The FGCU volleyball team is set to play Marquette University on Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m. in Salt Lake City, Utah, to open its NCAA Tournament run. No. 4 University of Utah, the highest-ranked of the four teams, hosts the first and second-round matches at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
A 3-0 win against Lipscomb on Saturday, Nov. 23, won FGCU its fourth consecutive Atlantic Sun Championship (ASUN) title and secured an automatic bid for the NCAA tournament. FGCU enters the tournament with a 27-4 overall record and 15-1 in ASUN play, while Marquette is 23-8 overall and has a Big East Conference record of 16-2.
Outside hitter for FGCU, Skylar English, was awarded Championship MVP as she ranks fourth in the nation with 73 aces. English is also third in the country for most service aces per set (0.64). Teammates Shelby Kent, an outside hitter, and Shanelle Puetz, a setter, were named a part of the All-Tournament Team.
The Eagles are fourth in the nation for aces from the service line per set (2.14) and have a team-hitting percentage (0.263) that places them 30th in the country.
Marquette enters the first-round match on a 0-3 loss after falling to No. 5 Creighton in the Big East Volleyball Championship. Its only regular-season losses were to Creighton. Three of Marquette’s players were named to the All-Big East Team. This is Marquette’s 13th trip to the NCAA tournament in the last 14 seasons.
This is the Eagles’ fifth NCAA tournament appearance, four of which were earned during Head Coach Matt Botsford’s 11 years at FGCU. In 2018 and 2021, FGCU advanced to the second round and looked to do so again with a victory against the Golden Eagles.
A first-round win for FGCU would result in a second-round match-up against the winner of the Utah and College of Charleston match. The second-round match will occur on Friday, Dec. 6, at 9 p.m. Fans can watch the start of the Eagles postseason run on ESPN+ on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 6:30 pm EST.
