FORT MYERS, Fla. - Eagles hitters combined to hit .388 as a team with 46 kills as Florida Gulf Coast University swept Austin Peay State University 3-0 (25-14, 25-9, 25-15) in Atlantic Sun Conference volleyball play Friday night at Alico Arena.
The win sets up FGCU (14-5, 7-0 ASUN) for a Saturday night showdown against Lipscomb University for the top spot in the conference as league play reaches its midpoint. Lipscomb earned a 3-1 win at Stetson University Friday night to improve to 7-0 in league play as well.
Still, it was as strong of a showing as FGCU head coach
Matt Botsford could have hoped for Friday night. "I thought it was a really clean match all the way through on both sides of the ball," he said. "I loved the serving, the game management, and our overall poise throughout the longer plays."
Freshman
Reese Burry had her sixth-straight match with double-digit digs, picking up 18 in the win, the most for an Eagle this season in a three-set match. "Reese was remarkable tonight," Coach Botsford said. "She is really coming into her own and finding ways to make an impact."
Graduate student
Lily Tessier guided the FGCU offense with 35 assists. It was during her first term of service that the Eagles went on a match-starting 6-0 run, making a match-defining statement in the process. "Lily had another excellent match and I thought her tempo and location were outstanding to go along with a nice approach from the service line," Coach Botsford said.
Alexandra Zakutney had another big night swinging, putting home a match-high 16 kills while adding two aces and two total blocks. She improved on her league-leading kills per set average in ASUN matches to 4.04.
Shelby Kent added more kills from the outside with eight and just one error.
FGCU's middles also had another big night as
Juliana Lentz had seven kills without an error while freshman
Ella Chapman put down six kills on a .313 attack percentage. In a match-up of the two top blocking teams in ASUN play so far this season, FGCU held a 6.0-3.0 advantage.
But ultimately, it was FGCU's defense which helped carry the night. The Eagles will look to come out strong again Saturday evening at 6 p.m. in Alico Arena against Lipscomb.
