The Florida Gulf Coast University volleyball team secured a 3-2 victory over Drake on the opening day of the Ole Miss Invitational Friday in Oxford, Mississippi.
 
"I liked our poise throughout the match and was really impressed with what Shelby and Skylar were doing in serve receive in some really tight moments," head coach Matt Botsford said.  

"Destiny provided us with some timely blocking along with taking some quality swings and I thought Ava was very effective offensively and made some really nice decisions."

Set one started with both teams tied at seven all before the Eagles (6-1) had a 5-0 run to lead 12-7 and kept in front of the Bulldogs (1-5)  with an 18-12 advantage. Drake responded and outscored the Eagles 9-5 to trail just by two, 23-21 but the Green & Blue's defense kicked in and back-to-back blocks by Oreva Evivie sealed a 25-21 victory.

Drake started the second set with a 12-7 advantage before the Eagles closed the gap to 13-11 off a pair of kills each from Barbara Koehler and Evivie. The Bulldogs stopped the Eagles momentum with an 11-6 rally to lead, 24-17. Skylar English held the Bulldogs in set point with two kills and an ace but they eventually won the set 25-21.

Drake jumped out to an 8-4 advantage in the third set but the Eagles persisted and unleashed a 10-3 rally featuring two kills each from Ava Smith, English and Shelby Kent to overtake the lead 14-11. The Bulldogs could not figure out the Eagles offense and FGCU stormed to a 25-18 victory.

The Eagles needed one more set to win but Drake would not be shunned that easily, gaining a 19-15 lead in the fourth set. FGCU rallied through to close the gap to 20-18. The Bulldogs responded with a minor 4-0 run and landed at set point. FGCU then answered with its own 3-0 rally but it was not enough as the Bulldogs won 25-21 to tie the match 2-2.

FGCU gained a 10-6 advantage in the fifth set but the Bulldogs kept fighting and narrowed the gap to one, trailing 13-12 but Kent and Shanelle Puetz delivered two final kills to put the match away for the Eagles.

"We had contributions from everyone and we needed every bit of it. Our depth and bench play was the real story in this match," head coach Matt Botsford said.  

Kent had a double-double with 22 kills and 22 digs while English registered 10 kills and 10 digs. Freshman Raegan Richardson had 22 assists.

FGCU takes on Little Rock (5-2) at 11 a.m. Saturday morning before battling host, Ole Miss at 7 p.m.