FORT MYERS, Fla. - In a dominating display befitting a conference champion, Florida Gulf Coast University rolled to its third-straight Atlantic Sun Conference Volleyball Championship, defeating Lipscomb University 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-20) in the finals at Alico Arena Saturday night.
Lily Tessier was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after compiling a 10.71 assists per set average and leading the FGCU offense to a .301 attack percentage for the tournament. Returning to her hometown for her final year of collegiate eligibility, Tessier also added her team-leading 11th and 12th double-doubles of the season in the tournament and had the second-most blocks on the team over the three matches, averaging 1.14 per set.
"We knew that we wanted to come out with fire," Tessier said. "I'm not surprised we were that dominant. [Lipscomb] made some mistakes in the first set and I just think that we had momentum the whole time. We all wanted this really badly and we showed it out there."
The Eagles (26-6) didn't commit an attack error as a team until the second set. The squad hit .478 in the first frame and held the Bisons to a -.067 hitting percentage en route to a 25-11 victory. In the second set, All-Tournament Team member
Skylar English had six of her match-high 10 kills as the Eagles built a 24-17 lead, then held on to win 25-21.
Lipscomb (21-8) had its best hitting display in the third set, firing a clip of .367; however, the Eagles still topped it with a .435 percentage. FGCU jumped out to a 6-0 lead, and while Lipscomb overcame a 9-0 advantage against North Florida the day before, the Eagles maintained the momentum throughout the set. With match point in hand,
Shelby Kent delivered the final blow with a kill from the left side, touching off a massive celebration on the court as the Eagles made sure the both the ASUN tournament championship trophy stayed on campus for a third season in a row.
"It's hard to do this once, so the idea that we've been able to do it three years in a row...I don't think that's completely sunk in," said FGCU head coach
Matt Botsford, who had his team competing in the ASUN's final match of the season for the eighth-straight year. "This is the first time for quite a few of these players, but we also have some that have gone through it the entire way, so it's a different experience for all of them. Either way, it's a really difficult thing to do."
Juliana Lentz was the third member of the Green & Blue named to the All-Tournament Team. The senior led the team in blocking with 1.29 per set over the three matches, including a team-leading five in the final. She also hit .500 in the championship match with four kills on eight swings.
As the winner of the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, FGCU will now wait until Nov. 26 to hear its name called during the NCAA Selection Show. For the first time ever, the show will air live on ESPN, beginning at 6 p.m.
