FORT MYERS, Fla. – Coming off a straight-set victory against FIU Friday night, the FGCU volleyball team (3-0) picked up right where it left off as the Eagles registered two more 3-0 wins against Georgia Southern (25-16, 25-16, 25-16) and IUPUI (25-21, 25-23, 25-13) to conclude the Hilton Garden Inn Invitational Saturday at Alico Arena.

Much to head coach Matt Botsford's delight, the Green and Blue were able to play a complete game in the morning contest against Georgia Southern as FGCU outhit the visiting Eagles .381 to .114 in the match and held a relatively comfortable lead throughout. In the nightcap, though, the Eagles were tested by the Jaguars' aggressive style of play and needed to put together a come-from-behind win in the second frame before pulling away from IUPUI in the decisive third set.

Outside hitter Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) totaled 34 kills in the two matches, including 23 in the nightcap against the Jaguars, which ranks just outside of the top-10 in single-game program history. She also turned in the Eagles' first double-double of the season with 13 kills against IUPUI. Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) paced the way with 10 and 18 digs, respectively, in Saturday's matches, while Maggie Rick (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic) was credited with 116 of FGCU's 133 assists in the two-day tournament.

Thanks to their consistent efforts throughout the weekend, Carroll, Rhoades and Rick earned their way onto the 2017 Hilton Garden Inn Invitational All-Tournament Team with Carroll taking home MVP honors. A complete all-tournament team can be found at the bottom of this recap.

"This morning against Georgia Southern, I thought we played really well," Botsford said. "Considering where we are in the season, that was a nice thing to see. This evening with IUPUI, we knew we were going to get a team that would be aggressive at the service line, so it was a different match. It had a more offensive feel to it. There was some distinct difference between the two matches and the style of play, but we were pleased with each."

MATCH ONE
After the opening frame against Georgia Southern was tied on a five occasions through the first 14 points, FGCU used a 9-1 run to open up a 16-8 advantage and never looked back en route to claiming a 25-16 win. The Eagles hit an efficient .484 in the set and were led by Cortney VanLiew's (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) five kills. After a career-best effort last night, Kaitlan Krivdo (Hope Mills, N.C./Grays Creek HS) picked up right where she left off by converting on two of three attacks in the opening frame.  

FGCU jumped out to an early lead behind a pair of kills from Carroll, but Georgia Southern was able to battle back and cut the lead to 9-8. However, a pretty backdoor set from Rick to Daniele Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS) sparked a streak of four straight kills from the sophomore middle block to give FGCU a 13-8 lead. After being led by its efficient hitting in the first frame, FGCU used its defensive effort in the second set to register a trio of blocks and hold the visiting Eagles to a .037 hitting percentage.

In the third and final set, the Eagles fell behind early but were able to pair its efficient offense and stifling defense to the tune of hitting .483 while holding Georgia Southern to a .077 percentage. The freshman duo of VanLiew and Snowy Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) recorded four kills apiece while turning eight of 12 swings into points, and the Green and Blue ultimately cruised to its third straight 25-16 win against the visiting Eagles. VanLiew ended the match with a match-high 13 kills.

MATCH TWO
Carroll came out swinging in the opening frame as she converted on six of her first eight attacks, but IUPUI battled back to tie the frame, 17-17. The two teams then battled back-and-forth for the remainder of the set, and with FGCU leading 21-20, the Eagles got a pair of big kills from Burnam to push the lead to 23-21. Fellow freshman and local product Alayna Ryan (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS) put the finishing touches on the frame with an ace as she used nice touch to drop the ball just over the net.

FGCU fell in a 9-4 hole in the second set, but rattled off five straight points to tie the set, 9-9, behind a pair of kills from Carroll and Giovanna Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS). IUPUI then won the next four points, but FGCU was able to go on its second five-point run of the frame to take a 15-14 lead. From there, neither team held more than a two-point advantage the rest of the way, and with the set tied, 23-23, the Green and Blue put it away and took a commanding 2-0 lead on kills from Carroll and Borgiotti.  

Somewhat deflated after allowing the second-set comeback, IUPUI hung tough in the early stages of the third frame as the score was tied, 5-5. However, FGCU won four straight points to claim a comfortable lead in what would become the close-out set. The Eagles maintained an advantage of at least three points from then on and saw its lead blossom to the eventual final of 25-13 thanks to outhitting IUPUI .410 to .071 in the set. It was FGCU's third set with a hitting percentage of higher than .400 during the day.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Amanda Carroll – FGCU (MVP)
Maggie Rick – FGCU
Karissa Rhoades – FGCU
Kori Waelbroeck – IUPUI
Lauren Reichard – Georgia Southern
Margherita Bianchin - FIU

UP NEXT
The Eagles will welcome state rivals Miami, FAU and UCF to The Nest for the Homewood Suites Sunshine State Classic. FGCU will take on UCF Friday at 7 p.m. before turning around the following day to square off with FAU at 11 a.m. and Miami at 7 p.m.

COACH BOTSFORD
Head coach Matt Botsford finished his third season at the helm of the FGCU volleyball. In 2016, Botsford's squad produced one of its most successful seasons ever at 27-6, with the win total representing the most in Division I program history and falling two shy of the all-time mark. His teams have combined for an overall 70-28 (.714) record, including a 32-10 (.762) 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 15 All-Conference selections in his three 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.