DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Snowy Burnam continued her strong play by producing her first double-double of the season to lead the FGCU volleyball team (15-6) to a 25-16, 25-17, 25-22 win over Bethune-Cookman (10-12) on the road Tuesday in Moore Gymnasium.

"I thought Snowy and Cortney both played a well-rounded match," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "They took some really nice swings in outlet situations and defended extremely well. Karissa was terrific from the service line and her rotation always came through with some much needed point runs."

Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS), who was only the second player in NCAA history last year to win her conference's freshman of the year award in both indoor and beach volleyball, produced a season-high 13 kills and a career-high 18 digs while hitting .278. It was her second consecutive double-digit kill output, and she now has at least 15 digs in two of the past three matches. On top of that, it was her fifth career double-double and first of this season.

Cortney VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS), meanwhile, had a match-high 16 kills along with 12 digs and two assists. The sophomore outside hitter produced her career-high ninth double-double of the season and the 15th of her career. She has 11 double-digit dig outings this year along with 17 such performances in kills, including eight straight. She is one kill shy of 300 on the season, and she eclipsed 600 in her career against the Wildcats on Tuesday.

Maggie Rick (23) and Chelsey Lockey (16) combined for 39 of the team's 45 assists. Rick (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic HS) fell one dig shy of a double-double and chipped in four kills in eight attempts. She now has 4,220 career assists, which is 189 shy of breaking Gigi Meyer's (4,408, 2011-14) program record. She has at least 20 assists in 15 matches this year, including six consecutive. Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS) added two digs and one ace while tallying her eighth match with at least 15 assists this year.

At the net, Sharonda Pickering (5), Daniele Serrano (4) and Kaitlan Krivdo (4) totaled 13 of the team's 14 block assists with Tori Morris (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellam HS) getting the other one. Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS) reached 300 career blocks in the match and also added one solo block along with her seven kills and team-high .300 hitting percentage. Pickering (Sea Cow's Bay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands/Elmore Stoutt HS) added five kills and two digs, while Krivdo (Hope Mills, N.C./Gray's Creek HS) had two kills.

While Karissa Rhoades had a team-high two aces, Dana Axner had a match-high 20 digs along with three assists. The two-time reigning ASUN freshman of the week now has six matches with at least 20 digs this year, including four over the past six. She has nine straight with at least 10 and six straight with 18 or more.

Axner's (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) 356 digs this season is the 11th most in the program's Division-I era. Next up on the list is Whitney Hendry, who had 369 in 2007. Alayna Ryan (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS) tied her season-high with three digs.

In the first set, FGCU held a slim 14-13 lead before reeling off seven straight points to take control. The run started with a kill from Pickering, continued with an ace from Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) and concluded with a pair of kills from Burnam. VanLiew (2) and Burnam (1) finished off the set with three consecutive kills. An 8-2 run midway through the second set helped the Eagles, who led by as many as 10. They won the set with another kill from VanLiew. Down 20-16 in the third set, Bethune-Cookman reeled off six of the next eight points to knot it up, but Serrano got a crucial kill on the next point. After an attack error from the Wildcats, Serrano added another kill to close the match.

UP NEXT
The Green and Blue will be back in action this weekend with a pair of ASUN tilts at home. On Friday, they'll face North Florida at 7 p.m. before hosting Jacksonville at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
 
ASUN STANDINGS
1. Kennesaw State – 16-4, 7-0
2. FGCU – 15-6, 7-1
3. Lipscomb – 11-8, 6-1
4. Liberty – 8-13, 5-3
5. Stetson – 12-9, 4-5
6. North Florida – 8-16, 3-5
7. NJIT – 4-18, 2-6
8. Jacksonville – 3-18, 2-7
9. North Alabama – 2-15, 0-8
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-the minute information and a behind-the-scenes look at the FGCU volleyball program, follow us on Twitter at @FGCU_VB, on Facebook at /FGCUVolleyball and on Instagram at @FGCU_VB.
 
COACH BOTSFORD
Matt Botsford is in his fifth season as head coach of the FGCU women's volleyball program in 2018 after being hired on Feb. 10, 2014. In his four plus seasons, Botsford-led teams have compiled a 104-44 (.703) record overall, including a 49-15 (.766) record in ASUN play. He has taken the program to heights it has not seen in the Division-I era (2007-present) – registering at least 20 wins overall in three straight seasons and at least 10 wins in conference play four straight seasons. Furthermore, the team's offensive efficiency has drastically improved since Botsford started. In his first two seasons, his squad produced hitting percentages of .212 and .220. The past two, which have seen .267 and .256 percentages, are the third and fourth highest in program history. All four seasons under Botsford have seen a top-3 ASUN regular season finish and at least an ASUN semifinal appearance. His first two campaigns resulted in regular season runner-up finishes, and the past two have seen the Eagles advance to the tournament championship. On Sept. 10, 2016, Botsford led his team to a five-set win over Indiana in Alico Arena, which signified the program's first-ever win over a team from a Power-5 conference.
 
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 contribute, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help.