FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Florida Gulf Coast University volleyball team split a pair of matches Saturday at the Miami (OH) Invitational with a 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 15-25, 20-25) loss to Alabama A&M and a 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-17, 25-21) win over Radford at MU's Millett Hall. The Green and Blue are now 3-6 overall.
Alabama A&M hit .265 as a team as the Bulldogs defeated the Eagles, 3-1. Two A&M players registered double digit kills in the win, led by Clairissa Moore's match-high 20. Karensa Beckford added 14 kills and 12 digs, while Ashley Forman chipped in with 27 assists and 12 digs.
FGCU struggled in games 2-4 of the match after winning the first set and finished with a .109 hitting percentage. Freshman Jill Hopper (Muncie, Ind./Yorktown HS) led the Eagles with her third career double-double (13 kills, 10 digs). Sophomore Kaitlin Holm (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS/Marshall) finished with 13 kills, while freshman setter Gigi Meyer (Gainesville, Fla./Buchholz HS) nearly recorded her second consecutive double-double with 38 assists and eight digs.
In FGCU's second match against Radford, the teams split the first two games, before the Eagles (25-21, 19-25, 25-17, 25-21) sealed the victory with wins in games three and four.
Hopper and Holm recorded team-highs in kills with 14, while senior Holly Youngquist (Estero, Fla./Evangelical Christian HS) registered 24 digs.
In games one and three, FGCU used mini-spurts to break open ties midway through each and lead the rest of the way.
An early 6-0 run by the Highlanders in game two broke a 2-2 tie as they led by as much as 11 (17-6) before evening the match with a 25-19 victory.
After breaking a 15-15 tie with a 4-0 run, the Eagles closed out the fourth game by tallying the final three points after the Highlanders rallied get within 22-21.
Hopper and Holm recorded 14 kills each, while freshmen Olivia Mesner (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River HS) finished with eight kills and four blocks.
FGCU will return to the court next weekend when they head to State College, Pa. to participate in the Penn State Tournament (Sept. 16-17). The Eagles will open with Rutgers on Friday, September 16 at 4:30 p.m., before facing Long Island (1 p.m.) and tournament host No. 2 Penn State (7 p.m.) on Saturday, September 17.
All-Tournament Team
MVP – Amy Raseman
Jenn Caylor – Miami
Cassie Farrell – Miami
Meg Riley – Miami
Kaitlin Holm – Florida Gulf Coast
Jill Hopper – Florida Gulf Coast
Emma Deininger – Radford
Ashley Forman – Alabama A&M
