FORT MYERS, Fla. – Despite a strong effort late in both matches, the FGCU volleyball team dropped two battles Saturday as part of the 2014 Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites Airport Classic.  The team fought through five sets with the University of Missouri-Kansas City but ultimately fell 3-2 (23-25, 19-25, 19-25, 25-27, 10-15) in the afternoon matchup.  In the evening session, the Green and Blue stopped FAU from a three-set sweep but fell 3-1 (22-25, 17-25, 25-23, 22-25). With Saturday's results, the Eagles fall to 5-7 on the season and finish the weekend with a record of 1-2.
 
"The reality is that we still lost two matches," said head coach Matt Botsford. "But we made a step in the right direction in terms of a competitive response.  We can't wait until we're down 0-2 for that to happen and that's where our growth needs to come so that we don't get ourselves in these situations in the future. Our play provided an emotional spark for us in the third set tonight and although we didn't play extremely well, we outworked FAU and that was something we were not doing earlier in the match.  Individually, Olivia [Mesner] was amazing. She will take a game on her shoulders and with the way she competes, she is unstoppable.  She was feeling it today. It wasn't the first time we've seen that out of her and it won't be the last time."
 
MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY
The Eagles fought through a five-set battle with the University of Missouri-Kansas City in the 12:30 game but fell 3-2 to the eventual tournament champions.  
 
The Eagles outhit the Roos .211 to .198 but were at a slight disadvantage in kills, 62-59.  Defensively, the team produced 83 digs and four total blocks, while allowing the opposition eight team blocks and 84 digs.
 
Junior transfer Vanessa Benke (Toledo, Brazil/College of Central Florida) led the Eagles with 16 kills and 18 digs, while maintaining an attack percentage of .371 in four sets but left the match early with an injury.  Benke also produced a team-high four service aces. Senior Jessica Barnes (Winter Haven, Fla./Haines City High School) added 15 kills for the home team, while junior Eleonora Kazarian (Tibilisi, Georgia/College of Central Florida) contributed 12 to the Eagles' total 59 kills.
 
Senior setter Gigi Meyer (Gainesville, Fla./Buchholz High School) facilitated 50 of the Eagles' 59 kills and added 16 digs, while classmate Whitney Masters (Muncie, Ind./Wapahani High School) produced 17 digs in the five-set fight.
 
Benke opened the day with eight kills on just 11 attempts to lead FGCU to a competitive first set. The Eagles and Roos traded the lead eight times and saw 13 even points, including tie scores at each point between 17 and 20.  The visiting team capped the win with three kills and two FGCU errors to go ahead 1-0.
 
In the second set, Benke and senior Olivia Mesner (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River High School) each produced three kills and helped the Eagles to an attack percentage of .241. FGCU forced six UMKC attack errors and six service errors en route to a 25-19 set win to tie the match at 1-1.
 
The Eagles took a 2-1 lead in the third set with help from Kazarian's six kills on nine attempts and a team attack percentage of .298.  After matching the score on seven occasions, the Eagles produced a 7-1 run to take the lead and sealed a 25-19 win with a Benke kill.
 
The fourth set saw 11 tie scores and five lead changes as the Eagles and Roos battled for each point.  Neither team took more than a two point lead through the first half of the set, but the Eagles forged ahead with a 16-12 lead on a Barnes kill, a Caroline Jordan (Orlando, Fla./William R. Boone High School) ace and two UMKC errors.  After Benke was forced to leave the match with an injury, the Eagles struggled to maintain the lead.  The Roos evened the set at 25-25 and took the extra-point win with two-consecutive points. The 27-25 set win knotted the match at 2-2.
 
FGCU saw a dearth of offensive production in the decisive set and hit just .043 on 23 total attacks.  The Roos produced seven kills and three service aces to take control of the set and ultimately earned a 15-10 win to take the match victory.
 
FLORIDA ATLANTIC
After falling behind 2-0 against the cross-state rival, the Eagles battled back in set three to avoid a three-set sweep and carry the match's momentum briefly.  The visiting team narrowly edged the Eagles in the fourth set to earn the win and place second in the tournament with a record of 2-1 on the weekend.
 
Mesner led the team with 16 kills in the four-set affair and produced an attack percentage of .500 when the Eagles needed the most support.  Barnes added 14 kills to the Green and Blue's total 53.
 
Meyer added 47 assists and recorded 15 digs on the night, while Masters paced the team with a season-high 27 digs in the match.
 
As a unit, the Eagles produced 53 kills compared to the Owl's 57 and were outhit .189 to .162. Defensively, the Green and Blue recorded 85 digs and produced a season-high 11.5 team blocks with help from freshman Lauren Tutwiler (Louisvile, Ky./Assumption High School)'s two solo blocks and four block assists.
Barnes and Tutwiler opened the match with four kills each in the first set, with Tutwiler producing an attack percentage of .800 with four kills on just five attacks.  The teams each produced an attack percentage of .367, but the Owl's three service aces proved to be the deciding points in the set as the Eagles fell 25-22.
 
The Eagles struggled offensively in the second set and fell behind 2-0 after hitting just .114 and dropping set two 25-17 but sparked a comeback in the third set.
 
Backed by six kills from Barnes and four each from Mesner and Kazarian, the Eagles produced 16 kills and forced eight Owl errors to take the win 25-23 and stay alive in the match.
 
The fourth set proved to be the most intense of the match as it saw 10 tie scores and five lead changes.  Both teams hit under .100 but produced strong blocking efforts.  The Eagles totaled six team blocks compared to the Owls' four and had 32 digs.
 
With the match on the line, Mesner produced six kills on nine attacks with three blocks to aid in the Eagles' effort. Ultimately, the Eagles fell behind in part due to FAU's 13 kills and were narrowly edged 25-22 to decide the match.
 
Following the tournament, Mesner was named to the 2014 Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites Classic All-Tournament Team.
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles will open Atlantic Sun Conference play on Saturday, Sept. 27 when they welcome the Hatters of Stetson University to Alico Arena.  The match is slated for 7 p.m.