FORT MYERS, Fla. - Daniele Serrano made history on the final point as the FGCU volleyball team (15-3, 5-1 ASUN) swept Jacksonville (7-12, 3-2) on Friday in a hard-fought match inside Alico Arena that set up a first-place showdown with Kennesaw State on Sunday afternoon.
 
Serrano's (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS) match-clinching solo block gave the senior middle blocker sole possession of the most career solo swats in program history. She surpassed Olivia Mesner (62, 2011-14), and she did it in 31 fewer sets played.

"I remember the first time I was recruiting her, the blocking jumped off the page," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "I knew that we wanted to build a program where blocking was a priority and to have a player like her come in here and continue to develop that skill set, it's been very rewarding."
 
Serrano now owns the program's career solo, assisted and total block records. She finished with two block assists and eight kills on Friday, and she also ranks fourth in ASUN history in total blocks with 420, just three shy of passing Rachel Templin (Campbell, 2003-06).
 
Total Blocks - ASUN History
1. Meredith Hardy (ETSU, 2010-13) - 474.0
2. Morgan Van Alstine (North Florida, 2013-16) - 435.0
3. Rachel Templin (Campbell, 2003-06) - 422.0
4. Daniele Serrano (FGCU, 2016-present) - 420.0
 
"Honestly my freshman and sophomore years, attacking was my strong suit," Serrano said. "Last year is when I broke out of my shell blocking wise. I don't really know why. I think something just clicked and coach was saying the right things. I think that it's also continuing to grow because it's something I take pride in. I want to protect my defenders. It's something that motivates me."
 
Outside of Serrano, several others stood out in the match.
 
Erin Shomaker (Granville, Ohio/Granville HS) notched the third double-digit kill performance of her young career as she finished with a match-high 10 while hitting .692 and added three digs and one block assist. Snowy Burnam and Cortney VanLiew also added seven kills apiece, while Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) chipped in seven digs. Tori Morris (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellam HS) also had six kills and three block assists.

VanLiew's (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) program record tying 15-match streak with at least 10 kills came to an end.
 
Chelsey Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS), meanwhile, tallied 40 assists, three digs, three block assists, two kills and an ace. It was just the 16th time in the program's Division I era that someone has recorded at least 40 assists in a three-set match, and it was the second time the sophomore has done it. Her assist output is also tied for the sixth-most in a three-set ASUN regular season match, and she recorded her eighth match this season with 40 or more.

"There's times I wish she was a little more offensive," Botsford said of Lockey. "I think she's going to grow into that. She's trying to get a little more comfortable. You can see what she can do along the net. She can make a bad pass a good pass just because she can save so much with her athleticism and her height. Her blocking gives us a little more stability against the outside hitters. She just continues to get better. To have a sophomore in a position she's in and doing what she's doing is great. We've been lucky in that sense going from Gigi Meyer to Maggie Rick and now Chelsey Lockey."
 
Amanda Carroll had one of her best matches of the season, as well, as the senior recorded a season and match-high 17 digs to go along with five kills. Dana Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) chipped in 13 digs, while Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) tallied all five of her kills in the third frame to finish off the match.
 
"What she did in that last set is what you would expect to see from a senior with the experience that she has," Botsford said. "There was some openings defensively, and she was up there just surgically hitting the spot and was going to continue to do that until a change was made. The decision making that came from Amanda was what we were hoping to see from the collective. Again, it wasn't working out that way, so she did exactly what she needed to do to get our team in position to get a sweep. Defensively, I don't know how many times Dana has been second in digs ... not often. She was controlling the back line extremely well."
 
The victory sets up the Eagles with a meeting against Kennesaw State (12-5, 5-0) for first place in the conference standings on Sunday at 2 p.m. in a match that will be televised on ESPN+. Should FGCU win, they would move into at least a three-way tie with Liberty and Kennesaw State for first place. The two teams have met in each of the past two ASUN tournament championship matches with the Green and Blue pulling out the win last year.


 
Fall Sports Single-Game, Season and Group Tickets On Sale
Single game tickets for volleyball, men's soccer and women's soccer are on sale now. Prices are $7 for adults and $5 for military/veterans (with ID) and youth (age 15 and under).
 
Season tickets (entry to each home game) are $55 for volleyball and women's soccer and $40 for men's soccer. Group tickets are $7 for groups of 15 or more and will include reserved seats, group recognition, a group activity and choice of FGCU gear or food. Fall Frequent Flyer passes, which includes a total of 30 entries to all three sports, are just $99.
 
For all inquiries, you can visit FGCUtickets.com, call 239-590-7145 or stop by the ticket office, which is open daily Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and one hour prior to all home events.
 
COACH BOTSFORD
Matt Botsford is in his sixth season as head coach of the FGCU women's volleyball program in 2019 after being hired on Feb. 10, 2014. In his tenure, Botsford-led teams have compiled a 131-48 (.732) record overall, including a 62-16 (.795) record in ASUN play. Including this past season, 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 four straight seasons and at least 10 wins in conference play five 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 next two, which saw .267 and .256 percentages, are the third and fourth highest in program history. In 2018, he led the program to its first regular season championship since 2012 (fourth overall) and its first-ever ASUN tournament title, NCAA tournament appearance, NCAA tournament win and victory over a ranked team. His first two campaigns resulted in ASUN regular season runner-up finishes, and the following two saw 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. This past season, he led the team to a win over Miami (Fla.) - the program's first-ever road Power-5 win.
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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 raise awareness.
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 78 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 12 seasons at the Division-I level. Additionally, in just eight seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 36 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including both men's and women's soccer again in 2018. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2018 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for twenty consecutive semesters. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--