Skylar English registered a double-double of 17 kills and a new career high 18 digs as Florida Gulf Coast University's volleyball team won its seventh-straight Atlantic Sun Conference match after defeating Queens University of Charlotte 3-1 Sunday in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"Happy to be off the road for the rest of the conference season and happier to get two wins. We know we will have to clean up some things down the home stretch. I thought Queens was outstanding on the defensive side of the ball and then you look at our numbers and realize we had 80 digs which is a heck of an effort too," head coach
Matt Botsford said. "Sasha was a big boost off the bench and I love the energy she played with."
The first set started tied 9-9 before the Royals (7-16, 4-8 ASUN) gained a 19-16 advantage and never looked back on winning the set 25-20. This was first ever set win for Queens against FGCU (20-4, 12-1 ASUN) in their five match series and the first time the Royals ever scored more than 20 points versus the Green & Blue.
In set two the Eagles got a comfortable 15-10 lead but the Royals rallied back with a 6-2 spurt to trail by one, 17-16. From there, the Green & Blue remained composed and soared to a 25-20 victory to even the match 1-1.
Set three started tight with both teams locked at 16, before English fired three kills and
Sasha Van Der Merwe and
Ella Chapman delivered a pair of kills each for the Eagles to win with the same exact score of the first two sets, 25-20.
The Green & Blue were determined to end the match in four sets and jumped out to a 14-3 advantage with the help of Van Der Merwe's three kills. The Royals responded by scoring six points to the Eagles four to try and narrow the gap 18-9.
FGCU responded and unleashed a 7-4 run featuring three attacks from English to seal the set 25-13.
The Eagles had 80 digs to Queens' 63 and dominated in assists, 54-40.
Shelby Kent also registered double digits with a match-high of 19 kills and 17 digs.
FGCU will now return home to the Sunshine State but will head to FIU (6-21) for a non conference match at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in Miami, Florida.
