ARLINGTON, Texas – In the final contest of the 2014 UT-Arlington Hilton Maverick Invitational, the FGCU volleyball team swept Texas Southern 3-0 for its second clean-slate win of the weekend. The Eagles took the first set in extra points, 27-25, before sealing the victory with wins of 25-18 and 25-17 at the College Park Center. With the 'W', the Green and Blue improve to 4-5 on the season and finish the Texas-based tournament with a mark of 2-1, while the Tigers move to 1-8 on the year.
"We saw great improvement in each of the sets today against Texas Southern," said head coach
Matt Botsford. "I was pleased with our attack in the third set and our passing game continues to get better. We're looking forward to continuing the season and we can't wait to play at home next weekend."
The Eagle offense was led by juniors
Vanessa Benke (Toledo, Brazil/College of Central Florida) and
Eleonora Kazarian (Tibilisi, Georgia/College of Central Florida) who totaled 13 and 12 kills, respectively in the three-set match. Kazarian produced the team's strongest attack percentage at .258 and added five digs and two blocks in the team's win, while Benke added 11 digs for her second double-double of the weekend and fifth overall.
Setter
Gigi Meyer (Gainesville, Fla./Buchholz High School) assisted on 34 of the team's attacks and added 11 digs for her fourth double-double of her senior campaign.
Defensively, senior libero
Whitney Masters (Muncie, Ind./Wapahani High School) produced 15 digs on the day, and
Olivia Mesner (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River High School) added to her five kills with a team-high three block assists. As a whole, the Eagles produced five total blocks and held the Tigers to two.
The Eagles maintained an attack percentage of .217, while holding Texas Southern to a success rate of .099. The team recorded 45 kills compared to the opponents' 30 and saw five service aces, each from a different player.
The first set was the closest of the trio as the stanza saw five tie scores and three lead changes. FGCU and Texas Southern battled through the first six points to tie at 3-3 before the Tigers took a brief lead at 7-4. Texas Southern maintained the lead and increased it to 15-9 before the Eagles could respond.
Battling a six-point deficit, the Eagles sparked a 9-4 run to bring the set within one point at 19-18. The Tigers held onto the advantage but three-straight points from the Eagles tied the set at 23 and forced TSU to call timeout.
After the timeout and ties at 24 and 25 all, the Eagles used a Texas Southern error and a kill from senior
Jessica Barnes (Winter Haven, Fla./Haines City High School) to seal the extra-point victory at 27-25.
The Green and Blue carried the momentum into the second set and quickly took a 6-1 lead with help from a string of TSU attack errors and an out-of-rotation call. Although the Tigers brought the score within two points late in the second set, the Eagles never relinquished the lead and ultimately took the set 25-18 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Eagles again controlled play in the third set and used eight early kills and a service ace from Benke to go ahead 13-5. FGCU increased its lead to nine points midway through the set and used a match-high attack percentage of .286 to maintain the advantage. With a 25-17 set-three victory, the Eagles earned the match win to improve to 4-5 on the season.
Following the tournament, Masters and Mesner earned a position on the 2014 Hilton Maverick Invitational All-Tournament Team. Masters totaled 51 digs on the weekend, with Mesner aiding the Eagle offense with an attack percentage of .288 and 29 kills through three matches.
UP NEXTThe Eagles will return to the friendly confines of Alico Arena for the 2014 Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites Classic next weekend. The Green and Blue will welcome Alabama State, Missouri-Kansas City and FAU for the two-day tournament Sept. 19-20.
