CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Cortney VanLiew concluded a big weekend with a career-high 20 kills to lead the FGCU volleyball team (2-1) to a 25-20, 25-18, 25-22 win over the University of Miami on the road Saturday.

With the victory, FGCU secured its first road win over a Power-5 school in program history and just its second overall including a five-set victory over Indiana in 2016. On top of that, it was the first time the Green and Blue ever took a set from Miami after losing three in straight sets heading into Saturday.

"From a team perspective, the first season I was here four years ago, our first match together was here against Miami, and there was quite a gap between the two teams at that point," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Each year, I feel we've taken steps to be more competitive against these Power 5 schools that we come up against.

"I think this win provides the girls a little bit of confidence and (allows them to) believe they can play just about anybody. They should believe that. That's why we recruited them, and that's what we're trying to build. I'm just excited. We have a long way to go but it was nice to see that type of response after the match we lost against UCF."

VanLiew's (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) final line included 20 kills and nine digs. While only compiling four attack errors and falling just short of her seventh career double-double, she became only the sixth player in the program's Division-I era to have at least 20 kills while hitting .471 on the road, and she is the first to do it against a Power-5 school.
 
Amanda Carroll also provided a force for FGCU she racked up 10 kills, hit .450 and added eight digs, two block assists and an ace. While she finished just shy of another double-double, the senior achieved her 80th career match with double-digit kills.

Maggie Rick, meanwhile, produced team-highs in assists (19) and digs (10) for her 11th career double-double. Through the season's first three matches, she is averaging 2.50 digs per set, which would be a career-high, topping her 1.76 as a sophomore.

Defensively, Dana Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) added eight more digs to push her weekend total to a team-high 40. She also chipped in a season-high four assists and recorded an ace for the third straight match to open her collegiate career.

The Hurricanes scored six of the first nine points of the match, but back-to-back kills from Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) got things going, and Sharonda Pickering slammed down a kill moments later to even things up at seven.

Giovanna Borgiotti, who finished third on the team with a season-high six kills, produced her first one a short time later to give FGCU a two-point lead. Then, the Eagles went on an 8-1 run to take a 20-12 lead and seize control of the set. Despite a 5-1 run from Miami at the end of the set, VanLiew tallied the final two points as her team took the early set lead.

The Green and Blue opened up a 15-11 midway through the second set behind back-to-back kills from Snowy Burnam, a dump kill from Rick (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic HS) and a kill from Carroll.

Following that, Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) and VanLiew had two sets of back-to-back kills to push it to 21-14. Miami never got closer than that the rest of the set as Carroll finished things off with a kill.

The third set saw Miami make its biggest push. After FGCU scored two of the first three points, the Hurricanes went on a 9-3 run that gave them a 10-5 lead. During that stretch, the Eagles were a bit sloppy with three attack errors and one service mistake, but VanLiew started a rally with a kill.

Daniele Serrano, who followed with a solo block, then teamed with Borgiotti for a block assist before Alayna Ryan capped a 5-0 run that tied things at 10. Miami rallied to score six of the next nine points, which forced an FGCU timeout.

Carroll and Pickering (Sea Cow's Bay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands/Elmore Stoutt HS) highlighted a 3-0 run out of the break with a tandem block, but Miami answered back to take a 19-16 lead.
 
The Green and Blue then scored seven of the next eight points.

The rally started with a Miami service error, featured a trio of kills from VanLiew and saw another ace from Ryan (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS). The point that put FGCU ahead for good came on a block from Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS) and VanLiew, who closed the match with a left-side kill off the block and out of bounds.

In total, VanLiew closed the weekend with 53 kills while hitting .411 and compiling 18 digs. Chelsey Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS) contributed season-highs in assists (14) and digs (9). Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) finished with five kills and two assists. As a team, FGCU hit .301 over 103 attacks.

The Eagles will be back in action next weekend in Albuquerque, N.M. when they take part in the Lobo Classic. Over the two-day event, they will battle New Mexico State, New Mexico and Eastern Kentucky before making the season's home debut the following weekend.
 
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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 an 91-39 (.700) record overall, including a 42-14 (.750) 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 make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help.