FGCU to open NCAA Tournament Dec. 5 against Marquette
- Terrisa Mark
- December 3, 2024
- Athletics
- Contributors: James Greco, Photography
2 – minute read
Florida Gulf Coast University will take on fifth-seeded Marquette University Dec. 5 in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship. The Eagles will travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, for the 6:30 p.m. (EST) match in the Jon M. Huntsman Center, which will be shown on ESPN+.
The winner will advance to a second-round match Dec. 6 against either No. 4 seed Utah or the College of Charleston (25-8).
This is the Green & Blue’s fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. FGCU (27-4) earned an automatic bid Nov. 23 with a 3-0 sweep of Lipscomb University in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Championship. Skylar English was named the championship’s MVP; she is fourth in the nation with 73 service aces. Shelby Kent and Shanelle Puetz were both named to the All Tournament Team following the championship victory. Kent holds steady at 16th overall in the nation with 499 kills. The Eagles are fifth in the country in team service aces.
“I’m so excited for this team and so proud of the effort and fight they showed this week,” head coach Matt Botsford said after the Eagles clinched their fourth consecutive ASUN tourney title. “Our strength all season long has been our depth and our ability to lean on that depth when it mattered most.”
Utah (24-5) is the No. 4 seed in the region, earning the right to host the NCAA’s first and second rounds on its home floor. Marquette is 23-8 overall and finished the Big East Conference at 16-2 with an RPI ranking of 17. The Golden Eagles fell 3-0 to Creighton in the Big East Championship.
FGCU and Marquette have only battled once before. In September 2013, the Golden Eagles were victorious 3-0 over the home team in Alico Arena.