The FGCU Volleyball team picked up two more losses after this weekend.
The Eagles lost to in-state rival FAU 3-1 Thursday, Sept. 17 at home. The game resulted in 30.5 total team blocks, while both sides hit less than .210 during the match.
Outside hitter Amanda Carroll led the green and blue with 20 kills and 13 digs for her third consecutive double-double. Senior Vanessa Benke made her season debut in the outside hitter position since the 2014 season, contributing seven kills and nine digs.
Junior Marlene Moeller played middle blocker. Moeller ended the match with a .294 attack percentage on eight kills, a team-best.
FGCU dropped the first set 25-22. They climbed back from 7-1 earlier in the set. The Eagles won the second set, while the Owls dominated the third set at 26-24.
The fourth set ended in 25-15. The competitiveness was in full swing during the second set, with neither team hitting above .180 and both teams combining for 12.5 blocks.
After FAU called a timeout, kills from both Carroll and Benke bumped the Eagles to 15-14. Marina Adami, a junior setter, assisted the green and blue offense with eight assists. Following intermission, the teams were close until a 6-3 run from the Owls gave the team an 18-12 lead.
FAU recorded the final two points of the match during the third set, 26-24. Benke led with five kills and Carroll with three kills. During the fourth set, the Eagles took a 7-1 lead, however, the Owls ended the game with a 25-15 set, claiming the victory at 3-1.
The next day, Friday Sept. 18, the Eagles competed against the Ohio Bobcats for the first time this season, falling 3-1 at Alico Arena. The loss caused the Eagles to fall 7-5 while the Bobcats improved to 9-3. Carroll again led the Eagles with 13 kills and two assists, with Moeller contributing seven kills.
After intermission, FGCU fell flat, leaving the score 25-11. The first set was close for the Eagles, after falling behind 10-5. Kills from both Carroll and Moeller left the set a tie at 18, but the Bobcats closed the set at 7-1. During the second set, the Eagles bounced back, before tying the set at 9, thanks to a kill by Mackenzie Allen, a sophomore and outside hitter. Allen was also responsible for the team’s biggest lead of the set at 23-17, then ending the set with a third kill.
The green and blue experienced their lowest hitting percentage of the season when the Bobcats turned their 6-6 tie into a 16-7 lead, and the third set ended in 25-11.
Benke gave the Eagles a chance to tie the game with a kill, setting the score at 9-10, but Ohio instantly increased its lead to 17-10. A kill made by Lauren Tutwiler, sophomore and middle blocker, barely shot the Eagles higher, with the Eagles landing at 21-17, however, FGCU could not keep up, and the set ended 25-20.
The Eagles go head to head against Georgia Southern University on Friday, Sept. 25 in Statesboro, Georgia. Georgia Southern’s team is comprised of mostly freshmen and sophomores, with only two seniors on the team. FGCU plays its first match against Stetson University, at Stetson, on Saturday, Sept. 26.