FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU volleyball team (16-6, 8-1) overcame a slow start and were led by a season-high 25 assists from Chelsey Lockey in a 25-23, 25-23, 25-15 win over North Florida (8-17, 3-6) in Alico Arena on Friday. It was their fifth straight win.

"Our ball handling was nowhere near what it needs to be to play at the high level we're capable of," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Credit UNF for that. I thought they served great and put pressure on us from the start. I don't think we handled it very well. Luckily, we found other ways to eke out a win, but those first two sets, we got outplayed quite a bit and were lucky to get a 2-0 lead into the break."

Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS) eclipsed 20 assists for the first time in her collegiate career and finished with eight digs to fall just shy of her third double-double of the season. It was her 17th match with double-figure assists this season, and she has at least 16 in four of the past five matches. Furthermore, she is four assists shy of becoming the eighth player in the program's Division-I era with 300 in a career.

"That was the best I thought Chelsey has set (this year)," Botsford said. "Decision making, location and consistency. She was super confident out there. She knew what she wanted to do and was executing it really well."

Offensively, the Green and Blue hit .325 en route to its fifth-straight victory, led by double-digits from Cortney VanLiew (13), Giovanna Borgiotti (12) and Snowy Burnam (10).

VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) chipped in seven digs, one solo block and one ace, while Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) easily recorded a new career-high in hitting percentage at .733 over 15 attempts. Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) produced her third consecutive match in double-figures while adding six digs and one block assist.

Another efficient offensive performance came from freshman middle blocker Tori Morris, who had a season-high six kills while hitting .500 along with tying Sharonda Pickering for the team-high in block assists with five. Morris (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellam HS) recorded her sixth match with two or more block assists this year while producing her first match with double-digit attack attempts (12).

In addition to Lockey, Maggie Rick helped the offensive flow with 19 assists and 12 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. She has nearly doubled her career total in her senior campaign alone and currently sits at 18. She increased her career total to 4,239 and is 170 shy of breaking Gigi Meyer's (4,408, 2011-14) all-time record. Her 119 career matches ties Caroline Jordan (2013-16) for fourth-most in program history.

Defensively, Rick (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic HS) was aided by Dana Axner, who also had 12 digs in addition to two assists. It was her 19th double-digit output this season and the output pushed her into the program's Division-I era top 20 in career digs. Furthermore, Axner's (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) 368 digs this year is two shy of becoming one of the top 10 single seasons since 2007.

Pickering (Sea Cow's Bay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands/Elmore Stoutt HS) also had four kills and three digs in addition to tying Morris for the team-high in block assists. Daniele Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS) also contributed with five kills, two block assists, one dig and one assist. She is just six total blocks shy of matching her total from all of last year (107), and she has two of the top four and three of the top seven seasons in the Division-I era.
 
FGCU has now won 22 of 28 all-time meetings against North Florida in a series that dates back to each of the program's Division-II eras in 2004. With Friday's win, the Eagles swept the regular season series for the first time since 2015. At home, the Green and Blue owns a dominant 11-0 record with wins in 33 of 36 sets, including nine in three-set fashion.
 
ASUN Standings
1. Kennesaw State – 18-4, 9-0
2. FGCU – 16-6, 8-1
3. Lipscomb – 12-9, 7-2
4. Liberty – 9-13, 6-3
5. Stetson – 12-9, 4-5
6. North Florida – 8-17, 3-6
7. NJIT – 4-20, 2-7
8. Jacksonville – 3-19, 2-8
9. North Alabama – 2-16, 0-9
 
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 105-44 (.705) record overall, including a 50-15 (.769) 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.