FGCU players track the ball in play during an ASUN conference match at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Fla. FGCU clinched a spot in the 2026 ASUN Volleyball Championship following a 3–0 sweep of West Florida on Friday, Nov. 6. (Photo by Zachary Gibbons/The Eagle Sports Report)

PENSACOLA, Fla. — The Florida Gulf Coast University volleyball team (11-11, 8-4 ASUN) clinched a spot in the 2026 ASUN Volleyball Championship on Friday night, outlasting the University of West Florida (14-6, 6-4 ASUN) in an extra-points opener before rolling through back-to-back blowout sets to earn a 3–0 sweep (28–26, 25–9, 25–9) at the PenAir Field House.

After surviving a tight opening frame that featured 15 ties, the Eagles left no doubt over the final two sets. FGCU blew the match open with a 50–18 closing run, holding the Argonauts to just two kills and forcing a negative hitting percentage (-.259) in a lopsided second set. By the final whistle, the Eagles controlled every facet of the stat sheet—out-hitting West Florida .337 to -.010 while holding the advantage in kills (40–23), service aces (7–2), and blocks (8–3) to seal their third straight win.

“Incredible effort by our team tonight. We were locked in from the opening serve,” FGCU head coach Thais Baziquetto-Allen told FGCU Athletics. “The attention to detail in executing the game plan was phenomenal in all phases: offensively, defensively and blocking. Really proud of our group.”

Maju Hildebrand led the Eagles with a match-high nine kills, on a career-best .474 hitting percentage without committing an error. Julija Grubisic Cabo followed with eight kills, five digs, and three blocks, while Katie Gielas had a match-high 12 points. Gielas hit .667 with seven kills, added two blocks, and recorded a four-ace run from the service line in the second set.

Camila Soto added six kills and three blocks, Abby Toeniskoetter chipped in five kills, an ace, and a team-high four blocks, and Amany Kuwa rounded out the scoring with four kills and three blocks. Setters Eliska Vytiskova and Dinara Sabitova split distribution evenly with 18 assists apiece, while Anna Marzella anchored the back row with a match-high 13 digs.

The opening set saw FGCU gain early separation when Hildebrand put down back-to-back kills to break a 7–7 tie and build a 10–7 lead. After West Florida leveled the score at 14, the Eagles responded with three straight kills from Soto, Grubisic Cabo, and Kuwa to push back ahead 17–14. UWF rallied late to take a 22–21 lead, but FGCU answered with a kill by Hildebrand, a block by Soto, and a kill by Gielas to reach set point at 24–23. The Argonauts fended off that point and earned a set point of their own at 25–24, but consecutive kills from Soto and Gielas flipped the advantage back to the Eagles. Following a final tie at 26–26, Soto delivered another kill before Kuwa and Grubisic Cabo teamed up for a set-clinching block to seal the 28–26 victory.

FGCU carried its momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 3–0 lead on a service ace by Sabitova, a kill by Grubisic Cabo, and a combination block from Kuwa and Grubisic Cabo. Hildebrand kept the Eagles in front early, putting down kills at 6–3 and 7–4. Holding an 8–5 advantage, the Eagles completely blew the frame open when Gielas stepped to the service line. Gielas served 11 consecutive points during a run highlighted by four aces, two kills from Toeniskoetter, a joint block by Soto and Toeniskoetter, and a kill from Grubisic Cabo to push the lead to 19–5. Toeniskoetter and Grubisic Cabo each added another kill to make it 21–7 before Hildebrand terminated for a 23–9 advantage. Kuwa and Gielas then closed out the lopsided 25–9 set with a combined block.

FGCU maintained total control in the third set. Hildebrand broke an early 3–3 tie with a kill, before Vytiskova delivered an ace in the middle of a three-point surge—capped by a Gielas kill—to build a 7–3 lead. Grubisic Cabo and Toeniskoetter combined on a block for a 10–4 cushion, setting up another service run. With Toeniskoetter at the line, the Eagles scored eight straight points. The run featured a Toeniskoetter ace alongside kills from Soto, Kuwa, and Grubisic Cabo—who even converted a kill off a setting touch from Toeniskoetter—to push the lead to 19–5. Grubisic Cabo added another kill before Gielas put down two more to set up match point at 24–9. Catharina Scorza then came off the bench to close out the sweep, hammering home the match-winning kill off a setup from Sabitova.

FGCU remains on the road, traveling to Charlotte, North Carolina, for a match against Queens University of Charlotte on Sunday, Nov. 8 at noon.