Eagles defeat FAU Sand Volleyball to set a new record in school’s history – Volleyball news
The women’s sand volleyball team of Florida Gulf Coast University defeated Florida Atlantic squad in a long gruelling battle on Wednesday, April 11.
The Eagles of FGCU claimed 3-2 victory and set a new record in the programme history. The Eagles scored back-to-back victories and improved to an overall record of 3-3 on season. The start of the season was not very healthy for Eagles as they dropped three
matches in row.
However, the last two wins have put Eagles back on track and they are determined to continue with success.
The match between FGCU and FAU was covered in five flights. The sand courts were set up at the Estero Community Park, while FGCU was labelled as the home team. The FAU put up a valiant effort to overcome the resilient rival but dropped the decision to Eagles
with a close margin.
The match progressed in see-saw style as the game score tied 2-2 after four sessions but the Eagles took advantage of familiar conditions and bagged victory by capturing the final flight.
In the first session, the spectators got to witness extreme action on the sand. The top FAU tandem of Joanne Marras Tate and Alessia Pizzocheri showcased amazing game tactics and created much trouble for Holly Youngquist and Kaitlin Holm of FGCU. The visiting
pair remained remarkably consistent in attack and defence, which led them to success in consecutive sets. The hosts lost the opening set 14-21 and failed to stop the visitors in second set either. The FAU claimed both frames with identical score of 21-14 and
went on front with 1-0.
The loss of opening session gave a good reason to Eagles to act aggressively in the following round. The duo of Karina Mambuca and Olivia Mesner represented FGCU and staged a head-to-head battle with FAU’s Darija Sataric/Grace Vega.
The home duo was aware of the capability of FAU pair. Hence, Mambuca/ Mesner started out on a strong footing and influenced the opponents both offensively and defensively. The second session of the match ended up in FGCU’s favour. The home duo posted 2-0
(21-17, 21-19) to create the tie of scores.
Eagles attained a great rhythm and tone in the third flight, when No. 3: Brooke Kohler and Brittany Muse faced off Isabelle Arboleda/Sara Stoll of FAU. The FAU played in their usual style but the Eagles did not show any sign of intimidation. The local pair
brightened the chances of victory for FGCU by winning third session on the sandy court of Estero Community Park 2-0 (21-14, 21-14).
FGCU improved to 2-1 at the end of third session but Lauren Jones/Chandler Hatton of FAU put an end to Eagles’ lead in the next encounter. They defeated Jill Hopper/Whitney Masters by sending 2-1(15-21, 21-16, 15-13) on board, which once again brought the
game to an even point.
Nonetheless, No. 5: Gigi Meyer/Lindsey Childs of FGCU breezed past Thacilli Pereira/Cintia Nightingale of FAU in the final session. They posted 2-0 (21-16, 21-19) victory and enabled FGCU to claim success in the match.
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