Brian Murphy

Special to USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA

ORLANDO -- The most successful season in Florida Gulf Coast University volleyball history came to an abrupt end Friday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Eagles were defeated by the Florida Gators in straight sets, 25-17, 25-13 and 25-17 on the campus of UCF.

"I thought Florida played tremendously well. They served the ball great; that was really the story of the match," FGCU coach Matt Botsford said. "... I don't think we were as prepared for that facet of the game, and they did it extremely well."

The loss ends a season which included the Eagles (27-7) claiming the program's first ASUN tournament title as well as its first NCAA bid. FGCU entered the tourney on a 15-match win streak and kept the magic going Thursday night by knocking off the host Knights, the No. 13 national seed, in a five-set barn-burner.

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However, FGCU's usually stout defense just couldn't do much to stop the Gators' attack. The Eagles rank third among Division I teams in opponent's hitting percentage, allowing them to hit just .141 per game. Florida, last year's NCAA Tournament runner-up, hit .356 for the match.

"I think what surprised our players and certainly surprised me as a coach was how (Florida's) size related to their ability to serve at some angles we hadn't seen much of," Botsford said.

Outside hitter Cortney VanLiew paced the Eagles with 12 kills. She also had five digs. Libero Dana Axner added a team-high 17 digs. She broke the program's single-season record for digs during the UCF win and wraps up her freshman season with 624 digs.

Gators coach Mary Wise said Axner was "maybe one of the best liberos we've played all year." Wise added that some of the digs Axner made early in the match were "career digs for most players."

The Eagles began the night on a roll, grabbing a 7-3 lead with the combination of two Florida service errors and three kills from VanLiew. However, after claiming a 15-14 lead, the Gators (26-6) scored 10 of the final 13 points to close out the opening set.

Florida dominated the second set, thanks to a .500 hitting percentage. In the third set, the Eagles were hanging tough, trailing just 15-14, before a pair of kills each from middle blocker Rachael Kramer and outside hitter Paige Hammons jump-started the Gators, and helped them finish off match. Hammons led her squad with 14 kills.

Still, FGCU's Maggie Rick, one of five seniors who played their final match Friday night, would not let the sour ending blur what was a benchmark season for the FGCU.

"I'm incredibly proud of my teammates," Rick said. "All season, since the first day, we worked so hard to accomplish our goals. Winning the conference tournament and getting to the NCAA Tournament was a huge goal for us, so the fact that we were able to not only meet that goal but exceed it is incredible."

Botsford credited Rick and the rest of his seniors for building upon what already existed within the program in order to help it achieve an ultimate aim: Being a perennial NCAA Tournament contender.

"The foundation that I inherited here as a coach was strong," Botsford said. "We've built upon that; (Rick) has been a huge part of that, and now we've got to continue to bring in the types of players that want to go and exceed and do more.

"We've taken a great step this year, and hopefully this motivates the players that are currently here and the ones that are coming after to go a step further."



