The No. 14 FGCU men's soccer team (3-0-1) embarks on its second road trip of the season as the Eagles fly to California for a pair of games Friday and Sunday night. They will first travel to Riverside to face UC Riverside (3-1) at the UCR Soccer Stadium on Friday before traveling to Fullerton to face #15 Cal State Fullerton (4-0) at Titan Stadium Sunday.
The Green and Blue:
FGCU is coming off a pair of victories over Seton Hall and Georgia Southern. Against SHU, junior Max Edwards tallied the game-winner with five seconds to go in regulation last Friday night. Two days later, the Eagles found themselves in a 1-0 hole six minutes in versus GSU, before sophomore O'Vonte Mullings scored the equalizer in the 14th minute.
Newcomer Aiden Jokomba gave the Green and Blue a 2-1 lead before the half as the squad would come out of the break with a trio of goals to put the match out of reach. Senior Ryan Medilah leads the squad in goals (three), and points (seven). Senior Ivan Rosales is right behind him with two goals thus far while classmate Shak Adams has a team-best two assists.
In between the posts, redshirt junior Gustavo Vasconcelos (3-0-1) has started all four contests, logging 380 minutes with 17 saves.
In The Polls:
The Eagles are currently ranked No. 14 in both the United Soccer Coaches and TopDrawerSoccer.com polls. It's the team's highest ranking since October 2016 in which they were No. 11 (program record).
Scouting UC Riverside:
The Highlanders are coming off a 1-0 loss on the road to SMU.
Junior Roberto Garcia-Vargas leads the bunch with two goals and one assists for five points.
Classmate Daniel Aguirre has been the main facilitator on offense as he's responsible for three assists of the five goals scored by UC Riverside.
Senior Edwyn Gutierrez (4-1) has made all four starts in net, securing nine saves while conceding three goals.
This will be the second all-time meeting between both programs. They played back in 2009 in Las Vegas, Nev., where FGCU took home a 3-0 win.
Scouting Cal State Fullerton:
The Titans are coming off two wins over Loyola (Ill.) (2-1) and Utah Valley (2-0). Both victories helped the squad jump into the top 25 standings (United Soccer Coaches) for the first time this season at No. 23.
Junior Christian Pinzon and redshirt senior Oscar Flores have each netted a pair of goals with Pinzon leading the team with three assists for seven points.
Senior Paul-Andre Guerin has conceded two goals in four starts, securing four saves.
This will be the second all-time meeting between both clubs. Last year the Eagles and the Titans played to a 1-1 double overtime draw at the Nest.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for both games, but no livestream and fans can also keep up to date with all three teams on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_MSoccer
UCR: @UCRsoccer_M
Cal State Fullerton: @FullertonMSOC
Livestats Links:
@ UCR- https://gohighlanders.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary
@Cal St Fullerton- https://www.fullertontitans.com/sports/m-soccer/2019-20/boxscores/20190913_8qej.xml
About Me
SCF VB Return Home for Webber International
The SCF volleyball team (1-8) return home for their second home match as they welcome the Webber International (NAIA) JV team (0-2) to the Hal Chasey Gymnasium in Bradenton.
Last Time Out:
The Manatees played in the Daytona State Invitational where they went 1-3. They defeated Palm Beach State in the first match by a score of 3-2 before falling to Broward (3-0), Indian River (3-1) and Daytona State (3-0). The win over PBSC was their first win this season.
Offensively, sophomore Lekeesha Esseboom and freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai that are setting the pace for the Manatees.
Esseboom leads with 73 kills while adding 14 blocks. Esseboom had 31 kills and four blocks in the Daytona State Invitational.
Wilcox-Nanai follows Esseboom with 69 kills and 83 digs. At the Daytona State Invitational, Wilcox-Nanai had 32 kills and 33 digs, which included a 17 kill-15 dig double-double against PBSC.
Sophomore Deviya Bernard and freshman Lisa Jaunet have also made big contributions offensively as well as defensively. Bernard has 46 kills and 15 blocks while Jaunet has 34 kills and 16 blocks. At the Daytona State Invitational, Bernard had 24 kills and five blocks while Jaunet had 20 kills and eight blocks.
Freshman Gracee Carpino leads the team with 259 assists and 15 aces. Carpino had 131 assists and eight aces at the Daytona State Invitational.
Defensively, sophomore Barbora Tichackova lead the team with 24 blocks (eight solo) to go along with her 31 kills. Tichackova had 19 kills and 19 blocks (six solo) at the Daytona State Invitational.
Jaco 1,000:
Sophomore Sydney Jaco has already made several milestones with SCF in digs. Jaco currently has 194 digs in her name yet in a way, she's an overachiever after being named on the FCSAA 25 Dig Club threes times this season (8/23 vs Santa Fe, 8/24 vs PBSC, 9/4 @ Broward). At the Daytona State Invitational, Jaco finished with 70 digs.
Jaco has already surpassed her older sister, Brittany, in career digs and reached the milestones of 800, 850, 900 and 950. As of after the invitational, Jaco is at 978 career digs and needs 23 to reach 1,000 career digs, which chances are she will get at the match against Webber.
Scouting WIU JV:
The Warriors have already played two matches falling to South Florida State College and St. Johns River State.
Series History:
The Manatees hold a 4-0 overall record against the Warriors. Last time both teams met was on August 22, 2016 where the Manatees won 3-0.
How to Keep Up:
The match will air livestream on the SCF Athletics YouTube Page. Fans can also keep up to date with both teams on Twitter:
SCF- @SCFVolleyball
Webber- @WebberVball
YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFpxyXJqcQVkozbVYacR26g/videos
Last Time Out:
The Manatees played in the Daytona State Invitational where they went 1-3. They defeated Palm Beach State in the first match by a score of 3-2 before falling to Broward (3-0), Indian River (3-1) and Daytona State (3-0). The win over PBSC was their first win this season.
Offensively, sophomore Lekeesha Esseboom and freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai that are setting the pace for the Manatees.
Esseboom leads with 73 kills while adding 14 blocks. Esseboom had 31 kills and four blocks in the Daytona State Invitational.
Wilcox-Nanai follows Esseboom with 69 kills and 83 digs. At the Daytona State Invitational, Wilcox-Nanai had 32 kills and 33 digs, which included a 17 kill-15 dig double-double against PBSC.
Sophomore Deviya Bernard and freshman Lisa Jaunet have also made big contributions offensively as well as defensively. Bernard has 46 kills and 15 blocks while Jaunet has 34 kills and 16 blocks. At the Daytona State Invitational, Bernard had 24 kills and five blocks while Jaunet had 20 kills and eight blocks.
Freshman Gracee Carpino leads the team with 259 assists and 15 aces. Carpino had 131 assists and eight aces at the Daytona State Invitational.
Defensively, sophomore Barbora Tichackova lead the team with 24 blocks (eight solo) to go along with her 31 kills. Tichackova had 19 kills and 19 blocks (six solo) at the Daytona State Invitational.
Jaco 1,000:
Sophomore Sydney Jaco has already made several milestones with SCF in digs. Jaco currently has 194 digs in her name yet in a way, she's an overachiever after being named on the FCSAA 25 Dig Club threes times this season (8/23 vs Santa Fe, 8/24 vs PBSC, 9/4 @ Broward). At the Daytona State Invitational, Jaco finished with 70 digs.
Jaco has already surpassed her older sister, Brittany, in career digs and reached the milestones of 800, 850, 900 and 950. As of after the invitational, Jaco is at 978 career digs and needs 23 to reach 1,000 career digs, which chances are she will get at the match against Webber.
Scouting WIU JV:
The Warriors have already played two matches falling to South Florida State College and St. Johns River State.
Series History:
The Manatees hold a 4-0 overall record against the Warriors. Last time both teams met was on August 22, 2016 where the Manatees won 3-0.
How to Keep Up:
The match will air livestream on the SCF Athletics YouTube Page. Fans can also keep up to date with both teams on Twitter:
SCF- @SCFVolleyball
Webber- @WebberVball
YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFpxyXJqcQVkozbVYacR26g/videos
SCF VB Finishes 1-3; Earns First Win
The SCF volleyball team (1-8) split the first day before falling in the final two matches on day two of the Daytona State Volleyball Invitational at the DME Academy in Daytona Beach. The Manatees defeated Palm Beach State (3-4) 3-2 (24-26, 26-24, 27-25, 20-25, 15-6) before being shutout by Broward College (6-0) 3-0 (23-25,16-25, 15-25) on day one and losing 3-1 (26-28, 25-23, 5-25) to Indian River (6-2) and shutout 3-0 (15-25, 12-25, 17-25) to host Daytona State (5-2). With their first win of the 2019 season, the Manatees are now 8-4 against the Panthers while the losses to Broward, IRS and Daytona State put them at 1-3, 3-4 and 2-12 (2012-present).
Match One vs PBSC:
Offensively, three players ended up with double digit kills with freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai finishing with a double-double of 17 kills and 15 digs while adding an ace and a block. Sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom followed with 14 kills and a block, while freshman Lisa Jaunet had 10 kills and two blocks.
Freshman Gracee Carpino was two digs shy of a double-double as she finished with a match-high 54 assists, eight digs and team-leading five aces.
Defensively, sophomore Barbora Tichackova led the team with five blocks (two solo) to go with her six kills while sophomore Sydney Jaco and freshman Bailey Sikkema finished with double digit digs. Jaco had 21 digs while adding a kill and an ace while Sikkema had 10 digs and added four aces.
Match Two vs Broward:
Offensively, Esseboom and Wilcox-Nanai had six kills each. Wilcox-Nanai added 12 digs, while Carpino, who was once again two digs shy of a double-double, had 24 assists and eight digs.
Defensively, Jaco had 12 digs.
Match Three vs Indian River:
For match three, sophomore Daviya Bernard led the team with eight kills and five blocks while Wilcox-Nanai followed with seven kills and three digs. Carpino followed with 37 assists and two aces.
Tichackova had five kills and five blocks while Jaco had 18 digs.
Match Four vs Daytona State:
Tichackova led match four with five kills and six blocks while Carpino had 16 assists and an ace. Jaco had 19 digs.
Notes:
Combined in all four matches, Jaco had a total of 70 digs, which put her at 978 in her career and is now 13 away from reaching 1,000 in her career.
Suncoast Scores:
SPC (1-0) will be competing in their second match against Santa Fe (9/10).
FSW (2-3) will be hosting a tri-match welcoming Broward and College of Central Florida (CCF).
HCC (9-0) will be competing against Daytona State on the road (9/10).
Up Next:
The Manatees will return home as they welcome the Webber International JV team on Tuesday, September 10 at 6 pm.
Match One vs PBSC:
Offensively, three players ended up with double digit kills with freshman Leilani Wilcox-Nanai finishing with a double-double of 17 kills and 15 digs while adding an ace and a block. Sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom followed with 14 kills and a block, while freshman Lisa Jaunet had 10 kills and two blocks.
Freshman Gracee Carpino was two digs shy of a double-double as she finished with a match-high 54 assists, eight digs and team-leading five aces.
Defensively, sophomore Barbora Tichackova led the team with five blocks (two solo) to go with her six kills while sophomore Sydney Jaco and freshman Bailey Sikkema finished with double digit digs. Jaco had 21 digs while adding a kill and an ace while Sikkema had 10 digs and added four aces.
Match Two vs Broward:
Offensively, Esseboom and Wilcox-Nanai had six kills each. Wilcox-Nanai added 12 digs, while Carpino, who was once again two digs shy of a double-double, had 24 assists and eight digs.
Defensively, Jaco had 12 digs.
Match Three vs Indian River:
For match three, sophomore Daviya Bernard led the team with eight kills and five blocks while Wilcox-Nanai followed with seven kills and three digs. Carpino followed with 37 assists and two aces.
Tichackova had five kills and five blocks while Jaco had 18 digs.
Match Four vs Daytona State:
Tichackova led match four with five kills and six blocks while Carpino had 16 assists and an ace. Jaco had 19 digs.
Notes:
Combined in all four matches, Jaco had a total of 70 digs, which put her at 978 in her career and is now 13 away from reaching 1,000 in her career.
Suncoast Scores:
SPC (1-0) will be competing in their second match against Santa Fe (9/10).
FSW (2-3) will be hosting a tri-match welcoming Broward and College of Central Florida (CCF).
HCC (9-0) will be competing against Daytona State on the road (9/10).
Up Next:
The Manatees will return home as they welcome the Webber International JV team on Tuesday, September 10 at 6 pm.
FGCU Volleyball: Hurricane Invitational Day Two Recap
The FGCU volleyball team (6-0) wrapped up their portion of the Hurricane Invitational at the Knight Complex in Coral Gables, Florida as they shutout George Washington (2-3) 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-16). With the win, the Eagles are now 2-0 against the Colonials.
Offensively, it was junior Snowy Burnam that led the Eagles. Burnam finished with 15 kills and two blocks. The 15 kills put her at 484 in her career as she passed Brittany Muse (480, 2009-12) for 17th all-time and 31 to become the 17th player to reach 500 career kills.
"Snowy was outstanding today in every facet of the game, and I loved how tuned in she was to what was happening out on the court," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Her attacking on the backside started to open things up for everyone else and her passing was a big difference maker."
Classmate Cortney VanLiew would follow Burnam with a double-double of 13 kills and 10 digs and two blocks. VanLiew's 13 kills put her at 886 and is 14 away from being the sixth player to reach 900 career kills and 41 away from passing Kaitlin Holm (926, 2011-13) for fifth all-time. Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll would follow with seven kills and three aces while sophomore Chelsea Lockey followed with 34 assists and eight digs. With her seven kills, Carroll now has 1,408 in her career while her three aces put her at 107 and is 33 shy of passing Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader.
Defensively, sophomore Dana Axner and the Block Party (VanLiew, Burnam, seniors Daniele Serrano and Giovanna Borgiotti and sophomore Tori Morris) took the reins. Axner had 11 digs and five assists while the Block Party had a combined 11 total blocks (four led by Morris) and 37 kills. With her 11 digs, Axner now has 733 in her career and is 33 shy of passing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 11th all-time.
Serrano had five kills and two block assists. With her five kills, Serrano has 658 in her career and is seven shy of passing Devon Watts (664, 2004-05) for 12th all-time and 42 shy of becoming the 10th player to reach 700 career kills. Borgiotti got one kill and one block. Her one kill put her at 518 and remains 56 shy of passing Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 15th all-time.
As far as coaching goes, longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy has reached the milestone of his own. Mahy earned his 272nd win as a coach for FGCU and 300th overall win in the NCAA.
Other Scores:
USF (2-3) fell to Auburn by a score of 3-2 (25-20, 26-28, 13-25, 25-21, 15-17) in the 11 am match and 3-0 (21-25, 26-28, 19-25) to host Miami (2-1) in the 5 pm match.
"I'm proud of the way our team fought this match," said USF head coach Courtney Draper on the loss to Auburn. "It was very evenly matched and could have gone either way, unfortunately we came up short today. We are still working to find the right line up and, as a team, we just need to perform more consistently. Our outsides did a great job both offensively and defensively."
"I think our team did a pretty good job today," said Miami redshirt junior Elizaveta Lukianova. "As we always think, every single game is the most important game of the year and we have to prepare for every single one of them in that way. Everybody has their own battles on the court, their own tasks, and I think we were able to combine those to make sure out team performed on a decent level. We definitely have a long way to go, but with every rep, we are getting closer and closer."
"Lindsey (Pliapol) and Jac St. Cin really had great offensive nights, but we need to be able to balance our attack better to be more successful," Draper said on the loss to Miami. "We need our middles and right sides to be more involved. Lauren did an excellent job serving, and now we need some others to step up their serving game as well. Miami was vulnerable in a few rotations in specific zones, but our girls struggled to hit the target too often. CC (Clausen) was very good defensively, but unfortunately we were just physically outmatched in this game."
Auburn would then face George Washington to close out the Hurricane Invitational in which they won by a score of 3-1 (21-25, 25-13, 25-22, 25-13).
"We feel really good about it," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "I thought we learned some things about ourselves. We played a lot cleaner volleyball both yesterday, and today. When we did that I thought we were really, really consistent. It was good for the team to see success when we were taking care of those things."
A-SUN Scores:
UNF (2-4) defeated former A-SUN Conference member Mercer University 3- on day two of the UNF Invitational. The Ospreys will travel to Tampa to face USF (9/10).
Lipscomb (1-4) will face former A-SUN Conference member Belmont University (9/10).
Kennesaw State (4-2) defeated Furman 3-2 on day two of the High Point Invitational. They will face host High Point on day three (9/8)
North Alabama (1-3) fell 3-1 to Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) and 3-0 to Jacksonville State on day two of the Samford Invitational. The Lions will travel to Chattanooga for the Chattanooga Classic where they will face Manhattan College, Tennessee Tech and host Chattanooga (9/13-14.
Jacksonville (1-5) split day two of the Troy Tournament defeating Chattanooga 3-1 before falling 3-0 to host Troy. They will be co-hosting the River City Rumble Tournament, welcoming Charleston Southern, FIU and Belmont.
Stetson (1-3) fell 3-2 to Hofstra on day two of the FIU Panther Fest. They will now travel to Jacksonville, Alabama for the Gamecock Classic where they will face Mississippi State, host Jacksonville State and Sam Houston State (9/13-14).
Liberty (2-2) opened the Liberty Invitational with a 3-0 win over Elon and a 3-1 over Virginia Tech. The Lady Flames will face Davidson on day two of the the invitational.
NJIT (1-6) split day two of the Fairleigh Dickinson Invitational falling 3-0 to Morgan State before defeating host FDU 3-2. The Highlanders will travel to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to face Lehigh University (9/10).
Up Next:
The Eagles will travel to neutral grounds yet again as they will head to Lexington, Kentucky for the two-day Bluegrass Battle where they will face Indiana (4-2), #12 Kentucky (4-2) and Cleveland State (2-4) on September 13-14.
Offensively, it was junior Snowy Burnam that led the Eagles. Burnam finished with 15 kills and two blocks. The 15 kills put her at 484 in her career as she passed Brittany Muse (480, 2009-12) for 17th all-time and 31 to become the 17th player to reach 500 career kills.
"Snowy was outstanding today in every facet of the game, and I loved how tuned in she was to what was happening out on the court," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Her attacking on the backside started to open things up for everyone else and her passing was a big difference maker."
Classmate Cortney VanLiew would follow Burnam with a double-double of 13 kills and 10 digs and two blocks. VanLiew's 13 kills put her at 886 and is 14 away from being the sixth player to reach 900 career kills and 41 away from passing Kaitlin Holm (926, 2011-13) for fifth all-time. Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll would follow with seven kills and three aces while sophomore Chelsea Lockey followed with 34 assists and eight digs. With her seven kills, Carroll now has 1,408 in her career while her three aces put her at 107 and is 33 shy of passing Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader.
Defensively, sophomore Dana Axner and the Block Party (VanLiew, Burnam, seniors Daniele Serrano and Giovanna Borgiotti and sophomore Tori Morris) took the reins. Axner had 11 digs and five assists while the Block Party had a combined 11 total blocks (four led by Morris) and 37 kills. With her 11 digs, Axner now has 733 in her career and is 33 shy of passing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 11th all-time.
Serrano had five kills and two block assists. With her five kills, Serrano has 658 in her career and is seven shy of passing Devon Watts (664, 2004-05) for 12th all-time and 42 shy of becoming the 10th player to reach 700 career kills. Borgiotti got one kill and one block. Her one kill put her at 518 and remains 56 shy of passing Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 15th all-time.
As far as coaching goes, longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy has reached the milestone of his own. Mahy earned his 272nd win as a coach for FGCU and 300th overall win in the NCAA.
Other Scores:
USF (2-3) fell to Auburn by a score of 3-2 (25-20, 26-28, 13-25, 25-21, 15-17) in the 11 am match and 3-0 (21-25, 26-28, 19-25) to host Miami (2-1) in the 5 pm match.
"I'm proud of the way our team fought this match," said USF head coach Courtney Draper on the loss to Auburn. "It was very evenly matched and could have gone either way, unfortunately we came up short today. We are still working to find the right line up and, as a team, we just need to perform more consistently. Our outsides did a great job both offensively and defensively."
"I think our team did a pretty good job today," said Miami redshirt junior Elizaveta Lukianova. "As we always think, every single game is the most important game of the year and we have to prepare for every single one of them in that way. Everybody has their own battles on the court, their own tasks, and I think we were able to combine those to make sure out team performed on a decent level. We definitely have a long way to go, but with every rep, we are getting closer and closer."
"Lindsey (Pliapol) and Jac St. Cin really had great offensive nights, but we need to be able to balance our attack better to be more successful," Draper said on the loss to Miami. "We need our middles and right sides to be more involved. Lauren did an excellent job serving, and now we need some others to step up their serving game as well. Miami was vulnerable in a few rotations in specific zones, but our girls struggled to hit the target too often. CC (Clausen) was very good defensively, but unfortunately we were just physically outmatched in this game."
Auburn would then face George Washington to close out the Hurricane Invitational in which they won by a score of 3-1 (21-25, 25-13, 25-22, 25-13).
"We feel really good about it," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "I thought we learned some things about ourselves. We played a lot cleaner volleyball both yesterday, and today. When we did that I thought we were really, really consistent. It was good for the team to see success when we were taking care of those things."
A-SUN Scores:
UNF (2-4) defeated former A-SUN Conference member Mercer University 3- on day two of the UNF Invitational. The Ospreys will travel to Tampa to face USF (9/10).
Lipscomb (1-4) will face former A-SUN Conference member Belmont University (9/10).
Kennesaw State (4-2) defeated Furman 3-2 on day two of the High Point Invitational. They will face host High Point on day three (9/8)
North Alabama (1-3) fell 3-1 to Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) and 3-0 to Jacksonville State on day two of the Samford Invitational. The Lions will travel to Chattanooga for the Chattanooga Classic where they will face Manhattan College, Tennessee Tech and host Chattanooga (9/13-14.
Jacksonville (1-5) split day two of the Troy Tournament defeating Chattanooga 3-1 before falling 3-0 to host Troy. They will be co-hosting the River City Rumble Tournament, welcoming Charleston Southern, FIU and Belmont.
Stetson (1-3) fell 3-2 to Hofstra on day two of the FIU Panther Fest. They will now travel to Jacksonville, Alabama for the Gamecock Classic where they will face Mississippi State, host Jacksonville State and Sam Houston State (9/13-14).
Liberty (2-2) opened the Liberty Invitational with a 3-0 win over Elon and a 3-1 over Virginia Tech. The Lady Flames will face Davidson on day two of the the invitational.
NJIT (1-6) split day two of the Fairleigh Dickinson Invitational falling 3-0 to Morgan State before defeating host FDU 3-2. The Highlanders will travel to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to face Lehigh University (9/10).
Up Next:
The Eagles will travel to neutral grounds yet again as they will head to Lexington, Kentucky for the two-day Bluegrass Battle where they will face Indiana (4-2), #12 Kentucky (4-2) and Cleveland State (2-4) on September 13-14.
FGCU WSOC vs Northeastern Recap
Goals from senior Evdokia Popadinova and sophomore Ashlee Brentlinger boosted the FGCU women's soccer team (2-2-0) to a 2-0 victory over Northeastern (2-3-0) at the FGCU Soccer Complex on Sunday evening.
"We knew we had to show up to this game because Northeastern is a really good team," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "I was thrilled to see our team put together a full 90 minutes of hard work. We were able to keep the pressure on them throughout the game and we got a lot of second balls, which helped us get the win."
Both sides kept each other in check in the opening minutes of play as the Eagles and the Huskies were limited to one shot apiece through the 15-minute mark. Popadinova broke open the scoring for the Green and Blue after connecting with a pass from senior Marjorie Boilesenin the 20th minute that put the home team up 1-0 and snapped a four-match drought for the All-American.
Minutes later, the Huskies' Alexis Legowski fired one into the box but senior Melissa Weck dove on the ball to keep the visitors off the board. The Eagles' back line continued to stifle Northeastern's offense as the team took its 1-0 edge into the break.
FGCU continued to keep the pressure on the Huskies in the second stanza. Senior Silvana Gordon provided some pop off the bench for the Eagles and immediately tested the visiting keeper twice within two minutes of entering the match.
With just under 10 minutes left on the game clock, a free kick within the 20-yard line provided FGCU with a scoring opportunity. Senior Opal Curlessdrilled the free kick off the Huskies' keeper and Brentlinger tapped the second ball into the back of the net for her second career goal.
"I was really excited for Evi, I mean she's just a world class athlete and she has taken a lot of responsibility for our results so far," Blankenship said. "I was happy that she scored and I know she feels relieved. It was also really exciting to see Ashlee score. We have been talking a lot about getting to the second ball and she was able to do that and score on it, which was great."
Though Northeastern attempted to respond with an on-frame shot of their own, Weck held on for her second shutout of the season. She finished the night with four saves and is just under two career shutouts away from claiming second in the FGCU record book.
Gordon led the Eagles' offense with four shots, while Popadinova added three and both Brentlinger and redshirt-junior Megan Young contributed a pair each. With tonight's win, FGCU now improves to .500 on the season.
Up Next:
FGCU will hit the road to take on the Florida Gators up in Gainesville at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12. The Gators received four votes in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Poll and were tabbed ninth in the Southeast Region Poll. The only time the Eagles have defeated Florida was a 1-0 victory in a 2015 exhibition match.
"We knew we had to show up to this game because Northeastern is a really good team," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "I was thrilled to see our team put together a full 90 minutes of hard work. We were able to keep the pressure on them throughout the game and we got a lot of second balls, which helped us get the win."
Both sides kept each other in check in the opening minutes of play as the Eagles and the Huskies were limited to one shot apiece through the 15-minute mark. Popadinova broke open the scoring for the Green and Blue after connecting with a pass from senior Marjorie Boilesenin the 20th minute that put the home team up 1-0 and snapped a four-match drought for the All-American.
Minutes later, the Huskies' Alexis Legowski fired one into the box but senior Melissa Weck dove on the ball to keep the visitors off the board. The Eagles' back line continued to stifle Northeastern's offense as the team took its 1-0 edge into the break.
FGCU continued to keep the pressure on the Huskies in the second stanza. Senior Silvana Gordon provided some pop off the bench for the Eagles and immediately tested the visiting keeper twice within two minutes of entering the match.
With just under 10 minutes left on the game clock, a free kick within the 20-yard line provided FGCU with a scoring opportunity. Senior Opal Curlessdrilled the free kick off the Huskies' keeper and Brentlinger tapped the second ball into the back of the net for her second career goal.
"I was really excited for Evi, I mean she's just a world class athlete and she has taken a lot of responsibility for our results so far," Blankenship said. "I was happy that she scored and I know she feels relieved. It was also really exciting to see Ashlee score. We have been talking a lot about getting to the second ball and she was able to do that and score on it, which was great."
Though Northeastern attempted to respond with an on-frame shot of their own, Weck held on for her second shutout of the season. She finished the night with four saves and is just under two career shutouts away from claiming second in the FGCU record book.
Gordon led the Eagles' offense with four shots, while Popadinova added three and both Brentlinger and redshirt-junior Megan Young contributed a pair each. With tonight's win, FGCU now improves to .500 on the season.
Up Next:
FGCU will hit the road to take on the Florida Gators up in Gainesville at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12. The Gators received four votes in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Poll and were tabbed ninth in the Southeast Region Poll. The only time the Eagles have defeated Florida was a 1-0 victory in a 2015 exhibition match.
#18 FGCU MSOC vs RV Georgia Southern Recap
In the "Battle of the Eagles", the No. 18 FGCU men's soccer team (3-0-1) scored three second half goals to roll past RV Georgia Southern (2-1-0) 5-1, Sunday afternoon at the FGCU Soccer Complex.
"I'm really proud of the all-around performance from our guys today," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "We got caught early on but I'm glad how we were able to respond and take the 2-1 lead before the half. Coming out of the break we knew we had to keep the energy going and we did that. Up and down the roster everyone contributed today and that's what you like to see, so I was very pleased."
"We weren't at the races today, so it was a pretty disappointing result," Georgia Southern Head Men's Soccer Coach John Murphy said. "The little details at this level are important, so it's back to the drawing board this week. We will use our time as best we can to prepare for our game this Friday at North Florida."
For starting goalkeepers, Cormier sent redshirt junior Gustavo Vasconcelos while Georgia Southern head coach John Murphy sent sophomore Jokull Blaengsson to counter.
It was a shaky start for the Green and Blue as Georgia Southern was the first to strike with a goal by junior Alhaji Tambadu in the sixth minute. Unfazed, FGCU responded eight minutes later using the right side of the pitch. Senior Shak Adams found junior Kareem Riley who dished it to sophomore O'Vonte Mullings inside the 18-yard box for the one-timer shot. It was Mullings first of the season. Redshirt junior Thomas Deplace nearly put FGCU up in the 32nd with a header off a corner kick but a one-handed save denied the senior.
The game looked to be tied minutes before the intermission but freshman Aiden Jokomba changed that. Appearing in his first collegiate match after graduating from Cornwall College, Jokomba found a ball from freshman Stephen Linton inside the six-yard box and put it away (42nd minute) to the far post, no more than one minute after being subbed in. FGCU headed to the locker room up 2-1, registering 11 shots with eight coming on frame.
In the second stanza, the Eagles recorded their first shot on target in the 67th minute via Adams as Deplace capitalized in the 70th. Once again off a corner, the captain headed one to the right-upper 90 for the 3-1 lead. Senior Miguel Perez was credited with the assist. The two final goals for the Green and Blue would arrive in the final 12 minutes.
Just inside the right edge of the 18-yard box, senior Joao Burti crossed a pass to his left and found senior Jahan Rajaee for the tap-pin in the 78th minute. Six minutes later, junior Michael Luke netted the final goal for FGCU. The junior midfielder sprinted along the left-side of the pitch all the way to the penalty area where he struck a right-footed shot right past the keeper's left hand.
Along with Jokomba, Deplace, Rajaee and Luke all netted their first career collegiate goals. On offense, 12 different Eagles recorded a shot as the team finished with 21, 15 coming on frame.
Vasconcelos capped off the match securing five saves as he moves to 3-0-1 between the posts while Blaengsson (2-1) posted 10 saves.
Up Next:
FGCU hits the road to California where it will play 2018 NCAA participant UC Riverside (3-0-0) Friday night, Sept. 13 at 10 p.m. Two days later, the Eagles square off against Cal State Fullerton (3-0-0).
"I'm really proud of the all-around performance from our guys today," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "We got caught early on but I'm glad how we were able to respond and take the 2-1 lead before the half. Coming out of the break we knew we had to keep the energy going and we did that. Up and down the roster everyone contributed today and that's what you like to see, so I was very pleased."
"We weren't at the races today, so it was a pretty disappointing result," Georgia Southern Head Men's Soccer Coach John Murphy said. "The little details at this level are important, so it's back to the drawing board this week. We will use our time as best we can to prepare for our game this Friday at North Florida."
For starting goalkeepers, Cormier sent redshirt junior Gustavo Vasconcelos while Georgia Southern head coach John Murphy sent sophomore Jokull Blaengsson to counter.
It was a shaky start for the Green and Blue as Georgia Southern was the first to strike with a goal by junior Alhaji Tambadu in the sixth minute. Unfazed, FGCU responded eight minutes later using the right side of the pitch. Senior Shak Adams found junior Kareem Riley who dished it to sophomore O'Vonte Mullings inside the 18-yard box for the one-timer shot. It was Mullings first of the season. Redshirt junior Thomas Deplace nearly put FGCU up in the 32nd with a header off a corner kick but a one-handed save denied the senior.
The game looked to be tied minutes before the intermission but freshman Aiden Jokomba changed that. Appearing in his first collegiate match after graduating from Cornwall College, Jokomba found a ball from freshman Stephen Linton inside the six-yard box and put it away (42nd minute) to the far post, no more than one minute after being subbed in. FGCU headed to the locker room up 2-1, registering 11 shots with eight coming on frame.
In the second stanza, the Eagles recorded their first shot on target in the 67th minute via Adams as Deplace capitalized in the 70th. Once again off a corner, the captain headed one to the right-upper 90 for the 3-1 lead. Senior Miguel Perez was credited with the assist. The two final goals for the Green and Blue would arrive in the final 12 minutes.
Just inside the right edge of the 18-yard box, senior Joao Burti crossed a pass to his left and found senior Jahan Rajaee for the tap-pin in the 78th minute. Six minutes later, junior Michael Luke netted the final goal for FGCU. The junior midfielder sprinted along the left-side of the pitch all the way to the penalty area where he struck a right-footed shot right past the keeper's left hand.
Along with Jokomba, Deplace, Rajaee and Luke all netted their first career collegiate goals. On offense, 12 different Eagles recorded a shot as the team finished with 21, 15 coming on frame.
Vasconcelos capped off the match securing five saves as he moves to 3-0-1 between the posts while Blaengsson (2-1) posted 10 saves.
Up Next:
FGCU hits the road to California where it will play 2018 NCAA participant UC Riverside (3-0-0) Friday night, Sept. 13 at 10 p.m. Two days later, the Eagles square off against Cal State Fullerton (3-0-0).
FGCU WSOC vs Northeastern Preview
The FGCU women's soccer team (1-2-0) will look to snap a two-match skid as it takes on Northeastern (2-2-0) in a 5 p.m. match on Sunday, Sept. 8. The Blue Out game at the FGCU Soccer Complex will be streamed on YouTube Live and will be the second game of the Eagles Futbol Doubleheader. Fans who purchase tickets for the 1 p.m. match between the #18 FGCU men's soccer team and Georgia Southern will receive free entry to the women's game.
Sunday's game will mark the first meeting between not only the programs, but also the schools. As far as team sports go, Northeastern and FGCU have never played one another.
After shutting out FIU 2-0 in the season-opener (Aug. 22), the Eagles dropped a road contest to Michigan (Aug. 31) and a home game against La Salle (Sept. 5). So far, FGCU has tallied three goals through as many games; senior Marjorie Boilesen netted two against FIU and freshman Louise Lillback scored her first career goal against La Salle.
Senior Melissa Weck (1-2) has started off her final season between the pipes for the Green and Blue by climbing the program record book. The keeper's 212 career saves put her at third all-time and she needs 50 more to overtake Stephanie Powers (2008-11) for second place. With a 0.75 goals-against average, she checks in at third in the FGCU ranks. Stephanie Powers comes in at second with a 0.73 average and former FGCU great Brittany Brown sits at the top with a 0.67 career average.
Scouting Northeastern:
The Huskies will come to Fort Myers in pursuit of their first road win of the season. Northeastern suffered a 2-1 overtime loss on the road at Stony Brook in its season-opener before responding with back-to-back home wins over Albany (1-0) and Harvard (4-1). Most recently, Boston College downed the Huskies (Sept. 5) by a score of 1-0 on the Eagles' home pitch.
Junior Chelsea Domond leads the Huskies' offensive effort with two goals and one assist. Five different players have scored for the team so far. In the backfield, Northeastern has been splitting time between redshirt-sophomore Megan Adams and freshman Angeline Friel. Both keepers have been scored on twice and own 1-1 records.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles were defeated at the hands of La Salle by a score of 2-1 on Thursday, Sept. 5 at the FGCU Soccer Complex. FGCU owned the first half of the game, as Lillback's first career goal gave the home team a 1-0 advantage in the 11th minute, which they held into the break. Sophomore Ashlee Brentlinger was credited with the assist. Though the Eagles' back line held the La Salle offense to just one shot in the first half, the Explorers were able to capitalize on a few one-on-one opportunities in the second stanza. La Salle found the back of the net twice within seven minutes to take the final 2-1 lead. Weck totaled six saves, all of which came in the second half. Senior Evdokia Popadinova and redshirt-junior Megan Young each tallied four shots. Three of Young's were on-target and Popadinova directly tested the keeper twice.
Livestats Link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=267054
YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWPlmFZxpc1KCiQx90Ei4hg/
Sunday's game will mark the first meeting between not only the programs, but also the schools. As far as team sports go, Northeastern and FGCU have never played one another.
After shutting out FIU 2-0 in the season-opener (Aug. 22), the Eagles dropped a road contest to Michigan (Aug. 31) and a home game against La Salle (Sept. 5). So far, FGCU has tallied three goals through as many games; senior Marjorie Boilesen netted two against FIU and freshman Louise Lillback scored her first career goal against La Salle.
Senior Melissa Weck (1-2) has started off her final season between the pipes for the Green and Blue by climbing the program record book. The keeper's 212 career saves put her at third all-time and she needs 50 more to overtake Stephanie Powers (2008-11) for second place. With a 0.75 goals-against average, she checks in at third in the FGCU ranks. Stephanie Powers comes in at second with a 0.73 average and former FGCU great Brittany Brown sits at the top with a 0.67 career average.
Scouting Northeastern:
The Huskies will come to Fort Myers in pursuit of their first road win of the season. Northeastern suffered a 2-1 overtime loss on the road at Stony Brook in its season-opener before responding with back-to-back home wins over Albany (1-0) and Harvard (4-1). Most recently, Boston College downed the Huskies (Sept. 5) by a score of 1-0 on the Eagles' home pitch.
Junior Chelsea Domond leads the Huskies' offensive effort with two goals and one assist. Five different players have scored for the team so far. In the backfield, Northeastern has been splitting time between redshirt-sophomore Megan Adams and freshman Angeline Friel. Both keepers have been scored on twice and own 1-1 records.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles were defeated at the hands of La Salle by a score of 2-1 on Thursday, Sept. 5 at the FGCU Soccer Complex. FGCU owned the first half of the game, as Lillback's first career goal gave the home team a 1-0 advantage in the 11th minute, which they held into the break. Sophomore Ashlee Brentlinger was credited with the assist. Though the Eagles' back line held the La Salle offense to just one shot in the first half, the Explorers were able to capitalize on a few one-on-one opportunities in the second stanza. La Salle found the back of the net twice within seven minutes to take the final 2-1 lead. Weck totaled six saves, all of which came in the second half. Senior Evdokia Popadinova and redshirt-junior Megan Young each tallied four shots. Three of Young's were on-target and Popadinova directly tested the keeper twice.
Livestats Link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=267054
YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWPlmFZxpc1KCiQx90Ei4hg/
FGCU XC: FGCU Invitational Recap
The FGCU men's and women's cross country programs got an early look at the site of the 2019 A-SUN Championships as both sides placed third overall at the FGCU Invitational Saturday morning at the Buckingham Course.
"It was exciting to have two of the top teams in the conference come in and look at the course early on so we were looking forward to that," said head coach Cassandra Goodson. "We had a different look with the men's team today but I think they competed well with the conditions they faced. That's what these meets are for and we'll learn from it. Gianna had a breakout race today so that was thrilling to see. Our returners ran tough, showed a lot of heart and I was proud of them. We have a little more work to do but we're excited to see what's ahead."
The men's team kicked off the home invite at 8 a.m., paced by rising junior Lucas Kiprotich with his overall sixth-place finish. Two spots behind him was classmate Boniface Mutai in eighth as sophomore Austin Redondo and freshman Benjamin Hermiston rounded off the top-20, finishing 18th and 20th, respectively. The final scorer for the Eagles was sophomore Bryce Bell, who crossed the end line 22nd to give the Eagles a total of 71 points.
In just her second collegiate race, freshman Gianna Citarella led the women's side coming in 10th overall with a season-best 5k mark of 20:00.99. Right on her heels was sophomore Jillian Felton who placed 13th, also recorded a season-best mark of 20:20.18 (eight seconds faster than FAU's meet). classmate Emily O'Connor rounded out the top-20 coming in 16th as sophomore Julia Filip, freshman Reilly Ritter, and junior Madeline Wyers finished 23rd, 32nd, and 34th, respectively. Ritter's time of 22:09.07 proved to be a season-best mark.
Up Next:
FGCU hits the road next Saturday, Sept. 14 for the very competitive UF Mountain Dew Invitational slated to start at 8 a.m.
Men's Individual Results
6. Lucas Kiprotich – 27:06.94
8. Boniface Mutai – 27:18.00
18. Austin Redondo – 27:46.11
20. Benjamin Hermiston – 28:16.84
22. Bryce Bell – 28:45.10
Men's Team Standings
Liberty – 25
Stetson – 42
FGCU – 71
USF – 94
Women's Individual Results
10. Gianna Citarella – 20:00.99
13. Jillian Felton – 20:20.18
16. Emily O'Connor – 20:40.33
23. Julia Filip – 21:07.84
32. Reilly Ritter – 22:09.07
34. Madeline Wyers – 22:36.17
Women's Team Standings
Liberty – 16
USF – 64
FGCU – 68
Stetson – 94
"It was exciting to have two of the top teams in the conference come in and look at the course early on so we were looking forward to that," said head coach Cassandra Goodson. "We had a different look with the men's team today but I think they competed well with the conditions they faced. That's what these meets are for and we'll learn from it. Gianna had a breakout race today so that was thrilling to see. Our returners ran tough, showed a lot of heart and I was proud of them. We have a little more work to do but we're excited to see what's ahead."
The men's team kicked off the home invite at 8 a.m., paced by rising junior Lucas Kiprotich with his overall sixth-place finish. Two spots behind him was classmate Boniface Mutai in eighth as sophomore Austin Redondo and freshman Benjamin Hermiston rounded off the top-20, finishing 18th and 20th, respectively. The final scorer for the Eagles was sophomore Bryce Bell, who crossed the end line 22nd to give the Eagles a total of 71 points.
In just her second collegiate race, freshman Gianna Citarella led the women's side coming in 10th overall with a season-best 5k mark of 20:00.99. Right on her heels was sophomore Jillian Felton who placed 13th, also recorded a season-best mark of 20:20.18 (eight seconds faster than FAU's meet). classmate Emily O'Connor rounded out the top-20 coming in 16th as sophomore Julia Filip, freshman Reilly Ritter, and junior Madeline Wyers finished 23rd, 32nd, and 34th, respectively. Ritter's time of 22:09.07 proved to be a season-best mark.
Up Next:
FGCU hits the road next Saturday, Sept. 14 for the very competitive UF Mountain Dew Invitational slated to start at 8 a.m.
Men's Individual Results
6. Lucas Kiprotich – 27:06.94
8. Boniface Mutai – 27:18.00
18. Austin Redondo – 27:46.11
20. Benjamin Hermiston – 28:16.84
22. Bryce Bell – 28:45.10
Men's Team Standings
Liberty – 25
Stetson – 42
FGCU – 71
USF – 94
Women's Individual Results
10. Gianna Citarella – 20:00.99
13. Jillian Felton – 20:20.18
16. Emily O'Connor – 20:40.33
23. Julia Filip – 21:07.84
32. Reilly Ritter – 22:09.07
34. Madeline Wyers – 22:36.17
Women's Team Standings
Liberty – 16
USF – 64
FGCU – 68
Stetson – 94
#18 FGCU MSOC vs Seton Hall Recap
It was a battle all the way until the final seconds as junior defender Max Edwards netted the game-winner to lead the No. 18 FGCU men's soccer team (2-0-1) past Seton Hall (1-1-0), 1-0, Friday night at the FGCU Soccer Complex.
"Seton Hall came in with some confidence and they stifled us, so I give them a lot of credit," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "In the second half I saw a switch. We were becoming more dangerous, guys were giving more effort with confidence and we created more opportunities. In the end, Max played an incredible game in the back for us defensively and got forward and scored the game-winner. If there was one guy that was really the man of the match and someone who epitomized how we wanted to play, it was him. He was fully deserving to be the hero tonight."
It was a quiet opening stanza for the Eagles as the squad had four shots the entire half, two on target coming from junior Kareem Riley and senior Miguel Perez. Seton Hall walked away with three shots none of threat to redshirt junior keeper Gustavo Vasconcelos. Both sides garnered one corner apiece.
The opening 10 minutes of the second period saw a more aggressive Eagle squad. Within the early stages, the Green and Blue recorded three shots, two coming on target. The constant attack started to pay off as senior Ivan Rosales nearly put FGCU on the board in the in the 68th minute. Rosales struck a liner off a cross inside the six-yard box but the SHU keeper denied the senior.
Over the next 10 minutes the Pirates started testing Vasconcelos, but the Brazil native stood firm, coming up with three saves. In the final eight minutes, Perez continued to attack with a pair of shots, his final proving to be the difference maker. With 15 seconds left, the left-footed striker this time used his right boot to launch a shot, only for it to come off the keeper for Edwards to bury it in the top corner with five seconds left.
It was Edwards' first goal as an Eagle and of the season. All said FGCU registered 12 shots, seven coming on frame. Vasconcelos secured three saves, moving to 2-0-1 on the season.
Up Next:
FGCU faces a quick turnaround hosting Georgia Southern (1-0-0) Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
"Seton Hall came in with some confidence and they stifled us, so I give them a lot of credit," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "In the second half I saw a switch. We were becoming more dangerous, guys were giving more effort with confidence and we created more opportunities. In the end, Max played an incredible game in the back for us defensively and got forward and scored the game-winner. If there was one guy that was really the man of the match and someone who epitomized how we wanted to play, it was him. He was fully deserving to be the hero tonight."
It was a quiet opening stanza for the Eagles as the squad had four shots the entire half, two on target coming from junior Kareem Riley and senior Miguel Perez. Seton Hall walked away with three shots none of threat to redshirt junior keeper Gustavo Vasconcelos. Both sides garnered one corner apiece.
The opening 10 minutes of the second period saw a more aggressive Eagle squad. Within the early stages, the Green and Blue recorded three shots, two coming on target. The constant attack started to pay off as senior Ivan Rosales nearly put FGCU on the board in the in the 68th minute. Rosales struck a liner off a cross inside the six-yard box but the SHU keeper denied the senior.
Over the next 10 minutes the Pirates started testing Vasconcelos, but the Brazil native stood firm, coming up with three saves. In the final eight minutes, Perez continued to attack with a pair of shots, his final proving to be the difference maker. With 15 seconds left, the left-footed striker this time used his right boot to launch a shot, only for it to come off the keeper for Edwards to bury it in the top corner with five seconds left.
It was Edwards' first goal as an Eagle and of the season. All said FGCU registered 12 shots, seven coming on frame. Vasconcelos secured three saves, moving to 2-0-1 on the season.
Up Next:
FGCU faces a quick turnaround hosting Georgia Southern (1-0-0) Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
FGCU Volleyball: Hurricane Invitational Day One Recap
The FGCU volleyball team (5-0) are off to one of their best starts in program history after completing day one of the Hurricane Invitational. The Eagles pulled off two 3-0 shutouts wins over USF (2-1) (25-13, 25-17, 25-14) and Power 5 Auburn (1-3) (25-22, 25-19, 25-14). With the win over USF, the Eagles are now 5-3 overall, while the win over Auburn not only put them at 1-1, but it was the first win against an SEC team (1-6 overall). Overall, this was the Eagles' first 5-0 start in program history
"Our team played extremely well today, particularly from the service line," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "We were able to put the opponents in some tough positions after first contact and that allowed our block and defense to work."
"FGCU is a great team who finished in the top 50 in the country last season and has a lot of experienced players back," said USF head coach Courtney Draper. "We had a lot of long rallies and played the first half of each set really well, but could not sustain that in the second half of each set. We hit extremely well in the final set but We needed to have a more aggressive mentality in all areas of the game. We are still working through some lineup adjustments, but Lauren (LaBeck) did a nice job setting and (Jac) St. Cin made some great attacking decisions."
"FGCU is an outstanding team and it is apparent why they have been successful," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "I really liked how we started out the match, but we just couldn't hold momentum against this hard-hitting FGCU team."
Junior Cortney VanLiew totaled 31 kills with just three errors in the two matches combined, including an 18-kill, .471 outing against Auburn in which she had 10 kills in a tight first set.
Sophomore Chelsey Lockey totaled 69 assists and 20 digs, including 37 assists and 13 digs against USF for her second double-double of the season. Classmate Dana Axner combined for 29 digs.
"Chelsey was outstanding finding favorable matchups in the offense and feeding the hot hitters when needed," Botsford said. "Erin (Shomaker) was a nice spark off the bench in both matches and came up with some key plays. Overall, I really liked the way our team finished sets. Everyone was dialed in on doing their job well, and I thought the execution was a step up from last week."
Against USF, VanLiew had a team-high 13 kills, although sophomore Tori Morris (9 kills, .571, five blocks) also had an impactful match. Freshman Erin Shomaker (8 kills, .727) and senior Daniele Serrano (7 kills, .294) also contributed offensively. Lockey's 13 digs was a team-high, while Axner chipped in 12 along with five assists. Shomaker added four blocks (two solo).
As a team, FGCU hit. 322 against the Bulls, including a 16-kill, zero error third set in which they tallied a .533 hitting percentage. Defensively, they held USF to a .115 finish.
VanLiew was the lone player in double figure kills against Auburn, but Serrano (8 kills, .500) and Shomaker (7 kills, .583) also contributed. Axner had a game-high 17 digs, and Morris led the way with three blocks. Lockey fell just three digs shy of another double-double. The Eagles hit .320 as a team compared to .158 for Auburn.
Notes:
With her 31 kills, VanLiew now has 873 career kills and is 27 shy of reaching 900 and 54 shy of passing Kaitlin Holm (926, 2011-13) for fifth all-time.
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll had two kills against Auburn to eclipse 1,400 in her career. She is the program's all-time leader and one of only nine in A-SUN history to record that many in a career.
For Serrano, her 15 kills put her at 653 career kills, surpassing Jelena Simic (649, 2009-11) for 13th all-time. Serrano is 12 shy of passing Devon Watts (664, 2004-05) for 12th all-time and 47 shy of becoming the 10th player to reach 700 career kills.
Defensively, Serrano's three total blocks on Friday moved her to 10th place in A-SUN history with 375.0 in her career as she surpassed Shelby Connors (Stetson, 2014-17) and is five shy of Alex Kelly (Lipscomb, 2007-10) for eighth. Her two solo blocks put her at 57 as she remains second all-time behind Olivia Mesner (62, 2011-13). Serrano need six more to become the all-time leader in solo blocks.
With her 29 total digs, Axner eclipsed 700 career digs and now has 722 in her career. Axner is 44 away from passing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 11th all-time.
Botsford earned his 121st win as head coach for FGCU. For the assistant coaches, Daniel Mahy earned his 270th and 271st wins as an FGCU coach and his 298th and 299th wins overall while Stephanie Zelinksi earned her 59th and 60th. Mahy enters his 14th season as a coach for FGCU, while Zelinski enters her second.
Senior Giovanna Borgiotti had seven kills in both matches and now has 516 in her career. Borgiotti is 57 shy of passing Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 15th all-time.
Junior Snowy Burnam had four kills in the match against Auburn and now has 469 kills in her career (18th all-time). Burnam needs 12 to pass Brittany Muse (480, 2009-12) for 17th all-time and 31 to become the 17th player to reach 500 career kills.
Other Scores:
George Washington would fall to Miami by a score of 3-2.
"It was definitely a battle with a lot of ups and downs, and with a young team you expect that, but we just have to learn how to manage our game," Miami head coach Jose "Keno" Gandara said. "We need to have the composure to play longer, longer and longer. I think we served good at the right times and offensively, we killed the ball enough but too many hitting errors."
A-SUN Scores:
UNF (2-3) would fall to Eastern Carolina and Wake Forest on the first day of the UNF Invitational by scores of 3-1. They will face former A-SUN Conference member Mercer University on day two.
Lipscomb (1-4) earned their first win of the season defeating IUPUI by a score of 3-2 at the Hyatt Regency Invitational at Georgia Tech. The Bison fell 3-1 to host Georgia Tech on the first day of the invitational.
Kennesaw State (3-2) defeated James Madison on day one of the three-day High Point Invitational. They will face Furman on day two of the invitational.
North Alabama (1-3) fell 3-0 to host Samford at the three-day Samford Invitational. They will face Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) and Jacksonville State on day two.
Jacksonville (0-4) fell 3-2 to Murray State at the two-day Troy Tournament. They will face Chattanooga and host Troy on day two.
Stetson (1-2) fell 3-1 to host FIU at two-day FIU Panther Fest. They will face Hofstra on day two.
Liberty (0-2) opened their season on the road at the Texas State Invitational. They will host the Liberty Invitational welcoming Elon, Virginia Tech and Davidson.
NJIT (0-5) fell 3-2 to Quinnipiac on day one of the Fairleigh Dickinson Invitational. They will face Morgan State and host FDU on day two.
Up Next:
The Eagles will close out the Hurricane Invitational on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against George Washington.
"Our team played extremely well today, particularly from the service line," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "We were able to put the opponents in some tough positions after first contact and that allowed our block and defense to work."
"FGCU is a great team who finished in the top 50 in the country last season and has a lot of experienced players back," said USF head coach Courtney Draper. "We had a lot of long rallies and played the first half of each set really well, but could not sustain that in the second half of each set. We hit extremely well in the final set but We needed to have a more aggressive mentality in all areas of the game. We are still working through some lineup adjustments, but Lauren (LaBeck) did a nice job setting and (Jac) St. Cin made some great attacking decisions."
"FGCU is an outstanding team and it is apparent why they have been successful," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "I really liked how we started out the match, but we just couldn't hold momentum against this hard-hitting FGCU team."
Junior Cortney VanLiew totaled 31 kills with just three errors in the two matches combined, including an 18-kill, .471 outing against Auburn in which she had 10 kills in a tight first set.
Sophomore Chelsey Lockey totaled 69 assists and 20 digs, including 37 assists and 13 digs against USF for her second double-double of the season. Classmate Dana Axner combined for 29 digs.
"Chelsey was outstanding finding favorable matchups in the offense and feeding the hot hitters when needed," Botsford said. "Erin (Shomaker) was a nice spark off the bench in both matches and came up with some key plays. Overall, I really liked the way our team finished sets. Everyone was dialed in on doing their job well, and I thought the execution was a step up from last week."
Against USF, VanLiew had a team-high 13 kills, although sophomore Tori Morris (9 kills, .571, five blocks) also had an impactful match. Freshman Erin Shomaker (8 kills, .727) and senior Daniele Serrano (7 kills, .294) also contributed offensively. Lockey's 13 digs was a team-high, while Axner chipped in 12 along with five assists. Shomaker added four blocks (two solo).
As a team, FGCU hit. 322 against the Bulls, including a 16-kill, zero error third set in which they tallied a .533 hitting percentage. Defensively, they held USF to a .115 finish.
VanLiew was the lone player in double figure kills against Auburn, but Serrano (8 kills, .500) and Shomaker (7 kills, .583) also contributed. Axner had a game-high 17 digs, and Morris led the way with three blocks. Lockey fell just three digs shy of another double-double. The Eagles hit .320 as a team compared to .158 for Auburn.
Notes:
With her 31 kills, VanLiew now has 873 career kills and is 27 shy of reaching 900 and 54 shy of passing Kaitlin Holm (926, 2011-13) for fifth all-time.
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll had two kills against Auburn to eclipse 1,400 in her career. She is the program's all-time leader and one of only nine in A-SUN history to record that many in a career.
For Serrano, her 15 kills put her at 653 career kills, surpassing Jelena Simic (649, 2009-11) for 13th all-time. Serrano is 12 shy of passing Devon Watts (664, 2004-05) for 12th all-time and 47 shy of becoming the 10th player to reach 700 career kills.
Defensively, Serrano's three total blocks on Friday moved her to 10th place in A-SUN history with 375.0 in her career as she surpassed Shelby Connors (Stetson, 2014-17) and is five shy of Alex Kelly (Lipscomb, 2007-10) for eighth. Her two solo blocks put her at 57 as she remains second all-time behind Olivia Mesner (62, 2011-13). Serrano need six more to become the all-time leader in solo blocks.
With her 29 total digs, Axner eclipsed 700 career digs and now has 722 in her career. Axner is 44 away from passing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 11th all-time.
Botsford earned his 121st win as head coach for FGCU. For the assistant coaches, Daniel Mahy earned his 270th and 271st wins as an FGCU coach and his 298th and 299th wins overall while Stephanie Zelinksi earned her 59th and 60th. Mahy enters his 14th season as a coach for FGCU, while Zelinski enters her second.
Senior Giovanna Borgiotti had seven kills in both matches and now has 516 in her career. Borgiotti is 57 shy of passing Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 15th all-time.
Junior Snowy Burnam had four kills in the match against Auburn and now has 469 kills in her career (18th all-time). Burnam needs 12 to pass Brittany Muse (480, 2009-12) for 17th all-time and 31 to become the 17th player to reach 500 career kills.
Other Scores:
George Washington would fall to Miami by a score of 3-2.
"It was definitely a battle with a lot of ups and downs, and with a young team you expect that, but we just have to learn how to manage our game," Miami head coach Jose "Keno" Gandara said. "We need to have the composure to play longer, longer and longer. I think we served good at the right times and offensively, we killed the ball enough but too many hitting errors."
A-SUN Scores:
UNF (2-3) would fall to Eastern Carolina and Wake Forest on the first day of the UNF Invitational by scores of 3-1. They will face former A-SUN Conference member Mercer University on day two.
Lipscomb (1-4) earned their first win of the season defeating IUPUI by a score of 3-2 at the Hyatt Regency Invitational at Georgia Tech. The Bison fell 3-1 to host Georgia Tech on the first day of the invitational.
Kennesaw State (3-2) defeated James Madison on day one of the three-day High Point Invitational. They will face Furman on day two of the invitational.
North Alabama (1-3) fell 3-0 to host Samford at the three-day Samford Invitational. They will face Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) and Jacksonville State on day two.
Jacksonville (0-4) fell 3-2 to Murray State at the two-day Troy Tournament. They will face Chattanooga and host Troy on day two.
Stetson (1-2) fell 3-1 to host FIU at two-day FIU Panther Fest. They will face Hofstra on day two.
Liberty (0-2) opened their season on the road at the Texas State Invitational. They will host the Liberty Invitational welcoming Elon, Virginia Tech and Davidson.
NJIT (0-5) fell 3-2 to Quinnipiac on day one of the Fairleigh Dickinson Invitational. They will face Morgan State and host FDU on day two.
Up Next:
The Eagles will close out the Hurricane Invitational on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against George Washington.
FGCU MSOC vs Seton Hall; Georgia Southern Preview
The No. 18-ranked FGCU men's soccer team hosts Seton Hall Friday night in its home-opener as Georgia Southern comes in Sunday afternoon.
Prior to kickoff, FGCU will have a pregame ceremony celebrating the team's 2018 A-SUN regular season title. The match is also a "Green Out'.
The Green and Blue:
The Eagles are coming off a 4-3 win over then-ranked No. 13 Michigan and a 1-1 double overtime draw over Michigan State (2018 NCAA College Cup participant), who was ranked No. 7. Against the Wolverines, senior midfielder Ryan Medilah (Paris, France/San Jacinto) netted the program's sixth overall hat trick and had one assist. His performance led him to be named National Player of the Week by both United Soccer Coaches/NCAA and College Soccer News.
Medilah leads the Eagles with seven points while Ivan Rosales (Houston, Texas/San Jacinto) has netted a pair of goals (four points). Tuesday afternoon, FGCU went from receiving no votes in the preseason to being dubbed the No. 18 team in the country in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
Scouting the Pirates:
Stephen Elias leads Seton Hall with three goals in 66 minutes as the Pirates are coming off a 6-0 win over Central Connecticut State last Friday. JP Martin dished out two helpers in that match. In net, Andreas Nota played all 90 minutes, coming away with three saves while facing eight shots.
This will be the first meeting between both clubs.
Scouting the Eagles:
Georgia Southern is coming off two road wins over UNC Wilmington (4-2) and the College of Charleston (2-0). Alhaji Tambadu leads the bunch with three goals while Adam Davie has netted a pair. Meanwhile, Aldair Cortes has recorded two assists. Between the posts, Jokul Blaengsson has started both matches playing the full 90 minutes each outing, securing eight saves.
This will be the second meeting between both programs as FGCU defeated Georgia Southern on the road last year 2-0. Joao Burti scored in that match with a goal in the 58th minute to secure the win.
Prior to kickoff, FGCU will have a pregame ceremony celebrating the team's 2018 A-SUN regular season title. The match is also a "Green Out'.
The Green and Blue:
The Eagles are coming off a 4-3 win over then-ranked No. 13 Michigan and a 1-1 double overtime draw over Michigan State (2018 NCAA College Cup participant), who was ranked No. 7. Against the Wolverines, senior midfielder Ryan Medilah (Paris, France/San Jacinto) netted the program's sixth overall hat trick and had one assist. His performance led him to be named National Player of the Week by both United Soccer Coaches/NCAA and College Soccer News.
Medilah leads the Eagles with seven points while Ivan Rosales (Houston, Texas/San Jacinto) has netted a pair of goals (four points). Tuesday afternoon, FGCU went from receiving no votes in the preseason to being dubbed the No. 18 team in the country in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
Scouting the Pirates:
Stephen Elias leads Seton Hall with three goals in 66 minutes as the Pirates are coming off a 6-0 win over Central Connecticut State last Friday. JP Martin dished out two helpers in that match. In net, Andreas Nota played all 90 minutes, coming away with three saves while facing eight shots.
This will be the first meeting between both clubs.
Scouting the Eagles:
Georgia Southern is coming off two road wins over UNC Wilmington (4-2) and the College of Charleston (2-0). Alhaji Tambadu leads the bunch with three goals while Adam Davie has netted a pair. Meanwhile, Aldair Cortes has recorded two assists. Between the posts, Jokul Blaengsson has started both matches playing the full 90 minutes each outing, securing eight saves.
This will be the second meeting between both programs as FGCU defeated Georgia Southern on the road last year 2-0. Joao Burti scored in that match with a goal in the 58th minute to secure the win.
FGCU XC: Buckingham Property Preview
For the first time in seven years, the FGCU men's and women's cross country programs will host its own invitational at the Buckingham property. It is also the site of the 2019 A-SUN Championship.
The Green and Blue
FGCU opened the 2019 campaign at the FAU Invite last Friday in which the men's side placed second overall while the women's team took home fifth place. Rising junior Lucas Kiprotich paced the Eagles coming in ninth overall as the men's squad all finished in the top-18.
Meanwhile, rising sophomore Emily O'Connor led the women's group crossing the end line first at 14th overall as each Eagle placed in the top-44.
The last time out (2012) at the FGCU Invitational, the men's finished first overall while the women's placed second. Current assistant coach Argeo Cruz took home the individual title with an 8k time of 26:00.2
Teams Attending
USF
Stetson
Liberty
The Green and Blue
FGCU opened the 2019 campaign at the FAU Invite last Friday in which the men's side placed second overall while the women's team took home fifth place. Rising junior Lucas Kiprotich paced the Eagles coming in ninth overall as the men's squad all finished in the top-18.
Meanwhile, rising sophomore Emily O'Connor led the women's group crossing the end line first at 14th overall as each Eagle placed in the top-44.
The last time out (2012) at the FGCU Invitational, the men's finished first overall while the women's placed second. Current assistant coach Argeo Cruz took home the individual title with an 8k time of 26:00.2
Teams Attending
USF
Stetson
Liberty
SCF VB Prepares for Daytona Invitational
The SCF volleyball team (5-5) will head for their third and final invitational of the season as they travel to DME Academy in Daytona Beach for the two-day Daytona State Volleyball Invitational Friday and Saturday, September 6-7, hosted by Daytona State College. The Manatees will face Palm Beach State (2-1) and Broward College (2-0) on day one before facing Indian River State (3-1) and Daytona State (3-1) on day two.
Pensacola State (5-5), Santa Fe (3-2) and #7 Polk State (6-0) are also scheduled to compete in the invitational. SCF will not be playing Pensacola State, Santa Fe or Polk State in the invitational. Originally, Monroe College was scheduled to participate, but have dropped out.
Hurricane Dorian:
Most of the junior college's seasons in Florida were assumingly going to be affected by Hurricane Dorian, so for the safety of all the student-athletes, coaches and fans many of the volleyball matches were cancelled. Turned out Dorian did not hit Florida thanks to a jetstream of air pushing it away.
Last Time Out:
The Manatees played Broward College in a match prior to the tournament where they lost by a score of 3-1. They are still looking for their first win of the season.
Offensively, sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom leads the team with 42 kills and 10 blocks. Against Broward College, Esseboom finished with 8 kills and a block.
Following behind Esseboom is freshman Lelani Wilcox-Nanai. The New Zealander has 37 kills and 50 digs in her name. In the match against Broward, Wilcox-Nanai had a double-double of 16 kills and 10 digs.
Freshman Gracee Carpino leads the team with 128 assists and seven aces. Carpino had 27 assists and an ace while adding five digs and two kills.
Defensively, sophomore Daviya Bernard is tied for first with Esseboom with 10 blocks while adding 22 kills of her own. Meanwhile, freshman Brooke Henry had 51 digs and three aces. Freshman Lisa Jaunet is behind Esseboom and Bernard with eight blocks to go with her 14 kills. Against Broward, Bernard had four kills and two blocks, Henry had 11 digs and an ace and Jaunet had five kills and three blocks.
25 Dig Club x3+1,000:
For sophomore Sydney Jaco, she has joined the NJCAA Region 8 25 dig club for the third time this season. Jaco had 27 digs in her match against Broward and has 124 in her name currently. In addition, Jaco's 27 digs put her at 908 and now needs 92 to have 1,000 career digs.
Scouting PBSC:
The Panthers have not competed since the Santa Fe/Campus USA Classic. They were originally scheduled to compete in the Patriots Invitational, but due to Hurricane Dorian, the invitational was cancelled.
Freshman Madison Barton leads the team with 37 kills, five aces and 18 blocks (three solo) while sophomore Aleksandra Hamuda follows with 29 kills. Sophomores Bella Magrino and Martha Torres have 20 kills each.
Defensively, Torres leads the team with 20 blocks (five solo) while classmate Madison Monahan takes over in the backrow with 45 digs.
The Manatees and Panthers met with each other in the Santa Fe/Campus USA Classic with the Panthers winning 3-2 in a nail-biter of a match. Overall, the Manatees are 7-7 against the Panthers (2012-present).
Scouting Broward:
Offensively, sophomore Raytchelle Miranda had a double-double of 16 kills and 10 digs against SCF. Currently, Miranda has 31 kills and 23 digs in her name, while classmate Mia Thomas, who had 42 assists against SCF, has 81 assists.
Defensively, freshmen Kawana Jeronimo and Yasmin Figueirdo lead the team with a combined 30 blocks while classmate Bruna Torres has 36 digs and 10 aces.
Broward holds a 2-1 lead in the overall series which includes Wednesday's loss.
Scouting Indian River:
The Pioneers opened their season at home with a 3-1 win over Florida State College at Jacksonville before splitting at the HCC Tournament with a 3-1 loss to HCC and a 3-2 over Lake Sumter before defeating South Florida State College 3-2.
Offensively, freshman Tessa Raadsheer leads the team with 51 kills, 45 digs and seven aces. In her match against SFSC, Raadsheer had a double-double of 12 kills and 17 digs while adding five aces. In fact, Raadsheer has three double-doubles so far.
Following Raadsheer is classmate Mallory Roney. Roney has 39 kills in her name. In her last match, Roney had 10 kills against SFSC.
Sophomore Jada Bivins has 88 assists in her name. She did not play against SFSC.
Defensively, sophomore Jacki Schmitz leads the team with eight blocks. Schmitz was held to no blocks but added one kill. Sophomore Valentina Beltran has 69 digs and four aces. Beltran had 18 digs against SFSC.
Both teams are tied 3-3 in the overall series.
Scouting Daytona State:
The Falcons finished their last match getting shutout by HCC.
Offensively, freshman Carla Hernandez and freshman Hallie Huth lead the team with 39 and 38 kills respectively. Against HCC, Hernandez had six kills while Huth had five kills, 13 digs and three blocks. Sophomore Bruna Avila has 128 assists in her name. Avila had 26 assists in her name against HCC.
Defensively, sophomore Alexis Thompson has 18 blocks to go with her 19 kills while classmate Nicole Rodriguez has 55 digs. Against HCC, Thompson had nine kills and six blocks while Rodriguez had 11 digs.
SCF is 2-11 against the Falcons.
How to Keep Up:
Fans can keep up to date with all four teams on Twitter:
SCF: @SCFVolleyball
Broward: @BrowardATH
IRS: @irscvb
Daytona: @DSCFalconSports
PBSC: @PBSCPanthers
Pensacola State (5-5), Santa Fe (3-2) and #7 Polk State (6-0) are also scheduled to compete in the invitational. SCF will not be playing Pensacola State, Santa Fe or Polk State in the invitational. Originally, Monroe College was scheduled to participate, but have dropped out.
Hurricane Dorian:
Most of the junior college's seasons in Florida were assumingly going to be affected by Hurricane Dorian, so for the safety of all the student-athletes, coaches and fans many of the volleyball matches were cancelled. Turned out Dorian did not hit Florida thanks to a jetstream of air pushing it away.
Last Time Out:
The Manatees played Broward College in a match prior to the tournament where they lost by a score of 3-1. They are still looking for their first win of the season.
Offensively, sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom leads the team with 42 kills and 10 blocks. Against Broward College, Esseboom finished with 8 kills and a block.
Following behind Esseboom is freshman Lelani Wilcox-Nanai. The New Zealander has 37 kills and 50 digs in her name. In the match against Broward, Wilcox-Nanai had a double-double of 16 kills and 10 digs.
Freshman Gracee Carpino leads the team with 128 assists and seven aces. Carpino had 27 assists and an ace while adding five digs and two kills.
Defensively, sophomore Daviya Bernard is tied for first with Esseboom with 10 blocks while adding 22 kills of her own. Meanwhile, freshman Brooke Henry had 51 digs and three aces. Freshman Lisa Jaunet is behind Esseboom and Bernard with eight blocks to go with her 14 kills. Against Broward, Bernard had four kills and two blocks, Henry had 11 digs and an ace and Jaunet had five kills and three blocks.
25 Dig Club x3+1,000:
For sophomore Sydney Jaco, she has joined the NJCAA Region 8 25 dig club for the third time this season. Jaco had 27 digs in her match against Broward and has 124 in her name currently. In addition, Jaco's 27 digs put her at 908 and now needs 92 to have 1,000 career digs.
Scouting PBSC:
The Panthers have not competed since the Santa Fe/Campus USA Classic. They were originally scheduled to compete in the Patriots Invitational, but due to Hurricane Dorian, the invitational was cancelled.
Freshman Madison Barton leads the team with 37 kills, five aces and 18 blocks (three solo) while sophomore Aleksandra Hamuda follows with 29 kills. Sophomores Bella Magrino and Martha Torres have 20 kills each.
Defensively, Torres leads the team with 20 blocks (five solo) while classmate Madison Monahan takes over in the backrow with 45 digs.
The Manatees and Panthers met with each other in the Santa Fe/Campus USA Classic with the Panthers winning 3-2 in a nail-biter of a match. Overall, the Manatees are 7-7 against the Panthers (2012-present).
Scouting Broward:
Offensively, sophomore Raytchelle Miranda had a double-double of 16 kills and 10 digs against SCF. Currently, Miranda has 31 kills and 23 digs in her name, while classmate Mia Thomas, who had 42 assists against SCF, has 81 assists.
Defensively, freshmen Kawana Jeronimo and Yasmin Figueirdo lead the team with a combined 30 blocks while classmate Bruna Torres has 36 digs and 10 aces.
Broward holds a 2-1 lead in the overall series which includes Wednesday's loss.
Scouting Indian River:
The Pioneers opened their season at home with a 3-1 win over Florida State College at Jacksonville before splitting at the HCC Tournament with a 3-1 loss to HCC and a 3-2 over Lake Sumter before defeating South Florida State College 3-2.
Offensively, freshman Tessa Raadsheer leads the team with 51 kills, 45 digs and seven aces. In her match against SFSC, Raadsheer had a double-double of 12 kills and 17 digs while adding five aces. In fact, Raadsheer has three double-doubles so far.
Following Raadsheer is classmate Mallory Roney. Roney has 39 kills in her name. In her last match, Roney had 10 kills against SFSC.
Sophomore Jada Bivins has 88 assists in her name. She did not play against SFSC.
Defensively, sophomore Jacki Schmitz leads the team with eight blocks. Schmitz was held to no blocks but added one kill. Sophomore Valentina Beltran has 69 digs and four aces. Beltran had 18 digs against SFSC.
Both teams are tied 3-3 in the overall series.
Scouting Daytona State:
The Falcons finished their last match getting shutout by HCC.
Offensively, freshman Carla Hernandez and freshman Hallie Huth lead the team with 39 and 38 kills respectively. Against HCC, Hernandez had six kills while Huth had five kills, 13 digs and three blocks. Sophomore Bruna Avila has 128 assists in her name. Avila had 26 assists in her name against HCC.
Defensively, sophomore Alexis Thompson has 18 blocks to go with her 19 kills while classmate Nicole Rodriguez has 55 digs. Against HCC, Thompson had nine kills and six blocks while Rodriguez had 11 digs.
SCF is 2-11 against the Falcons.
How to Keep Up:
Fans can keep up to date with all four teams on Twitter:
SCF: @SCFVolleyball
Broward: @BrowardATH
IRS: @irscvb
Daytona: @DSCFalconSports
PBSC: @PBSCPanthers
SCF Volleyball Falls to Broward
The SCF volleyball team (0-5) fought hard, but came up short as they fell 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 16-25, 19-25) against Broward (2-0). With the loss, the Manatees are now 1-2. against the Seahawks (2012-present).
"We played good overall," said head coach Angela Byrd. "We made some minor mistakes that were costly. We were in the match until the other teams libero went on a 9 point serving run before we sided out."
Freshman Lelani Wilcox-Nanai led the Manatees offensively with a double-double of 16 kills and 10 digs while sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom followed with eight kills and a block. Freshman Gracee Carpino had 27 assists and five digs.
Defensively, sophomore Sydney Jaco and freshmen Brooke Henry and Bailey Sikkema were all in double digits in digs. Jaco led the team with 27 digs, while Henry (11 digs) and Sikkema (12 digs) had one ace each. With her 27 digs, Jaco put herself at 908 in her career. She is now 92 away from reaching 1,000 career digs.
Freshman Lisa Jaunet added with three blocks and five kills while sophomores Daviya Bernard and Barbora Tichackova had two blocks each.
"Overall our offense played well. We started slow on defense. Leilani and Lisa had great games at the net, while Bailey had a great defensive game."
Offensively, sophomore Raytchelle Miranda had a double-double of 16 kills and 10 digs for the Seahawks, while defensively freshman Yasmin Figueirdo had a team-high nine blocks (three solo).
Suncoast Scores:
SPC (1-0) will be competing in their second match against Santa Fe (9/10).
FSW (2-3) will be hosting a tri-match welcoming Broward and College of Central Florida (CCF).
HCC (9-0) will be competing against Daytona State on the road (9/10).
Up Next:
The Manatees will play in their second official tournament as they play in the two-day Daytona State Invitational at DME Academy in Daytona Beach. The Manatees will face Palm Beach State (2-1), Broward (2-0), Indian River State (3-1) and host Daytona State (3-1)
"We know what to expect, so we have to prepare for them. We can expect high energy, fast offense, and huge blocks."
"We played good overall," said head coach Angela Byrd. "We made some minor mistakes that were costly. We were in the match until the other teams libero went on a 9 point serving run before we sided out."
Freshman Lelani Wilcox-Nanai led the Manatees offensively with a double-double of 16 kills and 10 digs while sophomore Lakeesha Esseboom followed with eight kills and a block. Freshman Gracee Carpino had 27 assists and five digs.
Defensively, sophomore Sydney Jaco and freshmen Brooke Henry and Bailey Sikkema were all in double digits in digs. Jaco led the team with 27 digs, while Henry (11 digs) and Sikkema (12 digs) had one ace each. With her 27 digs, Jaco put herself at 908 in her career. She is now 92 away from reaching 1,000 career digs.
Freshman Lisa Jaunet added with three blocks and five kills while sophomores Daviya Bernard and Barbora Tichackova had two blocks each.
"Overall our offense played well. We started slow on defense. Leilani and Lisa had great games at the net, while Bailey had a great defensive game."
Offensively, sophomore Raytchelle Miranda had a double-double of 16 kills and 10 digs for the Seahawks, while defensively freshman Yasmin Figueirdo had a team-high nine blocks (three solo).
Suncoast Scores:
SPC (1-0) will be competing in their second match against Santa Fe (9/10).
FSW (2-3) will be hosting a tri-match welcoming Broward and College of Central Florida (CCF).
HCC (9-0) will be competing against Daytona State on the road (9/10).
Up Next:
The Manatees will play in their second official tournament as they play in the two-day Daytona State Invitational at DME Academy in Daytona Beach. The Manatees will face Palm Beach State (2-1), Broward (2-0), Indian River State (3-1) and host Daytona State (3-1)
"We know what to expect, so we have to prepare for them. We can expect high energy, fast offense, and huge blocks."
FGCU VB: Hurricane Invitational Preview
After a successful outing last weekend, the FGCU volleyball team (3-0) head on neutral grounds as they travel to Coral Gables for the three-day Hurricane Invitational at the Knight Complex, hosted by Miami (0-1) September 6-7. The Eagles will go against South Florida (2-0) at 11 am and Auburn (1-2) at 5 pm on Friday before facing George Washington (2-1) on Saturday at 2:30 pm.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles opened their season at home by hosting the Homewood Suites Fort Myers Classic. There, they defeated Akron 3-1 on day one before shutting out Bryant 3-0 and ending with a 3-2 nail-biting win over San Diego State.
What It Do VanLiew:
Junior Cortney VanLiew leads the team in success offensively. The defending A-SUN Player of the Year leads the team with 52 kills along with 22 digs and four aces. In the match against San Diego State, VanLiew recorded her first double-double of the season of 21 kills and 10 digs. VanLiew's 52 kills put her at 842 in her career (6th all-time) and is 85 away from passing Kaitlin Holm (926, 2011-13) for fifth all-time. As a result of her performance, VanLiew was named A-SUN Player of the Week. This is the fourth career A-SUN player of the week selection for VanLiew.
"I thought Cortney showed a lot of progress in first contact and that has been an area of emphasis for her over the past few months," head coach Matt Botsford said. "She also showed a lot of patience at the net with her attacking and was big within our net defense."
Welcome Back, Mrs. Aces:
The long awaited return for redshirt senior Amanda Carroll was a wonderful moment for the Eagles. Carroll, who missed most of the 2018 season after a season-ending knee injury, played in two matches and recorded three kills and 17 digs. Carroll's three kills put her at 1,398 in her career while her 17 digs put her at 1,019 (6th all-time).
Lock Up:
After Maggie Rick graduated, sophomore Chelsea Lockey has done her part of taking over for the all-time assists leader. Lockey currently has 134 assists on the year and 610 in her career (8th all-time). Lockey needs 70 assists to pass Ciara Sandoval (679, 2005) for 7th all-time.
Paul Bunyan's Apprentice:
Sophomore Dana Axner currently leads the way with 69 digs (5.75 digs per set) and has 693 in her career (12th all-time). The defending A-SUN Defensive Player of the Year who was named a member of the Homewood Suites Fort Myers All-Classic and team MVP needs 73 to pass Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 11th all-time. Like VanLiew, Axner was named A-SUN Defensive Player of the Week.
"Dana also showed that she has progressed in terms of serve receive," Botsford said. "Her role has grown a lot since last fall and, while her defense was at a high level all weekend, her serving and passing was a difference maker in those matches."
New Bloods:
Three freshmen made their debuts in an Eagle uniform, Shelby Beisner, Erin Shoemaker and Aja Jones. Beisner has an ace and three digs, Shoemaker is second on the team in kills (25) and eight blocks and Jones has 12 kills and nine blocks.
Mojo 500:
In the match against Bryant, senior Giovanna "Giogio" Borgiotti, who has 14 kills and a block for the Eagles, earned her 500th career kill with the team, becoming the 16th Eagle in doing so and now has 509 in her career. Borgiotti is 64 shy of passing Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 15th all-time.
A Winter Wonderland:
Junior Snowy Burnam is also on pace to becoming the 17th Eagle to reach 500 kills. Burnam has 15 kills in her name thus far and has 461 in her career after passing Christine Pinder (453, 2012-13) and Marlene Moeller (453, 2012-16) for 19th all-time. Burnam needs 39 more kills to reach the milestone. In addition, Burnam is tied for first with sophomore Tori Morris with 10 blocks.
Spice Burns:
Senior Daniele Serrano is third on the team in kills (24) and is tied for second with Jones in blocks (9). Serrano's 24 kills put her at 638 and is 12 away from passing passing Jelena Semic (649, 2009, 2011) for 13th all-time. As for her blocking, Serrano has 372 total blocks (all-time leader), 317 block assists (all-time leader) and 55 (2nd all-time). Serrano is eight away from passing Olivia Mesner (62, 2011-13).
Block Party 2.0:
With the departure of Kaiti Krivdo and Sharonda Pickering, two of the original members of the Block Party, the remaining members (Serrano, Borgiotti, Burnam, VanLiew and Morris) have a combined 36 total blocks (five solo), but now based on this season, two new members will be a part of the Block Party 2.0, Jones and Shoemaker. Both freshmen have a combined 17 total blocks (three solo), thus the team has a combined 53 total blocks (eight solo).
Assist Life:
Longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy has also reached his milestone. At the Homewood Suites Fort Myers Classic, Mahy earned his 269th career win as a coach for FGCU and his 297th overall win as a coach. Mahy enters his 14th season as assistant coach with the exclusion of two seasons at DII Barry University.
Last Time Out:
The Eagles opened their season at home by hosting the Homewood Suites Fort Myers Classic. There, they defeated Akron 3-1 on day one before shutting out Bryant 3-0 and ending with a 3-2 nail-biting win over San Diego State.
What It Do VanLiew:
Junior Cortney VanLiew leads the team in success offensively. The defending A-SUN Player of the Year leads the team with 52 kills along with 22 digs and four aces. In the match against San Diego State, VanLiew recorded her first double-double of the season of 21 kills and 10 digs. VanLiew's 52 kills put her at 842 in her career (6th all-time) and is 85 away from passing Kaitlin Holm (926, 2011-13) for fifth all-time. As a result of her performance, VanLiew was named A-SUN Player of the Week. This is the fourth career A-SUN player of the week selection for VanLiew.
"I thought Cortney showed a lot of progress in first contact and that has been an area of emphasis for her over the past few months," head coach Matt Botsford said. "She also showed a lot of patience at the net with her attacking and was big within our net defense."
Welcome Back, Mrs. Aces:
The long awaited return for redshirt senior Amanda Carroll was a wonderful moment for the Eagles. Carroll, who missed most of the 2018 season after a season-ending knee injury, played in two matches and recorded three kills and 17 digs. Carroll's three kills put her at 1,398 in her career while her 17 digs put her at 1,019 (6th all-time).
Lock Up:
After Maggie Rick graduated, sophomore Chelsea Lockey has done her part of taking over for the all-time assists leader. Lockey currently has 134 assists on the year and 610 in her career (8th all-time). Lockey needs 70 assists to pass Ciara Sandoval (679, 2005) for 7th all-time.
Paul Bunyan's Apprentice:
Sophomore Dana Axner currently leads the way with 69 digs (5.75 digs per set) and has 693 in her career (12th all-time). The defending A-SUN Defensive Player of the Year who was named a member of the Homewood Suites Fort Myers All-Classic and team MVP needs 73 to pass Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 11th all-time. Like VanLiew, Axner was named A-SUN Defensive Player of the Week.
"Dana also showed that she has progressed in terms of serve receive," Botsford said. "Her role has grown a lot since last fall and, while her defense was at a high level all weekend, her serving and passing was a difference maker in those matches."
New Bloods:
Three freshmen made their debuts in an Eagle uniform, Shelby Beisner, Erin Shoemaker and Aja Jones. Beisner has an ace and three digs, Shoemaker is second on the team in kills (25) and eight blocks and Jones has 12 kills and nine blocks.
Mojo 500:
In the match against Bryant, senior Giovanna "Giogio" Borgiotti, who has 14 kills and a block for the Eagles, earned her 500th career kill with the team, becoming the 16th Eagle in doing so and now has 509 in her career. Borgiotti is 64 shy of passing Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 15th all-time.
A Winter Wonderland:
Junior Snowy Burnam is also on pace to becoming the 17th Eagle to reach 500 kills. Burnam has 15 kills in her name thus far and has 461 in her career after passing Christine Pinder (453, 2012-13) and Marlene Moeller (453, 2012-16) for 19th all-time. Burnam needs 39 more kills to reach the milestone. In addition, Burnam is tied for first with sophomore Tori Morris with 10 blocks.
Spice Burns:
Senior Daniele Serrano is third on the team in kills (24) and is tied for second with Jones in blocks (9). Serrano's 24 kills put her at 638 and is 12 away from passing passing Jelena Semic (649, 2009, 2011) for 13th all-time. As for her blocking, Serrano has 372 total blocks (all-time leader), 317 block assists (all-time leader) and 55 (2nd all-time). Serrano is eight away from passing Olivia Mesner (62, 2011-13).
Block Party 2.0:
With the departure of Kaiti Krivdo and Sharonda Pickering, two of the original members of the Block Party, the remaining members (Serrano, Borgiotti, Burnam, VanLiew and Morris) have a combined 36 total blocks (five solo), but now based on this season, two new members will be a part of the Block Party 2.0, Jones and Shoemaker. Both freshmen have a combined 17 total blocks (three solo), thus the team has a combined 53 total blocks (eight solo).
Assist Life:
Longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy has also reached his milestone. At the Homewood Suites Fort Myers Classic, Mahy earned his 269th career win as a coach for FGCU and his 297th overall win as a coach. Mahy enters his 14th season as assistant coach with the exclusion of two seasons at DII Barry University.
Second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 58th career win as a coach.
Shutout Life:
Since joining the A-SUN in 2007, the Eagles have had 139 shutouts.
Scouting USF:
USF finished 20-12 last season with a 9-9 record in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). They would qualify for the NIVC before falling to Georgia Tech in the first round. The Bulls are coming off of competing in the Ball State Tournament for their season opener. There, they defeated UAB 3-1 before defeating host Ball State 3-2.
Sophomore Lindsey Pliapol leads the team offensively with 37 kills and 24 digs. Pliapol had a double-double in both matches. Senior Jac'cara Walker is second on the team with 22 kills and three aces.
Defensively, freshman Ally Barnhart leads the team with 12 blocks to go with her 15 kills, while sophomore CC Clausen has 44 digs.
Scouting Auburn:
The Tigers will be one of three Power 5 schools that the Eagles will play. The Tigers finished last season 12-16 overall with a 5-13 record in the SEC. They are coming off of competing in their hosted War Eagle Invitational where they fell 3-2 to Tennessee State and 3-0 to New Mexico State before finishing day two with a 3-2 win over Butler.
Senior Enija Bidzane leads the team with 39 kills while junior Chesney McClellan has 31 kills and 10 blocks in her name. Sophomores Val Green and Tatum Shipes follow Bidzame and McClellan with 26 and 24 kills respectively. Shipes also lead the Tigers with 12 total blocks.
Defensively, aside from Shipe's 12 blocks, junior Payton White has 69 digs. White had a match-high 37 against Butler.
Scouting George Washington:
George Washington finished last season 11-15 overall with a 5-9 record in the Atlantic 10. The Colonials opened their season at home hosting the DC Challenge. There they split day one losing 3-1 to American University and shutting out Hartford before shutting out Howard on day two.
Offensively, senior Skylar Iott has 39 kills and three aces. In her first two matches, Iott had double-doubles in kills and digs. Following Iott offensively is grad student Paty Valle. A transfer from Texas Christian (TCU), Valle has 23 kills and four aces (both second on the team).
Defensively, grad student Caroline Sklaver leads the team with 20 blocks to go with her 17 kills while sophomore Bella Bowman had 38 digs and three aces.
Scouting Miami:
The Eagles will not play Miami in the Hurricane Invitational, but will play them in the Sunshine State Challenge in Orlando at the Venue at UCF (9/20-21). Last season, Miami finished the regular season at 13-12 with a 9-9 record in the ACC.
The Hurricanes began the season at home with a match against Mizzou, where they lost 3-1.
Freshman Kennedy Prince led the team with 15 kills and three aces while junior Janet Kalaniuvalu followed with 13. Kalaniuvalu transferred from Southern Utah where she was a member of the Big Sky All-Conference Second Team. Freshman Sequoia Wattles had 41 assists with two blocks.
Defensively, sophomore Emily Damon had 16 digs while classmate Priscilla Hernandez followed with 10.
Series History:
Against George Washington, it will be the second ever matchup between the two teams. Last time was on 8/31/2013 at the Cowgirl Classic in Wyoming.
Against USF, the Eagles hold the series at 4-3. The last time both teams met was on 9/5/2015 at the USF Classic. The Eagles shutout the Bulls for that match. Last time the Bulls defeated FGCU was on 9/10/13 where they won 3-1 in Ft. Myers.
For the match against Auburn, it will be the second matchup. The first time was on 9/7/2014 at the Ohio State Annual D.C. Koehl Classic where the Tigers won 3-1.
Despite not playing Miami, the Eagles are currently 1-3 against the Hurricanes. Last time both teams met, the Eagles shutout the Hurricanes at the Sunshine State Classic last season in Miami.
Scheduling:
9/6-
FGCU vs USF (11 am)
FGCU vs Auburn (5 pm)
GW vs Miami (7:30 pm)
9/7-
USF vs Auburn (11 am)
GW vs FGCU (2:30 pm)
USF vs Miami (5:30 pm)
9/8- Auburn vs GW (11 am)
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for all eight matches and fans can keep up with all the teams on Twitter.
Twitter Handles
FGCU: @FGCU_VB
Auburn: @AuburnVB
USF: @usfvolleyball
George Washington: @GW_Volleyball
Miami: @CanesVB
Livestats Link: https://hurricanesports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Shutout Life:
Since joining the A-SUN in 2007, the Eagles have had 139 shutouts.
Scouting USF:
USF finished 20-12 last season with a 9-9 record in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). They would qualify for the NIVC before falling to Georgia Tech in the first round. The Bulls are coming off of competing in the Ball State Tournament for their season opener. There, they defeated UAB 3-1 before defeating host Ball State 3-2.
Sophomore Lindsey Pliapol leads the team offensively with 37 kills and 24 digs. Pliapol had a double-double in both matches. Senior Jac'cara Walker is second on the team with 22 kills and three aces.
Defensively, freshman Ally Barnhart leads the team with 12 blocks to go with her 15 kills, while sophomore CC Clausen has 44 digs.
Scouting Auburn:
The Tigers will be one of three Power 5 schools that the Eagles will play. The Tigers finished last season 12-16 overall with a 5-13 record in the SEC. They are coming off of competing in their hosted War Eagle Invitational where they fell 3-2 to Tennessee State and 3-0 to New Mexico State before finishing day two with a 3-2 win over Butler.
Senior Enija Bidzane leads the team with 39 kills while junior Chesney McClellan has 31 kills and 10 blocks in her name. Sophomores Val Green and Tatum Shipes follow Bidzame and McClellan with 26 and 24 kills respectively. Shipes also lead the Tigers with 12 total blocks.
Defensively, aside from Shipe's 12 blocks, junior Payton White has 69 digs. White had a match-high 37 against Butler.
Scouting George Washington:
George Washington finished last season 11-15 overall with a 5-9 record in the Atlantic 10. The Colonials opened their season at home hosting the DC Challenge. There they split day one losing 3-1 to American University and shutting out Hartford before shutting out Howard on day two.
Offensively, senior Skylar Iott has 39 kills and three aces. In her first two matches, Iott had double-doubles in kills and digs. Following Iott offensively is grad student Paty Valle. A transfer from Texas Christian (TCU), Valle has 23 kills and four aces (both second on the team).
Defensively, grad student Caroline Sklaver leads the team with 20 blocks to go with her 17 kills while sophomore Bella Bowman had 38 digs and three aces.
Scouting Miami:
The Eagles will not play Miami in the Hurricane Invitational, but will play them in the Sunshine State Challenge in Orlando at the Venue at UCF (9/20-21). Last season, Miami finished the regular season at 13-12 with a 9-9 record in the ACC.
The Hurricanes began the season at home with a match against Mizzou, where they lost 3-1.
Freshman Kennedy Prince led the team with 15 kills and three aces while junior Janet Kalaniuvalu followed with 13. Kalaniuvalu transferred from Southern Utah where she was a member of the Big Sky All-Conference Second Team. Freshman Sequoia Wattles had 41 assists with two blocks.
Defensively, sophomore Emily Damon had 16 digs while classmate Priscilla Hernandez followed with 10.
Series History:
Against George Washington, it will be the second ever matchup between the two teams. Last time was on 8/31/2013 at the Cowgirl Classic in Wyoming.
Against USF, the Eagles hold the series at 4-3. The last time both teams met was on 9/5/2015 at the USF Classic. The Eagles shutout the Bulls for that match. Last time the Bulls defeated FGCU was on 9/10/13 where they won 3-1 in Ft. Myers.
For the match against Auburn, it will be the second matchup. The first time was on 9/7/2014 at the Ohio State Annual D.C. Koehl Classic where the Tigers won 3-1.
Despite not playing Miami, the Eagles are currently 1-3 against the Hurricanes. Last time both teams met, the Eagles shutout the Hurricanes at the Sunshine State Classic last season in Miami.
Scheduling:
9/6-
FGCU vs USF (11 am)
FGCU vs Auburn (5 pm)
GW vs Miami (7:30 pm)
9/7-
USF vs Auburn (11 am)
GW vs FGCU (2:30 pm)
USF vs Miami (5:30 pm)
9/8- Auburn vs GW (11 am)
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for all eight matches and fans can keep up with all the teams on Twitter.
Twitter Handles
FGCU: @FGCU_VB
Auburn: @AuburnVB
USF: @usfvolleyball
George Washington: @GW_Volleyball
Miami: @CanesVB
Livestats Link: https://hurricanesports.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
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