Matchup: #3 FGCU (25-5, 11-13), #6 Jacksonville (9-18, 5-9)
When: Thursday, Nov. 17 | 7:30 PM Local Time (8:30 PM ET) | Nashville, Tenn.
Links: Video | Twitter | Tournament Bracket
Coaches: Matt Botsford: (3rd season @ FGCU – 65-27; same overall) | Julie Darty: (3rd season @ Jacksonville – 40-49; same overall)
 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Third-seeded FGCU volleyball kicks off the postseason on Thursday, Nov. 17 with a match against Jacksonville, who enters the tournament as the ASUN's 6th-seed. The Eagles will be in search of their first ASUN Tournament title and NCAA Division I Tournament berth after climbing to a historic 25-5 record in the 2016 regular season.
 
The tournament will be streamed live on ESPN3 and WatchESPN. The match between FGCU and Jacksonville is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET). A win would advance the Eagles to the semifinals where they would face 2nd-seeded Kennesaw State.
 
THE GREEN AND BLUE
The Eagles' 25 victories are the most the school has won since becoming a D-I program, beating their previous record of 23 set in 2007. ASUN Setter of the Year Maggie Rick (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic HS) paces the Eagles offense and is complimented by four additional All-Conference selections. Outside hitters Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque N.M./Sandia HS) and Leigh Pudwill (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial HS/Northern Iowa) join Rick on the ASUN's First Team, while rookies Daniele Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS) and Giovanna Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) represent FGCU on the All-Freshman Team.
 
Rick leads the ASUN with 1,136 assists and averages a conference-high 10.72 assists per set. The Alpharetta, Ga. native piloted FGCU's offense to an ASUN-best hitting percentage of .278 with helpers on 79 percent of the Eagles' 1,445 kills. Carroll finished the season first in the conference and 14th in the nation with an astounding 5.1 points per set. The sophomore is aided by Pudwill offensively, who has slammed down over 300 kills this season.
 
Serrano has led the Eagles on the defensive end along the net with a team-high 90 blocks on the year. FGCU turns to junior libero Courtney Stephens (Winter Park Fla./Winter Park HS) to manage the floor defense, but has occasionally experimented with sophomore Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) at the position.
 
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
FGCU makes its sixth tournament appearance in seven seasons. The Eagles are searching for their first championship appearance since 2009 but must first improve upon a 1-5 record in the semifinals. FGCU's last semifinal win came in 2009, a 3-0 win over Jacksonville.
 
When FGCU is the higher seed, the Eagles hold a 3-3 record in the postseason. Last year, FGCU was the #2 seed when it met #3 Kennesaw State. The Owls defeated the Green and Blue 3-1 in Nashville to end the Eagles' run.
 
FGCU has made the semifinals in every ASUN Tournament appearance.
 
SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE
The Eagles turned in a pair of its 17 straight-set victories in two matches against the Jacksonville this season. In the first matchup at Alico Arena on Oct. 14, FGCU cruised to a victory (25-18, 25-11, 25-18) before turning around two weeks later to defeat the Dolphins (25-19, 25-19, 25-17) for the second time this season.
 
Carroll came up big in both contests are she registered a total of 29 kills and 22 digs in the meetings. In the first matchup, the Albuquerque native recorded 14 kills and came up one dig shy of a double-double. She improved her play to the tune of 15 kills and 13 digs in the second meeting, while Pudwill added 13 kills.
 
With two wins this season, FGCU improved its all-time record against Jacksonville to 13-10 and has won three of the last four matchups. The Eagles and Dolphins have met in the ASUN Championship Semifinals on three occasions with Jacksonville holding a 2-1 advantage. FGCU recorded a 3-0 win in 2009 to advance to its first ASUN Championship Finals before bowing out to the Dolphins in four sets in 2013 and 2014.
 
UP NEXT
With a win, FGCU would advance to face 2nd-seeded Kennesaw State (18-10, 12-2 ASUN) in the semifinals on Friday. Host Lipscomb (20-7, 12-2 ASUN) earned the top seed, and like the Owls received a bye into the semifinals where it will meet either 4th-seeded North Florida (18-13, 8-6 ASUN) or 5th-seeded USC Upstate (13-18, 5-9 ASUN).
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-the minute information and a behind-the-scenes look at the FGCU volleyball program, follow on Twitter at @FGCU_VB, on Facebook at /FGCUVolleyball and on Instagram at @FGCU_VB.
 
COACH BOTSFORD
Head coach Matt Botsford is in his third year at the helm of the FGCU volleyball program.  His teams have combined for an overall 65-27 (.707) record, including a 32-10 (.762) mark in ASUN play. In his inaugural season, the Eagles finished with a record of 19-11 with a second-place ASUN finish. Botsford has coached 10 All-Conference selections in his two seasons. Prior to his time in Southwest Florida, Botsford held successful stints as an assistant at Notre Dame, Miami, IUPUI, Indianapolis and most recently Colorado State. A former professional volleyball player, he is a 1998 graduate of Tri-State University (now Trine), where he earned a degree in Social Studies Education. He earned a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Indianapolis.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help.