Usually, for FGCU, the headline was mainly about the offensive duo of junior outside hitter Amanda Carroll and freshman outside hitter Cortney VanLiew, but for this weekends games, it was just all about Carroll. Carroll, who was second all-time in kills as an Eagle was set to break former FGCU volleyball and current Olympic beach volleyball player Brooke Youngquist-Sweat for most overall kills as an Eagle.
FGCU would first play Upstate on Friday. Prior to the game, FGCU is 17-0 overall against Upstate since they transitioned to DI in 2007. This game made no difference as the Eagles shutout the Spartans 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-19) despite several comeback attempts. With the Win, the Eagles moved to 18-0 against the Spartans.
Carroll led the way offensively with a double-double of 15 kills and 10 digs. Carroll also added one assist and four blocks. The 15 kills put Carroll only nine away from breaking the record.
VanLiew finished with six kills, one assist, one ace, five digs and one block.
Sophomore middle blocker Daniele Serrano finished with 10 kills and a block.
Junior setter Maggie Rick had six kills and three digs to go with her 37 assists.
Freshman outside hitter Snowy Burnam had a career-high 11 kills along with one block.
Junior middle blocker Kaiti Krivdo added a kill and four blocks.
Senior defensive specialist Courtney Stephens and junior libero Karissa Rhoades had 22 digs combined (Stephens (12) Rhoades (17)).
Freshman defensive specialist Alayna Ryan and junior middle blocker Sharonda Pickering also contributed as well. Pickering had one block while Ryan added two digs.
For the Spartans, none of the players reached double digits in kills. The only double digit stats were from junior setter Madison Haake and senior right side hitter Rebecca Shearer. Haake had 15 assists along with three blocks and five digs while Shearer had 11 assists and a dig.
Junior outside hitter Callie Yeargin had a team-leading nine kills and four digs.
Freshman Lily Dempsey had eight kills, three blocks and seven digs.
Sophomore outside hitter Montana Swanson had a team-leading eight digs.
The Eagles outlasted the Spartans in kills points (57-38), kills (49-31), aces (2-1), assists (46-28) and digs (49-33). They tied the Spartans in blocks (6-6).
Fast forward to the game against NJIT. That was where history was made. The Eagles beat the Highlanders 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-17). It was the moment we have all been waiting for Carroll, but before that, there were other players that help paved the way for the win.
VanLiew had 11 kills, one assist, three blocks and five digs.
Serrano had six kills and four blocks, Krivdo added seven kills and four blocks.
Rick added two kills, two blocks and nine digs to go with the 37 assists she provided,
Roades added 13 digs and five assists.
Stephens added two assists and four digs.
Burnam added nine kills, three blocks and two digs.
"I think the story of the night was the offensive efficiency that we played at, and Maggie did a great job with execution," head coach Matt Botsford said. "I thought for the most part we handled the ball well in serve receive, but there were some lapses on the defensive side of the ball. And that continues to be a focus for us if we want to take that next step as a team."
Carroll set the historic moment fans were all awaiting for, as she broke the record for most career kills as an Eagle and surpassed USA Beach Volleyball Olympian Brooke Youngquist Sweat, who had 1,167 career kills.
With only nine away from breaking the record, Carroll hit the final kill in the second set with the score being 10-8. Carroll ended up with a double-double of 15 kills and 11 digs and finished with 1,174 career kills.
"It's an honor," Carroll said. "Brooke played in the Olympics. She played all four years here. To be even in the same category as her at the university level is an honor for me."
All in all, FGCU had a pretty successful weekend.
Below are several pics of me with the volleyball team.
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| Me with Amanda Carroll after the win over NJIT |
Me with Sharonda Pickering after the win over NJIT
Me in the middle with the "W" flag behind. From left to right (back: Snowy Burnam, Ciara DeBell, Karissa Rhoades, Kaiti Krivdo, Alayna Ryan, Sharonda Pickering and Daniele Serrano. Front: Cortney VanLiew, Courtney Stephens and Maggie Rick)
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