TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida Gulf Coast University volleyball team tallied its first win of the season Sunday with a 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 25-19) victory over Florida A&M at the Florida State University Seminole Invitational.
Jessica Barnes (Winter Haven, Fla./Haines City HS) was named to the all-tournament team after leading FGCU with 36 kills over three matches this weekend.
The Eagles hit .308 as a team in the match, and recorded a total 55 combined kills. Barnes and Kaitlin Holm (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS/Marshall) both had double-doubles for the Green and Blue with 16 kills apiece, and 19 and 11 digs, respectively, while Gigi Meyer (Gainesville, Fla./ Buchholz HS) had 43 assists.
“We got better,” said head coach Dave Nichols. “We played at a pretty high level and stuck with both FSU and Ohio State this weekend. FAMU is a great team, but we were able to sustain that high level of play in this match, something we need to do consistently moving forward. This was a solid win for us.”
The first set of the match was tied eight times and had several lead changes, with the final tie coming at 22-22. A kill by Marlene Moeller (Ludinghausen, Germany/Pascal Gymnasium) would bring the score to 24-22, followed by a set-winning kill by Holm, which helped the Green and Blue take set one, 25-23.
In set two, the Rattlers would retaliate, winning by the same 25-23 margin that they lost by in the first set, going on to tie the match at 1-1.
Set three saw the opposite, as the Eagles bounced back after the break with an early rally from which the Rattlers would never recover, taking the set 25-21.
Determined to win the final set, the Eagles would take an early 7-2 advantage and never looked back. After multiple rallies, FGCU would go on to defeat the Rattlers, 25-19, in the fourth set. With the win, the Green and Blue's record improves to 1-5, while Florida A&M falls to 1-4 on the season.
The Eagles land back at home this Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. for their home opener against the Bulls of USF at FGCU's Alico Arena.
All-Tournament Team
MVP - Kaitlyn Leary, OSU
Taylor Sandbothe, OSU
Taylor Sherwin, OSU
Ashley Neff, FSU
Elise Walch, FSU
Melanie Stutsman, WKU
Heather Boyan, WKU
Jessica Barnes, FGCU
Ginna Chavez-Lopez, FAMU
