LINCOLN, Neb. - The Florida Gulf Coast University volleyball team (3-6) dropped a four-set decision to No. 25 North Carolina (5-3) on Saturday afternoon at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, falling 3-1 (25-21, 25-16, 20-25, 25-22) in the opening match of the Husker Invitational. The Eagles out-killed the Tar Heels 56-54 and battled through a match that featured 33 ties.
 
Julija Grubisic Cabo opened the match with a service ace, and Katie Gielas followed with a kill to put FGCU up 2-1. After North Carolina pushed ahead 4-2, the Eagles answered with a 4-0 run, getting a Gielas kill, a block from Gielas and Abby Toeniskoetter, a Camila Soto kill and an Eliska Vytiskova service ace to take a 6-4 lead. Soto added another kill at 7-5, and FGCU led 8-5 before the Tar Heels responded with six straight points. The Eagles kept fighting down the stretch, with kills from Toeniskoetter and Soto helping them pull within two at 21-23, but North Carolina closed out the set, 25-21. Soto led all players in the opener with six kills.
 
Kills from Gielas and Toeniskoetter helped FGCU jump ahead 2-1 in the second set, and the teams were tied seven times, the last at 14-14. That tie came on a 4-0 FGCU run that erased a four-point deficit at 10-14, with back-to-back Soto kills sandwiched between two Toeniskoetter-Soto blocks. North Carolina pulled away late to take the set, 25-16.
 
FGCU took control of the third set and earned it, 25-20. The teams were tied at every score from 1-1 through 6-6 before the Eagles ripped off a 4-0 run, starting with a Gielas kill and featuring two kills from Maju Hildebrand and a Toeniskoetter-Hildebrand block, to take a 9-6 lead. A Gielas service ace and kills from Hildebrand and Amany Kuwa stretched the advantage to 13-9. North Carolina rallied to tie it at 13-13 and again at 14-14, but FGCU outscored the Tar Heels 11-6 the rest of the way, getting kills from Gielas (twice), Kuwa, Hildebrand, Grubisic Cabo (twice) and Soto. Gielas and Kuwa teamed up on a block to seal the set. The Eagles hit .378 in the third set with 18 kills, led by five from Hildebrand and four from Grubisic Cabo.
 
The fourth set was the tightest of the afternoon, featuring 14 ties and two lead changes. FGCU took its first lead of the set at 6-5 on a Gielas kill and did not trail again until 19-20, going up by as many as two points on several occasions behind six kills from Hildebrand. The teams were tied at every score from 13-13 through 19-19 before North Carolina edged ahead, but the Eagles kept pushing, with Gielas kills at 20-21 and 21-24 and a Dinara Sabitova service ace pulling them within two at 22-24. North Carolina closed it out, 25-22.
 
Florida Gulf Coast out-killed North Carolina 56-54 and matched the Tar Heels with 45 digs apiece in a match that featured 33 ties and nine lead changes. Gielas led the way with a team-high 15 kills, adding eight digs, three blocks and a service ace. Hildebrand hit a team-best .333 with 13 kills, Soto added 13 kills of her own, and Grubisic Cabo finished with eight kills, seven digs and an ace. Sabitova and Vytiskova combined for 44 assists, with 25 and 19, respectively, and Anna Marzella led the back row with 10 digs. Toeniskoetter anchored the front row with a team-high seven total blocks.
 
HIGHLIGHTS:

• Katie Gielas led the Eagles with 15 kills and also recorded eight digs, three blocks and a service ace.
• Maju Hildebrand hit a team-best .333 with 13 kills, including six in the fourth set.
• Camila Soto totaled 13 kills, six of them in the opening set.
• Dinara Sabitova (25) and Eliska Vytiskova (19) combined for 44 assists.
• Abby Toeniskoetter's seven total blocks led the team.
• Florida Gulf Coast hit .378 as a team in the third set.

 
POSTGAME THOUGHTS:


Florida Gulf Coast closes the Husker Invitational on Sunday against No. 1 Nebraska at 1 p.m. ET at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, in the first-ever meeting between the programs and the Eagles' first match against a No. 1-ranked team.
 
SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets for the FGCU 2026 volleyball campaign are now on sale, and you can take advantage of 12 home Eagles matches, including two tournaments featuring some of the nation's best teams, with plans starting at only $60.By securing your season tickets now, you can save over 50% compared to purchasing single-game tickets for FGCU volleyball.

MINI PLANS
Not sure about a full season? Take advantage of one of our Mini Plans! Now you can Pick 2, Pick 3 or Pick 5! For just $20, you can get a ticket to any two volleyball matches. Add another game to that tally as the Pick 3 mini plan is only $25. Or spend $35 and pick any five home games from the FGCU men's soccer, women's soccer and/or volleyball schedules.

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