NASHVILLE, Tenn. – #3 seed FGCU swept #2 seed Jacksonville 25-20, 26-24, 25-21 in the ASUN Semifinals Friday night at Allen Arena. With the victory, the Eagles claimed their 19th sweep of the season and will head back to the championship match for the second year in a row.
FGCU and Kennesaw State will each look for their program's first ASUN championship and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
ASUN Player of the Year Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) led the way with a double-double by racking up a game-high 18 kills along with 17 digs and a .375 hitting percentage. ASUN freshman of the year Snowy Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) tallied 13 kills and 11 digs making it her fourth double-double of the season. Maggie Rick (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic HS) extended her league-leading assist total to 1,195 as she had 34 in the match.
The first set was a battle by both teams as there were eight tied and five lead changes alone. The attack was strong with multiple kills from Carroll, Burnam and Cortney VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) to give the Eagles the 25-20 win. The defense held the Dolphins to a .053 hitting percentage and nine kills total.
FGCU started with a strong lead in the second set, but ended with a close 26-24 victory. Burnam and Carroll handled the attack in dominating fashion as they had a combined total of 11 kills in the set alone. Burnam was also solid defensively as she blocked six of Jacksonville's attack attempts.
"I think it looked a little bit like yesterday where there was a gradual improvement from set to set," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "A lot of positive things. Snowy was fantastic and Amanda did a great job coming through attacking wise. I think our blocking and our serving dictated a lot of the match. That's a good foundation to build on, but we're going to have to be super aggressive tomorrow to be in a position to get an automatic bid to the tournament."
The final set was the Eagles best performance of the tournament as they had a .400 hitting percentage collectively. VanLiew had two of her five kills in the third to extend their lead even further. Kaitlan Krivdo (Hope Mills, N.C./Grays Creek HS) tallied five blocks to keep the defense strong throughout. As play continued, Jacksonville tried their best to hang on by adding three points of their own, but back-to-back kills from Carroll silenced the crowd and gave them the 25-21 victory.
FOLLOW ALONG
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COACH BOTSFORD
Head coach Matt Botsford is in his fourth season at the helm of FGCU volleyball. In 2016, Botsford's squad produced one of its most successful seasons ever at 27-6, with the win total representing the most in Division I program history and falling just two shy of the all-time mark. His teams have combined for an 89-37 (.706) overall record, including a 42-14 (.750) mark in ASUN play. In his inaugural season, the Eagles finished with a record of 19-11 with a second-place ASUN finish, and he improved that win total to 21 in his second season. Botsford has coached 15 All ASUN selections in his three 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.
IRMA RELIEF DONATIONS
In the wake of Hurricane Irma, many individuals and families throughout Southwest Florida are still in desperate need of assistance. To aid in those relief efforts, FGCU Athletics will be collecting donations at all Eagle home games for the immediate future. Donation items most needed include: non-perishable food, clothing, household items and first-aid supplies. Additionally, those unable to attend upcoming home games can drop off donations in canisters located in the Alico Arena lobby. All donations will be given to those hardest hit in Lee and Collier counties.
