JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (8-8, 5-1 ASUN) won their ASUN road opener 3-2 at Jacksonville (8-11, 2-3 ASUN) on Friday night at Swisher Gymnasium, taking the match 25-22, 26-24, 23-25, 23-25, 15-12. Abby Toeniskoetter recorded the 500th kill of her career on the way to a season-high 16 kills without an error, and Anna Marzella anchored the back row with a career-high 26 digs.
 
FGCU out-dug Jacksonville 71-57 and out-aced the Dolphins 8-4. Toeniskoetter led the offense with 16 kills on 23 swings without an error (.696), adding seven total blocks and a match-high 19.5 points, and she now has 509 career kills between FSW and FGCU.
 
"I think she struggled a little bit in the last few games, but today she came back with full power, no errors," head coach Thais Baziquetto-Allen said. "She has so many different shots that it's just hard to stop, and I'm really proud of what she's done today."
 
"I've been working a lot on seeing the block and trying to go around, and also trusting my setters to put me in positions to be able to do that," Toeniskoetter said. "I'm surrounded by my teammates. I couldn't do anything without them. They pass, set, block, all the things. I couldn't do it alone."
 
Maju Hildebrand added 13 kills, and Katie Gielas posted a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs. Marzella's 26 digs led the defense, and she added two aces and a kill.
 
Facing a Jacksonville attack that leaned on its pin hitters' sharp crosscourt swings, Marzella was able to "make some really good reads on that cross court," Baziquetto-Allen said.
 
Dinara Sabitova recorded her fourth straight double-double with 27 assists and 11 digs, and Eliska Vytiskova added 16 assists. Amany Kuwa had five kills and a team-high eight total blocks, Julija Grubisic Cabo finished with six kills, two aces and four total blocks, and Devynn Schulze added two aces.
 
"We have so many offensive weapons that we're able to really mix and match and activate some people in different sets, so that we're able to get them to score points for us and lead us," Baziquetto-Allen said.
 
The Eagles came out firing in the opening set. Jacksonville scored the first point, and Toeniskoetter answered with a kill. Marzella then went to the line for five straight points, including a Gielas-Kuwa block, a Gielas kill and a Marzella service ace, to put FGCU in front 6-1. The Dolphins worked their way back to take a 10-13 lead. Grubisic Cabo then served four straight points behind two Toeniskoetter kills and a kill from Marzella to flip it to a 15-13 Eagles edge. Jacksonville answered with four straight points and later led 20-22, but Toeniskoetter took over down the stretch. She sided out with a kill, and then, with Sabitova serving, she put down two more around a Sabitova ace. Hildebrand finished off a five-point closing run with a kill to seal the 25-22 set. Toeniskoetter had six kills in the frame.
 
Toeniskoetter picked up right where she left off, putting away the 500th kill of her career on the first point of the second set off a Sabitova set. She followed with a block alongside Gielas and another kill as Vytiskova served FGCU to a 4-0 lead. Jacksonville answered to build an 8-12 lead, and Schulze served back-to-back aces to pull the Eagles within one at 11-12. The Dolphins pushed the margin back to four at 15-19, and FGCU's front row responded. Kuwa stuffed a Jacksonville attack for a solo block, then teamed with Grubisic Cabo on back-to-back blocks with Sabitova serving. A Dolphins attack error capped the four-point run to tie it at 19. With Grubisic Cabo at the line, a Kuwa-Hildebrand block and a Jacksonville attack error put FGCU ahead 22-21. Kuwa tied it at 23 with a kill, and Jacksonville then earned set point at 23-24. Hildebrand answered with back-to-back kills to give the Eagles the lead, and a Dolphins attack error closed out the 26-24 set.
 
Jacksonville answered in a back-and-forth third set that featured 12 ties. FGCU erased an early 5-8 deficit and moved in front 12-11 on a Hildebrand kill and a Hildebrand-Toeniskoetter block. A Grubisic Cabo service ace put the Eagles up 21-20 late, and FGCU led 23-22 before the Dolphins scored the final three points to take the set 25-23.
 
FGCU jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fourth behind a Kuwa kill and two from Hildebrand. Jacksonville built a 10-14 lead, and Vytiskova then served three straight points, capped by a Grubisic Cabo-Toeniskoetter block, to tie it at 14. The Eagles battled back again from 19-22. Hildebrand and Grubisic Cabo put down kills, and Hildebrand and Kuwa teamed up on a block to tie it at 22. Hildebrand leveled it once more at 23, but the Dolphins took the final two points to force a fifth set.
 
Playing in its fourth straight five-set match, FGCU seized control of the deciding set from the start. Sabitova served the first four points, and Hildebrand put down two kills around a pair of Jacksonville attack errors for a 4-0 lead. The Dolphins fought back to tie it at 5. Kills from Grubisic Cabo and Toeniskoetter restored a 7-5 edge, but Jacksonville scored three straight to go ahead 7-8. Hildebrand tied it at 8, and Toeniskoetter put FGCU back in front with a kill. A Toeniskoetter-Gielas block broke a 10-10 tie, and Gielas put down a kill for a 12-11 lead. Marzella then served back-to-back points on a Jacksonville attack error and a Kuwa solo block to make it 14-11. After the Dolphins sided out, Gielas ended it with a kill off a Sabitova set, sealing the 15-12 set and the match.
 
"I just thought we fought a lot as a team and trusted each other," Toeniskoetter said. "There were a lot of times at the end of sets where we didn't have a lot of room for error, and I thought we did really good sticking together and having each other's backs."
 
FGCU continues its road stretch on Saturday, Oct. 17, at North Florida at 6 p.m. at UNF Arena.
 
POSTGAME THOUGHTS:




HIGHLIGHTS:

• Abby Toeniskoetter recorded the 500th kill of her career on the first point of the second set and finished with a season-high 16 kills on .696 hitting without an error, plus seven total blocks and a match-high 19.5 points
• Anna Marzella posted a career-high 26 digs as FGCU out-dug Jacksonville 71-57
• Katie Gielas finished with a double-double of 12 kills and 13 digs, including the match-winning kill
• Dinara Sabitova recorded her fourth straight double-double with 27 assists and 11 digs
• Maju Hildebrand added 13 kills, including back-to-back kills to erase a Jacksonville set point and put FGCU ahead late in the second set

 
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