NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Florida Gulf Coast University volleyball closes its four-match road stretch this weekend in Tennessee and Kentucky. The Eagles visit Lipscomb Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. ET at Allen Arena in Nashville, Tenn., then head to Bellarmine Saturday, Oct. 24 for a 5 p.m. ET match at Knights Hall in Louisville, Ky. Both matches will stream on ESPN+.
 
Florida Gulf Coast (8-9, 5-2 ASUN) split its two matches in Jacksonville last weekend. The Eagles won 3-2 (25-22, 26-24, 23-25, 23-25, 15-12) at Jacksonville on Friday and fell 3-0 (18-25, 17-25, 18-25) at North Florida on Saturday. FGCU and Lipscomb enter the weekend tied at 5-2 in league play. Through seven ASUN matches, the Eagles are 17-12 in sets, hitting .203, holding opponents to .167, and averaging 1.90 aces and 12.72 digs per set. Four of those seven matches have gone five sets, and FGCU is 3-1 in them.
 
Senior middle blocker Abby Toeniskoetter recorded the 500th kill of her career at Jacksonville. She finished that match with a season-high 16 kills without an error on .696 hitting and added seven total blocks. She hit .528 with 20 kills and 11 total blocks over the weekend. Toeniskoetter leads FGCU with 70 total blocks (1.03 per set), 41 of them in ASUN play (1.41 per set), and is hitting .431 in league matches. Freshman middle blocker Amany Kuwa ranks second with 58 total blocks and posted eight for the second time this season at Jacksonville. Sophomore Katie Gielas totaled 22 kills and 21 digs last weekend. Her output included a 12-kill, 13-dig double-double at Jacksonville and a team-high 10 kills at North Florida. Junior Camila Soto has 89 kills on the season.
 
Senior captain Julija Grubisic Cabo leads FGCU with 218.5 points (3.21 per set) and 27 aces, 18 of them in ASUN play. She has 181 kills and 150 digs (2.21 per set). The Maribor, Slovenia native now has 1,025 collegiate kills, 540 of them with the Eagles, and she tied a career high with four total blocks at Jacksonville. Freshman opposite Maju Hildebrand leads the team with 188 kills (2.76 per set) and has reached double figures in 12 of 17 matches, with 13 kills apiece against Bellarmine, Lipscomb and Jacksonville.  Senior setter Dinara Sabitova leads FGCU with 416 assists (6.12 per set) and has five double-doubles this season, four of them in a row from West Florida through Jacksonville. Senior setter Eliska Vytiskova has 795 assists in her career at FGCU (tenth on the all-time leaderboard) and 10 aces in ASUN play. Senior defensive specialist Anna Marzella leads the back row with 202 digs (2.97 per set). Her total includes a career-high 26 at Jacksonville.
 
Lipscomb (Friday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m. ET)
Lipscomb is 12-5 (5-2 ASUN) under first-year head coach Sarah Baldwin. The Bisons opened conference play with a 3-0 loss at Bellarmine on Sept. 26. They then won five straight, beating North Florida 3-2 and Jacksonville 3-1 at home before winning at Stetson 3-0, at FGCU 3-2 and at Queens 3-0. That run ended Sunday with a 3-0 (23-25, 20-25, 23-25) loss at West Florida. Lipscomb is 7-1 at home, and Friday is its first home match since Oct. 3.
 
Ella Durham leads Lipscomb with 220 kills (3.49 per set) and 238 points (3.78 per set). She has reached double figures in kills in 13 of 17 matches, including a season-high 20 against Washington State, and she had 15 kills against FGCU in the first meeting. Sydney Strenger is hitting .377 with 173 kills and 46 total blocks. Brooklyn Fuchs has 115 kills and 40 total blocks, including a team-high nine solo blocks. Anna Claire Brown has 111 kills and posted 13 in the first meeting and 12 at West Florida. Madyson McCarthy is averaging 2.50 kills per set and had 10 kills at West Florida. Setter Kelsey Schenck averages 10.70 assists per set and had 52 assists against FGCU. Libero Grace Jones leads the back row with 185 digs (3.36 per set). As a team, Lipscomb is hitting .233, with opponents hitting .215, and it averages 13.43 kills and 14.70 digs per set.
 
Florida Gulf Coast leads the all-time series 19-18 and has won its last two matches in Nashville. Lipscomb won the first meeting this season 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-13, 10-15) on Oct. 11 at Alico Arena. The Eagles took the second set 25-21 and ran away with the fourth 25-13 to force a fifth. FGCU held a 12-4 edge in aces, with four from Vytiskova and three from Marzella. Grubisic Cabo recorded her 1,000th collegiate kill in that match as part of a 14-kill, 11-dig double-double. Hildebrand added 13 kills, and Toeniskoetter had seven total blocks.
 
Bellarmine (Saturday, Oct. 24, 5 p.m. ET)
Bellarmine is 9-9 (3-4 ASUN) under fifth-year head coach Rick Nold. Bellarmine opened conference play with a 3-0 home win over Lipscomb on Sept. 26. It fell 3-1 to Jacksonville and beat North Florida 3-1 at home, then lost 3-2 at FGCU on Oct. 9 and won 3-0 at Stetson. The Knights fell 3-2 at West Florida last Friday and 3-1 at Queens on Sunday. Bellarmine hosts Stetson on Friday and is 5-2 at home.
 
Mady Yaden leads Bellarmine with 219 kills (3.04 per set) and had 17 at Queens. Natalie Bland leads the team with 244.5 points (3.35 per set) and has 206 kills and 189 digs, and she posted a double-double of 15 kills and 10 digs at Queens. Erika Smith is hitting .297 with 103 kills and 37 total blocks. Mary Herman leads the front row with 70 total blocks (0.96 per set), including 23 solo blocks, and has 115 kills. Mya White has 107 kills. Setter Maddie Carnes averages 9.26 assists per set and has 29 aces. Libero Payton Parsons, a Preseason All-ASUN pick, leads the back row with 269 digs (3.68 per set). The Knights lean on their serve, with 152 aces (2.08 per set) led by Abbie Lyttle's 35. As a team, Bellarmine is hitting .205, with opponents hitting .202.
 
Florida Gulf Coast is 7-0 all-time against Bellarmine, and Saturday is its second trip to Knights Hall after a 3-0 win on Oct. 20, 2023. The Eagles won the first meeting this season 3-2 (16-25, 25-9, 22-25, 25-15, 15-4) on Oct. 9 at Alico Arena, holding the Knights to .077 hitting while hitting .261. They posted a 25-9 second set and closed with a 15-4 fifth. Grubisic Cabo recorded her 500th kill at FGCU in a 13-kill, 14-dig double-double. Soto had 11 kills on 16 swings without an error, and Toeniskoetter added nine kills on .600 hitting and eight total blocks. Hildebrand had 13 kills and a season-high six total blocks. Sabitova posted 25 assists and a career-high 19 digs.
 
Florida Gulf Coast returns to Alico Arena next weekend to host North Florida Friday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. and Jacksonville Sunday, Nov. 1 at 1 p.m.

2026 ASUN VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS
Tickets are on sale for the 2026 ASUN Volleyball Championship, set for Nov. 19-22 at Alico Arena. FGCU is hosting the league tournament for the fourth straight year and the 10th time overall, with the top six ASUN teams playing in Fort Myers for the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Single-session tickets start at $14, and all-tournament passes start at $30.
 
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