FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (4-7, 1-0 ASUN) opened conference play in dominant fashion with a 3-0 sweep of Stetson (4-8, 0-1 ASUN) on Saturday at Alico Arena, taking the match 25-13, 25-16, 25-18 behind a top-tier serving night from
Julija Grubisic Cabo.
Grubisic Cabo set the tone from the opening serve. She opened the match with a service ace and added another in the middle of a five-point FGCU run, with
Katie Gielas and
Abby Toeniskoetter supplying the kills, to put the Eagles in front 5-0. Stetson answered with three straight, but Toeniskoetter ended the run with a kill and followed with a service ace to restore an 8-3 lead, and FGCU never trailed in the set. Gielas took over from there. Her kill sparked a three-point burst capped by an
Anna Marzella ace and a
Dinara Sabitova-Toeniskoetter block for a 13-7 lead, and after Sabitova and Toeniskoetter teamed up for another stuff, kills from Grubisic Cabo and
Maju Hildebrand pushed the margin to 16-8. A
Devynn Schulze ace and a Gielas kill off a Schulze set made it 21-10, and Gielas and
Amany Kuwa combined on a block before
Camila Soto brought up set point. Kuwa closed it out with a kill, 25-13, as FGCU hit .522 in the frame and Gielas piled up six kills.
Stetson answered early in the second, scoring four straight after an opening Grubisic Cabo kill to take a 1-4 lead. The Eagles erased it in a hurry. Kuwa and Hildebrand combined on a block, Grubisic Cabo followed with back-to-back aces to tie it at 4, and Hildebrand's kill put FGCU back in front 5-4. After Stetson tied it once more at 5, another Kuwa-Hildebrand block sparked a four-point run, and three straight Stetson attack errors with Marzella at the line made it 9-5, and FGCU was never threatened again in the set. Back-to-back Gielas kills stretched the lead to 11-6, Grubisic Cabo added four kills over the middle of the set, and a Sabitova kill off a Schulze pass made it 16-8.
Eliska Vytiskova came on to serve at 20-15 and sparked the closing push, opening with a service ace before a Soto kill and a Stetson attack error made it 23-15. Gielas and Soto finished it with kills, 25-16.
FGCU's serve took over the third. Stetson grabbed a 0-2 lead to open the set, but the Eagles answered with five straight, capped by three consecutive Grubisic Cabo aces, for a 5-2 lead. Toeniskoetter then went to work, adding three kills and a block with Soto over FGCU's next five points, and back-to-back Soto kills stretched the lead to 13-7. Stetson answered with a six-point run to pull within 14-13, but FGCU shut the door. A Stetson ball-handling error ended the run and started six straight Eagles points, the last five with Grubisic Cabo at the line. Hildebrand and
Shay Heaney added kills, Grubisic Cabo served her eighth ace of the night, and Heaney and Kuwa teamed up on a block for a 20-13 lead. Toeniskoetter put down three of FGCU's final five points, and a Stetson attack error sealed the 25-18 set and the sweep.
FGCU served 13 aces against five errors, out-hit Stetson .342 to .090 and out-killed the Hatters 39-25. Grubisic Cabo's eight aces are tied for the third-most in a match in program history, matching Raegan Richardson's eight against West Georgia on Sept. 29, 2024, and she added six kills and six digs for a match-high 14.5 points. Gielas led all players with nine kills on .389 hitting, while Toeniskoetter was one of the most efficient hitters on the floor with eight kills on .636 hitting to go with four total blocks. Soto went 5-for-7 without an error (.714), and Kuwa added four kills and four total blocks. Sabitova and Vytiskova combined for 33 assists, with Sabitova dishing out 23, and Marzella paced the defense with a team-high eight digs.
FGCU continues its five-match homestand Friday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. against Queens at Alico Arena.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- FGCU opened ASUN play with its second sweep of the season and improved to 38-2 all-time against Stetson
- Julija Grubisic Cabo served eight aces, tied for the third-most in a match in program history.
- Katie Gielas led all players with nine kills on .389 hitting, while Abby Toeniskoetter added eight kills on .636 hitting and four total blocks
- FGCU served 13 aces as a team and held Stetson to .090 hitting
POSTGAME THOUGHTS:
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
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Pick 5! For just $20, you can get a
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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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