COLUMBUS, Ohio – With one weekend of competition completed, the FGCU volleyball team will continue preseason tournament action this weekend at the 9th Annual D.C. Koehl Classic hosted by Ohio State University at St. John Arena.  The Green and Blue will open tournament play on Friday, Sept. 5 with a 10 a.m. match against Southern Illinois and will face the host Buckeyes on Friday at 7:30 p.m.  After taking Saturday off from competition, the tournament will conclude with an 11 a.m. bout with Auburn on Sunday, Sept. 7.
 
Live stats will be available for all three matches, with live video via Buckeye Vision available for Friday night's matchup with OSU. Both outlets can be found on FGCUAthletics.com and OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
 
THE GREEN AND BLUE
FGCU enters the weekend with a record of 1-2 on the season after defeating Florida A&M but falling to Seton Hall and the University of Miami last weekend at the Hurricane Invitational.  The FAMU victory marked first-year head coach Matt Botsford's first win at the helm of the Eagles.
 
Senior Jessica Barnes (Winter Haven, Fla./Haines City High School) led the Eagles last weekend with 43 kills through 13 sets.  The outside hitter also recorded 27 digs and two blocks to help the team defensively.  Classmate Olivia Mesner (Boca Raton, Fla./Spanish River High School) led the team with a .351 hitting percentage and six total blocks on the weekend and currently sits just one solo block shy of setting the FGCU program record. 
 
In addition to the senior leadership, the Eagles also saw strong contributions from Eagles making their debut. Junior transfer Vanessa Benke (Toledo, Brazil/College of Central Florida) produced 39 kills on the weekend with 34 digs and three service aces, while freshman Lauren Tutwiler (Louisville, Ky./Assumption High School) produced 18 kills, including 12 in her collegiate debut against FAMU.
 
Senior Gigi Meyer (Gainesville, Fla./Buchholz High School) helped lead the offense with 133 assists in three matches last weekend and now holds the FGCU program record with 3,166 career assists.  Meyer also added 25 digs and a team-high eight service aces in last weekend's action.
 
Defensively, senior Whitney Masters (Muncie, Ind./Wapahani High School) paced the team with 48 digs, while freshman Courtney Stephens (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park High School) also saw time in the libero position.   
 
As a unit, the Eagles produced an attack percentage of just .161, while allowing their opponents to hit .252.  The team combined for 12.2 kills per set, two more than its foes but produced 15 total blocks compared to opponents' 31. 
 
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
SIU started the year with a 0-3 mark after facing strong competition at the Illini Classic last weekend but has since improved to 1-3 with a midweek win over Middle Tennessee State. 
 
The Salukis have maintained an attack percentage of .187 this season, with foes hitting .321.  SIU averaged 11.57 kills and 10.36 digs per set with 26 total blocks in the first week of play.
 
Freshman Andrea Estrada has led the team with 40 kills, while junior Taylor Pippen has added 33 to help the Saluki attack.  Sophomores Hannah Kaminsky and Meg Viggars have facilitated the offense with 133 assists combined.
 
Defensively, senior Alex Rivera has produced 34 digs with three others at 22 or more, while Pippen and McKenzie Dorris have recorded 10 total blocks each.
 
Friday morning's meeting will be the first ever between the Eagles and the Saluki. 
 
OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes opened the year with a 1-2 record after falling to Oregon and Illinois State and defeating Central Arkansas last weekend at Oregon's tournament.  The team produced a .157 attack percentage with 11.7 kills and 12.7 digs per set while recording 35 total blocks.
 
Sophomore Taylor Sandbothe paced the team with 35 kills and an attack percentage of .256, while also leading the Buckeyes with 20 total blocks in 12 sets played.  Junior Katie Mitchell added 28 kills for OSU and helped the team with 19 digs.  Sophomore Valeria Leon led the team's defense with 50 digs, with senior Taylor Sherwin facilitating the offense with 94 assists.
 
The Eagles and Buckeyes have met just once before, a 3-0 loss for FGCU in Tallahassee last year. In the tournament-based bout, Barnes led the team with six kills, while Meyer produced 30 assists.  The team maintained an attack percentage of .281 compared to OSU's .400.
 
AUBURN
Auburn opened the 2014 slate at the George Washington Invitational, where the Tigers went 2-1 with wins over North Dakota and George Washington and a loss to Arkansas State. 
 
As a unit, the Tigers hit .161 and held opponents to a .151 attack percentage while recording 12.7 kills per set.  Defensively, Auburn produced 18.1 digs per set and 20 total blocks through 13 sets.
 
Individually, a trio of middle blockers pace the Tiger team.  Freshman Macy Reece leads the squad with 26 kills, while sophomores Stephanie Campbell and Emily Klitzke have each added 23 kills. Freshman Alexa Filley has recorded 105 assists on the year to help the team's offensive effort.
 
Junior Mary Arrington has aided the defense with 50 total digs, while sophomore Breanna Barksdale leads the team with nine total blocks.
 
Sunday's meeting will be the first-ever meeting between the teams.
 
UP NEXT
Following the weekend in Columbus, the Eagles will conclude the road portion of the preseason tournament schedule with a three-game swing at the University of Texas-Arlington.  The Green and Blue will face Houston Baptist, UT Arlington and Texas Southern Sept. 12-13.