Volleyball Wins Five-Set Thriller at FGCU for First Regular Season Win over Eagles Since 2016

Sunday, October 11

Fort Myers, Fla.

12 pm

Lipscomb University

11-4,4-1ASUN

Florida Gulf Coast

7-8,4-1ASUN

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Lipscomb	25	21	25	13	15	3
FGCU	21	25	23	25	10	2

Box Score (PDF)

Volleyball Wins Five-Set Thriller at FGCU for First Regular Season Win over Eagles Since 2016

10/11/2026 3:41:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

FORT MYERS, Fla. – 1 versus 2. The perennial top-two teams in the Atlantic Sun Conference, Lipscomb University (11-4, 4-1) and Florida Gulf Coast University (7-8, 4-1), gave us what could possibly be a preview of the ASUN Tournament Championship. In the first of two regular-season matches in 2026, the Bisons overcame a slow fourth set to take down the preseason favorites in a five-set thriller, 25-21, 21-25, 25-23, 13-25, 15-10, on Sunday afternoon inside Alico Arena.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bisons moved ahead early in the opening set with kills from Anna Claire Brown, Sydney Strenger and Brooklyn Fuchs, building an 11-6 lead before FGCU worked back to tie it at 15-15.

From there, the Bisons won seven of the next eight rallies to go in front 22-16, with Strenger serving four straight points during the run and adding an ace alongside kills from Ella Durham and Fuchs. FGCU answered late with five straight points, including consecutive service aces by Anna Marzella, to cut the deficit to 23-21. Durham stopped the run with a kill, and an FGCU attack error closed the Bisons' 25-21 set win.

FGCU broke open the second set with seven straight points, moving from a 5-3 edge to 12-3 behind multiple Bisons attack errors, a service ace and kills from Maju Hildebrand and Shay Heaney. The Bisons worked back into the set in stages, with Brown and Fuchs combining on a block during a push to 15-10 before Brown added a kill and a service ace to help cut the margin to 18-15.

After FGCU moved ahead 21-15, the Bisons scored four straight on a block by Durham and Strenger, an FGCU attack error and consecutive Durham kills to get within 21-19. FGCU answered with the next two points and closed the set after late kills from Hildebrand, despite kills by Durham and Brown, taking it 25-21.

Following FGCU opened the third set with a service ace, the Bisons answered with kills from Madyson McCarthy and Strenger and a block by Kelsey Schenck and Strenger to move in front 3-1, later stretching the lead to 10-6 on a Strenger kill and a McCarthy block. The Eagles worked back to tie the set at 14-14 and, from a 16-16 tie, used three straight Bisons attack errors to go ahead 19-16 before a service error and a McCarthy kill brought the Bisons within 19-18.

FGCU still led 22-20 and 23-22, but Fuchs and Brown combined on a block to tie the set at 22-22, Durham tied it again with a kill at 23-23, and Brown followed with a kill for set point. The Bisons finished the set on a bad set to take it 25-23.

The Eagles moved ahead early in the fourth set, scoring the first three points and later stretching the margin to 8-2 before Brown ended that burst with a kill from Schenck. The Bisons got back-to-back points on an FGCU attack error and a Strenger kill to make it 9-5, but FGCU answered with eight straight points, including three service aces during Eliska Vytiskova's turn at the line, to build a 17-5 lead.

The Bisons picked up late kills from Strenger, Fuchs and Durham, but FGCU continued to trade sideouts and reached 23-12 on a service ace. After Fuchs put down one more kill for the Bisons, FGCU closed the set with an Abby Toeniskoetter kill and a Bisons attack error for a 25-13 finish.

The Bisons opened the fifth set with kills from McCarthy and Grace Jones for a 2-0 lead and stayed in front, reaching 8-4 after a block by Strenger and McCarthy and an FGCU attack error. FGCU answered with three straight points, including consecutive blocks, to cut the margin to 8-7 before a service error returned the serve to the Bisons.

Brown followed with a kill, McCarthy added another from Kenzie Kucks, Brown served an ace, and an FGCU attack error pushed the Bisons ahead 13-7. After FGCU got back to 13-9, Kelsey Schenck's kill gave the Bisons set point, and Durham finished the 15-10 set with a kill from Schenck.

HERD NOTES
With Sunday's dub, the Bisons end a 10-match losing skid in the regular season to the Eagles, last defeating them twice in 2016, most recently Nov. 19 in Allen Arena.

It was LUV's first win in Alico Arena since Nov. 4, 2016.

Lipscomb's last win overall came on April 3, 2021, in a five-set win over the Eagles in the ASUN Tournament Championship, ending a seven-match losing skid on Sunday afternoon.

The Bisons improve to 11-4 on the season. This marks the best start since the team's 13-2 start in 2020-21 and the third-best in program history.

2020*	13-2
2009	12-3
2026	11-4

* - played in spring season, 20 total matches played that year

KEY STATISTICS
Anna Claire Brown led the Bisons with 16.5 points thanks to 13 kills, two aces and three assisted blocks.

Ella Durham paced the front row with 15 kills on a .297 swing percentage, while Grace Jones tallied 17 digs.

Brooklyn Fuchs recorded 13 points on 11 kills and four assisted blocks, while Sydney Strenger added 10 kills and three block assists.

Kelsey Schenck recorded her 11th double-double of the year with 52 assists and 10 digs.

UP NEXT
LUV will be back on the road next weekend, starting with a trip to Queens on Friday night from Charlotte.