INDIANAPOLIS -  In its first match of the 2013 season, the FGCU volleyball team put up a close fight against VCU, but came up short, falling 3-0 (27-25, 25-17, 25-22) to the Rams Friday night at the IUPUI Invitational.

Friday's loss was the first sweep the Eagles have suffered in a season opener since 2009 against Miami. Despite being shutout, VCU only outscored FGCU by 13 points over the three sets.

Junior Jill Hopper (Muncie, Ind./Yorktown HS) led the Eagles in kills with nine  and points with 10.5, while junior Whitney Masters (Muncie, Ind./Wapahani HS) led in digs with eight. VCU's Romana Kriskova led the Rams in kills with 15. In total, FGCU racked up 29 total kills, three service aces and 36 digs.  

In a back-and-forth first game, FGCU jumped to an early 3-0 lead before VCU scored three straight to tie it up at 3-3. The game continued to go point-for-point until the Rams scored six unanswered to take a 16-10 lead over the Eagles.

A string of kills and a service ace from Christine Pinder (Gainesville, Fla./Buchholz HS/Houston/Central Florida CC) allowed FGCU to shorten the gap and get back in the game at 20-18.  The teams continued to rally until the ultimate VCU 27-25 win.

The Rams made it 2-0 with a 25-17 win in the second set. FGCU had an early lead, moving ahead 6-1. After a service ace by Hooper, the Eagles were still leading 10-9, but a string of nine unanswered VCU points allowed the Rams to take an 18-10 lead and ultimately the set victory.

The third set continued to follow the close-scoring trend of the match, but the Eagles never saw a lead.  Despite the loss, the Green and Blue posted their best numbers of the night in the third set with 12 kills and a .138 hitting percentage.

The Eagles return to action Saturday for two games against Illinois State at 10 a.m., and IUPUI at 6:30 p.m.