FGCU Volleyball: Wildcat Classic Preview

After struggling in the Homewood Suites Sunshine State Classic, the FGCU volleyball team (3-3) prepares for their first road trip of the season and will be on the road for 11 straight matches. The Eagles will begin their road trip with the Wildcat Classic, hosted by Davidson College (5-1). The Wildcat Classic will also feature Wofford College (5-2) and the University of Georgia (6-1).

Last Time Out:
The Eagles lost all three matches in the tournament which included UCF, FAU and Miami. The Eagles lost to the Golden Knights 1-3 (22-25, 23-25, 25-18, 12-25) on Friday. They then lost 1-3 to the Owls (19-25, 29-31, 25-17, 30-32) before being shutout 0-3 by the Hurricanes (16-25, 23-25, 26-28). At the end of the tournament, sophomore middle blocker Daniele Serrano was named the only member of the Homewood Suites Sunshine State All-Classic Team representing FGCU.

I didn't want to post the recap on it due to a personal reason, but I've decided to share about my reason regardless. During day two of the Homewood Suites Sunshine State Classic, I lost my aunt who passed away from COPD, but my family was already expecting it to happen. Two weeks later, my uncle passed away from esophageal cancer. I had many prayers sent to me and my family, which was greatly appreciated no matter how many tears I let out.

.Scouting Davidson:
The Wildcats had recently competed in the William and Mary Invitational hosted by William and Mary. They would win all three matches, shutting out Savannah State 3-0 (25-7, 25-16, 25-14) and win 3-1 against Morehead State (15-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-14) and host William and Mary 3-1 (21-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-23).

The players that led the charge in are Ciera Cockrell, Mason Rooney, Ellie Crosley and Katharine Franz. Cockrell, Crosley and Franz were named on the W&M Invitational All-Tournament Team.

Cockrell, a junior outside hitter from Waxhaw, North Carolina, leads the team with 57 kills and throughout the tournament, Cockrell had 28 kills.

Rooney, a junior setter based out of Atlanta, has 52 kills and a team leading 127 assists in her name for the season and during the tournament, Rooney had 13 kills, 65 assists, five aces and 19 digs.

Crosley, a freshman middle blocker from Austin, Texas, has 39 kills and lead the team with 19 blocks. During the tournament, Crosley had 22 kills and 11 blocks.

Franz, an junior opposite hitter from Charlotte, North Carolina, has 47 kills and 13 blocks including 24 kills and seven blocks in the tournament. Franz was also named MVP of the W&M Invitational.

This is the first meeting for both FGCU and Davidson.

Scouting Wofford:
The Wofford Terriers recently competed in the Americinn Runnin Bulldogs Invitational hosted by former A-SUN Conference member Gardner-Webb University. They would shutout all three teams 3-0: in state rival USC Upstate (25-18, 25-20, 25-23), North Carolina Central (25-21, 25-19, 25-17) and host Gardner-Webb (25-17, 25-15, 25-18).

The players leading the Terriers include Catie Cronister, Bijonae Jones, Lorissa King and Colleen Reilly.

Cronister, a junior outside hitter from Chicago, leads the team in kills (110) and aces (14). During the tournament, she had 48 kills, six aces and 22 digs.

A junior outside hitter from Blythewood, South Carolina, Jones has 60 kills including 19 in the ARB Invitational. Jones also adds seven aces too.

Sophomore King, a setter out of Windemere, Florida, leads the team in assists (265) including 98 in the previous tournament.

Reilly, a junior middle blocker from Chicago, has 49 kills including 20 in the previous tournament. Reilly also lead the team with 20 blocks.

Cronister, King and sophomore middle blocker Kara Shacklette were named on the All-Tournament Team. Cronister was also named MVP in addition to being on the All-Tournament Team.

FGCU and Wofford will be meeting for the first time in both programs' history.

Scouting Georgia:
Since 2014, the Bulldogs have had struggling seasons. In 2015, the Bulldogs went 5-25 overall with a 0-18 record in the SEC conference. Last season, they went 13-18 with a 1-17 record in conference.

With new head coach Tom Black at their helm, the Bulldogs recently competed in the Bobcat Invitational hosted by Ohio University. The Bulldogs shutout host Ohio 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-14) and lost 1-3 to High Point (22-25, 25-19, 18-25, 21-25) before shutting out Oklahoma 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-18).

Players to lookout for include T'ara Cesar, Rachel Ritchie and Meghan Donovan.

A freshman outside hitter from Panama City, Florida, T'ara Cesar leads the team with 81 kills and nine aces. In the Ohio Tournament, Cesar had 43 kills and four aces.

Ritchie, a freshman outside hitter from San Juan Capistrano, California, has 80 kills including 43 in the previous tournament.

A sophomore setter from St. Louis, Donovan leads the team with 247 assists including 132 in the previous tournament.

The last time Georgia and FGCU met was in 2010 where the Bulldogs won 3-0.

FGCU will play Wofford first at 4:30 pm on Friday. They will then play host Davidson at noon before wrapping up their part of the tournament by playing Georgia at 4:30 pm on Saturday. The noon match between FGCU and Davidson will be featured livestream on the Atlantic 10 Network.

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