CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Florida Gulf Coast University volleyball picked up a 3-1 victory over Queens University of Charlotte, powered by
Julija Grubisic Cabo's 15 kills and nine digs. The Eagles are now 8-3 in the Atlantic Sun Conference and 14-8 overall.
FGCU tallied 71 kills across four sets matching a program record set versus Florida Southern in 2006 and fired off 24 kills in the fourth set alone.
Ava Smith and
Abby Toeniskoetter each added 12 kills and a pair of aces, while setter
Hanna Borer directed the offense with 30 assists, two aces and seven digs. The Eagles held the edge at the service line (7-5) and in blocks (10-9).
"I thought our setters did a good job of spreading the ball around the offense tonight as we finished with seven different players with six or more kills," head coach Thais Baziquetto-Allen said. "Our middles did a better job of making an impact on the block. I was proud of the way we found a way to pull out the last two sets late against some adversity."
The first set was tightly contested, with both teams battling to a 20-20 tie before Queens closed on a 5-2 run to win 25-22.
In the second set, the Eagles built a 17-13 lead and surged ahead, scoring eight straight points while limiting the Royals to two points to take the set 25-15.
In set three, FGCU jumped out to a 22-15 advantage before Queens responded with a 6-0 run to close the gap to 22-21. The Eagles held firm to win 26-24.
In the fourth, the Royals looked to force a decisive fifth set, leading 23-21, but the Eagles rallied to even the match at 23-23. The score was tied eight more times before FGCU finally pulled away for a 33-31 victory with a record number of kills.
The Eagles remain on the road Sunday, facing West Georgia at noon.
