FORT MYERS, Fla. – In front of a home crowd of more than 900 people inside Alico Arena, FGCU volleyball began the year 1-0 thanks to a straight set victory over New Orleans on Friday, Aug. 28 as part of the Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites Classic. The win marks the third time in four years the Eagles recorded a season-opening victory and the second consecutive time under head coach Matt Botsford.

Led offensively by freshman Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia High School) and senior Eleonora Kazarian (Tibilisi, Georgia/College of Central Florida), the Eagles took the first set 25-16, before heading into the break with a 2-0 lead thanks to a 25-19 win in the second set. After a slow start in the third set, the Green and Blue closed out the match with a 25-16 set win.

"We managed the first contact well which has been a big priority for us," said head coach Matt Botsford. "We have a lot of new faces out there, too, so I was really pleased with how quickly they were able to come out in the first set like they did. We were very excited when we found out that Amanda [Carroll] was going to come to FGCU and she didn't disappoint in her first opportunity. I thought Vanessa [Benke], for the first time playing the libero position, she did a lot of things to help manage the offense which helped make it run so well. I thought Maggie [Rick] did a nice job in her first appearance in a college environment."

Carroll paced the Eagles with 11 kills while Kazarian added 10 kills. Senior Vanessa Benke (Toledo, Brazil/College of Central Florida) made her return to the court following a season-ending injury early last season, supplying five of the 10 aces FGCU recorded in the match. Freshman Maggie Rick (Alparetta, Ga./Blesses Trinity Catholic High School) collected 28 assists in her collegiate debut.

FGCU used a .455 hitting percentage to take the opening set of the 2015 season. A Kazarian kill gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead and freshman Elisa Aldrich (Mount Pleasant, S.C./Wando High School) made it 2-0. After New Orleans tied the set at 2-2, the Eagles collected seven of the next 10 points to take a 9-5 lead capped off by a pair of Carroll kills. The Privateers closed to within 16-12, but kills from Kazarian and Carroll and an ace from Benke pushed the Eagle lead to 20-12.

Rick picked up a kill, giving FGCU a 22-15 advantage before junior Marlene Moeller (Lüdinghausen, Germany/Pascal Gymnasium) took over, recording the final three points for the Eagles in the 25-16 set win.

The Green and Blue trailed 5-1 early in the second set. Kazarian started to shift the momentum back in the favor of FGCU with a kill to make it 5-2 and an Aldrich block tied the set at five. UNO grabbed a 6-5 lead but a service error began a string of eight consecutive points for the Eagles including a pair of service aces by Benke, putting the home side in front 13-6. The Privateers would get the lead to within three on three separate occasions (17-14, 18-15 and 19-16) only for the Eagles to use three UNO errors to take a 20-16 advantage. Carroll finished off the set with a pair of kills, sending FGCU into the break following a 25-19 set two victory.

Set three saw six lead changes and eight tie scores as the FGCU and UNO traded points through the early stages of the set. The Eagles limited the Privateers, falling behind by only as much as three. Trailing 14-11, Kazarian again sparked the Eagles with a kill to pull within 14-12. After an error on UNO, sophomore Courtney Stephens (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park High School) recorded consecutive aces followed by back-to-back attack errors on the Privateers. With a 17-14 lead, sophomore Lauren Tutwiler (Louisville, Ky./Assumption High School) recorded her first kill of the year followed by kills from Carroll and Kazarian to push the lead to 20-14. The Eagles would not look back, using two more aces from Benke and three Privateer errors to win the third set 25-16 and take the match 3-0.

"For the first match I was satisfied. There were some things I wasn't particularly pleased with," coach Botsford added. "Our blocking wasn't as organized as it should have been but it looked better at the end. What we want to get better at is the chaotic plays and turning those into more controlled situations. We can't let chaos breed chaos. We had some moments where we did the right things but a few where we gave away some points."

FGCU outhit New Orleans .276 to .106 and limited the Privateers to just an .036 attack percentage in the third set. Kazarian and Moeller led the Eagles with five and three blocks respectively.  

The Green and Blue continue play at the Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites Classic with a pair of matches on Saturday, Aug. 29. FGCU begins the day against Fordham at 12:30 p.m. before wrapping up the weekend with a 7 p.m. contest against Presbyterian. After the second match, coach Botsford is hosting a pizza party in the hospitality suite at Alico Arena to talk about the season and introduce the newcomers. All fans are welcome to attend the event.

FOLLOW ALONG
 
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.
 
COACH BOTSFORD
 
Head coach Matt Botsford concluded his first year at the helm of the FGCU volleyball program with a record of 19-11 with a second-place finish in Atlantic Sun Conference play. Botsford's team also had five players recognized as All-Conference winner to set a new program high. Prior to his time in Southwest Florida, Botsford held successful stints as an assistant at Notre Dame, Miami, IUPUI, 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.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE
 
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.