"It feels a lot different than after the Albany loss because I just didn't feel like our response to some adversity in that match was good," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "I saw a different team tonight. We had to fight through some struggles, and I was just really pleased with the reaction after Friday night's tough loss."
Beginning with the match against WIU, the Eagles struggled in the first set. After a service error from freshman Dana Axner, the Leathernecks then scored four straight points before the Eagles called timeout.
The Leathernecks caused a service error from redshirt sophomore Mackenzie Steckler, but had very little effect as they added a kill from junior Riley Schumacher. The Eagles then mounted an up and down comeback with kills from sophomore Snowy Burnam and junior Giovanna "Giogio" Borgiotti.
Despite being down between two and three points, the Eagles kept fighting. With the score 19-17 in favor of WIU, the Eagles managed to retie the game after a kill from junior Daniele "Dani" Serrano and a attack error from senior Melanie Patenaude. The Eagles then found the opening that they needed after kills from Serrano and sophomore Cortney VanLiew to give the Eagles a 21-19 lead.
After a Steckler kill, VanLiew would secure back-to-back kills before sophomore Abby Knoop would get back-to-back kills of her own, but after a kill from VanLiew, freshman Tori Morris would seal the first set with a kill to give the Eagles the first set.
In the second set, it became much easier for the Eagles. The Eagles began with a 7-0 run after kills from VanLiew, Serrnao and senior Karissa Rhoades and blocks from Serrano and senior Sharonda Pickering before Knoop got the Leathernecks on the board with a kill. After a bad set from senior Maggie Rick and kill from senior Shiah Sanders, VanLiew and Pickering would add to the lead with kills of their own putting the Eagles up 9-3.
After back-and-forth kills from Pickering and sophomore Emma Norris, Burnam would add another kill before being blocked by Norris before bouncing back with another kill to make it 12-7.
After several attack and service errors from both teams, freshman Chelsea Lockey would add an ace, which was followed by a VanLiew kill to make it 19-11.
After an attack error from Rhoades that cut the Eagles lead to 19-12, the Eagles would score three straight points on a service error by sophomore Cassie Hunt and kills from Morris and Borgiotti. Borgiotti would add two more kills before Rick sealed the deal with a kill to take the second set.
In the third and final set, both teams were going back and forth in leads and ties until a VanLiew kill and two straight ball handling errors from Hunt occurred to give the Eagles a 7-4 lead before the Leathernecks tied it with two VanLiew attack errors and a Patenaude kill.
With the score tied 7-7, the Eagles took it to new heights with an 11 point run thanks to four Borgiotti kills, three blocks from Burnam and Serrano, a Burnam kill and three Leatherneck attack errors from Patenaude and sophomore Jovana Bulatovic to make it 18-7 FGCU.
Patenaude would get a kill before the Eagles add three straight points from three straight Borgiotti kills to make it 21-8.
The Leathernecks would reach double digits after a Steckler kill and a bad set from Rick, but it made no difference as the Eagles finished the game with kills from Serrano and Pickering.
Borgiotti would finish with a team-leading 13 kills.
VanLiew secured her seventh career double-double as she finished with 11 kills and 12 digs.
"We weren't where we needed to be in the first set defensively," Botsford said. "We tried out another new lineup, and I think we started to feel more comfortable as the match wore on and started to manage things from that side of it. Offensively, we were pretty clean throughout the entire match."
Rick and Lockey combined a total of 38 assists (Rick: 21, Lockey: 17). Rick was also one dig shy of a double-double as she added nine digs while Lockey added an ace and three digs.
The Block Party (Serrano, Pickering, and Burnam) had a combined 19 kills (Serrano and Burnam: 6, Pickering: 7) and 10 blocks (Serrano: 5, Pickering: 2, Burnam: 3).
Axner had a team-leading 15 digs to go with her six assists.
No one on the Leathernecks had 10 or more kills or digs. Steckler and Knoop were the closest to getting double-digit kills. Steckler finished with seven kills and four digs while Knoop finished with five kills and a dig.
Senior Jaime Johnson was the player with a category in double-digits as she finished with 14 assists.
After FGCU's matchup with Western Illinois, Albany shutout West Virginia 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-21). The Great Danes would end up claiming the tournament.
Going into the final game of the tournament, it was a nail biter of a match.
Axner produced her record-breaking dig late in the fifth set to top the previous record of 38 set by Whitney Masters on Sept. 13, 2013 against Central Arkansas. She also had a season-high seven assists and earned a spot on the all-tournament team after compiling 73 digs and 19 assists over three matches this weekend.
"Dana is special," Botsford said. "The speed and the range she is covering, the back row, her first contact skills – everything she is doing for the team is how we can grind out some of those moments where things aren't going perfectly, and to think she's just a freshman is even more spectacular."
Axner's performance also represented the third most digs in a match overall behind Whitney Hendry 48 and 45-dig performances in 2005, which occurred when the program competed at the Division-II level. In fact, she is now one of just six players in the Division-I era to produce 30 or more digs in a match.
The match featured three two-point finishes and a pair of blowout sets. In the opener, the Eagles held a 24-22 lead before fighting off a set point, but West Virginia took the set and the early lead. In the second, FGCU scored six of the first seven en route to a 14-point victory.
The third set featured a 14-8 deficit for the Eagles, but four straight kills from the trio of Pickering, Serrano and VanLiew gave the Eagles a 22-20 lead. West Virginia battled back, though, and even fought off a set point to take a 26-24 victory.
FGCU then tallied seven kills over the fourth set's first 12 points to open up an 11-1 lead, which resulted in a 15-point victory and set up a deciding set. In the fifth, FGCU faced a trio of four-point deficits, but fought back by getting kills from Burnam and VanLiew to pull within 14-13. West Virginia's Katie DeMeo, however, closed out the match with a kill into the back left corner of FGCU's side of the court.
After an attack error from Rhoades that cut the Eagles lead to 19-12, the Eagles would score three straight points on a service error by sophomore Cassie Hunt and kills from Morris and Borgiotti. Borgiotti would add two more kills before Rick sealed the deal with a kill to take the second set.
In the third and final set, both teams were going back and forth in leads and ties until a VanLiew kill and two straight ball handling errors from Hunt occurred to give the Eagles a 7-4 lead before the Leathernecks tied it with two VanLiew attack errors and a Patenaude kill.
With the score tied 7-7, the Eagles took it to new heights with an 11 point run thanks to four Borgiotti kills, three blocks from Burnam and Serrano, a Burnam kill and three Leatherneck attack errors from Patenaude and sophomore Jovana Bulatovic to make it 18-7 FGCU.
Patenaude would get a kill before the Eagles add three straight points from three straight Borgiotti kills to make it 21-8.
The Leathernecks would reach double digits after a Steckler kill and a bad set from Rick, but it made no difference as the Eagles finished the game with kills from Serrano and Pickering.
Borgiotti would finish with a team-leading 13 kills.
VanLiew secured her seventh career double-double as she finished with 11 kills and 12 digs.
"We weren't where we needed to be in the first set defensively," Botsford said. "We tried out another new lineup, and I think we started to feel more comfortable as the match wore on and started to manage things from that side of it. Offensively, we were pretty clean throughout the entire match."
Rick and Lockey combined a total of 38 assists (Rick: 21, Lockey: 17). Rick was also one dig shy of a double-double as she added nine digs while Lockey added an ace and three digs.
The Block Party (Serrano, Pickering, and Burnam) had a combined 19 kills (Serrano and Burnam: 6, Pickering: 7) and 10 blocks (Serrano: 5, Pickering: 2, Burnam: 3).
Axner had a team-leading 15 digs to go with her six assists.
No one on the Leathernecks had 10 or more kills or digs. Steckler and Knoop were the closest to getting double-digit kills. Steckler finished with seven kills and four digs while Knoop finished with five kills and a dig.
Senior Jaime Johnson was the player with a category in double-digits as she finished with 14 assists.
After FGCU's matchup with Western Illinois, Albany shutout West Virginia 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-21). The Great Danes would end up claiming the tournament.
Going into the final game of the tournament, it was a nail biter of a match.
Axner produced her record-breaking dig late in the fifth set to top the previous record of 38 set by Whitney Masters on Sept. 13, 2013 against Central Arkansas. She also had a season-high seven assists and earned a spot on the all-tournament team after compiling 73 digs and 19 assists over three matches this weekend.
"Dana is special," Botsford said. "The speed and the range she is covering, the back row, her first contact skills – everything she is doing for the team is how we can grind out some of those moments where things aren't going perfectly, and to think she's just a freshman is even more spectacular."
Axner's performance also represented the third most digs in a match overall behind Whitney Hendry 48 and 45-dig performances in 2005, which occurred when the program competed at the Division-II level. In fact, she is now one of just six players in the Division-I era to produce 30 or more digs in a match.
The match featured three two-point finishes and a pair of blowout sets. In the opener, the Eagles held a 24-22 lead before fighting off a set point, but West Virginia took the set and the early lead. In the second, FGCU scored six of the first seven en route to a 14-point victory.
The third set featured a 14-8 deficit for the Eagles, but four straight kills from the trio of Pickering, Serrano and VanLiew gave the Eagles a 22-20 lead. West Virginia battled back, though, and even fought off a set point to take a 26-24 victory.
FGCU then tallied seven kills over the fourth set's first 12 points to open up an 11-1 lead, which resulted in a 15-point victory and set up a deciding set. In the fifth, FGCU faced a trio of four-point deficits, but fought back by getting kills from Burnam and VanLiew to pull within 14-13. West Virginia's Katie DeMeo, however, closed out the match with a kill into the back left corner of FGCU's side of the court.
Another standout against West Virginia was Serrano, who had 12 kills while hitting .500 along with eight blocks (two solo). She now has at least four blocks in seven of nine matches this year. In the two-day tournament, she totaled 29 kills, 16 blocks (two solo) and three digs while hitting at least .308 in each match.
Rick had season-highs in assists (46) and digs (14), while adding two block assists and a kill. It was her third double-double of the season and the 13th of her career. She now has 25 matches in her career with at least 40 assists.
Furthermore, Rick continues to creep closer to 4,000 career assists as the senior now has 3,932, which is 477 shy of surpassing Gigi Meyer (4,408, 2011-14) for the program record. She also moved into the top 10 in career aces (77) this weekend.
Defensively, Rhoades had her best performance through nine matches this year. The senior finished with a season-high 16 digs, three kills and a team-high two aces. In fact, it was her first match with more than five digs this year, although it was the 37th double-digit effort of her career. She has 777 digs in three-plus seasons, as well, which continues to keep her on pace to reach 1,000 before the season's end.
The Block Party (Serrano, Pickering, Borgiotti, Burnam and senior Kaiti Krivdo) had a combined 12 blocks (Serrano: 8, Pickering: 2, Borgiotti: 3, Burnam: 1, Krivdo: 1).
In the end, the All-Homewood Suites Fort Myers/FGCU Classic Team was announced
Akuabata Okenwa, Albany (MVP)
Kelly Cameron, Albany
Nicole Otero, Albany
Kristina Jordan, West Virginia
Lindsay Procter, West Virginia
Dana Axner, FGCU
Up Next:
The Eagles return to action on the road as they prepare for the Volleyknights Invitational, where they will face Yale, Alabama State and host UCF.
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