Mountaineers Take Down FGCU to Claim Sunshine State Classic Crown

Saturday, September 5

Fort Myers, Fla.

2 p.m.

West Virginia University

3-1,0-0Big 12

FGCU

2-3,0-0ASUN

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
West Virginia	25	25	28	25	3
FGCU	17	19	30	23	1

Nina Horning and Reagan Turk shake hands after winning a point against FGCU

Mountaineers Take Down FGCU to Claim Sunshine State Classic Crown

September 05, 2026 05:48 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Adam Grossman

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University Volleyball team defeated FGCU in four sets, Saturday afternoon at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Fla., to finish off a perfect weekend. The Mountaineers earned the win by set scores of 25-17, 25-19, 28-30, 25-23.

The Mountaineers hit .257 while holding the Eagles to a .119 hitting percentage. WVU matched a season-high with 56 kills, led by 18 from Nina Horning. Anna Barr and Macie Smith each had career-highs in kills with 14 and 12, respectively. Alexis Finnvold led the team with 38 assists.

Defensively, the Mountaineers had another big day at the net, tallying 14 blocks, getting six each from Maddy McGath and Trinity Sheridan and five from Mirjam Kask. In her first start at libero, freshman Reagan Turk led WVU with 20 digs.

With the victory, West Virginia has now won 18 of its last 19 nonconference matches.

The Mountaineers dominated the first set, hitting .357 while holding the Eagles to -.026. West Virginia was the first to 10 points on a kill by Barr and held a two-point lead. FGCU got it within one before the Mountaineers started to separate as a quick 4-1 spurt gave them a 15-11 lead. The first service ace of the day for WVU by Cassie Bruns pushed the Mountaineers lead to 20-13, more than enough cushion as Horning ended the set with a kill to win, 25-17.

Smith started the second set with back-to-back kills before teaming up with Kask for a block, giving WVU an early 3-0 lead. The Mountaineers kept expanding their lead, getting an ace from Lauren Duncan to jump ahead, 10-3. A 3-0 run consisting of an ace from McGath, an FGCU error, and a kill by Sheridan made it 16-7, the largest lead of the set for the Mountaineers. The Eagles attempted a late rally, but McGath secured the set two victory, 25-19, with a kill.

The Mountaineers had an early lead in the third set as they looked to close out the match, but a 5-0 run by the Eagles put them out in front, 12-10. West Virginia responded with a 5-0 run of its own later in the set to take a 20-17 lead, getting four kills from Horning and block by Horning and McGath. However, FGCU came back and had set point at 24-23 before Smith had a kill to even the set back up. The Mountaineers had match point at 27-26, but FGCU ended the set on a 4-1 run to extend the match, taking the third set, 30-28.

Horning had four early kills in the fourth set as WVU took a 5-4 lead. The score remained close as the set was tied at 15 and at 20. A kill by Horning and a block by McGath put the Mountaineers up two at 22-20 before the two teams traded points, allowing West Virginia to win the set 25-23, getting the final two points on kills by Smith.

The Mountaineers will return to Hope Coliseum for the West Virginia Invitational, Sept. 10-12, beginning with a matchup against VCU on Thursday. First serve is set for 5 p.m.

For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUVolleyball on Facebook, Instagram and X.