FORT MYERS, Fla. – With their backs against the wall in the second set, the FGCU volleyball team (16-2, 3-0) put together a rally to claim the point and ultimately cruise to its fourth consecutive straight-set win (25-15, 25-22, 25-13) against USC Upstate (10-10, 2-1) Saturday night at Alico Arena.

The Eagles win marked their 15th straight, which matches the 2012 season for the longest win streak in program history and currently ranks as the second-longest active streak in the country – trailing only Nebraska (28), who plays at No. 19 Ohio State Saturday night. Additionally, the win pushed FGCU's all-time mark against the Spartans to 16-0 and their home record this season to 10-0.

For the second night in a row, Leigh Pudwill (Lino Lakes, Minn./Northern Iowa/Centennial HS) stepped up in Amanda Carroll's (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) absence as she tallied a team-leading 16 kills – her third highest output of the season – and turned in a .452 hitting percentage to go along with six digs and three block assists. Alongside Pudwill, fellow senior Marlene Moeller (Ludinghausen, Germany/Pascal Gymnasium) added eight kills while hitting .533 on the night with a pair of block assists.

As a team, FGCU outpaced the Spartans in nearly every offensive category highlighted by 45 kills, 44 assists and 49 digs. Maggie Rick (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic HS) again played distributor for the Eagles as she tallied 39 of the team's 44 assists, while Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS), Giovanna Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) and Courtney Stephens (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park HS) each added double digit digs.

 "We had a few discussions about the focus and execution last night, and I thought the response was exactly what we would be hoping for," said FGCU head coach Matt Botsford. "There's still room for improvement, but we're short-handed right now, and it was good to see some players step up. Sometimes the window of opportunity is small as an athlete and you have to take advantage of it. Tonight, we had a couple players come in and it was hard not to take notice of some of the things we were doing out there."

The Eagles rattled off a pair of kills followed by a service ace from Rick to jump out to an early 3-0 lead in the opening frame and never looked back as they led by six at USC Upstate's first timeout, nine at the Spartan's second breather and 10 at the conclusion of the set. FGCU hit .379 in the first set compared to Upstate's mark of .179 and set the tone for the match.

After the Green and Blue found themselves trailing 10-15 midway through the second set, the Eagles outscored the Spartans 15-7 from that point on and rallied to win the frame, 25-22. Pudwill played an instrumental role in the comeback effort as she tallied eight of her 16 kills – six of which came after the aforementioned deficit – and sealed the deal with back-to-back slams to go up 2-0.

Much like the first set, FGCU jumped out to an early lead in the third and final frame and never looked back. Defense played a big role as the Eagles tallied eight of their 10 block assists in the set. Pudwill and Moeller registered all five of their combined blocks while freshman Daniele Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS) added a couple more. Back-to-back service aces from Borgiotti put FGCU up 23-10 and helped the Eagles cruise to another straight-set win.

UP NEXT
FGCU hits the road for a pair of important ASUN contests next weekend as they take on Kennesaw State (9-8, 3-0) Friday at 7 p.m. before traveling to Nashville, Tenn., to take on Lipscomb (9-5, 2-1) Saturday at 6 p.m. The Eagles are 11-5 in the all-time series with the Owls and 4-14 against the Bisons.

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 third year at the helm of the FGCU volleyball program.  His teams have combined for an overall 56-24 (.700) record, including a 24-7 (.774) mark in ASUN play. In his inaugural season, the Eagles finished with a record of 19-11 with a second-place ASUN finish. Botsford has coached 10 All-Conference selections in his two seasons. 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. A former professional volleyball player, he is a 1998 graduate of Tri-State University (now Trine), 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.