After splitting their first two matches with a 3-0 win over FAU and 1-3 loss to UCF, the FGCU volleyball team (2-1) wrapped up their portion of the Sunshine State Classic with a 3-0 shutout against host Miami (2-1) (25-20, 25-18, 25-22).
"From a team perspective, the first season I was here four years ago, our first match together was here against Miami, and there was quite a gap between the two teams at that point," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Each year, I feel we've taken steps to be more competitive against these Power 5 schools that we come up against."
With the win, the Eagles not only got their first win against the Hurricanes, but they also secured their second win against a Power 5 Conference school. Technically, it would be their third, but Rutgers was not a part of the Big Ten Conference until 2014.
"I think this win provides the girls a little bit of confidence and (allows them to) believe they can play just about anybody. They should believe that," said Botsford. "That's why we recruited them, and that's what we're trying to build. I'm just excited. We have a long way to go but it was nice to see that type of response after the match we lost against UCF."
"We played another tough team and I think they did a great job of scouting us," said Miami head coach Jose "Keno" Gandara. "It became an outside hitter battle and they did a good job and we need to do a better job of defending,"
It was once again the power of sophomore Cortney "What It Do" VanLiew that helped the Eagles. The Seymour, Indiana native finished with a career-high 20 kills. VanLiew was one dig shy of a double-double as she added nine digs, an assist and a block.
Senior Maggie Rick would finish with a double-double with 19 assists and 10 digs while adding a kill to the mix. With the 19 assists, the Alpharetta native now has 3,759 career assists (2nd all-time) and is 650 away from passing Gigi Meyer (4,408) for most all-time.
Senior Amanda Carroll was also shy of a double-double as she finished with 10 kills, eight digs, two blocks, one assist, and one ace.
Carroll's 10 kills put her at 1,385 career kills. In addition, Carroll's ace was her 101st as she passed A-SUN Hall of Famer and beach volleyball Olympian Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (100) for 2nd all-time. The Albuquerque native is now 39 away from passing Ana Kokanovic (139) for most career aces.
Like VanLiew and Carroll, freshman Chelsea Lockey was also shy of a double-double as she finished with 14 assists and nine digs.
Along with Carroll, three of the member of the group also known as the Block Party, senior Sharonda Pickering, juniors Daniele "Dani" Serrano and Giovanna "Giogio" Borgiotti had a combined 10 total blocks in the game (Pickering [3], Serrano [4], Borgiott [3]).
Pickering added two kills, Serrano added a kill and Borgiotti added six kills and a dig.
Other players that contributed were sophomores Snowy Burnam (five kills and two assists) and Alayna Ryan (three aces, one assist and two digs), freshman Dana Axner (four assists, an ace and eight digs), and senior Karissa Rhoades (one assist and one dig).
For the Hurricanes, senior Kolby Bird led the team with 11 kills, two blocks and two digs.
Redshirt freshman Elizaveta Lukianova finished with 10 kills and a block.
Redshirt senior Haley Templeton finished with 27 assists, two kills and two digs.
Freshman Emily Damon had 10 digs and one assist.
After the FGCU/Miami match, FAU (0-3) played UCF (2-1) in the 1:30 matchup. The Knights would sweep the Owls 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-20).
"We were very concerned about the FAU attack," said UCF head coach Todd Dagenais. "They have a very athletic team that has a lot of talent on the outsides. I was proud of how our defense came together to keep the kill rates down and force them into some errors. Our attack was much more balanced. We were able to spread out the swings to different players, which didn’t allow them to key on one of our weapons."
Once again, freshhman McKenna Melville led the Knights offensively with a double-double of 16 kills and 13 digs. She also added an assist, an ace and a block.
Sophomore Kristina Fisher finished with 11 kills, an assist, an ace and three digs.
Fellow freshman Briana Garcia finished with 10 kills, three digs and two blocks.
Junior Erin Olson finished with 17 assists and two aces.
For the Owls, no player reached double digits in kills. Juniors Massiel Matos and Sigourney Kame were the only Owls that were close to double digit kills as they finished six kills each. Matos added two aces, two blocks and four digs.
Senior Ivone Martinez 25 assists along with two kills, an ace and seven digs.
Junior Kori Varney had 12 digs, two assists and an ace.
In the final match between UCF and Miami, the Hurricanes would come out on top with a 3-0 shutout (25-22, 25-20, 25-20).
"It was another big win for us. FAU is another top team in C-USA," Dagenais said on the team's performance against FAU. "We have to turn our attention to Miami, which is another NCAA Tournament team. We get to play in a championship environment trying to win the Sunshine State Classic. That experience is something that is going to go a long way this season with our team."
Freshman Chloe Brown led the Canes for the second time this season in kills with 13 and finished the match with a .385 hitting percentage.
"She came out and responded well after this morning's match," Gandara said. "She took advantage of the opportunities, passed well and performed great."
Lukianova continued to be a dominant threat on the attack finishing the match with 12 kills. Lukianova matched a career-high in kills (17), which she also accomplished in the opening match of the season. She led the Canes in the second set with five kills and helped Miami take the controlling 2-0 lead after two sets.
"We have high expectations for her," Gandara said. "We see it every day and see that she can be one of the most dominant hitters in the country. We're trying to get her there and we have to pick the best situations for her to grow."
Templeton made her presence known early on the offensive side and recorded three kills to go along with nine assists and two service aces.
For the Knights, The majority of the offense went through Melville, who finished with 20 kills and a .444 attack percentage. The rookie became the first Knight to reach that mark in three sets since Jale Hervey totaled 20 kills against ECU on Oct. 29, 2016.
Erin Olson would finish with 18 assists and six digs while her freshman sister, Amber, finished with 17 assists and two digs.
"I thought this was a good step in the right direction for where we were coming into the weekend," Dagenais said on the performance against Miami. "Miami came out with a lot of intensity and fire after losing in the earlier match. We had a hard time of matching their fire and energy. It really came down to the serve pass and error game. With our block and attack, we played a pretty even match, but it was those miscues that stopped us from getting the job done. We just missed a serve here or a play there at a critical time, which gave them a break."
The Sunshine State Challenge All-Tournament Team was announced shortly after. I'm not sure who was named from FAU, but if I had to guess, it would be Matos.
For FGCU, it was VanLiew and Rick. VanLiew was also named as the Sunshine State Challenge MVP.
For UCF, I guess that it was Melville and/or one of the Olson sisters. For Miami, it was Brown and Templeton.
Tournament Overall Standings:
FGCU (2-1)
Miami (2-1)
UCF (2-1)
FAU (0-3)
Up Next:
The Eagles continue their season on the road as they compete in the Lobo Classic. Over the two-day event, they will battle New Mexico State, New Mexico and Eastern Kentucky.
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