FORT MYERS, Fla. –
Dana Axner broke the program's Division-I era record for most digs in a three-set match with 28 as the FGCU volleyball team (13-6, 6-1 ASUN) knocked off Stetson (12-7, 4-3) 25-15, 29-27, 25-21 in Alico Arena on Tuesday.
"We won tonight because of the defense and the blocking," FGCU head coach
Matt Botsford said. "We talk a lot about having to find different ways to win. I just wish we could get some consistency on the offensive side of the ball because it's pretty special when those things come together. I thought our floor defense across the board was really good. Dana had an amazing evening."
Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS), who is the ASUN's reigning freshman of the week, added three assists. Her 28 digs broke the previous three-set record held by Holly Youngquist, who had 26 twice – both against Campbell University in 2009 and 2010. Her total is also tied for the ninth most in a Division-I era match overall, thus giving her two of the top 10 three-set totals along with her 22 against North Alabama on Sept. 30. She previously broke the five-set record with 39 vs West Virginia on Sept. 8.
Furthermore, Axner pushed her season dig total up to 318, which not only allowed her to break into the top 20 single seasons in the Division-I era, but bumped her all the way up to 15th. She now sits behind
Amanda Carroll's (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) total of 332 from 2015. Moreover, she is now just 44 digs shy of moving into the top 20 of the career list.
Defensively,
Snowy Burnam (15),
Chelsey Lockey (10),
Cortney VanLiew (8) and
Maggie Rick (7) contributed in digs.
Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS), who added seven kills, tied her season-high in digs set against UCF on Aug. 24 and came within two of her career-high.
Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS) added 16 assists, one kill and one ace to pick up the second double-double of her rookie campaign. She came within two digs of matching her season-high, and she has 10 or more assists in 15 of 19 matches this year.
Rick (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic HS), meanwhile, had a team-high 24 assists as she pushed her career total to 4,152 – 256 shy of tying Gigi Meyer's program record (4,408, 2011-14).
VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) not only had eight digs, but she tied
Daniele Serrano with a team-high 11 kills. The sophomore outside hitter had her four-match streak of double-doubles snapped while adding one assist, one ace and one block assist. After her performance, she ranks fourth in the program's Division-I era in kills per set at 3.31.
Outside of floor defense,
Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS) had a team-high five block assists along with one of the three solo blocks along with VanLiew and
Giovanna Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS). The junior middle blocker now has eight matches with at least five block assists this year, including five of the past six. Offensively, she had 11 kills while hitting a team-high .381, which puts her over 500 career kills. She is 11th in Division-I era program history – 60 behind VanLiew's 10th-best total of 569.
Furthermore, with her one solo block on Tuesday, Serrano tied Ashley Yance for third-most in program history overall. She is now six shy of tying Ericka Fonseca (51, 2005-06) for second. Her block assist total also pushed her past Yance for second in career block assists, just 37 short of matching Olivia Mesner's all-time record (280, 2011-14). In fact, Mesner (342) and Serrano (288) are now 1-2 all-time in total blocks.
With Tuesday's win, FGCU is 20-2 all-time against Stetson, including 10 straight overall. In fact, with the victory, the Eagles have won 18 straight sets head-to-head, and they're 10-1 in Alico Arena. Stetson entered the match having won three in a row and six of the past eight.
The Green and Blue will be back in action at Liberty on Friday at 6 p.m., kicking off a two-match road trip that concludes at Bethune-Cookman next Tuesday. The team then returns home for five straight Oct. 19-28, beginning with a 7 p.m. Friday night matchup against North Florida.
Updated ASUN Standings
1. Kennesaw State – 15-4, 6-0
2. FGCU – 13-6, 6-1
3. Lipscomb – 10-8, 5-1
4. Liberty – 7-12, 4-2
5. Stetson – 12-7, 4-3
6. NJIT – 4-17, 2-5
7. North Florida – 6-16, 1-5
7. Jacksonville – 2-16, 1-5
9. North Alabama – 2-14, 0-7
FOLLOW ALONG
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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 102-44 (.699) record overall, including a 48-15 (.762) 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.
