SPARTANBURG, S.C. – With aid from an incredible offensive effort by senior Olivia Mesner, the FGCU volleyball team handedly defeated USC Upstate 3-0 Friday night at the Hodge Center.  The Eagles earned wins at 25-20, 25-8 and 25-18 to move to 10-7 on the season and 4-0 in Atlantic Sun Conference play.  With the loss, the Spartans fall to 9-11 overall and remain winless at 0-4 in conference action.

Mesner led the Eagle attack with an unprecedented 14 kills and zero errors.  Already the league's leader in attack percentage, Mesner compiled a success rate of .824 to contribute to the team's season-high percentage of .402.  As a unit, the Eagles produced 42 kills in the three-set bout compared to the Spartans' 31.  The team recorded a season-low five errors on the night.

Junior Eleonora Kazarian added 11 kills for the Eagles, while also producing a team and personal season high of seven blocks.  Mesner added three blocks to help the Eagles to another season high at eight team blocks.

Senior Gigi Meyer distributed the ball for the Eagles and set up 40 assists on the team's 42 kills. 

Defensively, freshman Mackenzie Allen paced the team with 11 digs, while senior libero Whitney Masters and freshman Courtney Stephens each added 10 digs for the Green and Blue's total 48. Stephens also led the team with five service aces.

"I was very pleased with the job that the entire team did tonight," said head coach Matt Botsford. "Our first contact was very consistent which made everything else fall into place. Our offensive efficiency continues to improve and I like the speed we are beginning to play with.  Olivia [Mesner] was phenomenal and just continues to impress me with her vision as an attacker. I thought Ella [Eleonora Kazarian] really made some strides in her blocking this evening. She is starting to figure out her positioning and that is making a big difference."

The first set saw 13 tie scores and eight lead changes as the Eagles and Spartans battled for the advantage.  After knotting the score at 15-15, the Eagles took the lead with three Upstate errors and a kill from senior Jessica Barnes. Upstate cut the deficit to one point at 21-20 but two kills from Mesner and two Upstate errors sealed the set for FGCU at 25-20. The first-set win gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead and handed the visiting team the match's momentum.

With sophomore Caroline Jordan  behind the line, the Eagles started the second set with a 5-0 lead and took complete control of the second set.  With a match-high attack percentage of .478, the Eagles increased the advantage to 10-5 before using an eight-point run to move ahead 18-5.  The Green and Blue held the Spartans to a success rate of -.111 and continued to increase the deficit.  With three-straight service aces from Stephens, the Eagles went ahead 23-7 and held onto the lead to take set two, 25-8.

After the break, the Spartans regrouped and presented a challenge to the Eagles in set three. The home team produced its strongest attack of the night at .170 and brought the score close to open the set but was never able to take the lead.

The Eagles maintained a four-point lead through the majority of the set and eventually used two-consecutive blocks from Kazarian and Marlene Moeller to increase the lead to 22-16. Stephens added another ace late in the third set before a Kazarian kill and one final ace from Jordan pushed the Eagles ahead to 25-18. The set-three win sealed the sweep for FGCU for the team's fifth clean sheet of the season and fifth-straight win.

The Eagles continue Atlantic Sun road action Saturday, Oct. 11 with a late afternoon matchup at Kennesaw State.  FGCU will take on the Owls at the KSU Convocation Center at 5 p.m.

For up-to-the minute information and a behind-the-scenes look at the FGCU volleyball program, follow on Twitter at @FGCU_VB, on Facebook at /FGCUVolleyball and on Instagram at @FGCU_VB.

Head coach Matt Botsford is in his first year at the helm of the FGCU volleyball program. Prior to his time in Southwest Florida, Botsford held successful stints as an assistant at Notre Dame, Miami, IUIPI, Indianapolis and most recently Colorado State. Botsford is a former professional volleyball player and is a 1998 graduate of Tri-State University, where he earned a degree in Social Studies Education.  He earned a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Indianapolis.