Blue Hose
Tournament Wraps Up with No. 10 FGCU as the Only
Undefeated Squad
CLINTON, S.C. – The Third Annual Blue Hose Volleyball Tournament concluded Saturday afternoon as No. 10 Florida Gulf Coast University posted a 3-0 mark in the two-day tournament. Host Presbyterian College went 0-2, including a tough 3-0 loss to Florida Gulf Coast in the final match of the day.
No. 10 Florida Gulf Coast 3, Francis Marion 0
(30-22, 30-16, 30-19)
Florida Gulf Coast picked up its first 3-0 sweep
of the day as the Eagles held Francis Marion
(21-7) in check. Once again, FGCU utilized a
balanced attack to key its win as the Eagles hit
.403 for the match, committing only nine errors
in 119 attempts.
The junior duo of Heather Van Olst (Loxahatchee, Fla.) and Youngquist combined for 28 of FGCU’s 57 kills with 14 apiece. Sophomore Cara Ziegler (Fort Myers, Fla.) also notched double-digit kills with 10, while Van Olst and Fonseca teamed up for six of the team’s eight service aces with three each.
Only Lezlie Logan (Cleburne, Texas) totaled double-figure kills for the Patriots with a game-high 15, while Jackie Phiel (Amherst, Ohio) and Jessica Strader (Kettering, Ohio) garnered 12 and 11 digs, respectively.
Catawba 3, North Carolina Central 1 (26-30,
30-14, 30-25, 30-17)
The Eagles of North Carolina Central (22-11)
used seven kills by Shari Matthews (Bridgetown,
Barbados) to claim a game one victory and a 1-0
lead.
However, the Indians (13-11) rallied and won three straight for the 3-1 victory. Catawba hit .333 in game two and .422 in the fourth game to hold off NCCU. The duo of Melissa Griffith (Williamsburg, Va.) and Melissa Powers (Bennett, N.C.) combined for 68% of the team’s kills as Griffith and Powers both nailed 21 kills each. The Indians had four players with double-digit digs with Missy Bartholomew’s (New Carlisle, Ind.) 17 leading the way.
Matthews finished with another stellar performance as she ended the day with 25 kills for the Eagles. In three matches, Matthews tallied 71 kills. Rachel Walters (Diego Martin, Trinidad) added 11 kills.
No. 10 Florida Gulf Coast 3, Presbyterian 0
(30-12, 30-22, 30-28)
After a
Rachel Lewis (Bloomington, Ill.) kill gave
the Blue Hose (7-20) an early 1-0 lead, Patricia
Gomes da Silva (Sao Paulo, Brazil) served 15
straight points, including five aces, as FGCU
jumped out to a 16-1 margin before
Presbyterian’s next point on an Eagle attack
error. Florida Gulf Coast (22-2) went on to win
the first game, 30-12.
The Blue Hose did not lie down and make it easy for the Eagles in the next two games as there were 16 tie scores and 13 lead changes between games two and three. Nine combined kills from Ericka Fonseca (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) and Brooke Youngquist (Fort Myers, Fla.) helped FGCU to a 30-22 victory in the second game.
In game three, PC used a 9-5 run to stake a 10-6 lead and then lead by four again at 14-10. The Eagles regained their lead for good at 27-26 on a Youngquist kill. The Blue Hose pulled within 29-28 on a kill by sophomore Justine Lanchester (Downs, Ill.) but a Gomes da Silva kill sealed the 30-28 victory for FGCU.
Fonseca finished the match with a game-leading 14 kills, while Youngquist and Whitney Hendry (Fort Myers, Fla.) each had 10 digs. Florida Gulf Coast are now riding a 19-match win streak, the longest in school history.
Freshman Julie Hollrah (Glenwood, Md.) collected 10 kills for Presbyterian.
The Blue Hose return to action on Tuesday when Presbyterian hosts South Atlantic Conference rival, Newberry College at 7 p.m. in Templeton Gym.