TAMPA, Fla. – The Florida Gulf Coast University volleyball team swept Mercer and danced past South Florida 3-1 Friday to open the Bulls Volleyball Invitational.

"We made some nice progress with this week of practice, and I love the carry over to these matches," head coach Matt Botsford said. "Our team defense continues to be very stable, but the key was that we started to see the offense click. Lily set great, and put our hitters in some really nice spots. I thought Oreva and Nylah were outstanding in some big moments tonight to help carry us through that fourth set (against USF). Overall, the competitive response we saw from the whole team after a tough third set loss, was a great sign."

FGCU (3-2) faced Mercer (2-3) in the morning action of the invitational. The early start did not faze the Eagles as FGCU soared out to a 12-3 advantage in the opening set. The Eagles kept the Bears at bay for a 25-19 set-one win. FGCU never trailed in the first frame.

In set two, FGCU used a 7-0 run to take a 17-16 lead. The Eagles secured its two-set advantage by outlasting the Bears 32-30.

The Green & Blue took care of business in the third, posting its first sweep of the season with a 25-18 clinching victory. Junior Shelby Kent fired a career-high 15 kills. Defensively, senior Juliana Lentz notched a season-high eight blocks.

In the nightcap, FGCU danced with the Bulls.

The Eagles extended their win streak over USF (1-3) to six, and FGCU's defensive dominance rolled over into the matchup. As a team, the Eagles recorded a season-high 12 blocks. Lentz led all Eagles with six.

A Claire Ertel ace sparked the Eagles in the opening set, tying the match at 17 all. FGCU came out on the winning end of numerous long rallies to capture set one 25-20.

The second set was almost a mirror image of the first as FGCU grabbed another two-set advantage courtesy of a 25-21 victory. South Florida extended the match by stealing set three 26-24 with back-to-back timely aces.

In the fourth set, a Kent solo block began to put the icing on the cake, giving the Eagles a 14-11 lead. FGCU sealed the deal 25-17 on a 3-0 run.

Kent paced the Eagles in kills once again, tallying 12. Graduate student Lily Tessier posted a season-high 41 assists directing the Eagles' offense. The Green & Blue also set the tone from the service line, outpacing the Bulls in aces 12-7.

FGCU closes the invitational Saturday at 11 a.m. with a neutral site battle against Idaho State (0-4).

Bulls Volleyball Invitational:
FGCU 2-0
USF 1-1
Mercer 1-1
Idaho State 0-2