JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Cortney VanLiew slammed home 20 kills to match her mark for third-most in a three-set match in the program's Division-I era as the FGCU volleyball team (9-5, 2-0 ASUN) toppled North Florida (5-12, 0-2 ASUN) 25-20, 25-16, 25-13 on the road in UNF Arena on Saturday.

"I just loved the way the team competed tonight," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Our passers did a great job, and I thought both Maggie (Rick) and Chelsey (Lockey) put their hitters in good spots. Going into that third set we felt pretty good offensively but still weren't were we needed to be on the defensive end. I thought the team's commitment to that side of the game showed up big in that set."

VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) was dominant throughout as she not only matched her career-high with 20 kills, but did so in 31 attempts at a career-high .645 efficiency while adding nine digs and two blocks (one solo). The sophomore outside hitter also had 20 kills earlier this season against Miami (Fla.). Along with tonight, she is tied with herself for the third-most in a three-set match in the program's Division-I era.

Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) holds the top two three-set totals with 23 vs IUPUI on Aug. 26, 2017 and 21 against UTRGV on Sept. 17, 2016. Both of those totals came in Alico Arena, however, which means that VanLiew holds the top two marks on the road.

"Cortney's performance all around was very impressive," Botsford said. "She is starting to mature with her decision making and shot selection and is reading the defense extremely well."

Moreover, VanLiew's play was indicative of her team's offensive play throughout Saturday night as Kaitlan Krivdo (6 kills, .429), Maggie Rick (2 kills, .400), Sharonda Pickering (6 kills, .385) and Snowy Burnam (.333) all hit over .300. The Green and Blue made just 10 errors and hit .343 over 89 attempts as a team to record the third (.382 on Friday vs Jacksonville) and fourth best hitting percentages of the season this weekend.

All four of those players had big weekends overall. Krivdo (Hope Mills, N.C./Gray's Creek HS) tallied 11 kills over 17 attempts, Pickering (Sea Cow's Bay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands/Elmore Stoutt HS) had 14 kills over 25 attempts and Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) played error free over 17 attacks.

Rick (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic HS), meanwhile, had a team-high 19 assists along with 10 digs for her fifth double-double of the season and the 15th of her career. After becoming only the second player in program history with 4,000 career kills against Jacksonville, the senior finished the weekend with 41 assists, 16 digs and four kills.

Giovanna Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS) added six kills to tie Pickering for second on the team, while Daniele Serrano added five kills. Overall, eight players recorded at least one kill for the Eagles, including Karissa Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS), who had eight digs and one ace along with her lone kill.

Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS) paced the Eagles with five blocks (one solo). Her solo block moved her into sole possession of second place on the program's Division-I era career list with 42. The junior middle blocker needs just 21 more to surpass Olivia Mesner (62, 2011-14) for the top spot.

Defensively, Dana Axner had a match-high 13 digs. She has at least eight in every match this year, including double-digits in all but three. On Saturday, Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) also had a career-high eight assists. In fact, she has at least five in seven of the past 10 matches.

Another freshman, Chelsey Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS), finished second on the team with 16 assists. She also had five digs and one ace. Sophomore Alayna Ryan (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS) also had one ace.

BOTSFORD GOES FOR 100, ASUN ROUNDUP
With the victory, FGCU is now tied with Lipscomb and Liberty atop the conference standings. The Eagles will take to the air to face NJIT and North Alabama next weekend as Coach Botsford goes for his 100th win at FGCU. He currently sits at 98-43 (.695) overall, and he has led his team to victories in nearly 80 percent of his conference matches (44-14, .794).

The Eagles, who are now 21-6 all-time against North Florida, will head home the following week for pivotal home matchups against defending ASUN champion Kennesaw State and Lipscomb.
 
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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 98-43 (.695) record overall, including a 44-14 (.794) 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.