In their final two home matches of the regular season, FGCU volleyball welcomed Kennesaw State and Queens University to Fort Myers on Nov. 3 and 4 respectively. Each match resulted in wins for the Eagles, 3-1 over the Owls and 3-0 over the Royals, and it was a weekend to celebrate at FGCU with Senior Night and the ASUN regular season title.
Coming into the match against Kennesaw State, FGCU entered with an overall record of 20-5, a conference record of 12-0 and was on a 13 match win streak. On the other hand, the Owls entered with an overall record of 14-9 and a conference record of 7-5.
Despite the difference in records, it was Kennesaw State who took an early lead in the match with a 25-20 win in set one. FGCU quickly bounced back by taking wins in set two, 25-16, and three, 25-15, with ease to take a 2-1 lead in sets.
The fourth set was a tighter contest between the two teams but a 4-0 run by the Eagles later on in the set gave FGCU a 23-17 lead. That lead would not be relinquished as FGCU edged out Kennesaw State 25-22 to capture the fourth set and a 3-1 match win. The win streak reached 14 wins heading into the following match.
Next up on the schedule, FGCU welcomed the last place team in the ASUN Conference, Queens University. The Royals came into the match with an overall record of 4-21 and a conference record of 1-12.
Before the match began, seniors on the FGCU roster were celebrated for Senior Night. This year’s senior’s included Alexandra Zakutney, Lily Tessier and Juliana Lentz.
As for the match itself, each set went roughly the same. All three sets were close early as the Royals matched what the Eagles were able to do. However, whether it was early on or later in the set, the Eagles pulled away.
In set one, the closest Queens University got to FGCU’s lead was 20-14. The Eagles won that first set 25-16. In set two, the Royals pulled as close as possible to the lead with the Eagles up just 14-13. Once again, FGCU responded and won set two 25-18.
The third and final set was as close as 22-18, just a four point lead for FGCU over Queens University. But the Eagles pulled through again, winning the third and final set 25-19, securing the sweep and 15 wins in a row for FGCU.
Freshman middle blocker Ella Chapman was named ASUN Freshman of the Week once again. It’s the third time Chapman has been named freshman of the week. Chapman recorded 12 kills against Kennesaw State which is her highest amount of recorded kills this season.
With the win, FGCU has earned the 2023 ASUN Regular Season Championship. Additionally, the Eagles captured the #1 seed in the ASUN Volleyball Championship, which will be hosted right here in Alico Arena. There are just two spots remaining in the championship tournament.
To wrap up the regular season, the Eagles will be on the road where they head up north to Jacksonville. FGCU will face off against North Florida later today and Jacksonville tomorrow. Heading into those matches with an overall record of 22-5 and an undefeated conference record of 14-0, the Eagles will look to continue their success and win streak past this weekend and into the ASUN Volleyball Championship.
