FORT MYERS, Fla. – Eagle volleyball returns home for a stretch of three matches in as many days. FGCU begins the weekend against in-state rivals FAU Thursday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. Following the all-Florida contest, the Green and Blue welcome Midwest power Ohio to Alico Arena for matches on Friday, Sept. 18 and Saturday, Sept. 19. FAU and Ohio will also meet in a neutral site contest Friday at 12:30.

Friday's contest against Ohio is a blueout inside Alico Arena. Fans are encouraged to wear blue as the Eagles take on the Bobcats in non-conference action. Ohio has received votes in each of the last two polls.

With only four non-conference matches remaining before Atlantic Sun play begins, the Eagles hope to build momentum and improve upon their current 7-3 record. Both the Bobcats and Owls also enter the weekend with 7-3 records.

THE GREEN AND BLUE

The Eagles used a 3-1 win over Bethune-Cookman Tuesday, Sept. 15 to improve to 7-3 in 2015. Behind 13 kills from the A-Sun's reigning Freshman of the Week Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia High School), FGCU held off a motivated Wildcat team playing in front of their home crowd for the first time all year. Mackenzie Allen (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast High School) also tacked on 13 kills in the win for FGCU. Marlene Moeller (Lüdinghausen, Germany/Pascal Gymnasium) added nine kills while Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior High School) made her first start of her career and compiled seven kills. Maggie Rick (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic High School) powered the offense with 43 assists.

With her 13 kills, Carroll increased her season total to 119. Rick meanwhile has recorded 359 assists, 10.56 per set, good for second in the conference.

FAU

The Owls began the year 4-0 including a 3-0 win over A-Sun member Stetson on Aug. 28 and begin the weekend with a 7-3 record. FAU has also defeated Lipscomb in straight sets. The Owls are coming off a five-set loss to North Florida. Maja Ristic and Brittney Brown lead the Owls with 108 and 101 kills, respectively. Ristic along with Kristin Rankovic have compiled 30 of the team's 48 aces this season. The Owls feature a pair of capable setters in Ivone Martinez and Genesis Viera. Martinez leads FAU with 236 assists while Viera has recorded 170 assists.

Defensively, the Owls hold opponents to a .152 attacking percentage thanks in part to 35 blocks from Gabriela Martin. Brown and Gabrielle Dixon pitch in defensively, each with more than 20 blocks.
FAU is outhitting opponents this season .227 to .152. A perfect 4-0 at home, the Owls have only played in two true road contests in 2015, winning one (3-0 vs. Lipscomb).

The Eagles are 1-4 against the Owls since the two first met in 2009. Last year, FAU came into Alico Arena and defeated FGCU 3-1. Lauren Tutwiler (Louisville, Ky./Assumption High School) picked up seven kills and four blocks in the loss. Eleonora Kazarian (Tibilisi, Georgia/College of Central Florida) fell two digs shy of a double-double, finishing the match with 10 kills and eight digs.

OHIO

The Bobcats have notched wins over LSU, Utah and No. 10 Kentucky already in 2015 as Ohio looks to make it back to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in 13 seasons. Winners of nine of the last 12 MAC titles, the Bobcats carry a 7-3 mark into a pair of matches against FGCU and a single match against FAU. The Bobcats have received votes in each of the last two Volleyball Coaches Association Top-25 Polls. Jamie Kosiorek poses the biggest threat offensively for the Bobcats with 125 kills. Along with Kosiorek, Shelby Walker and Karin Bull present different options for Ohio. Entering the weekend, there are seven Bobcats with at least 29 kills. Abby Gilleland has provided 381 assists this season along with her 29 kills.

Bull leads the Bobcats defense with 44 blocks but is joined by three others with at least 20 blocks. Katie Nelson has contributed 33 blocks for an Ohio team that has limited opponents to a .135 hitting percentage.

The Eagles and Bobcats will meet for the first time on Friday.

UP NEXT

Following the weekend's three contests, FGCU heads back on the road for a pair of contests. On Sept. 25, FGCU travels to Georgia Southern in the final tune-up before conference play begins at Stetson Sept. 26.

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 is in his second year at the helm of the FGCU volleyball program and his teams have combined for an overall 26-14 (.650) record, including and 11-3 (.786) mark in A-Sun play. In his inaugural season, the Eagles finished with a record of 19-11 with a second-place finish in the A-Sun. Botsford's team also had five players recognized as All-Conference honorees, 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.