ARLINGTON, Texas – For the third-straight weekend, the FGCU volleyball team will hit the road for a two-day tournament in preparation for conference play.  The Eagles will play three matches at the University of Texas-Arlington Hilton Maverick Invitational Friday, Sept. 12 and Saturday, Sept. 13 at the College Park Center. 
 
The Green and Blue will open tournament action with a 12 p.m. Eastern Standard Time match against Houston Baptist on Friday and will face the host UT-Arlington at 8 p.m. that evening.  Tournament play will conclude with a noon match against Texas Southern on Saturday. 
 
THE GREEN AND BLUE
FGCU enters the weekend with a record of 2-4 on the season after defeating Florida A&M during the season opening weekend in Miami and earning a 'W' over Southern Illinois last weekend at Ohio State.
 
The team has maintained an attack percentage of .159 through six matches so far with 12.2 kills per set.  The Eagles' attack has been strong but their defensive abilities have been mollified by the athletic build of the strong competition they have faced early in the season.  The team has produced 35 blocks on the year but has allowed 68.5 blocks from opponents.  FGCU has averaged 13.2 digs per set.
 
Individually, the FGCU offense is led by four heavy hitters.  Senior Jessica Barnes (Winter Haven, Fla./Haines City High School) leads the team with 76 total kills on the year, while classmate Olivia Mesner (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River High School) paces the team with an attack percentage of  .338.
 
Junior transfers Vanessa Benke (Toledo, Brazil/College of Central Florida) and Eleonora Kazarian (Tibilisi, Georgia/College of Central Florida) have also aided in the Green and Blue's offensive production through their first two weeks of action.  Benke has amasses 70 total kills, while Kazarian led the team last weekend with 46 kills in three matches at Ohio State.  She was named to the All-Tournament Team for her profuse contributions.
 
 
 
Gigi Meyer (Gainesville, Fla./Buchholz High School) has facilitated the offense with 264 assists this season for an average of 10.15 per set, a mark that ranks second among all Atlantic Sun setters.  Last weekend, the senior setter assisted 131 of the team's 159 kills. Meyer also leads the team and the conference with 14 service aces this season.
 
In addition to her offensive prowess, Kazarian also helps lead the team defensively, as she has totaled 65 digs on the season, second to only senior libero Whitney Masters (Muncie, Ind./Wapahani High School), who paces the team with 87 digs this year.
 
Mesner and freshman Lauren Tutwiler (Louisville, Ky./Assumption High School) carry the team's blocking effort this season with 17 and 15 total blocks, respectively. Mesner recently set the FGCU program record for solo blocks and now has 53 in her four-year career.
 
HOUSTON BAPTIST
Houston Baptist sits at 3-4 on the season as they enter the Hilton Maverick Invitational.  The team has earned wins over Northern Arizona, Weber State and Marist and went 2-1 in last weekend's Air Force Tournament.
 
As a unit, HBU has hit .174 on the season with 11.8 kills per set and has maintained a strong defensive game with 14.8 digs per set and 63 total blocks.
 
Individually, the Huskies are led by a trio of hitters averaging over 2.3 kills per set.  Sophomore Jessica Wooton has produced 93 kills on the year, while seniors Bailey Keith and Megan McStravick have recorded 65 and 63, respectively.  Keith holds a team-high attack average of .293 with just 21 errors on the year.
 
Defensively, senior libero Hailey Hoffman has produced 101 digs, while junior Allison Doerpinghaus paces the team with 34 total blocks.
 
Friday's meeting will be the second meeting between the Eagles and HBU as FGCU defeated the Huskies 3-0 at Alico Arena in 2010.   
 
UT-ARLINGTON
The Eagles will take on the host Mavericks on Friday evening in the primetime slot.  UT-Arlington is 7-2 on the season and 2-2 on its home court.  After falling to Denver on Aug. 30, the Mavericks produced a five-game winning streak that included wins over Houston, McNeese and Louisiana Tech but recently fell 3-1 to Baylor at home.
 
The Mavericks possess a strong passing and attack game and maintain a team attack success rate of .250 with 13.9 kills per set.  The team has successfully assisted 12.9 of those kills and with 17.2 digs per set and 68 total blocks, has also produced a strong defensive game.
 
Junior Stacey Koch leads the team's offense with 83 kills this season and an attack rate of .550.  She has produced just six errors this season and has added 24 total blocks for the Mavericks. Freshman dual threat Qiana Canete has produced 95 kills and 99 digs, second to only libero Caitlyn Cooney's 154 digs this season.
 
Amanda Welsh and Cassidy Wheeler spit time facilitating the offense with 161 and 172 assists, respectively, while Brianna Sharratt and Ashley Bennett lead the defense with 34 and 30 total blocks.
 
Friday night's matchup will be the first-ever meeting between FGCU and UT-Arlington.
 
TEXAS SOUTHERN
The Eagles will conclude the Hilton Maverick Invitational Saturday at noon with a bout against Texas Southern.  Texas Southern enters the tournament with a record of 1-5 after defeating Prairie View A&M two weeks ago and is 1-2 on neutral courts.  The team most recently fell to no. 24 Oklahoma, SMU and Georgia Tech at the SMU tournament last weekend.
 
The team has hit .130 this season with just 10.0 kills per set and has produced nine assists per stanza.  Defensively, Texas Southern has averaged 11.9 digs per set and has recorded 37.5 total blocks.
 
Junior Robyn Shannon leads the team with 49 kills this season, while sophomore Kali Fluke paces the team with an attack percentage of .214 and has added 43 kills on the year.  Senior Sarah Wooton has facilitated the team with 77 assists.
 
Defensively, Texas Southern uses a well-balanced method with five players sitting at 20 digs or more.  Shannon has led the team with 41, while Samone Boyd and Kailynn Gray have each added 33.
 
Saturday's contest will be the first meeting between the teams.
 
UP NEXT
Following the weekend in Texas, the Eagles will return to the friendly confines of Alico Arena for the 2014 Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites Classic. The Green and Blue will welcome Alabama State, Missouri-Kansas City and FAU for the two-day tournament Sept. 19-20.