FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Florida Gulf Coast University volleyball team won its ninth consecutive match (eighth straight Atlantic Sun Conference match) on Friday night, earning a 3-0 (28-26, 25-22, 25-23) decision over three-time defending Atlantic Sun Champion Lipscomb at Allen Arena.
“I'm so proud of our team,” said acting head coach Danny Mahy. “They were able to come into a hostile environment, handle adversity and defeat a very good volleyball team in Lipscomb. We will enjoy this win tonight, but we know we have to refocus and get ready for another tough opponent in Northern Kentucky.”
The Eagles, who have swept seven of their last nine opponents and are off to the best A-Sun start in program history (8-0), gave LU their first home loss in A-Sun play since 2008. FGCU knocked off the Lady Bisons 3-2 (25-23, 14-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13) on Oct. 4, 2008 at Allen Arena.
The Green and Blue, winners of 19 consecutive sets in conference action, improved to 13-7 overall (8-0 A-Sun), while Lipscomb fell to 10-9 overall (7-1 A-Sun).
Sophomore Jill Hopper (Muncie, Ind./Yorktown HS) led the Eagles with a match-high 13 kills and seven digs. Junior Kaitlin Holm (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS/Marshall) finished with 10 kills, five blocks and a pair of digs. Junior Christine Pinder (Gainesville, Fla./Buchholz HS/Houston/Central Florida CC) and sophomore Olivia Mesner (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River HS) chipped in with 19 digs and nine kills and eight kills and seven blocks, respectively. Senior Brittany Muse added seven kills and two blocks. Sophomore Whitney Masters (Muncie, Ind./Wapahani HS) racked up 19 digs, while the setting duo of sophomore Gigi Meyer (Gainesville, Fla./Buchholz HS) and junior Courtney Greenberg (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS/Juniata College) racked up 42 assists and 11 digs combined.
FGCU held a 62-54 team advantage in digs and outhit the Lady Bisons .272 to .122. in the sweep. The Eagles shot out of the gate with a .333 hitting percentage in the first set and wrapped up their solid outing by hitting .306 in the third set.
FGCU will be back in action Saturday afternoon when they head to Highland Heights, Ky. for a 3 p.m. match with the Norse of Northern Kentucky (18-3, 6-2 A-Sun).
