Albuquerque, N.M. – The FGCU volleyball team (3-2) opened Friday with a 25-20, 25-12, 25-22 win over New Mexico State, but fell 25-23, 10-25, 25-23, 25-18 to New Mexico in the nightcap of the Lobo Classic after losing senior outside hitter Amanda Carroll to an injury early in the match.

"I was really proud of our team and how they dealt with adversity and found ways to win points in tonight's match," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "There was a couple of situations in those sets where it was starting to get away from us, but we found a way to get back into it through serving, blocking…we found different ways. I think offensively it was a bit of a struggle except Dani, who was exceptional. We need some players to step up and find ways to terminate for us more consistently."

FGCU vs New Mexico State
In the opener, Sharonda Pickering recorded a career-high nine kills to pace FGCU's offense, while Dana Axner continued a fine start to her collegiate career with a match-high 16 digs.

Pickering (Sea Cow's Bay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands/Elmore Stoutt HS) finished just one short of the match-high in kills and topped her previous career-high of six, which was set against Davidson on Sept. 9 last year. Axner (Dublin Coffman/Dublin, Ohio), meanwhile, finished four shy of tying her season-high in digs and also recorded her third double-digit effort over four matches.

Playing in front of her hometown crowd for the first time in her collegiate career, Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) opened the scoring for the Eagles with a back row kill. She went on to finish with eight kills, three digs and one block assist.

In producing that line, Carroll reached 1,000 digs in her career, which makes her the sixth player in program history to accomplish the feat. Along with her 1,393 kills through the first match, she also joined Brooke Youngquist Sweat (1,173 kills, 1,369 digs from 2004-07) in becoming one of just two players in program history with at least 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.

On top of that, Carroll eclipsed Katie Plummer (1,390, Mercer, 2001-04) for the eighth-most kills in ASUN history.
 
Aiding the offensive flow was the production of Maggie Rick and Chelsey Lockey, who combined for 37 assists. Rick (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic HS) had a match-high 22 while adding six digs and two kills. It was her 99th career 20-assist performance in 101 attempts.

FGCU vs New Mexico
Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS) and Rick each tied for the team-high in assists against New Mexico, while Rick added a team-high 12 digs to produce her second double-double of the season.

In fact, with her ninth assist, Rick moved past Kayla Weller (3,789, Stetson, 2012-15) for ninth-most in ASUN history.
 
After Carroll left with her injury in the opening set, FGCU rallied to take a 23-21 lead, but the Lobos finished the set with four straight points. The Eagles bounced back by scoring four of the first five in the second set and went on a 6-0 run midway through to open up an 18-7 lead before easily tying the match.

In the third set, New Mexico opened up a 16-7 lead before FGCU started chipping away. They scored seven of the next eight points, but still trailed 23-17 late. A service error from the Lobos then spurred a 4-0 run that included a pair of aces from Alayna Ryan. Down 24-21, Giovanna Borgiotti and Cortney VanLiew produced back-to-back kills, but a service error ended the set.

The final set had the Lobos score six of the first eight points and lead throughout. The Eagles did pull within 21-18 following a kill from Rick, but the host team scored the final four points of the match.
 
Offensively, VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) had a team-high 11 kills, while Snowy Burnam added eight. Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) and Daniele Serrano had seven apiece.

Outside of Lockey and Rick, Axner had a season-high five assists along with nine digs. Ryan (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS) led the team with three aces, while Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS) had two solo blocks and eight block assists. In fact, her 10 blocks ties the program's Division-I era (2007-present) single match record. She joins herself along with two others as one of just four instances with 10 blocks since then.

Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) added five block assists.

NEXT UP
FGCU will close out the Lobo Classic with a 1 p.m. ET matchup against Eastern Kentucky on Saturday before returning home.
 
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 an 92-40 (.697) 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.