CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (12-11, 9-4 ASUN) stretched their winning streak to four matches with a gritty 3-2 victory at Queens (9-17, 5-8 ASUN) on Sunday afternoon at Curry Arena, taking the match 25-12, 25-14, 12-25, 19-25, 15-11 behind a career-best hitting day from Maju Hildebrand and the 600th FGCU kill of Julija Grubisic Cabo's career.
 
FGCU out-hit Queens .316 to .228, out-killed the Royals 63-53 and out-dug them 59-44, then saved its best for last, hitting a blistering .600 with 12 kills and zero errors in the deciding fifth set. Hildebrand led all players with 16 kills on a career-best .536 hitting (16-1-28) to go with 17 points, while Grubisic Cabo powered home 15 kills with three aces, eight digs and a team-high 18.5 points. Katie Gielas matched her with 15 kills, added three total blocks and 16.5 points, and now has 105 kills over her last eight matches.
 
"I'm really proud of how our team responded today," head coach Thais Baziquetto-Allen said. "We set the tone early, and when the match got tough, we stayed together and trusted each other. That fifth set was a reflection of who we are: composed, aggressive and confident. Winning on the road in this conference isn't easy, and this group found a way."
 
Abby Toeniskoetter was efficient in the middle with six kills on .462 hitting and a team-high four total blocks, Amany Kuwa added six kills and three total blocks, and Camila Soto chipped in five kills. Dinara Sabitova posted a double-double with 28 assists and 10 digs, Eliska Vytiskova added 21 assists and nine digs, and Anna Marzella paced the back row with a team-high 13 digs to go with eight assists.
 
The Eagles came out firing and never trailed in the opening set. Toeniskoetter opened the scoring with a kill, Kuwa followed with a block and a kill, and Grubisic Cabo sparked a four-point burst with a kill before serving an ace in the middle of it, with Kuwa and Soto adding kills for a 7-2 lead. Sabitova served an ace and Gielas and Toeniskoetter teamed up on a block to push the margin to 11-4, Hildebrand found the floor twice and Gielas put down a kill for a 17-8 cushion. Marzella served back-to-back points to make it 21-10, Toeniskoetter and Hildebrand followed with kills, and Gielas brought up set point before a Queens attack error closed out the 25-12 frame. FGCU hit .355 with 14 kills in the set.
 
Set two was a back-and-forth battle early, with five ties through the first 24 points. Hildebrand hammered home back-to-back kills for a 4-2 lead after combining with Toeniskoetter on a block, but Queens grabbed a 5-7 edge. Hildebrand answered with a kill, and Grubisic Cabo followed with her 600th career kill at FGCU to cut the deficit to 7-8. Hildebrand kills kept the Eagles within one at 10-11 and tied it at 12, and then FGCU took over. With Toeniskoetter at the line, Grubisic Cabo put down back-to-back kills, the first off a Toeniskoetter set, for a 14-12 lead, and two more points on Toeniskoetter's serve made it 16-12. Grubisic Cabo struck twice more for a 19-13 edge, added another kill at 20-14 and then went to the line and slammed the door, serving the final five points of the set as Gielas and Soto added kills before she finished it off with back-to-back aces to seal the 25-14 set. FGCU hit .519 with 16 kills and just two errors in the frame, and Grubisic Cabo totaled six kills and two aces in the set alone.
 
Queens answered by taking the next two sets, but the Eagles never stopped swinging. Gielas put down four kills in the third, and down 14-19 in the fourth, FGCU ripped off four straight points, three with Sabitova at the line, as Toeniskoetter teamed with Hildebrand and Gielas on back-to-back blocks before putting down a kill to pull within 18-19. The Royals closed out the frame to send the match to a fifth.
 
When it mattered most, FGCU was at its best. Grubisic Cabo and Hildebrand opened the decider with kills for a 2-0 lead, and the Eagles never trailed again. Gielas kills kept FGCU in front at 4-2 and 5-3, Soto and Hildebrand kills built an 8-5 lead, and Hildebrand took over from there with kills at 9-7 and 10-8. Gielas added two more kills at 12-10 and 13-11, Grubisic Cabo hammered home a kill for match point at 14-11, and a Queens attack error sealed the 15-11 set and the match.
 
FGCU returns to action Saturday, Nov. 14, for the regular season finale at Stetson at 6 p.m.
 
HIGHLIGHTS:

• FGCU extended its winning streak to four matches and improved to 9-4 in ASUN play
• The Eagles hit .600 (12-0-20) in the fifth set and never trailed in the first or fifth sets
• Maju Hildebrand led all players with 16 kills on a career-best .536 hitting (16-1-28) and added 17 points
• Julija Grubisic Cabo recorded her 600th career kill at FGCU, finishing with 15 kills, three aces, eight digs and a team-high 18.5 points, and served the final five points of the second set, ending it with back-to-back aces
• Katie Gielas added 15 kills, three total blocks and 16.5 points, giving her 105 kills over her last eight matches
• Dinara Sabitova posted a double-double with 28 assists and 10 digs
• Anna Marzella recorded a team-high 13 digs

 
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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