Friday, November 20, 2009

FORT MYERS, Fla. - After playing, and losing two five-set matches in the regular-season to Jacksonville, FGCU won the match that mattered most, sweeping the Dolphins, 29-27, 26-24 and 25-18 at Alico Arena to make Saturday's Atlantic Sun Volleyball Championship title game.

The opening set did not take the form of one that would last eight extra points as FGCU (18-12) ran out to a 14-6 advantage. Four of the Eagles’ points came courtesy of kills by All-Atlantic Sun performer Jenela Simic. The Dolphins (19-9) slowly worked at cutting into that eight-point advantage and finally drew even at 22. Fellow All-Atlantic Sun selectee Brooke Singleton collected five kills the the spurt.

Over the next 11 points, neither team could pull out the necessary two-point margin. Three times Jacksonville needed one for victory, but Simic, who closed the set with 10 kills, twice saved the Eagles. After her 10th kill, she left the game for the remainder of the contest after landing awkwardly on the Alico Arena court. Chandra Lefever and Lara Metz netted the set-clinching kills. The set became the longest, in terms of points, at an A-Sun Championship contest since moving to 25-point sets.

Playing without Simic, head coach Dave Nichols turned to freshman Julia Lopez for the rest of the night. In the second set, she collected four kills and hit .300. Unlike the first set, the second remained tight throughout as neither side had even a three-point margin until Jacksonville eeked out leads at 20-17 and 21-18. The Dolphins could not close out the set as the Eagles won eight of the final 12 points. Jacqueline Cowden’s back-to-back kills gave the Eagles the two-set advantage.

Like their two previous matchups and like the second set, the final stanza of the night opened close and took until the 31st point before either team could take hold of a lead greater than two points. Lopez and Cowden combined for a critical block at 16-14 FGCU, part of an 8-2 Eagle run that put the home team out in front for good. Lopez added a later kill and the Eagles took advantage of the Dolphins’ worst hitting set of the night (.147) to wrap up the match and advance to Saturday’s final.

The Eagles, who joined the Belmont Bruins of 2004 and the 1985 Stetson Hatters as the only three current A-Sun member schools to make a volleyball title game in their first appearance will attempt to derail a Lipscomb outfit trying to complete a perfect A-Sun season. The Championship final begins at 3:00 p.m. with live coverage available on ASun.TV.

In defeat, Jacksonville’s Shelley Walroth, the league’s Defensive Player of the Year capped her record-setting career with 30 digs, an A-Sun Championship record for a three-set affair. She also moved into the NCAA’s top five with 2,456 digs, passing Eastern Kentucky’s Britany Nobilio (2,454) and Houston’s Jaci Gonzalez (2,451) tonight.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an NCAA Division I member committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.