FORT MYERS, Fla. - Senior Day belonged to the seniors. Julija Grubisic Cabo, Abby Toeniskoetter, Anna Marzella and Eliska Vytiskova led the way as the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (10-11, 7-4 ASUN) swept Jacksonville (10-14, 4-6 ASUN) 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at Alico Arena, taking the match 25-20, 25-18, 25-17 to close their regular-season home slate in style and complete a season sweep of the Dolphins.
 
FGCU out-hit Jacksonville .315 to .165, out-killed the Dolphins 41-34, out-aced them 11-2 and out-blocked them 8-4, and the Eagles got better every set, hitting .345 in the second and .424 with 17 kills in the third. Grubisic Cabo led all players with 14.5 points, hitting a career-high .500 with 10 kills on one error to go with three aces, nine digs and two total blocks. Toeniskoetter hit .545 with six kills and no errors, served four aces and added four total blocks for 13 points. Katie Gielas paced the attack with a match-high 12 kills, and six different Eagles recorded at least three kills.
 
"We have so many weapons," head coach Thais Baziquetto-Allen said. "When we distribute and everybody's on, it's such a hard offense to stop. It's hard to prioritize anybody when they're all playing at a really good level, and that messes with everybody's defense and gets us a lot more points."
 
Marzella anchored the back row with a match-high 13 digs, and Vytiskova handed out 20 assists with an ace to reach 870 assists in her FGCU career. Dinara Sabitova added 17 assists and two aces. Amany Kuwa hit .400 with four kills and three total blocks, Maju Hildebrand chipped in six kills, and Camila Soto added three kills and three total blocks.
 
FGCU set the tone early and never trailed in the opening set. Hildebrand broke a 1-1 tie with a kill, and Grubisic Cabo went to the line and stayed there, serving six straight points with three aces as the Eagles built an 8-1 lead. Jacksonville clawed back within 11-8, but Hildebrand answered with a kill and Kuwa, Gielas and a Toeniskoetter-Grubisic Cabo block kept the margin intact. Toeniskoetter then served back-to-back aces for a 20-13 lead. Gielas put down two more kills down the stretch, Grubisic Cabo added one for a 23-19 edge, and Toeniskoetter stuffed a Jacksonville swing for set point before a Dolphins attack error sealed the 25-20 set. FGCU served seven aces in the frame.
 
The second set was all Eagles once they took the lead. After Jacksonville won the first point, Grubisic Cabo tied it with a kill, and Toeniskoetter followed with a solo block and teamed with Hildebrand on another for a 3-1 lead FGCU never gave back. With Vytiskova at the line, Soto and Kuwa put down kills to make it 7-3, and Grubisic Cabo added kills at 9-5 and 11-7. A Kuwa kill made it 14-10, and Vytiskova took over from there, serving five straight points. Soto and Kuwa combined on a block, Gielas hammered back-to-back kills, Vytiskova served an ace, and Soto and Kuwa teamed up on another block to cap a 6-0 run and a 19-10 lead. Grubisic Cabo and Toeniskoetter kept the pressure on with kills, and Gielas put away the 25-18 set off a Sabitova set. Grubisic Cabo had five kills in the frame.
 
Jacksonville jumped ahead early in the third, but the Eagles had an answer for everything. Trailing 1-3, Gielas put down a kill, Toeniskoetter served an ace to tie it, and Gielas gave FGCU the lead with another kill. Hildebrand's kill at 5-4 put the Eagles ahead for good. Gielas followed with back-to-back kills and an ace for an 8-5 lead, and Grubisic Cabo answered with two straight kills to make it 10-7. After Jacksonville tied it at 10, Soto put FGCU back in front, and Sabitova went to the line for five straight points: an ace, two Toeniskoetter kills, a Grubisic Cabo solo block and a Hildebrand kill on a Marzella set for a 16-10 lead. Toeniskoetter added two more kills, Hildebrand put one down and Kuwa and Soto teamed up on a block for a 21-15 cushion. Gielas and Grubisic Cabo pushed it to 23-17, and fittingly, the seniors finished it. With Marzella serving, a Jacksonville attack error brought up match point, and Toeniskoetter set Grubisic Cabo for the match-winning kill.
 
The four seniors were honored before the match, and the emotion carried onto the floor.
 
"It was a really emotional game, but we played with so much love, and I feel like the love translated to the skill," Grubisic Cabo said. "We were checking everything off the scouting report, and I think we did a good job all around."
 
Marzella's parents watched her play in person for the first time in her collegiate career.
 
"It was amazing. It was emotional," Marzella said. "After four years, they got to sit in the bleachers and watch me play. I'm not just playing for me or for my team. I'm playing for all the people, and especially for my family this weekend."
 
"Walking out and seeing my whole family and the whole crowd was awesome," Toeniskoetter said. "This has been a great way to close out our home season."
 
"I'm so grateful for everyone, especially the girls," Vytiskova said. "They're like my family. I'm far away from home every day, and they're always here to support me."
 
Baziquetto-Allen admitted she did not hold up as well as she had planned.
 
"I was not going to be emotional, and as soon as they walked out, I was bawling," Baziquetto-Allen said. "But it's more of a statement of what they've done for this program. We had such a great transition, and we didn't want to change much. We just wanted to add our spin to it, and all four of them do that for us."
 
FGCU, which now leads the all-time series with Jacksonville 35-13 and is 6-1 at Alico Arena in ASUN play, closes the regular season with three road matches, starting Friday, Nov. 6, at West Florida at 7 p.m. ET.

POSTGAME THOUGHTS:



HIGHLIGHTS:

• Julija Grubisic Cabo led all players with 14.5 points, hitting a career-high .500 with 10 kills on one error, three aces, nine digs and two total blocks, and put down the match-winning kill
• Grubisic Cabo served six straight points with three aces to open an 8-1 lead in the first set
• Abby Toeniskoetter hit .545 with six kills and no errors, adding four aces and four total blocks for 13 points
• Katie Gielas posted a match-high 12 kills
• Anna Marzella recorded a match-high 13 digs
• Eliska Vytiskova handed out 20 assists with an ace and has 870 career assists at FGCU
• FGCU out-aced Jacksonville 11-2, including seven aces in the first set, and hit .424 in the third set

 
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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