STATESBORO, Ga. – The Eagles won its final warm up before the start of Atlantic Sun play, defeating Georgia Southern 3-2 (25-20, 23-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-7) Friday, Sept. 24. The Eagles took the first set and dropped the next two sets to the hosts, before finding a rhythm and taking the final two games. With the win, FGCU is now 8-6 on the year, while GSU is now 5-9.

"I thought we played pretty steady throughout the match," said head coach Matt Botsford. "Offensively our hitters did a great job making good decisions and managing the situations they were put in. We had three players almost reach 20 kills and Marlene [Moeller] hit .450 which are both great signs. Our serving was a bit off and defensively we needed to be better early, but that improved in sets three and four. Lauren [Tutwiler] was a nice spark off the bench for the team and blocked very well in the fifth set."

FGCU was led by Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior High School) and Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia High School) who both ended the match with 19 kills. Eleonora Kazarian (Tibilisi, Georgia/College of Central Florida) returned to the court and added 18 kills. Rhoades' 19 kills was a career-high for the freshman, who also added 13 digs in her first career double-double. Carroll and Kazarian also notched double-doubles in the victory. Maggie Rick (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic High School) finished with a career-best 67 assists. Lauren Tutwiler (Louisville, Ky./Assumption High School) recorded five blocks while Vanessa Benke (Toledo, Brazil/College of Central Florida) compiled 26 digs to charge the defense.

The Eagles never trailed in the first set and led by as many as 17-11 to take the opening stanza 25-20. It was Georgia Southern though in the second and third sets that came away victorious despite furious comebacks from the Green and Blue. Both sets went 25-23 in favor of Georgia Southern. Needing a win in the fourth set, FGCU jumped out to a 15-9 lead and won 25-20. The Green and Blue carried the momentum into the third set, winning 15-7.

FGCU used a quick start to take control of the first set. The Eagles never trailed following kills from Kazarian and Carroll that put FGCU in front 3-1. The Green and Blue maintain a two point advantage until an attack error and a Marlene Moeller (Lüdinghausen, Germany/Pascal Gymnasium) kill gave FGCU a 7-4 lead. Georgia Southern cut the lead down to 12-11 but the Eagles did not let the hosts tie the set, using a 5-0 run to move in front 17-11. Rhoades contributed two kills during that stretch and added another later to make it 20-15 in favor of FGCU. Moeller and Carroll picked up the final two points for the Eagles. Carroll led the way for FGCU with six kills while Rhoades added five as the Eagles hit .405 as a team.

The Eagles were forced to play from behind in the second set, trailing 3-0 early and 11-4 moments later. A kill from Carroll ended a 7-2 run for Georgia Southern, sparking the Green and Blue to a 5-2 run of their own. Rhoades picked up three kills during that stretch to bring FGCU to within 14-10. FGCU used multiple GSU errors to climb back to 18-16 and 19-17 late in the second stanza. Trailing 23-20, Elisa Anne Aldrich (Charleston, S.C./Wando High School) picked up a solo block, which was followed by a Carroll kill and a Benke ace to cut the deficit to 23-22. The hosts picked up the two of the final three points to take the second set, 25-23. Rhoades tacked on six kills in the set.

The Eagles traded points with the hosts before pulling away momentarily and behind a pair of kills from Carroll, took a 10-7 lead. Georgia Southern came back to tie the set at 11 as the two would again battle back and forth until the set reached 21-21. Looking to gain an advantage in the set, the Eagles used kills from Kazarian and Moeller to take a 23-21 lead. GSU rallied to take the final four points, winning the set 25-23.

FGCU regained its form in the fourth set using kills from Rhoades and Kazarian to force the hosts to call timeout with the score 9-5. The lead would continue to grow to 15-9 in FGCU's favor as Carroll picked up consecutive kills. GSU attempted to come back and would get to within 19-15, but the Eagles used kills from Moeller and Carroll to finish off the set 25-20.

After forcing the decisive fifth set, FGCU started with three straight points, two coming on blocks from Tutwiler and Carroll and the lead grew to 5-1 thanks to a pair of Kazarian kills. The Green and Blue pulled to within five points of victory on a block from Moeller and Rick before finishing off the set match 15-7. FGCU overpowered GSU, hitting .545 in the final set.

UP NEXT

The Eagles open A-Sun play in DeLand, Fla. against Stetson Saturday, Sept. 26. The match is scheduled for 3 p.m. and will be shown on ESPN3.

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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 27-17 (.614) record, including an 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.