"While I am extremely happy to walk out of here with a win, what I'm most excited about was the team's response to a very specific challenge that we presented them with," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "We have an expectation within this program, a standard relative to our preparation and focus that we did not meet on Friday night. Regardless of the outcome night to night, we have an obligation to each other that we did not meet. Today, these girls showed me a lot about who they are and how much that concept means to them. We had some great individual performances tonight, but those are secondary to the collective effort we got from everyone."
It was the duo of Junior outside hitter Amanda Carroll and freshman Cortney VanLiew that provided the offensive sparks the Eagles needed. Both Carroll and VanLiew had 16 kills, two blocks and one assist each. Carroll had nine digs while VanLiew had six digs and a service ace, but both fell short of a double-double.
Carroll's 16 kills pushed her to way second place on the program's career kills list, surpassing Olivia Mesner (1,132 kills from 2011-14). Carroll currently has 1,144 kills and is 24 kills away from surpassing beach volleyball Olympian and FGCU volleyball alumnus Brooke Youngquist Sweat (1,167 kills from 2004-07).
Carroll's 16 kills pushed her to way second place on the program's career kills list, surpassing Olivia Mesner (1,132 kills from 2011-14). Carroll currently has 1,144 kills and is 24 kills away from surpassing beach volleyball Olympian and FGCU volleyball alumnus Brooke Youngquist Sweat (1,167 kills from 2004-07).
Freshman outside hitter Snowy Burnam added eight kills to the fray.
Junior setter Maggie Rick added five kills of her own to go with her 38 assists, one ace, four digs and two blocks.
Sophomore middle blocker Daniele Serrano had five kills and seven blocks.
Junior libero Karissa Rhoades had three assists and 13 digs.
Other players that contributed for the Eagles include junior middle blocker Sharonda Pickering (one kill, one dig and two blocks), junior right side hitter Kaiti Krivdo (one kill and one block), senior defensive specialist Courtney Stephens (four assists and eight digs), freshman outside hitter Alayna Ryan (one ace) and redshirt freshman Ciara DeBell (one block).
“I loved the fight we had in sets three and four, but we have to be better early in matches because we don’t seem to bring enough energy out of the gate,” said Lipscomb head coach Brandon Rosenthal. “We have to have the fortitude to get outside of our comfort zone and not play casual.
“I loved the fight we had in sets three and four, but we have to be better early in matches because we don’t seem to bring enough energy out of the gate,” said Lipscomb head coach Brandon Rosenthal. “We have to have the fortitude to get outside of our comfort zone and not play casual.
For Lipscomb, junior outside hitter Carlyle Nusbaum, who hit her 1,000th kill against No. 3 Florida, led the charge offensively with 19 kills, one block and eight digs.
Sophomore middle blocker Maddie Phillps had 10 kills, two aces, three blocks and two digs.
“I thought we had some good performances across the floor tonight. Lauren Anderson did a really nice job. We got good production from Carlyle and Maddie.”
Sophomore middle blocker Maddie Phillps had 10 kills, two aces, three blocks and two digs.
“I thought we had some good performances across the floor tonight. Lauren Anderson did a really nice job. We got good production from Carlyle and Maddie.”
Junior middle blocker Ca'Layci Coffey had two kills and four blocks.
Junior setter Marcella Emmanuelli and sophomore setter Morgan Elmore had at least 20 assists each (Emmanuelli (21); Elmore (24)).
Senior libero Brittany Thomas had three assists and 12 digs.
Both teams have combined a total of 30 blocks (FGCU 16; LIpscomb 14).
“The expectation is for us to win,” Rosenthal said. “That’s exactly what we signed up for, so we have to work through this. We are a championship program and there is no give up on this team. We will work through this and get better.”
“The expectation is for us to win,” Rosenthal said. “That’s exactly what we signed up for, so we have to work through this. We are a championship program and there is no give up on this team. We will work through this and get better.”
Up Next:
FGCU continues conference at home as they play USC Upstate at 7 P.M. and NJIT at 6 P.M. The match with Upstate is a White Out.
No comments:
Post a Comment