FORT MYERS, Fla. — In the final nonconference matchup of the 2014 season, the FGCU volleyball team defeated FIU 3-1 at Alico Arena Wednesday night. The team earned a win in set one (25-20) before falling in set two (25-16) but battled back for wins in sets three and four (25-18, 25-21) to earn the 18th victory of the season. The Eagles now stand at 18-9 on the year with a 10-2 Atlantic Sun record, while the Panthers move to 6-23.
 
"I thought the team responded great out of the break," said head coach Matt Botsford. "FIU played extremely well in the second set and we didn't let it affect us. We started to execute at a higher level and that's the kind of response we are looking for at this stage of the season."
 
Offensively, junior Eleonora Kazarian (Tibilisi, Georgia/College of Central Florida) led the way with 22 kills, while seniors Jessica Barnes (Winter Haven, Fla./Haines City High School) and Olivia Mesner (Boca Raton, Spanish River High School) added 14 and 12, respectively. Senior setter Gigi Meyer (Gainesville, Fla./Buchholz High School) distributed the ball well for the Eagles, amassing 50 assists on the night and adding 12 digs on the defensive side.
 
Senior Whitney Masters (Muncie, Ind./Wapahani High School) paced the team with 31 digs in the four-set match to set a new FGCU single-match Division I program record. Kazarian and Meyer added 14 and 12, while freshman Mackenzie Allen (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast High School) also produced double figures with 10 digs against FIU. Mesner led the team's blocking effort with four total blocks with Kazarian and Meyer each assisting on two.
 
"I think that was another great match for our offense," added Botsford of the individual performances against FIU. "Gigi [Meyer] has been in a good groove and based on the way she was playing, we were able to produce strong hitting efficiency numbers. Ella [Kazarian] was phenomenal. She's really turned the corner with her decision making at the net and her efficiency numbers have increased dramatically over the last month. Olivia [Mesner] continues to be an extremely consistent attacker, but from a middle perspective, we really want to focus our energy on blocking and controlling the net moving into this weekend and into the conference tournament. Whitney [Masters] had a great showing with a tremendous 31 digs in four sets. Her serve receive has been crucial for us lately and that really aided in tonight's win."
 
Collectively, the Eagles hit .289 on the night, while holding their in-state opposition to an attack percentage of .207. The Green and Blue outperformed the Panthers 59-58 in kills, 83-81 in digs and four to three in blocks, while adding 56 assists and two service aces.
 
FIU crawled out to a 5-2 lead to start the match thanks to FGCU's wayward attacking in the early points. A Mesner kill made it 5-3 and sparked a 4-2 run in favor of the Eagles before a strong swing from Barnes tied the first frame at 7-7. Meyer kept the momentum going by painting the corner with an ace to give the Eagles their first lead of the match.
 
Following Meyer's ace, FGCU won four of the next six points to gather a 12-9 lead and force FIU into its first timeout.
 
After the timeout, both teams played even through the next 10 volleys, with each squad picking up five points a side. FIU's Lucia Castro notched a kill but then followed it with a service error and errant swing to give FGCU a five-point cushion, 20-15, leading the Panthers into their second timeout of the first set.
 
Kazarian batted away the next two points while Barnes followed an FIU kill with one of her own before FIU claimed the next two points, forcing Botsford to take a precautionary timeout with a 23-18 lead. On the fourth volley following FGCU's timeout, Kazarian swung off the Panther's block attempt to win the first set, 25-20.
 
FGCU's defense forced the Panthers into three early attacking errors while Mesner and Meyer joined together on a block to deny an FIU kill in the opening points. Mesner and Barnes continued their offensive ways with a pair of kills before Kazarian jumped in and recorded back-to-back kills to give the Eagles an 8-4 edge early in the second set.
 
After the Panthers huddled up facing a 9-5 deficit, FIU exploded on an 11-1 run to take a 16-10 lead and force the Eagles to burn through both timeouts with the second occurring at the 16-10 mark of the second frame.
 
FGCU registered the next two points to make a four-point affair, 16-12, but the Panthers offense registered five kills on the ensuing seven serves to take a commanding 21-14 advantage. Barnes did her best with a pair of kills down the stretch, but four different Panthers took turns with successful kills as the visiting team sealed it for the 25-16 win.
 
FIU ran out to a 6-3 advantage to start the third stanza before Kazarian and freshman Lauren Tutwiler (Louisville, Ky./Assumption High School) closed the gap with back-to-back kills to inch within a point, 8-7.
 
Both offenses rallied back and forth midway through the third before the Eagles caught fire and turned momentum on their side. After the Panthers took a 13-10 lead, the Eagles won five of the next six points to reclaim the lead at 15-14. Allen, Mesner, Meyer and Barnes all took turns throwing down big kills before Masters' ace put FGCU ahead.
 
FIU tied the set again before the Eagles joined forces to go on another run, claiming six of the next eight points to control the set, 21-17. Barnes and Kazarian forced FIU into a timeout as FGCU claimed a 17-15 lead with help from several Panther attacking errors.
 
FGCU won four-consecutive points with kills from Kazarian and Mesner before a block and a long Panther attack pushed the Eagles to a 25-18 set three victory.
 
The Green and Blue grasped victory in the fourth set after taking command early and never looking back, downing the Panthers, 25-21.
 
The final set started evenly before the Eagles won four of five to push ahead 7-4 and establish a lead they would never surrender. Kazarian and Allen notched kills in the midst of an FIU error to take hold of a three-point advantage.
 
FIU recorded a pair of kills to make it 7-6 but a Mesner swing followed by back-to-back kills from Allen issued FGCU a 10-6 advantage.
 
After Mesner missed to make it a one-point affair once again, FGCU won six of the next seven exchanges to put the match out of reach. Mesner and Barnes contributed a kill while Kazarian tossed down a pair during the Eagles' run.
 
FGCU called timeout up five, 18-13, to refocus and Barnes reassured the team with another successful swing to maintain distance from FIU, 19-13.
 
Down the stretch, FGCU and FIU played evenly, but the Eagles' edge held true to the end. Barnes laid down one final kill to seal the victory, 25-21 and push FGCU forward with a 3-1 match win.
 
The Eagles will conclude the 2014 regular season this weekend with road tilts at North Florida and Jacksonville. The team will travel to UNF for a 7 p.m. bout Friday night and will take on JU at 3 p.m. Saturday. The weekend's results will determine the final seeding for the 2014 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship which is scheduled for Nov. 20-22 at Alico Arena.  The Eagles are guaranteed a first-round bye and will learn their opponent and game time following the weekend matches.
 
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.