CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An impressive .429 hitting percentage from the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles sealed the deal for a 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-17) triumph over the Queens Royals inside the Levine Center on Friday, Sep. 29.
The Royals (3-11, 0-2 ASUN) fell to a 6-2 deficit early in the first set before gathering a huge run led by the efforts of Jordyn Johnson on the kill. An FGCU attack error and a service error gave Queens a new life, putting the set at 7-7. The Eagles (10-5, 3-0 ASUN) jumped right back in, putting up a kill and a block from Ella Chapman to get ahead by two points before a kill from Anna Law kept the Royals within reach.
Soon after, the Eagles kicked their offense into gear — Skylar English and Shelby Kent aided their squad to a lead that held to the finish. The Eagles tabbed the first set win by a score of 25-13 with a .458 hitting percentage from 13 kills and only two errors.
Queens drove their way to a 4-0 lead at the start of the second set, as Law and J. Johnson tallied three kills between the two and Jesse George put up a service ace. FGCU quickly evened the score — two Royals errors and a kill each from Kent and Destiny Nelson put the score at 4-4. J. Johnson and Kayla McDuffie helped support their squad on offense, but the Eagles rose once again at the hands of English and Kent and found themselves at a 21-15 lead. A service error from FGCU and a J. Johnson block pushed the Royals to 17, but back-to-back points from Queens error and a kill from English solidified the 25-17 triumph.
In the third, An aggressive FGCU team jumped to a 17-10 lead that Queens wouldn't recover from. FGCU put up their highest set-hitting percentage on the night with a .464. The Eagles dropped 14 kills on one error and 28 attempts against a commendable .286 performance from the Royals — 12 kills on four errors and 28 attempts.
Alleigh Johnson came swinging in the third set as the junior sprinkled in four kills, while Kendall Buish came in with seven assists in the frame. Despite comeback attempts from the Royals led by an attack-hungry McDuffie, the Eagles came out with the final set with a score of 25-17.
J. Johnson led the Royals with nine kills, while A. Johnson and McDuffie put up five each. Buish led the team in digs with eight and in assists with 18, while A. Johnson led with two blocks on the night.
"Her [Jordyn's] ability to find success offensively against this FGCU team was strong," Head Coach Hannah Long said. "Kendall made some great choices with the ball tonight and when our team was able to get their system going, it really helped."
From FGCU, English and Kent led with seven kills each. Lily Tessier put up 33 assists on the night while teammate Reese Burry dug up 14. Nelson finished with a team-leading two blocks.
"With a team that has had as much success as FGCU, they're going to be really confident. Any time we were able to get close, they generated right back."
Up next, the Royals face the Stetson Hatters back in the Levine Center on Sunday, Oct. 1 for a 1 PM first-serve.
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