FORT MYERS, Fla. – Despite a first-set victory, the FGCU volleyball team dropped its first Atlantic Sun Conference match of the season 3-1 to Lipscomb University Friday night at Alico Arena. The Eagles earned a 25-23 win in the first stanza but fell 26-24, 25-19 and 25-18 in the ensuing sets to ultimately fall to 12-8 on the season and 5-1 in conference play. The Bisons improve to 12-6 on the year and remain undefeated at 6-0 in conference play.
"We had a great start and I'm pleased with the way we played, but Lipscomb's service pressure completely turned the game around," explained head coach Matt Botsford. "That was the difference. They served extremely well and did a great job taking us out of system and limiting us offensively. We tried to play the same way but we just couldn't put that kind of pressure on them. There's a lot of phases of this game and service was the one that defined the result tonight."
The Bisons produced seven aces with 11 services errors compared to the Eagles' 13 service errors and just three aces.
As a unit, the Eagles hit .260 on the night with 52 total kills, while allowing their opponent to maintain an attack percentage of .297 with 61 kills. The Eagles produced 64 digs with double-figure performances from three players and added six total team blocks.
The Eagle attack was led by 17 kills from junior Eleonora Kazarian (Tibilisi, Georgia/College of Central Florida), with senior Jessica Barnes (Winter Haven, Fla./Haines City High School) contributing 13. Gigi Meyer (Gainesville, Fla./Buchholz High School) successfully set up the offense with 44 assists on the night.
Defensively, the Eagles were led by 20 kills from senior libero Whitney Masters (Muncie, Ind./Waphani High School), while Kazarian recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 15 digs and added two blocks. Freshman Mackenzie Allen (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast High School) added 10 digs as the team's third double-figure contributor.
The Green and Blue used a strong attack percentage of .343 in the first set to edge the Bisons. With kills from Kazarian, Allen, senior Olivia Mesner (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River High School) and Barnes, the team took a 5-3 lead early on. The Eagles maintained the lead and extended it to 16-10 with a series of Lipscomb errors and strong attack from Mesner.
After a Lipscomb timeout with the score at 19-15, the Eagles saw the visiting team close the deficit to 21-18. The Eagles called a timeout of their own to regain cohesion but were pressured by the Bisons, who brought the score to 22-21 late in the set. The teams traded kills in the final points of the set but the Eagles snuck out the victory with kills from Kazarian and Barnes to end the stanza.
With a 1-0 lead, the Eagles carried the momentum into the second set but were met with resistance from the visiting team. While trailing 13-8, the Bisons called timeout and sparked a brief run. FGCU returned the timeout call to regroup with a 15-12 lead and extended the advantage to 19-15 with a Lipscomb error and a Kazarian kill.
After another Lipscomb timeout, the visiting team cut the deficit and knotted the set at 20-20 with help from a string of three-straight kills and an FGCU attack error. Barnes and Kazarian helped FGCU increase the lead to 23-20 but the Bisons again evened the set at 23 and 24 points each. After the 24-24 tie, the Bisons pushed forward with a kill and a service ace to take the set 26-24 and even the match at 1-1.
The FGCU attack was limited in the remaining sets as the Eagles hit .029 in the third set and allowed Lipscomb to hit .171 in the third and .425 in the fourth.
FGCU battled the Bisons in the third set and forced eight tie scores and three lead changes. The set saw four kills from Barnes and three from Allen as the teams evened the score at 13, 16 and 17 points. After the tie at 17, the Bisons used a seven-point run to take control of the set and swing the match's momentum in their favor. The Eagles produced two more points on Lipscomb errors but fell 25-19 in set three to fall behind 2-1 in the match.
Set four opened with strong play from both teams but the Eagles were unable to keep up with the Lipscomb attack. After falling behind 6-3, the Eagles allowed the Bisons to produce a 7-2 run to extend a lead that they would never relinquish. FGCU cut the score to 13-10 but saw as the visiting team used eight kills to increase their advantage to 20-13. The Bisons maintained the lead and increased the advantage to a set-high eight points at 24-16. The home team added two final points but fell 25-18 to drop the match 3-1.
The loss was the Eagles' first loss since Sept. 20 as the team produced a seven-game win streak to open conference play.
The Eagles return to action Saturday evening with a 6 p.m. match against Northern Kentucky University. The fourth-place Norse fell to third-ranked Stetson 3-0 Friday evening.
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.
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
