FT. MYERS, Fla. – Courtney Vanliew posted 13 kills and a pair of blocks, and host FGCU hit .381 for the match to earn a 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-16) volleyball win over Georgia Southern Saturday morning at the Hilton Garden Inn Invitational.
Anna Wenger notched 10 kills and hit .500 for Georgia Southern (1-2), while
Megan Chevalier and
Cathrine Murray each finished with five kills.
Joscelin Morrow had 11 digs.
Vanliew hit .500 for FGCU (2-0) and was one of three Eagles with double-figure kills. Daniele Serrano had 11 kills, and Amanda Carroll added 11 kills and seven digs.
The story
The FGCU serving game kept Georgia Southern on its heels throughout the match. FGCU tallied five aces and held GS to .114 hitting for the match and under .100 in the second and third sets.
FGCU used a 9-1 run to break a 7-7 tie and take control of the first frame as Vanliew and Carroll each posted three kills during the stretch. A 7-2 spurt early in the second sparked FGCU to a 2-0 lead in the match, and an 8-1 run pushed a two point FGCU advantage to 21-12 in the third.
Quotable from head coach Dustin Wood
"We played really well at times, especially in the first set. They are a really good team. They put a lot of pressure on us, which created more opportunities for them. They made a run on us in the middle of the set, and if you take that run out, we are pushing to win that set."
"We passed okay today but failed to repair balls again. We have some work to do at the setting position. We are inconsistent right now and not putting our hitters in good positions to score."Â
"Anna played well and made the most of her opportunities, but we needed to get her the ball more."Â
"We learned so much from the weekend. Obviously, we wanted the Ws as the result, but we know what we need to work on to get the results. It was a tough competition, and we will be better from it and make those changes."
Next up
The Eagles host the first of two tournaments in Hanner Fieldhouse each of the next two weekends. GS plays its home opener Friday at 7 p.m. against North Florida. The Eagles also host Bethune-Cookman (10 a.m.) and Charlotte (7 p.m.) Saturday.
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