FORT MYERS, Fla. – After fighting off a match point in set four, Florida Gulf Coast University's volleyball team rolled through the fifth set, topping the University of North Florida, 3-2 (16-25, 25-15, 23-25, 28-26, 15-12), Saturday night at Alico Arena in Atlantic Sun Conference action.

"Another marathon match where our team had to work its way through some tough moments," said FGCU Head Volleyball Coach Matt Botsford. "They have proven to be resilient and it showed again tonight."

Alexandra Zakutney had a match-high 19 kills to go with 12 digs for a double-double. Shelby Kent added a dozen kills and 13 digs, with Skylar English at 11 kills and Ella Chapman at 10 kills with a .500 hitting percentage.

"What a match for Ella," Coach Botsford said. "She had been playing so consistently on both side of the ball. To see her put that performance together is really exciting."

With the final set tied 7-all, FGCU's blockers sparked a 4-0 run to take control. Chapman and Lily Tessier combined to give FGCU (9-5, 2-0 ASUN) the 8-7 lead, then after an ace by Reese Burry and a Zakutney kill, Zakutney and Juliana Lentz blocked a UNF attack to make it 11-7.

UNF (6-9, 0-2 ASUN) would cut the lead to one on three occasions the rest of the way but English put the Green & Blue on the precipice with a kill to make it 14-12. After a UNF timeout, the final swing of the match from the visitors went long, giving FGCU the win.

"I'm really pleased with the way our pins responded toward the end of the match, taking some aggressive swings when we needed to create some scoring opportunities," Coach Botsford stated.
FGCU faced match point in the fourth set, 25-24, but UNF was called for reaching over the net, giving the Eagles new life. The teams would swap points, with a Juliana Lentz kill giving the Eagles a chance to force a fifth set at 27-26. Another attack error by UNF would hand the set to FGCU one rally later.

Tessier had a match-high 45 assists to go with 10 digs for FGCU's third double-double of the night. Burry led FGCU with 16 digs.

Kailey McKnight led UNF with 19 kills and 10 digs.

The Eagles will travel for their first ASUN road matches of the season next weekend, first taking on Queens Friday at 6 p.m. in Charlotte, N.C., before facing Kennesaw State Sunday at 1 p.m.