EUGENE, Ore. - Caitlin Shawver (Lauderdale by the Sea, Fla./Barry/ Northeast HS) led the Eagles with eight kills and Chelsea Lyles (Colorado Springs, Col./Western Nebraska CC) added four kills, three block assists, and a .222 hitting percentage as FGCU fell to the No. 18 Oregon Ducks, 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-14) at McArthur Court.
The home-opening win at home for Oregon (4-0) was the sixth straight under head coach Jim Moore who now sports a 100-60 ledger. The Ducks are now 27-0 in non-conference home contests and 58-3 overall mark in the preseason during Moore's tenure
Heather Meyers and Katherine Fischern registered a game-high nine kills in the victory for Oregon with freshman setters Lauren Plum and Camryn Irwin picking up 21 assists and 10 assists, respectively.
Shawver's eight kills led the Eagles (2-3), while Camil Dominguez (Santo Domingo, D.R./Santa Teresita) picked up a team-high 24 assists.
FGCU shot out of the gate and led Oregon 5-4 in the first set. The Ducks tied it at 6-6 and used a 13-6 run to take a 19-12 lead. The Blue and Green would then use a 4-0 run, highlighted by a pair of service aces from Holly Youngquist (Estero, Fla./Evangelical Christian), to cut the Oregon lead to 19-16. The Ducks then capitalized on three consecutive errors by the Eagles and used a 6-2 run to take a 25-18 set win.
In set two, Oregon jumped out to a 17-9 lead before the Eagles called a timeout. A kill by Lindsey Childs (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./South Plantation HS) followed by a pair of kills from Brittany Muse (Arcadia, Fla./DeSoto County HS) cut the Ducks lead at 23-15, but Oregon was able to hold off the Eagles as they hit .333 in the set to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
USC used a 9-3 run to open the third set. FGCU fought hard, but the Ducks proved to be too much and went on to finish the sweep.
Florida Gulf Coast now heads to Corvallis, Ore. to participate in the 2010 Active Ankle Challenge hosted by Oregon State. The 2010 Active Ankle Challenge will be held Friday and Saturday (Sept. 3-4), with FGCU, Oregon State, No. 19 Michigan, and UNLV being the participants. The Eagles will face the host Beavers on Friday (Sept. 3) at 10 p.m. and will take on the Wolverines (1 p.m.) and Rebels (8 p.m.) on Saturday (Sept. 4) at Gill Coliseum.
FGCU's matches at the Active Ankle Challenge will be available online on Beaver Nation Online (BNO) at OSUBeavers.com. Matches in legendary Gill Coliseum can be watched via a live stream. A fee of $9.95 gives subscribers the live streaming video. Live statistics for all three matches will be available free of charge at OSUBeavers.com.
