PENSACOLA, Fla. — West Florida (14-6, 6-4 ASUN) fell to FGCU (11-11, 8-4 ASUN) in straight sets Friday night at UWF Field House. The Argos battled through a tightly contested opening set before the Eagles pulled away to take the match 28-26, 25-9, 25-9.
The opening set was a back-and-forth battle, with neither team able to pull away early. After FGCU took a 10-7 lead, a Madison Joyner service ace and an Emily Breazeale kill helped the Argos even the score at 10-10. The Eagles regained control with a 17-14 advantage, but West Florida answered behind a block and kill from Delaney Hanowell to tie things up at 18-18. The Argos eventually took a 22-21 lead following a Kumara Flanagain kill and a Camryn Brooks ace. FGCU reached set point at 24-23, but West Florida refused to go away, with a Lizzy Kwiatkowski kill helping the Argos take a 25-24 lead. The Eagles ultimately edged out West Florida 28-26 to take the opening set.
FGCU carried that momentum into the second set, jumping out to an early 8-5 lead before using an 11-0 run to extend its advantage to 19-5. The Eagles recorded four service aces during the stretch, making it difficult for the Argos to find an offensive rhythm. Flanagain added a kill late in the set, while consecutive FGCU attack errors brought West Florida within 22-9. However, the Eagles scored the final three points to take the set 25-9 and go ahead 2-0 in the match.
West Florida looked to bounce back in the third set, with consecutive kills from Breazeale tying things up at 3-3. FGCU responded with a 4-0 run to regain the lead and continued to build its advantage. After a Flanagain kill made it 7-4, the Eagles extended their lead to 10-4 before an 8-0 run put the set out of reach. Hanowell provided a late spark with three kills, but FGCU closed out the set 25-9 to complete the sweep.
Breazeale led West Florida offensively with six kills, while Hanowell added five kills, two solo blocks and seven points. Gabi Moulton finished with a team-high 11 assists and nine digs, while Kwiatkowski contributed 10 assists, four kills and five digs. The Argos finished the match with 23 kills.
West Florida remains at home and will host Stetson on Sunday for Senior Day. First serve is set for 1 p.m., and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Live stats will be available at GoArgos.com.
For more information on the UWF volleyball program, visit GoArgos.com and follow the team on social media at @uwfvolleyball (Instagram) and @UWFVolleyball (X).
