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FGCU volleyball suffers losses at Homewood Suites Sunshine State Classic

The FGCU volleyball team battled against in-state rivals, Miami, FAU and UCF, but came up short against each team over the weekend at the Homewood Suites Sunshine State Classic.
“We were in quite a few deuce sets and came out on the short end of those maybe every time, that was kind of the story of the weekend,” said FGCU head coach Matt Botsford. “I think part of it is experience, I think part of it is working through personnel questions and trying to find the right fit. It’s a tough situation – to end a game and be playing out of position – but I’m happy we were in those positions to win even though we didn’t come out on top. We faced teams who had their own unique style, and at the end of the day it’s about adaptability and how quickly we can put in to play the things we are trying to do to react and respond to what we’re seeing.”
The Eagles fell to UCF 3-1 Friday night, then fell to the Owls 3-1 Saturday morning before going down, 3-0 to the Saturday night.
FGCU was challenged by a strong UCF defense, dropping the first to sets. However, the Eagles battled back to win the third set sending it to a fourth set.
After jumping out to an early lead in the fourth set against the Knights, FGCU was unable to stop the dominant force UCF was bringing.
Daniele Serrano led the team with 12 kills while hitting .500 on the night. The middle also registered three digs with a solo block and solo assist.
After a close opening set, the Eagles and Owls were back and forth in the second frame before FAU ultimately took a 2-0 lead.
FGCU then lead from start to finish in the third set to push to a fourth set, but ultimately came up short.
Against Miami, the Eagles dropped a quick first set before falling to the Hurricanes by two in both the second and third frames.
Both sets were tied at 23, but Miami came out on top to win the match 3-0.
Sophomore middle blocker Daniele Serrano totaled 14 kills, three solo blocks and two block assists while hitting .300 and .429 in Saturday’s matches.
Serreno was then named to the All-Tournament Team following the tournament.
Outside hitter, Amanda Carroll also played effectively, totaling 35 kills and 15 assists in the two matches. Now, Carroll is just three kills short of registering 1,000 kills in her career.
Next, FGCU will travel to Davidson, North Carolina to compete against Georgia, Davidson and Wofford at the Wildcat Classic beginning Friday, September 8th at 4:30 p.m.

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