and tied for 14th at the A-SUN Championship with rounds of 80, 75 and 77.
As a result of another strong finish, Marck-Sherk was named to the A-SUN All-Conference Second Team and the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholar Team.
For Marck-Sherk, she will make a statement as Canada's greatest golfers.
The third junior is Jean Tyrell.
Hailing from Leawood, Kansas, Tyrell is strong-willed to make an impact.
In her freshman year, Tyrell played three rounds as a rookie with a stroke average of 79.33 and recorded scores of 82, 83, 73 at the Johnie Imes Invitational.
In her sophomore year, Tyrell played 11 rounds over 4 events and produced a stroke average of 79 where she shot three rounds of 75 or under. She carded a 73 in the third round of the USA Intercollegiate and in the second round of the Johnie Imes Invitational.
For Tyrell, she will make heads turn and represent Kansas in style.
The team can't have a good season without sophomores and these two sophomores make the magic happen: Ailsa Clark and Kate Williamson.
The first is Ailsa Clark.
Hailing from Navarre, Florida, Clark comes with one purpose: winning.
In her freshman year, Clark played in nine events for FGCU and finished the season with a 79.26 stroke average through 27 rounds as a rookie. Clark recorded a season-best 73 in the first round of the USA Intercollegiate and in the second round of the Spring Break Shootout. Her total score of 229 at the USA Intercollegiate was a career-best. After the season, Clark was named to the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholar Team.
Though still with more experience to go, Clark will be a sharp force for the team this season.
Last, but never least, is actually one of my favorite golfers and one of the most kind-hearted on the whole team: Kate Williamson.
Coming from Deerfield Beach, Florida, Williamson's passion with the team is a strong as her heart of gold and a swing to make Tiger Woods look in shock.
In her freshman year, Williamson, despite having a few bad games, was shining brighter than the stars at night. She played 27 rounds over nine tournaments where produced a stroke average of 76.61 and shot nine rounds of 75 or under and recorded five top-20 performances, including two top-10 finishes. Williamson shot rounds of 79, 72 and 73 at the USA Intercollegiate for a total score of 224, shot a 68 in the first round of the Johnie Imes Invitational, which ties for the second-lowest round in program history, which followed up with back-to-back rounds of 74 for a season-best total score of 216 and an T8 finish and placed second overall at the Spring Break Shootout after carding rounds of 73, 74 and 72. Because of her strong will and hard work, Williamson was named a member of the A-SUN All-Freshman Team and A-SUN All-Conference Second Team. After the season, she named to the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholar Team for her academics.
For Williamson, there is no doubt in my mind that she will give her best to the unlimited max.
The last golfer is the only freshman on the team: Natalia Nassar.
Hailing from Floridablanca, Colombia, Nassar is the only newcomer to join the FGCU women's golf team.
The FGCU women's golf team had a very successful season last year. Of course in golf, there is no standings or win and loss record. It's simply put by team placement.
The women's golf team won matches at the Women's Mid-American Match Play Challenge in Lakewood Ranch, Florida where they beat Fort Wayne 5-0 and Eastern Michigan 4-0-1 in the first round and quarterfinals before claiming a third place finish after falling to Lamar in the semifinals. Their highest finish last season was in the MSU Citrus Classic where they finished in 2nd place out of 14 teams.
They still managed to have successful finishes as high as second and third place and made it to the conference championship before becoming runner-up and finishing second behind UNF. It was still a good year for them.
The team is led by head coach Sarah Trew. Trew enters her seventh season as head coach with plenty of experience behind the tee.
Prior to her coaching career, Trew played collegiate golf for the University of Georgia where she was a Dean’s List honoree and named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll. After her stint with the Bulldogs, the Marietta, Georgia native transferred over to the University of Arkansas where she was a three-year letterwinner and SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient all while helping the Razorbacks to its first-ever NCAA Championship appearance in 2005.
A year later, Trew helped the Razorbacks return to the NCAA Championship, finishing 10th overall after the four-round tournament in Columbus, Ohio. While being a Razorback, Trew currently holds the 14th-lowest career stroke average in Arkansas' women's golf history.
After graduating, Trew turned professional and competed in numerous select events. She was a qualifier for the 2006 and 2007 finals of the Re-Max World Long Drive Challenge, finishing 11th in 2006 and earning a district championship with a 325-yard drive.
After her stint as a pro golfer, Trew earned a job opportunity to being an assistant coach for the University of Kansas and assisted in coaching four individual tournament champions at KU, highlighted by 2007 Big 12 Conference champ Amanda Costner, who was the first individual Big 12 champion in school history.
After five years of being an assistant coach, Trew landed the head coaching position for FGCU.
In her first season, Trew led FGCU to eight Top 10 finishes including four inside the Top 5. FGCU recorded their best finish under her direction at the 36-hole NIU Snowbird Classic (Mar. 15-16), where they took third place in the field of 11, posted a trio of fourth place finishes throughout the year and wrapped up the year with a seventh place finish at the 2012 A-SUN Conference Championship.
In her second season, Trew's Eagles finished with their best-ever showing at the Atlantic Sun Championship, coming in third. The team produced its low-team round with a score of 291 at the conference championship, while also producing its best-ever scores in 36-holes (589) and in 54-holes (887).
Trew's Eagles in her third season saw records broken on the course and in the classroom. FGCU set a new single-season scoring record with a team average of 307.88, while also setting a new benchmark academically and earned a team grade point average of 3.8 in the fall semester and set the FGCU team record with a 3.92 during the spring of 2014. Trew led FGCU to earn three top-five finishes and four more top-11 rankings while competing in a challenging schedule when the season began the season with a first-place finish at the Eagle Invitational and culminated their success this season with a fourth-place finish at the 2014 A-SUN Conference Championship.
In her fourth season, the team saw eight top-10 finishes and placed among the top-five in five tournaments, including the conference championship. The team earned a third place finish at the conference championship and ranked second nationally among Division I teams with a cumulative GPA of 3.781. In addition to the team’s recognition, seven players from the team produced GPAs at 3.50 or above.
In Trew's fifth season, she was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year in 2016 after guiding the program to a record year. The Eagles produced a program-best stroke average of 305.29 through the season and took a second-place finish at the 2016 A-SUN Conference Championship. Trew led alumni golfer Mei Khuan Yong to a First Team All-Conference honor and the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, helped Madeline Marck-Sherk to All-Freshman Team honors and Sara Detlefsen to All-Academic Team accolades.
In her sixth season, rew led the Eagles to six top-five finishes, including a second place showing at the A-SUN Championship, which ties a program best. For the third time since she took over the team, Trew's squad set a new record for team stroke average carding 302.30 on the season which produced a program-high 310 birdies.
With her strong coaching ability, there is no doubt in my mind that coach Trew will guide the team along the path to victory.
Helping Trew with a experience as a golfer is Katie Detlefsen.
A native of Eagan, Minnesota, Detlefsen joined the team with more passion than Paula Creamer.
Prior to her coaching career, Detlefsen played collegiately for the University of Central Florida. There, she was an All-Conference USA selection, named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team on three occasions and earned National Golf Coaches’ Association All-American Scholar accolades for four-consecutive years. She also earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American status and received the prestigious Dinah Shore Award as a junior.
After gradauting, Detlefsen earned her TPI certification and became a Trackman Level 2 Teaching Professional, continued her career as a Class A member of the LPGA and is currently competing on the Symetra Tour and was a member of the Golf Channel’s Big Break: Myrtle Beach.
Detlefsen joined FGCU during the Summer of 2015 and with her strong background in golf competition and instruction, she will give it all she's got to make sure the team plays their hardest.
Last season, there was only one senior that departed from the team: Megan Blonien. The transfer from Atlus, Oklahoma graduated, so there are seven returners and one newcomer that are on the team.
Currently on the team, there are two seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and one freshman.
The two seniors on the team with plenty of experience are Ashley Kimbrough and Madison Easterbrook.
The first of two seniors is Ashley Kimbrough.
A native of Clearwater, Florida, Kimbrough has fought through some obstacles, but never gave up.
In her freshman year, Kimbrough played 16 rounds in six events for her rookie season. She recorded a stroke average of 83.19. She opened her collegiate career with scores of 80, 79, 81 at the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational, carded two rounds of 76 at the Johnie Imes invitational and appeared in a dual match against K-State and the Eagle’s home event in the spring. As a result of her hard work, Kimbrough was named a WGCA Scholar All-American.
In her sophomore year, Kimbrough appeared in five rounds and produced a stroke average of 82.80. She carded scores of 86 and 80 at the Florida Challenge and played three rounds at the FGCU Eagle Invitational with scores of 85, 80, 83.
She was unable to play her junior year due to injury and redshirted, but will have two years of eligibility remaining.
For Kimbrough, she will give it all she's got this season.
The other senior is Madison Easterbrook.
Hailing from Burlington, Ontario, Canada, Easterbrook is by far one of Canada's best golfers.
In her freshman year, Easterbrook appeared in each of the team’s 10 events, scoring for the team in each one. She scored under 80 in all but nine rounds on the season and carded scores under 8- in two of three rounds or more during seven events and scored +5 or better in 10 rounds, including four of the last six outings. In her rookie campaign, she opened her collegiate career with two rounds under 80 at the Marilynn Smith Invitational, carded a career best 73 at the Johnie Imes Invitational, led the team with a 74 in the first round of the Pat Bradley Invitational, finished in the top-20 at the John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate with scores of 77, 77 and 76, shot a 74 at the team’s home event and recorded seven-straight sub 80 scores to end the season including rounds of 79, 74 and 79 at the A-SUN Championship to finish among the top-20.
As a result of her hard work, Easterbrook was named a member on the A-SUN All-Freshman Team and a WGCA Scholar All-American.
By sophomore year, she played in nine events for FGCU where she produced a stroke average of 78.64 through 25 rounds. She carded a career-best score of 70 in the third round of the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational, took a top-20 finish at the John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate with scores of 75, 77, 77, produced scores of 72, 76, 80 at the A-SUN Championship for a total score of 228 and an 11th place finish and finished the year with four scores of 75 or better in the team’s last three events.
In her junior year, she finished her campaign where she played 22 rounds in eight events with a stroke average of 77.73. In the season, she carded seven rounds of 75 or under and collected three top-20 finishes. during the season, she took a top-20 finish at the Redbird Invitational with scores of 73, 81 and 74, carded a season-low total score of 225 with rounds of 76, 73 and 76 at the USA Intercollegiate and tied for 16th in the A-SUN Championship with rounds of 79, 73 and 82.
For Easterbrook, all the cards are on the table and will put all her effort to the max.
To back up the seniors, three juniors come strongly to the table: Kelsy Holbert, Madeline Marck-Sherk and Jean Tyrrell.
The first of three juniors is Kelsy Holbert.
Hailing from Lutz, Florida, Holbert comes with passion like Michelle Wie.
In her freshman year, Holbert produced a stroke average of 80.81 through 16 rounds, where she opened her collegiate career at the Marilynn Smith Invitational. She carded two scores under 80 at the Pat Bradley Invitational, produced scores of 78 and 84 at the Fresno State Classic and carded a season-best score of 72 at the MSU Spring Citrus Challenge. Holbert was named a WGCA Scholar All-American for her successful freshman year.
In her sophomore year, Holbert played 24 rounds in eight events and finished her sophomore campaign with a stroke average of 77.20 where she improved from 80.00 in the fall to 76.00 in the spring. She shot six rounds of 75 or better, including five of her last six rounds and produced two top-10 finishes. Holbert finished 21st at the MSU Spring Citrus Challenge with rounds of 73, 78 and 76, tied for 8th with a career-best total score of 222 after rounds of 74, 73 and 75 at the John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate and carded a season-best score of 72 in the first round of the A-SUN Championship where she finished tied for 10th.
For Holbert and her junior year, it's a journey for the ages to give it 100%.
Next is Madeline Marck-Sherk.
Coming from Ridgeway, Ontario, Canada, Marck-Sherk, like Easterbrook, is also one of Canada's best women's golfers.
In her freshman year, she played in 28 rounds at 10 tournaments for FGCU where she finished her rookie season with a stroke average of 77.79. Marck-Sherk shot eight rounds of 75 or better in the spring season, including five rounds in the final three events. She carded a 72 in the third round of the Pat Bradley Invitational, took a top-20 finish at the John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate with scores of 75, 77, 75, finished in eighth place at the A-Sun Championship with a three-round score of 226 and carded rounds of 79, 70 and 77 in the championship to finish third among all rookies.
Because of her strong finish, Marck-Sherk was named a member on the A-SUN All-Freshman Team.
Marck-Sherk's sophomore year was her moment to shine. She played 30 rounds over 10 events where she finished her sophomore campaign with a stroke average of 76.04 where she shot 10 rounds of 75 or under and produced three top-10 finishes. She finished first overall at the MSU Spring Citrus Classic after rounds of 71, 71 and 7. Her total score of 212 was the second-lowest in program history. She tied for 12th at the Redbird Invitational with rounds of 74, 74 and 76, shot rounds of 79, 76 and 71 for a total score of 226 at the 39th Annual FIU Pat Bradley Invitational and tied for 14th at the A-SUN Championship with rounds of 80, 75 and 77.
As a result of another strong finish, Marck-Sherk was named to the A-SUN All-Conference Second Team and the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholar Team.
For Marck-Sherk, she will make a statement as Canada's greatest golfers.
The third junior is Jean Tyrell.
Hailing from Leawood, Kansas, Tyrell is strong-willed to make an impact.
In her freshman year, Tyrell played three rounds as a rookie with a stroke average of 79.33 and recorded scores of 82, 83, 73 at the Johnie Imes Invitational.
In her sophomore year, Tyrell played 11 rounds over 4 events and produced a stroke average of 79 where she shot three rounds of 75 or under. She carded a 73 in the third round of the USA Intercollegiate and in the second round of the Johnie Imes Invitational.
For Tyrell, she will make heads turn and represent Kansas in style.
The team can't have a good season without sophomores and these two sophomores make the magic happen: Ailsa Clark and Kate Williamson.
The first is Ailsa Clark.
Hailing from Navarre, Florida, Clark comes with one purpose: winning.
In her freshman year, Clark played in nine events for FGCU and finished the season with a 79.26 stroke average through 27 rounds as a rookie. Clark recorded a season-best 73 in the first round of the USA Intercollegiate and in the second round of the Spring Break Shootout. Her total score of 229 at the USA Intercollegiate was a career-best. After the season, Clark was named to the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholar Team.
Though still with more experience to go, Clark will be a sharp force for the team this season.
Last, but never least, is actually one of my favorite golfers and one of the most kind-hearted on the whole team: Kate Williamson.
Coming from Deerfield Beach, Florida, Williamson's passion with the team is a strong as her heart of gold and a swing to make Tiger Woods look in shock.
In her freshman year, Williamson, despite having a few bad games, was shining brighter than the stars at night. She played 27 rounds over nine tournaments where produced a stroke average of 76.61 and shot nine rounds of 75 or under and recorded five top-20 performances, including two top-10 finishes. Williamson shot rounds of 79, 72 and 73 at the USA Intercollegiate for a total score of 224, shot a 68 in the first round of the Johnie Imes Invitational, which ties for the second-lowest round in program history, which followed up with back-to-back rounds of 74 for a season-best total score of 216 and an T8 finish and placed second overall at the Spring Break Shootout after carding rounds of 73, 74 and 72. Because of her strong will and hard work, Williamson was named a member of the A-SUN All-Freshman Team and A-SUN All-Conference Second Team. After the season, she named to the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholar Team for her academics.
For Williamson, there is no doubt in my mind that she will give her best to the unlimited max.
The last golfer is the only freshman on the team: Natalia Nassar.
Hailing from Floridablanca, Colombia, Nassar is the only newcomer to join the FGCU women's golf team.
Prior to FGCU, Nassar graduated from Colegio Panamericano (Spanish: Pan American College) where she represented her native country in numerous high-profile tournaments winning several first-place finishes including first overall at the 2017 Colombian Open shooting 70-73-73-74, first overall at the 2017 AJGA Senior Showcase shooting 79-74-79 and first overall at the XXXIV Junior International Tournament in Guatemala.
Nassar posted back-to-back top-10 finishes in the Colombian Junior International, finishing her junior career with a stroke average of 74, shot rounds of 75, 73 and 72 en route to a first-place finish at the Abierto Ciudad de Barranquilla.
Nassar posted back-to-back top-10 finishes in the Colombian Junior International, finishing her junior career with a stroke average of 74, shot rounds of 75, 73 and 72 en route to a first-place finish at the Abierto Ciudad de Barranquilla.
For Nassar, I have no doubt in my mind that this newcomer is the real deal.
Meeting the women's golf team is quite something to experience. Even if there are home course for their games, it makes no difference because the golf team is hard working like any athlete at FGCU.
No matter if it's Ashley Kimbrough or Kate Williamson, whoever they may be, I just remember that they are just as talented and hard working to push it to the limit.
PC: http://www.fgcuathletics.com/index.aspx
PC: http://www.fgcuathletics.com/index.aspx
FGCU W-SOC vs Kent State, Liberty: Home Opening Preview
The FGCU women's soccer team (3-1) had just completed a four-game road trip to start the season and are preparing for their first two home games by hosting the FGCU Tournament, which will involve FAU (3-1), Kent State University (1-2) and Liberty University (0-2-2) .
Last Time Out:
The Eagles started the season first playing Georgia Southern and winning 3-0. After that, FGCU went to play South Carolina, the No. 4 team in the nation, but fell 1-2 despite an excellent effort. After being out of state for the first two games, the Eagles came back to Florida and participated in the FAU Adidas Owl Classic hosted by Florida Atlantic University (FAU) where they would pull wins against Valparaiso (1-0) and Eastern Michigan (5-1).
The players that led the charge for the Eagles include sophomore forward Marjorie Boilesen, redshirt senior defender Ashley Parks and sophomore goalkeeper Melissa Weck.
Boilesen, a transfer from NCAA DII University of West Florida (UWF), leads the team with three goals.
Parks, along with fellow defenders, junior Camile Knudstrup and sophomore Lindsay Patton, take control of the defense allowing only three goals.
Weck (3-1) has allowed three goals for the four away games and has 10 saves so far.
In the opening game against Georgia Southern, along with Boilesen, freshmen Hope Van Wagner, Zoey Spitzer, Cassidy Morgan and Lauren Moss, redshirt freshman Jocelyn Nelson, sophomore Petra Smetkova, and seniors Varin Ness and Kiana Rugar made their debuts. Nelson (Florida), Smetkova (Arkansas), Ness (DII Carson-Newman) and Rugar (Albany) made their debuts as transfers.
Scouting Kent State:
Last time FGCU and Kent State played was in 2010 where the Golden Flashes won 2-1, so this will be the second time both teams play each other.
The Golden Flashes had their first three games in a struggling fashion. They lost to Purdue 1-2 and Cleveland State 1-2 before winning their first game 4-0 against St. Bonaventure.
Offensively, the Golden Flashes are led by freshman midfielder Vital Kats and freshman forward Cameron Shedenhelm. Both players have two goals each.
Goalkeeper wise, junior Ashleah McDonald (0-2) has given up all four goals while senior Katie Kingsbury (1-0) has given up none. McDonald, despite giving up four goals, has six save to her name.
Scouting Liberty:
FGCU and Liberty played each other last season with FGCU beating the Flames 1-0.
The Lady Flames have played so far Wagner College, Virgina Commonwealth University (VCU), George Washington (GW) and Virginia. They tied with Wagner and GW, but lost to VCU and Virginia.
Sophomore forward Gabrielle Farrell and junior forward Devon Jones lead the charge with one goal each.
Redshirt senior goalkeeper Tori Collar (0-2-2) gave up all six goals and has 17 saves overall.
During the tournament, FGCU be playing Kent State and Liberty. The game between FGCU and Kent State will start at 7 P.M. The game will be a greenout as marketing is encouraging fans and Dirty Birds to wear green to the game.
The game against Liberty at 1 P.M. will be a whiteout, so marketing is encouraging fans and Dirty Birds to wear white to that game, despite it being very hot on a Sunday afternoon.
FGCU and FAU will not be playing each other in the tournament.
Before FGCU plays, FAU will play Liberty at 4:30 P.M. on Friday and Kent State at 10:30 A.M. on Sunday to give FGCU a rest for their games.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles started the season first playing Georgia Southern and winning 3-0. After that, FGCU went to play South Carolina, the No. 4 team in the nation, but fell 1-2 despite an excellent effort. After being out of state for the first two games, the Eagles came back to Florida and participated in the FAU Adidas Owl Classic hosted by Florida Atlantic University (FAU) where they would pull wins against Valparaiso (1-0) and Eastern Michigan (5-1).
The players that led the charge for the Eagles include sophomore forward Marjorie Boilesen, redshirt senior defender Ashley Parks and sophomore goalkeeper Melissa Weck.
Boilesen, a transfer from NCAA DII University of West Florida (UWF), leads the team with three goals.
Parks, along with fellow defenders, junior Camile Knudstrup and sophomore Lindsay Patton, take control of the defense allowing only three goals.
Weck (3-1) has allowed three goals for the four away games and has 10 saves so far.
In the opening game against Georgia Southern, along with Boilesen, freshmen Hope Van Wagner, Zoey Spitzer, Cassidy Morgan and Lauren Moss, redshirt freshman Jocelyn Nelson, sophomore Petra Smetkova, and seniors Varin Ness and Kiana Rugar made their debuts. Nelson (Florida), Smetkova (Arkansas), Ness (DII Carson-Newman) and Rugar (Albany) made their debuts as transfers.
Scouting Kent State:
Last time FGCU and Kent State played was in 2010 where the Golden Flashes won 2-1, so this will be the second time both teams play each other.
The Golden Flashes had their first three games in a struggling fashion. They lost to Purdue 1-2 and Cleveland State 1-2 before winning their first game 4-0 against St. Bonaventure.
Offensively, the Golden Flashes are led by freshman midfielder Vital Kats and freshman forward Cameron Shedenhelm. Both players have two goals each.
Goalkeeper wise, junior Ashleah McDonald (0-2) has given up all four goals while senior Katie Kingsbury (1-0) has given up none. McDonald, despite giving up four goals, has six save to her name.
Scouting Liberty:
FGCU and Liberty played each other last season with FGCU beating the Flames 1-0.
The Lady Flames have played so far Wagner College, Virgina Commonwealth University (VCU), George Washington (GW) and Virginia. They tied with Wagner and GW, but lost to VCU and Virginia.
Sophomore forward Gabrielle Farrell and junior forward Devon Jones lead the charge with one goal each.
Redshirt senior goalkeeper Tori Collar (0-2-2) gave up all six goals and has 17 saves overall.
During the tournament, FGCU be playing Kent State and Liberty. The game between FGCU and Kent State will start at 7 P.M. The game will be a greenout as marketing is encouraging fans and Dirty Birds to wear green to the game.
The game against Liberty at 1 P.M. will be a whiteout, so marketing is encouraging fans and Dirty Birds to wear white to that game, despite it being very hot on a Sunday afternoon.
FGCU and FAU will not be playing each other in the tournament.
Before FGCU plays, FAU will play Liberty at 4:30 P.M. on Friday and Kent State at 10:30 A.M. on Sunday to give FGCU a rest for their games.
FGCU Volleyball: Hilton Garden Inn Invitational Wrap Up
With the FGCU Hilton Garden Inn Invitational coming to a close, the FGCU volleyball finished up with a 3-0 shutout over Georgia Southern (25-16, 25-16, 25-16) and a 3-0 shutout over IUPUI (25-21, 25-23, 25-13).
Last night, FGCU played FIU (0-3) last night and won 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-23). GSU (1-2) also played FIU with a 3-0 win (26-24, 26-24, 25-19), but lost to IUPUI (2-1) 1-3 (20-25, 27-25, 20-25, 21-25).
Fast forward to this morning where FGCU and GSU began the second day of the invitational. Despite the inclement weather going around with a lot of rain on the forecast. Actually, the attendance was pretty good for an early morning game. There were almost 400 people in the arena (396 to be exact).
To recap, this is the second time FGCU and GSU played each other. Last time both teams met was in 2015 where FGCU was victorious in a 3-2 nail biter of a match at GSU. So you could say this was a rematch in the "Battle of the Eagles".
The match started off with an GSU attack error from freshman outside hitter Skylar Ball and an ace from freshman outside hitter Cortney VanLiew, but GSU would counter with back-to-back kills from redshirt senior right side hitter Megan Chevalier and senior outside hitter Anna Wenger to tie the match before a back and forth matchup after kills from FGCU's sophomore middle blocker Danielle Serrano and Wenger.
Fast forward to before GSU's first timeout used. FGCU was ahead 11-7 after a GSU ball handling error from junior setter April Luther and back-to-back FGCU kills from VanLiew, but the kills did not stop after the GSU timeout.
After an FGCU service error from lone senior libero Courtney Stephens and a GSU service error from senior outside hitter Catherine Murray, four straight kills came from Serrano, VanLiew and junior outside hitter Amanda Carroll before GSU used their final timeout.
Despite back-to-back kills from Chevalier, FGCU kept fighting. Fast forward again to the final three points with FGCU ahead 22-16, FGCU won the first set after three straight kills from Serrano, Carroll and junior setter Maggie Rick.
In the second set, with the score 6-5 in favor of FGCU, freshman outside hitter Snowy Burnam made her on court debut and subbed in for sophomore outside hitter Giovanna Borgiotti. After a service error from freshman libero Landon Jones and back and forth attack errors from both teams, VanLiew had no problem adding another kill to bring the lead 9-7 for FGCU. After a kill from Murrary, Serrano set the tone with five straight kills for FGCU.
Going into the final set point, VanLiew secured the final point with a kill to give FGCU the second set.
The crowd of Dirty Birds in the stands was pretty lively to say the least, although we couldn't say "Let's go Eagles" because GSU's mascot was also the Eagles.
Now reaching the third set and the last chance for GSU to get on the board, this time GSU started with the first two points after an attack error from Carroll and a kill from Wenger. It didn't take long for FGCU to catch up after another kill from Serrano and a GSU attack error from Murray.
After a brief lead from GSU, FGCU took control for the rest of the set.
With the score 5-5, junior college transfer middle blocker Sharonda Pickering, made her on court debut and got her first kill of her career at FGCU to give FGCU the lead again. Now all four newcomers made their debuts.
Nearing the end of the final set, with the score 22-13, redshirt freshman Morgan Waller made her on-court debut after missing the whole season last year with a knee injury. Carroll would finish the final set with one last kill and shut GSU out.
"We played really well at times, especially in the first set. They are a really good team. They put a lot of pressure on us, which created more opportunities for them. They made a run on us in the middle of the set, and if you take that run out, we are pushing to win that set," said GSU head coach Dustin Wood.
VanLiew led the team with 13 kills and had two aces, two blocks and five digs.
Carroll and Serrano had 11 kills each. Carroll had one block, one ace and seven digs while Serrano had two blocks and dig.
Rick had four kills, 37 assists, one ace and two digs.
Junior libero Karissa Rhaodes had three assists and 10 digs.
From the remaining newcomers, Pickering had one kill and two blocks while Burnam had four kills, two assists and a block.
For GSU, Wenger led the team with 10 kills and one block.
Luther had 12 assists and six digs.
Junior libero Joscelin Morrow had a team leading 11 digs.
IUPUI played against FIU later. The Panthers gave the Jaguars a good run for their money, but ultimately, it wasn't enough in the end as IUPUI ended up winning 3-2 (13-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-10).
"It was good to see how we dealt with adversity, being down zero sets to two. The girls fought hard to come back for the win," IUPUI Head Coach Steve Payne said. "Once again, our blocking helped us tremendously throughout the match, as did the defensive digging of Jess Helms with 36 digs."
Three Jaguars each had a double-double each:
Senior right side hitter Kori Waelbroeck led the charge for the Jaguars with a double-double of 19 kills and 12 digs while adding two aces, three assists and three blocks.
Junior setter Maggie Gibson had a double-double of 51 assists and 10 blocks to go with her six kills and six digs.
Sophomore defensive specialist McKayla Wright had a double-double of 13 kills and 15 digs to go with her two blocks and two assists.
Junior middle blocker Abby Boatman had 10 kills and nine blocks.
For FIU, junior outside hitter Taija Thomas led the offensive charge with 17 kills, four aces, seven digs and a block.
Junior outside hitter Margherita Bianchin had a double-double of 14 kills and 22 digs, five assists, one ace and a block.
Freshman setter Molly Feldmeth had a triple-double in her own right (10 kills, 46 assists and 15 digs).
Senior middle blocker Jennifer Ene had 12 kills.
Junior outside hitter Sheyanne Sullivan had 3 kills and a team-leading 20 digs.
Sophomore libero Helene Thelle had 18 digs and two assists.
Now that FIU (0-3) and GSU (1-2) finished their three matches, it was now down to one more match between FGCU and IUPUI. There were 794 people that showed up for the game. The last time FGCU and IUPUI played each other was in 2013 where the Jaguars were victorious with a 3-0 shutout, but his time, it was different and the tables turned.
Rick started off with a kill for the first point, but senior outside hitter Gabby Fisher tied the match with a kill of her own before back-to-back kills from Serrano and Carroll made it 3-1 for FGCU.
After a service from Rhoades, Carroll would bounce back and add another kill.
Going into the final four points of the first set, with FGCU ahead 22-21, Burnam would get back-to-back kills. Serrano would follow with another kill before freshman outside hitter Alayna Ryan secured the final point with an ace to give FGCU the first set.
In the second set, IUPUI looked to take control. After going back and forth to a tie at 2-2, the Jaguars took a big lead after kills from Wright, Waelbroeck and Boatman and an attack error from VanLiew before FGCU called a timeout to recuperate another strategy.
With the score 9- 4, in favor or the Jaguars, the Eagles took advantage of a Jaguar service error from Wright and scored back-to-back kills from Carroll and Borgiotti to tie the match, but the Jaguars continued to extend the lead. After a kill from Waelbroeck, FGCU took the lead back after kills from Carroll, Serrano and junior right side hitter Kaiti Krivdo and an attack error from sophomore middle blocker Haley Hoffman before it returned to a brief tie after a Rhoades' service error and a brief back and forth match up until Borgiotti extended FGCU's lead to 19-17 after another kill.
Near the end of the second set, FGCU would win after kills from Carroll and Borgiotti.
After halftime, the third set was no different than the first and second. It was the same thing with back and forth ties and lead changes until the score was 5-5. After a service error from Boatman, Pickering and Borgiotti would block Boatman from getting the kill before Borgiotti and Burnam got kills of their own. From there, FGCU secured the final set and won the match after a final Borgiotti kill.
"This morning against Georgia Southern, I thought we played really well," Botsford said. "Considering where we are in the season, that was a nice thing to see. This evening with IUPUI, we knew we were going to get a team that would be aggressive at the service line, so it was a different match. It had a more offensive feel to it. There was some distinct difference between the two matches and the style of play, but we were pleased with each."
Carroll led the offense with a double-double of a team-leading 23 kills and 13 digs.
Rick had four kills, 40 assists and five digs.
Rhoades had five assists and 18 digs.
Serrano and Borgiotti had eight kills each with Serrano having one dig and one assist while Borgiotti had one block and 11 digs.
Pickering had one kill, three blocks and a dig.
Burnam had five kills, three digs and two blocks.
For IUPUI, Waelbroeck had 14 kills, one block and eight digs.
"It was great to come down here and get two wins under our belt," Waelbroeck said. "It was a tough loss to FGCU, but we learned a lot from how we responded being down against a strong team. We had some great competition down here and I'm excited to get back in the gym and work on everything we identified that needs fixing from this weekend."
Senior defensive specialist Jessica Helms had a team-leading 17 digs and two assists.
Wright had seven kills, two assists, one ace and nine digs.
Gibson had two kills, 28 assists, three blocks and six digs.
"We played FGCU very tough for the first two sets with very good passing. We were tight the whole way and just made a few small mistakes that hopefully we can correct here in the future," Payne said. "Kori had a good offensive weekend to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team."
At the end of the tournament, the FGCU Hilton Garden Inn All-Tournament Team was announced:
Carroll, Rick and Rhoades were named on the team to represent FGCU. Carroll was named the MVP of the tournament.
Waelbroeck represented IUPUI.
Reichard represented GSU and Bianchin represented FIU, but were not in attendance after completing their matches and departed.
So to break down everything from the whole tournament, this is what happened:
1. FGCU won the Hilton Garden Inn Invitational.
2. FGCU is now 7-5 overall against FIU for now until the September 19th match at FIU, tied 1-1 against IUPUI and 2-0 against GSU.
3. Carroll had 51 kills combined from all three matches.
4. All 13 of FGCU's players played at least one set and one match throughout the tournament.
FGCU will continue their homestead next Friday with the Homewood Suites Sunshine State Classic. The teams featured are all from Florida: University of Central Florida (UCF), Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and the Miami.
FAU will play UCF at 10 A.M and Miami at 4:30 P.M before FGCU plays UCF first at 7 P.M. on Friday September 1st. The game against UCF is a Greenout in which marketing encourages fans to wear green to the game.
On September 2nd, FGCU will FAU at 11 A.M., UCF will play Miami at 2 P.M. before FGCU wraps it up playing Miami at 7 P.M.. The game between UM and FGCU is a Blueout, so marketing is encouraging fans to wear blue for the game.
Tune in for the next blog as I will give the game preview of the tournament and on our opponents we are playing.
I did manage to get a few photos with the Hilton Garden Inn Invitational All-Tournament MVP: Amanda Carroll
Last night, FGCU played FIU (0-3) last night and won 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-23). GSU (1-2) also played FIU with a 3-0 win (26-24, 26-24, 25-19), but lost to IUPUI (2-1) 1-3 (20-25, 27-25, 20-25, 21-25).
Fast forward to this morning where FGCU and GSU began the second day of the invitational. Despite the inclement weather going around with a lot of rain on the forecast. Actually, the attendance was pretty good for an early morning game. There were almost 400 people in the arena (396 to be exact).
To recap, this is the second time FGCU and GSU played each other. Last time both teams met was in 2015 where FGCU was victorious in a 3-2 nail biter of a match at GSU. So you could say this was a rematch in the "Battle of the Eagles".
The match started off with an GSU attack error from freshman outside hitter Skylar Ball and an ace from freshman outside hitter Cortney VanLiew, but GSU would counter with back-to-back kills from redshirt senior right side hitter Megan Chevalier and senior outside hitter Anna Wenger to tie the match before a back and forth matchup after kills from FGCU's sophomore middle blocker Danielle Serrano and Wenger.
Fast forward to before GSU's first timeout used. FGCU was ahead 11-7 after a GSU ball handling error from junior setter April Luther and back-to-back FGCU kills from VanLiew, but the kills did not stop after the GSU timeout.
After an FGCU service error from lone senior libero Courtney Stephens and a GSU service error from senior outside hitter Catherine Murray, four straight kills came from Serrano, VanLiew and junior outside hitter Amanda Carroll before GSU used their final timeout.
Despite back-to-back kills from Chevalier, FGCU kept fighting. Fast forward again to the final three points with FGCU ahead 22-16, FGCU won the first set after three straight kills from Serrano, Carroll and junior setter Maggie Rick.
In the second set, with the score 6-5 in favor of FGCU, freshman outside hitter Snowy Burnam made her on court debut and subbed in for sophomore outside hitter Giovanna Borgiotti. After a service error from freshman libero Landon Jones and back and forth attack errors from both teams, VanLiew had no problem adding another kill to bring the lead 9-7 for FGCU. After a kill from Murrary, Serrano set the tone with five straight kills for FGCU.
Going into the final set point, VanLiew secured the final point with a kill to give FGCU the second set.
The crowd of Dirty Birds in the stands was pretty lively to say the least, although we couldn't say "Let's go Eagles" because GSU's mascot was also the Eagles.
Now reaching the third set and the last chance for GSU to get on the board, this time GSU started with the first two points after an attack error from Carroll and a kill from Wenger. It didn't take long for FGCU to catch up after another kill from Serrano and a GSU attack error from Murray.
After a brief lead from GSU, FGCU took control for the rest of the set.
With the score 5-5, junior college transfer middle blocker Sharonda Pickering, made her on court debut and got her first kill of her career at FGCU to give FGCU the lead again. Now all four newcomers made their debuts.
Nearing the end of the final set, with the score 22-13, redshirt freshman Morgan Waller made her on-court debut after missing the whole season last year with a knee injury. Carroll would finish the final set with one last kill and shut GSU out.
"We played really well at times, especially in the first set. They are a really good team. They put a lot of pressure on us, which created more opportunities for them. They made a run on us in the middle of the set, and if you take that run out, we are pushing to win that set," said GSU head coach Dustin Wood.
VanLiew led the team with 13 kills and had two aces, two blocks and five digs.
Carroll and Serrano had 11 kills each. Carroll had one block, one ace and seven digs while Serrano had two blocks and dig.
Rick had four kills, 37 assists, one ace and two digs.
Junior libero Karissa Rhaodes had three assists and 10 digs.
From the remaining newcomers, Pickering had one kill and two blocks while Burnam had four kills, two assists and a block.
For GSU, Wenger led the team with 10 kills and one block.
Luther had 12 assists and six digs.
Junior libero Joscelin Morrow had a team leading 11 digs.
IUPUI played against FIU later. The Panthers gave the Jaguars a good run for their money, but ultimately, it wasn't enough in the end as IUPUI ended up winning 3-2 (13-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-10).
"It was good to see how we dealt with adversity, being down zero sets to two. The girls fought hard to come back for the win," IUPUI Head Coach Steve Payne said. "Once again, our blocking helped us tremendously throughout the match, as did the defensive digging of Jess Helms with 36 digs."
Three Jaguars each had a double-double each:
Senior right side hitter Kori Waelbroeck led the charge for the Jaguars with a double-double of 19 kills and 12 digs while adding two aces, three assists and three blocks.
Junior setter Maggie Gibson had a double-double of 51 assists and 10 blocks to go with her six kills and six digs.
Sophomore defensive specialist McKayla Wright had a double-double of 13 kills and 15 digs to go with her two blocks and two assists.
Junior middle blocker Abby Boatman had 10 kills and nine blocks.
For FIU, junior outside hitter Taija Thomas led the offensive charge with 17 kills, four aces, seven digs and a block.
Junior outside hitter Margherita Bianchin had a double-double of 14 kills and 22 digs, five assists, one ace and a block.
Freshman setter Molly Feldmeth had a triple-double in her own right (10 kills, 46 assists and 15 digs).
Senior middle blocker Jennifer Ene had 12 kills.
Junior outside hitter Sheyanne Sullivan had 3 kills and a team-leading 20 digs.
Sophomore libero Helene Thelle had 18 digs and two assists.
Now that FIU (0-3) and GSU (1-2) finished their three matches, it was now down to one more match between FGCU and IUPUI. There were 794 people that showed up for the game. The last time FGCU and IUPUI played each other was in 2013 where the Jaguars were victorious with a 3-0 shutout, but his time, it was different and the tables turned.
Rick started off with a kill for the first point, but senior outside hitter Gabby Fisher tied the match with a kill of her own before back-to-back kills from Serrano and Carroll made it 3-1 for FGCU.
After a service from Rhoades, Carroll would bounce back and add another kill.
Going into the final four points of the first set, with FGCU ahead 22-21, Burnam would get back-to-back kills. Serrano would follow with another kill before freshman outside hitter Alayna Ryan secured the final point with an ace to give FGCU the first set.
In the second set, IUPUI looked to take control. After going back and forth to a tie at 2-2, the Jaguars took a big lead after kills from Wright, Waelbroeck and Boatman and an attack error from VanLiew before FGCU called a timeout to recuperate another strategy.
With the score 9- 4, in favor or the Jaguars, the Eagles took advantage of a Jaguar service error from Wright and scored back-to-back kills from Carroll and Borgiotti to tie the match, but the Jaguars continued to extend the lead. After a kill from Waelbroeck, FGCU took the lead back after kills from Carroll, Serrano and junior right side hitter Kaiti Krivdo and an attack error from sophomore middle blocker Haley Hoffman before it returned to a brief tie after a Rhoades' service error and a brief back and forth match up until Borgiotti extended FGCU's lead to 19-17 after another kill.
Near the end of the second set, FGCU would win after kills from Carroll and Borgiotti.
After halftime, the third set was no different than the first and second. It was the same thing with back and forth ties and lead changes until the score was 5-5. After a service error from Boatman, Pickering and Borgiotti would block Boatman from getting the kill before Borgiotti and Burnam got kills of their own. From there, FGCU secured the final set and won the match after a final Borgiotti kill.
"This morning against Georgia Southern, I thought we played really well," Botsford said. "Considering where we are in the season, that was a nice thing to see. This evening with IUPUI, we knew we were going to get a team that would be aggressive at the service line, so it was a different match. It had a more offensive feel to it. There was some distinct difference between the two matches and the style of play, but we were pleased with each."
Carroll led the offense with a double-double of a team-leading 23 kills and 13 digs.
Rick had four kills, 40 assists and five digs.
Rhoades had five assists and 18 digs.
Serrano and Borgiotti had eight kills each with Serrano having one dig and one assist while Borgiotti had one block and 11 digs.
Pickering had one kill, three blocks and a dig.
Burnam had five kills, three digs and two blocks.
For IUPUI, Waelbroeck had 14 kills, one block and eight digs.
"It was great to come down here and get two wins under our belt," Waelbroeck said. "It was a tough loss to FGCU, but we learned a lot from how we responded being down against a strong team. We had some great competition down here and I'm excited to get back in the gym and work on everything we identified that needs fixing from this weekend."
Wright had seven kills, two assists, one ace and nine digs.
Gibson had two kills, 28 assists, three blocks and six digs.
"We played FGCU very tough for the first two sets with very good passing. We were tight the whole way and just made a few small mistakes that hopefully we can correct here in the future," Payne said. "Kori had a good offensive weekend to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team."
Carroll, Rick and Rhoades were named on the team to represent FGCU. Carroll was named the MVP of the tournament.
Waelbroeck represented IUPUI.
Reichard represented GSU and Bianchin represented FIU, but were not in attendance after completing their matches and departed.
So to break down everything from the whole tournament, this is what happened:
1. FGCU won the Hilton Garden Inn Invitational.
2. FGCU is now 7-5 overall against FIU for now until the September 19th match at FIU, tied 1-1 against IUPUI and 2-0 against GSU.
3. Carroll had 51 kills combined from all three matches.
4. All 13 of FGCU's players played at least one set and one match throughout the tournament.
FGCU will continue their homestead next Friday with the Homewood Suites Sunshine State Classic. The teams featured are all from Florida: University of Central Florida (UCF), Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and the Miami.
FAU will play UCF at 10 A.M and Miami at 4:30 P.M before FGCU plays UCF first at 7 P.M. on Friday September 1st. The game against UCF is a Greenout in which marketing encourages fans to wear green to the game.
On September 2nd, FGCU will FAU at 11 A.M., UCF will play Miami at 2 P.M. before FGCU wraps it up playing Miami at 7 P.M.. The game between UM and FGCU is a Blueout, so marketing is encouraging fans to wear blue for the game.
Tune in for the next blog as I will give the game preview of the tournament and on our opponents we are playing.
I did manage to get a few photos with the Hilton Garden Inn Invitational All-Tournament MVP: Amanda Carroll
FGCU Volleyball: First Match of the Season Recap
The FGCU volleyball team prepared for their opening matchup in the FGCU Hilton Garden Inn Invitational with a win against FIU. The Eagles (1-0) tamed the Panthers (0-2) with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-23) shutout.
Before FGCU played their match against FIU, I got to witness the other teams that we are scheduled to face in for the invitational since I didn't have classes on Fridays. FIU played Georgia Southern (1-1) in a 10 A,M, matchup where the Eagles beat the Panthers with a 3-0 (26-24, 26-24, 25-19) shutout.
"I loved the way we focused and prepared today for the match vs. FIU," said head coach Dustin Wood. "We had a great warm up, and we could see the kids were focused. There was some rust, but that's expected in our first match. We started out fast in each set, which is one of our goals as a program. We found a way to score big points in pressure situations to come out on top of the first two sets, and I am proud of the team for finishing strong in the third to put them away."
Junior middle blocker Lauren Reichard led the Eagles with 12 kills and seven blocks.
Senior outside hitters, Cathrine Murray and Anna Wenger, had seven kills each.
Junior setter April Luther had 35 assists and five blocks.
Sophomore defensive specialist Brooke Birch had four aces and seven digs.
Junior libero Joscelin Morrow had 20 digs.
For FIU, junior outside hitter Margherita Bianchin had a double-double with a team leading 12 kills and 13 digs while junior outside hitter Taija Thomas had 11 kills. Bianchin and Thomas each had 13 points in the match.
Senior middle blocker Mariana De Paula Silva had six blocks.
Freshman setter Molly Feldmeth had three kills, three blocks and 29 assists.
Junior outside hitter Sheyanne Sullivan had six kills and 20 digs.
GSU would remain on the court and play IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis) (1-0) later at 4:30 pm. The Jaguars would beat the GSU 3-1 (25-20, 25-27, 25-20, 25-21).
"It was good to get the first win of the season with our play at the net being the key," IUPUI Head Coach Steve Payne said. "Fourteen blocks is a good way to shut down a good offensive team like Georgia Southern. Our aggressive serving took them out of their offense, causing us to get some easy balls for us to convert to kills. We still need to be better in our communication, but it was a good win early in the season."
"We came out a little flat, and we hung in there in the second match. IUPUI did a great job of exposing some weaknesses. We had an opportunity to get the match to the fifth but ran out of steam. We struggled in the setting game tonight, and offensive timing was an issue for us. The kids fought hard but lacked execution," said Wood.
Senior right side hitter Kori Waelbroeck had a team-leading 22 kills, three aces and four blocks.
Junior setter Maggie Gibson had double-double of 47 assists and 15 digs along with seven blocks.
Senior libero Jessica Helms had a team-leading 16 digs.
For GSU, Reichard had 18 kills and four blocks.
Luther had 45 assists.
Freshman defensive specialist Landon Jones had 10 digs.
Morrow had 24 digs and three assists. Morrow, Birch and Jones had two aces each.
Now we fast forward to tonight with FGCU and FIU. Before the game began, I noticed there was a really big crowd in the student section. It was the most excited crowd I have seen at a volleyball since we played Indiana last season.
Here's a recap on a couple of things between FGCU and FIU:
1. FGCU is 8-2 when play their first opening match at home.
2. Before the win, FGCU was 6-5 overall against FIU.
The announcer announced the starting lineups for both teams. I couldn't really remember FIU's lineup, but for FGCU it was junior libero Karissa Rhaodes, sophomore middle blocker Danielle Serrano, junior setter Maggie Rick, junior right side hitter Kaiti Krivdo, senior defensive specialist Courtney Stephens, freshman outside hitter Cortney VanLiew and junior outside hitter Amanda Carroll. VanLiew was the only freshman to be in the starting lineup to start the 2017 season.
As the match began, FIU already started with a service error from freshman outside hitter Lexie Mesa to give FGCU a 1-0 lead before the Eagles scored two more points to make it 3-0 after Rick got a kill and Rhoades got an ace. After Sullivan put FIU on the board with a kill, Krivdo countered with a kill of her own before Rick, the defending A-SUN Setter of the Year, added to the score with an ace and sophomore Giovanna Borgiotti added a kill of her own to the score. After back-to-back-to-back service errors from both teams, Borgiotti added another kill to make it 8-4 for FGCU before freshman Alana Ryan made her on court debut and subbed in for Krivdo while Borgiotti added another kill.
Bianchin countered with a kill of her own, but Serrano got a kill and blocked senior middle blocker Giovannie Jean-Louis from getting a kill. After a Bianchin attack error, Carroll stepped up with a kill to give FGCU a 13-5 lead before Bianchin recovered with a kill of her own.
Fast forwarding after FIU used their last timeout in the set, Carroll started with back-to-back-to-back aces. After a service error from the former A-SUN Freshman of the Year, sophomore libero Helene Thelle hit an ace before causing a service error to end the set. FGCU would win the first set 25-13.
After a three minute break, the second set went underway. Krivdo would start it off with a kill. De Paula Silva would counter with a kill for FIU, but Krivdo would get another kill followed by another ace from Carroll. After a kill by Thomas and an attack error from Bianchin again, VanLiew would strike with back-to-back kills before Ryan hit a service error.
Fast forward with the score 23-21 FGCU, Carroll got another kill before Rhoades would hit an ace to end the second set 25-21 and go to halftime.
At the start of the third set, FIU took control of the first three points, but after back-to-back kills from Serrano and Carroll, Carroll added another kill from before FIU countered with another kill.
With the score 4-3 in favor of FIU, the long awaited return of my BFF, redshirt freshman Ciara DeBell, came as she subbed in for Stephens. Krivdo would reduce the deficit to one before FIU bounced back with three straight points of their own before a kill from VanLiew and an attack error from Feldmeth stopped the run briefly before a kill by senior middle blocker Jennifer Ene.
With the score 11-8 still in favor of FIU, kills from Carroll and Krivdo continued to give FGCU the lead briefly, but back-to-back kills from De Paula Silva and sophomore setter Sophia Sires plus an attack error put the Panthers back on top before FGCU called a timeout.
After the time out, Carroll got another kill before DeBell subbed back in. After an attack error from Ene that tied the score and another kill from Bianchin to give FIU a short one point lead, back-to-back kills from both teams occurred as ties and score changes before DeBell got her first kill since her season ending injury to tie the score. FIU would get three straight points to make it 20-17 before FGCU called its final timeout. VanLiew would get a kill, but De Paula Silva returned the favor with another kill.
With the score 22-19, it looked like FGCU's chance to sweep the third set were dwindling, but with the chants of the almost 900 fans in attendance backing up FGCU, the Eagles found the motivation they needed. After VanLiew's service error, Carroll got another kill and De Paula Silva would cause another attack error to give FGCU the lead. Carroll would get another kill to set up mach point for FGCU. After a Sullivan kill, Carroll would seal the deal with one final kill and FGCU would sweep FIU with a final score of 25-23 in the third set.
Carroll had a team-leading 17 kills, nine digs and four aces.
Krivdo had nine kills and three blocks.
Rick would have one kill, one ace, one block and 39 assists.
Serrano and VanLiew had seven kills each.
Rhoades had three aces and 15 digs.
The first matchup was the debuts of VanLiew and Ryan. Junior college transfer middle blocker Sharonda Pickering and freshman outside hitter Snowy Burnam have yet to make their on-court debuts.
For FIU, Bianchin had nine kills, nine digs and three blocks on 10.5 points, Feldmeth had one kill and 16 assists, Thelle had 13 digs.
FGCU outlasted FIU in kills (47-32), aces (8-2) and assists (41-28).
With the win, FGCU is 7-5 overall against FIU.
"The first set, defensively, it was exactly what we were looking for," said FGCU head coach Matt Botsford. "That was something we were hoping would carry over into sets two and three. Although that didn't necessarily happen, I thought we did some nice things offensively to balance it out. Obviously, we got into a tight one in the third and were happy to finish that one out as well. Our middles were fabulous tonight. Katie (Krivdo) was pretty darn good with both blocking and from an offensive standpoint, and Dani (Serrano) was her usual self and a real big threat that FIU had to pay attention to. If we can get that kind of production from those positions, it will open things up for our other players."
"I think we are getting better and better with each set. The team is very positive and working hard. We need to continue to focus on the process and good things will happen consistently. I thought everyone did a great job of working for each other today," said FIU head oach Rita Buck-Crockett.
During the match, along with almost 900 fans in attendance, former volleyball players Leigh Pudwill, Caroline Jordan and Marina Adami were in attendance, which was nice that volleyball alumni would come see their team play after they graduated. After the match, I was talking to assistant coach Kim Maroon about her digs record and she told me she really wanted to either Courtney or Karissa to attempt to break her record. Maroon still holds the record for most dig per set in a single season (6.87 digs per set).
"If I want my record to be broken, then I want it to be from one of my players I coached." -Kim Maroon.
FGCU will have a double header tomorrow starting with Georgia Southern at 11 am before wrapping up their part of the invitational with a matchup against IUPUI at 7 pm. FIU will also be playing IUPUI at 2 pm, so tune in for those matches for the next blog entry.
Below are photos from all three matches of all four teams.
Before FGCU played their match against FIU, I got to witness the other teams that we are scheduled to face in for the invitational since I didn't have classes on Fridays. FIU played Georgia Southern (1-1) in a 10 A,M, matchup where the Eagles beat the Panthers with a 3-0 (26-24, 26-24, 25-19) shutout.
"I loved the way we focused and prepared today for the match vs. FIU," said head coach Dustin Wood. "We had a great warm up, and we could see the kids were focused. There was some rust, but that's expected in our first match. We started out fast in each set, which is one of our goals as a program. We found a way to score big points in pressure situations to come out on top of the first two sets, and I am proud of the team for finishing strong in the third to put them away."
Junior middle blocker Lauren Reichard led the Eagles with 12 kills and seven blocks.
Senior outside hitters, Cathrine Murray and Anna Wenger, had seven kills each.
Junior setter April Luther had 35 assists and five blocks.
Sophomore defensive specialist Brooke Birch had four aces and seven digs.
Junior libero Joscelin Morrow had 20 digs.
For FIU, junior outside hitter Margherita Bianchin had a double-double with a team leading 12 kills and 13 digs while junior outside hitter Taija Thomas had 11 kills. Bianchin and Thomas each had 13 points in the match.
Senior middle blocker Mariana De Paula Silva had six blocks.
Freshman setter Molly Feldmeth had three kills, three blocks and 29 assists.
Junior outside hitter Sheyanne Sullivan had six kills and 20 digs.
GSU would remain on the court and play IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis) (1-0) later at 4:30 pm. The Jaguars would beat the GSU 3-1 (25-20, 25-27, 25-20, 25-21).
"It was good to get the first win of the season with our play at the net being the key," IUPUI Head Coach Steve Payne said. "Fourteen blocks is a good way to shut down a good offensive team like Georgia Southern. Our aggressive serving took them out of their offense, causing us to get some easy balls for us to convert to kills. We still need to be better in our communication, but it was a good win early in the season."
"We came out a little flat, and we hung in there in the second match. IUPUI did a great job of exposing some weaknesses. We had an opportunity to get the match to the fifth but ran out of steam. We struggled in the setting game tonight, and offensive timing was an issue for us. The kids fought hard but lacked execution," said Wood.
Senior right side hitter Kori Waelbroeck had a team-leading 22 kills, three aces and four blocks.
Junior setter Maggie Gibson had double-double of 47 assists and 15 digs along with seven blocks.
Senior libero Jessica Helms had a team-leading 16 digs.
For GSU, Reichard had 18 kills and four blocks.
Luther had 45 assists.
Freshman defensive specialist Landon Jones had 10 digs.
Morrow had 24 digs and three assists. Morrow, Birch and Jones had two aces each.
Now we fast forward to tonight with FGCU and FIU. Before the game began, I noticed there was a really big crowd in the student section. It was the most excited crowd I have seen at a volleyball since we played Indiana last season.
Here's a recap on a couple of things between FGCU and FIU:
1. FGCU is 8-2 when play their first opening match at home.
2. Before the win, FGCU was 6-5 overall against FIU.
The announcer announced the starting lineups for both teams. I couldn't really remember FIU's lineup, but for FGCU it was junior libero Karissa Rhaodes, sophomore middle blocker Danielle Serrano, junior setter Maggie Rick, junior right side hitter Kaiti Krivdo, senior defensive specialist Courtney Stephens, freshman outside hitter Cortney VanLiew and junior outside hitter Amanda Carroll. VanLiew was the only freshman to be in the starting lineup to start the 2017 season.
As the match began, FIU already started with a service error from freshman outside hitter Lexie Mesa to give FGCU a 1-0 lead before the Eagles scored two more points to make it 3-0 after Rick got a kill and Rhoades got an ace. After Sullivan put FIU on the board with a kill, Krivdo countered with a kill of her own before Rick, the defending A-SUN Setter of the Year, added to the score with an ace and sophomore Giovanna Borgiotti added a kill of her own to the score. After back-to-back-to-back service errors from both teams, Borgiotti added another kill to make it 8-4 for FGCU before freshman Alana Ryan made her on court debut and subbed in for Krivdo while Borgiotti added another kill.
Bianchin countered with a kill of her own, but Serrano got a kill and blocked senior middle blocker Giovannie Jean-Louis from getting a kill. After a Bianchin attack error, Carroll stepped up with a kill to give FGCU a 13-5 lead before Bianchin recovered with a kill of her own.
Fast forwarding after FIU used their last timeout in the set, Carroll started with back-to-back-to-back aces. After a service error from the former A-SUN Freshman of the Year, sophomore libero Helene Thelle hit an ace before causing a service error to end the set. FGCU would win the first set 25-13.
After a three minute break, the second set went underway. Krivdo would start it off with a kill. De Paula Silva would counter with a kill for FIU, but Krivdo would get another kill followed by another ace from Carroll. After a kill by Thomas and an attack error from Bianchin again, VanLiew would strike with back-to-back kills before Ryan hit a service error.
Fast forward with the score 23-21 FGCU, Carroll got another kill before Rhoades would hit an ace to end the second set 25-21 and go to halftime.
At the start of the third set, FIU took control of the first three points, but after back-to-back kills from Serrano and Carroll, Carroll added another kill from before FIU countered with another kill.
With the score 4-3 in favor of FIU, the long awaited return of my BFF, redshirt freshman Ciara DeBell, came as she subbed in for Stephens. Krivdo would reduce the deficit to one before FIU bounced back with three straight points of their own before a kill from VanLiew and an attack error from Feldmeth stopped the run briefly before a kill by senior middle blocker Jennifer Ene.
With the score 11-8 still in favor of FIU, kills from Carroll and Krivdo continued to give FGCU the lead briefly, but back-to-back kills from De Paula Silva and sophomore setter Sophia Sires plus an attack error put the Panthers back on top before FGCU called a timeout.
After the time out, Carroll got another kill before DeBell subbed back in. After an attack error from Ene that tied the score and another kill from Bianchin to give FIU a short one point lead, back-to-back kills from both teams occurred as ties and score changes before DeBell got her first kill since her season ending injury to tie the score. FIU would get three straight points to make it 20-17 before FGCU called its final timeout. VanLiew would get a kill, but De Paula Silva returned the favor with another kill.
With the score 22-19, it looked like FGCU's chance to sweep the third set were dwindling, but with the chants of the almost 900 fans in attendance backing up FGCU, the Eagles found the motivation they needed. After VanLiew's service error, Carroll got another kill and De Paula Silva would cause another attack error to give FGCU the lead. Carroll would get another kill to set up mach point for FGCU. After a Sullivan kill, Carroll would seal the deal with one final kill and FGCU would sweep FIU with a final score of 25-23 in the third set.
Carroll had a team-leading 17 kills, nine digs and four aces.
Krivdo had nine kills and three blocks.
Rick would have one kill, one ace, one block and 39 assists.
Serrano and VanLiew had seven kills each.
Rhoades had three aces and 15 digs.
The first matchup was the debuts of VanLiew and Ryan. Junior college transfer middle blocker Sharonda Pickering and freshman outside hitter Snowy Burnam have yet to make their on-court debuts.
For FIU, Bianchin had nine kills, nine digs and three blocks on 10.5 points, Feldmeth had one kill and 16 assists, Thelle had 13 digs.
FGCU outlasted FIU in kills (47-32), aces (8-2) and assists (41-28).
With the win, FGCU is 7-5 overall against FIU.
"The first set, defensively, it was exactly what we were looking for," said FGCU head coach Matt Botsford. "That was something we were hoping would carry over into sets two and three. Although that didn't necessarily happen, I thought we did some nice things offensively to balance it out. Obviously, we got into a tight one in the third and were happy to finish that one out as well. Our middles were fabulous tonight. Katie (Krivdo) was pretty darn good with both blocking and from an offensive standpoint, and Dani (Serrano) was her usual self and a real big threat that FIU had to pay attention to. If we can get that kind of production from those positions, it will open things up for our other players."
"I think we are getting better and better with each set. The team is very positive and working hard. We need to continue to focus on the process and good things will happen consistently. I thought everyone did a great job of working for each other today," said FIU head oach Rita Buck-Crockett.
During the match, along with almost 900 fans in attendance, former volleyball players Leigh Pudwill, Caroline Jordan and Marina Adami were in attendance, which was nice that volleyball alumni would come see their team play after they graduated. After the match, I was talking to assistant coach Kim Maroon about her digs record and she told me she really wanted to either Courtney or Karissa to attempt to break her record. Maroon still holds the record for most dig per set in a single season (6.87 digs per set).
"If I want my record to be broken, then I want it to be from one of my players I coached." -Kim Maroon.
FGCU will have a double header tomorrow starting with Georgia Southern at 11 am before wrapping up their part of the invitational with a matchup against IUPUI at 7 pm. FIU will also be playing IUPUI at 2 pm, so tune in for those matches for the next blog entry.
Below are photos from all three matches of all four teams.
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| With assistant coach Kim Maroon |
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| With head coach Matt Botsford |
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| With Courtney Stephens |
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| With Snowy Burnam |
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| With Cortney VanLiew |
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| With Maggie Rick |
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| With Kaiti Krivdo |
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| With Danielle Serrano |
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| With Alana Ryan |
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| With GioGio Borgiotti |
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| With Ciara DeBell and the sign for making her return |
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| From a distance is a person portraying Dan the Dinosaur |
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| Numerous Dirty Birds were waving pool noodles and cheering on for FGCU |
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| The FGCU cheerleaders hype the crowd up during halftime |
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| The cheerleaders getting the crowd hyped up |
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| FIU prepare themselves with warmups |
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| FGCU prepares for their warmups |
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| Action between IUPUI and GSU |
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