Ella Chapman and
Juliana Lentz combined for 11 kills out of the middle as Florida Gulf Coast University fell 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-17) to the University of Florida in a First Round match in the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in Gainesville, Fla., Thursday night.
"The hardest part about this, and we've been lucky enough to be up at this podium four times at FGCU. The hardest part, without question, is saying goodbye to seniors and people that have poured themselves into this program and have helped establish this program as respectable and able to compete anywhere in the country," said FGCU head coach
Matt Botsford. "That's the first thought that comes to mind. And then of course, there's the match itself. I thought Florida played outstanding. Defensively. Blocking. And Kennedy Martin is a pretty special talent, so that was pretty apparent as well. Mostly, I was just thinking of my team and that this is the last opportunity that I will have had to compete with this group presently constituted.
"The message was, quite simply, 'I'm proud, I'm proud of them, we got beat by a better team tonight, and sometimes that's the way it happens. You learn from it and move forward."
The Eagles (26-7) led 10-8 early in set one after a block by First Team All-Atlantic Sun honorees Lentz and
Lily Tessier. Florida (19-9) would stem the tide with a 7-0 run to take a 15-10 lead. While FGCU would get back within two, 16-14, after an
Alexandra Zakutney kill, the Gators would score nine of the final 13 points in the set to earn a 25-18 win.
FGCU led 7-4 early in the second set after a 3-0 run that featured an
Ella Chapman kill. While Florida would come back to take an 11-7 lead, a 4-0 run that had a Chapman kill, a block by Lentz and Tessier, a successful attack by
Shelby Kent, and an ace by
Shanelle Puetz evened the score back up at 11-all. The No. 4-seed in the Upper Left Bracket would eventually pull away, taking the set 25-16.
Unlike the first two sets, Florida would hold the lead early and throughout the third and final frame. Down 11-5, a Zakutney kill and back-to-back aces from
Skylar English brought FGCU back within three, 11-8. While FGCU would battle, the height of the Gators at the net would get numerous touches on FGCU attacks, resulting in either blocks or digs. The seventh and final kill of the night for Zakutney fought off one match point, but the season would end for the Eagles one point later as UF took the win in the final set, 25-17.
Reese Burry had 10 digs for the Eagles in defeat with English adding nine and
Claire Ertel notching seven. Lentz and Tessier each finished with three total blocks on the night as Lentz finished her 2023 campaign with 151 blocks, the second-most in FGCU history.
