FLORENCE, Ala. – Head coach Matt Botsford secured his 100th career victory on Sunday as the FGCU volleyball team (11-5, 4-0) remained undefeated in ASUN play with a 25-21, 25-8, 25-18 win over North Alabama in Flowers Hall.

Botsford is now 100-43 (.699) in his fifth season with the Green and Blue, including a 46-14 (.767) record in ASUN play. This was the first-ever matchup between the two programs.

"I'm just very thankful for the opportunity that was given to me to lead this program," Botsford said. "I'm thankful for the amazing players, both past and present, that put their heart and soul into this sport. I'm thankful for the talented coaches on our staff and appreciative of all their hard work and commitment to FGCU volleyball."

Cortney VanLiew finished with her second consecutive and sixth double-double of the season, Maggie Rick compiled a match-high 27 assists and Dana Axner led the defense with 22 digs. The Eagles held North Alabama to a .065 hitting percentage, and they have limited opponents to a .051 efficiency through four matches of conference play so far.

"I thought North Alabama did a very good job extending plays and taking advantage of our hitters once we entered transition," Botsford said. "We looked a bit slow off the floor and were far too indecisive as attackers. There was a lot of inconsistency in our play and that will come back to haunt us if not addressed. Dana had a great match defensively, and Sharonda was effective once again, but to get where we want to go, we will need a better and cleaner team effort."
 
Axner's (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) dig total is her second most in a match this year, and it is tied for the sixth most in a three-set match in the program's Division-I era. She added two assists, one ace and her first kill of the season. VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) finished with 11 kills, 10 digs and one ace. She hit .313 and has now matched her double-double total from all of last year. Rick's (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity Catholic HS) assist total represented two more than North Alabama's entire team, and she added five digs, three kills and an ace. Chelsey Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS), who had three digs, finished second on the team in assists with 11.

Offensively, Sharonda Pickering continued a strong senior campaign with eight kills over 14 attempts with zero errors. She added four block assists and a solo stuff. Giovanna Borgiotti (7), Snowy Burnam (6) and Kaitlan Krivdo (5) also contributed in kills.

As a team, the Eagles hit .288 with VanLiew (32), Borgiotti (21), Burnam (16) and Pickering (14) all getting double-digit attempts. Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) and Karissa Rhoades each led the team in aces with two while three others added one apiece.

Outside of Pickering (Sea Cow's Bay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands/Elmore Stoutt HS), Rhoades (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior HS) recorded the team's other solo block and finished with seven digs, which was third most on the team. Borgiotti (Vienna, Va./George C. Marshall HS), Krivdo (Hope Mills, N.C./Gray's Creek HS) and Daniele Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS) each had two block assists. Alayna Ryan (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS) also contributed to the win with three digs.

NOTES
FGCU just missed out on the team's ninth match with at least a .300 hitting percentage this year … the seven team aces is tied for the third most in a match this year … VanLiew (49 kills, .378), Pickering (27 kills, .490), Serrano (17 kills, .350) and Krivdo (17 kills, .467) are all hitting at least .350 in ASUN play … with her assist total on Sunday, Rick now has 4,071 in her career, which is 338 shy of Gigi Meyer's (4,408, 2011-14) career record.

NEXT UP
FGCU will host its toughest conference weekend of the season thus far with matchups against Kennesaw State (13-4, 3-0) on Friday at 7 p.m. and Lipscomb (9-7, 4-0) on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Owls are the defending ASUN champions, while Lipscomb has won three of the past four regular season championships.

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 100-43 (.699) record overall, including a 46-14 (.767) 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.