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FORT MYERS, Fla. – During their home opener, FGCU volleyball handed Delaware their first loss of the season in three sets (25-12, 25-19, 25-13). The Eagles' sweep in the Hilton Garden Inn Classic improves their record to 2-2, while the Blue Hens fall to 4-1. Alico Arena came alive as nearly 700 fans showed up to support The Green and Blue in their Labor Day weekend tournament.
 
"It was looking a little light in the gym in terms of attendance at the beginning," said head coach Matt Botsford. "With about 10 minutes left we had a nice rush. That's exciting for the girls, and I thought they executed at a pretty high level for a pretty good crowd. Hopefully we gave them something to come back for."
 
The Eagles dominated the court early on developing a healthy lead over Delaware that they maintained throughout the entire first set. The Blue Hens drew first blood in the second set, but fell behind after their eighth point and were unable to recover. FGCU had all the momentum, but took their foot off the gas and went down 6-1 to the Blue Hens to start off the third set. After a well-used timeout, The Green and Blue fought their way back, overtaking Delaware with their 10^th point. FGCU ended the match with a nine-point run, producing a set score of 25-13.
 
Defensively, the Eagles held Delaware to just a .025 hitting percentage – their lowest of the season. FGCU allowed 16 kills while producing 49 of their own. Junior libero Courtney Stephens (Winter Park, Fla./ Winter Park HS) tallied a season-high 16 digs in the match.
 
Offensively, the Eagles averaged a hitting percentage of .336. Five players recorded more than five kills on the night. Sophomore Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) led the offensive attack with 13 kills, followed closely behind by freshman Ciara DeBell (Ocala, Fla./Vanguard HS) and seniors Leigh Pudwill (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS/Northern Iowa) and Marlene Moeller (Ludinghausen, Germany/Pascal Gymnasium) who each tallied eight. Sophomore Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) amassed six kills and produced a team-leading hitting percentage of .750.
 
Sophomore setter Maggie Rick (Alpharhetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic HS) posted a season-high 40 assists in the match. Her 10.08 assists per set lead the Atlantic Sun Conference.
 
FGCU struck first in the match with a kill by DeBell. A pair Carroll kills broken up by four Delaware errors advanced the score to 6-2. After committing an attack error, Pudwill rebounded back-to-back kills that increased FGCU's lead to five points. The Blue Hens were forced to take a timeout following a kill by freshman Danielle Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS). Delaware produced three consecutive points when play resumed, narrowing gap to three. The Green and Blue began to pull away following a kill by Rhoades. A monster hit from Carroll was whiffed by two Delaware players before flying out of bounds and gave FGCU its 17^th point. The Eagles tallied five more consecutive points before a service error ended the streak. The Blue Hens scored one more point before Pudwill brought the pain with a kill that ended the set 25-12. FGCU recorded 16 kills to the Blue Hen's six and committed only two errors in the set victory.
 
Delaware came out quick in the second set with back-to-back points. The teams split the next six points before Rhoades, Pudwill and Rick recorded consecutive kills that put FGCU up 6-5 over the Blue Hens. Delaware recaptured the lead after back-to-back Eagles errors. FGCU quickly regained the advantage with three more consecutive points, advancing the score to 10-8. A service error from the Eagles tied the score at 12-all before Carroll pounded down three consecutive kills that extended into a seven-point FGCU run. The 18^th point was scored on a service ace from DeBell, who has recorded an ace in all four matches of the season. The teams exchanged points twice before Delaware posted back-to-back scores pushing the score to 21-16. Three consecutive Eagles points were answered by three consecutive Blue Hens points before the set was decided with a DeBell kill that gave FGCU a 25-19 set win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
In the third set, the Blue Hens targeted rookie DeBell, overwhelming the freshman and pulling ahead 6-1. After a timeout and a quick chat with Coach Botsford, DeBell recovered and began to help the Eagles claw their way back. With the help of some Delaware errors, FGCU captured six of the next nine points. The Eagles recorded five consecutive kills – two from Rhoades, two from DeBell and one from Serrano – that increased the score to 12-9. The teams split the next eight points, before FGCU produced nine consecutive scores to end the match with a 25-13 set victory.
 
TOURNAMENT SCORES FOR SEPT. 2

New Orleans vs. Delaware	Final: 3-1, Delaware
VCU vs. New Orleans	Final: 3-1, VCU
FGCU vs. Delaware	Final: 3-0, FGCU

 
UP NEXT
The Green and Blue will start off the day tomorrow with a 10 a.m. match against New Orleans before wrapping up the weekend with a match against VCU at 7 p.m. FGCU holds a 1-0 record against New Orleans after defeating the Privateers in three sets during last year's Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites Classic. VCU holds a 1-0 advantage over the Eagles, with their only meeting taking place in the opening match of the 2013 season.
 
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 enters his third year at the helm of the FGCU volleyball program.  His teams have combined for an overall 42-24 (.636) record, including a 21-7 (.750) 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.