MIAMI - Erin Shomaker produced a career-high 14 kills to lead the FGCU volleyball team (17-3) to a 25-18, 25-13, 25-21 non-conference win on the road over Florida International (9-8) Wednesday night in the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
 
"I was really impressed with FIU's defense and serving, which made for some tough sideout scenarios throughout the match," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Although we didn't get off to the start we would have liked, I loved the response the rest of the way. Our middles were very effective, we served extremely well and the floor defense on our end was consistent."
 
FGCU has now won seven straight matches overall while dropping just two sets. Against Florida International, the Eagles have won 10 straight dating back to Aug. 25, 2012, which includes 15 consecutive set wins. They'll resume ASUN play at home on Saturday at 7 p.m. against NJIT as part of alumni weekend for the program.
 
Florida International scored the first four and six of seven points to open the match as the Eagles were hitting -.286 prior to the first timeout. From there, though, Shomaker (Granville, Ohio/Granville HS) had six kills as FGCU hit .310 the rest of the set.
 
After a somewhat sluggish start in the second set, the Green and Blue found control behind the serving of Alayna Ryan (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS), who spurred an 8-0 run that gave FGCU a 17-7 lead. Later, the Eagles scored four of the final six points, including back-to-back kills from Cortney VanLiew and Daniele Serrano to close the set.
 
"Erin had a nice match on the offensive end and kept up her efficiency as the volume increased," Botsford said. "Alayna was a big key at opening up some leads for us, as well, with some solid play behind the service line."
 
The final set was slowed down by various stoppages in play, but FGCU scored six of the first eight points and led 18-11 following back-to-back kills from VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS). Florida International rallied to pull within two, but the Eagles scored three of the match's final four points and claimed the match-winner on a double block from Tori Morris and Snowy Burnam.
 
Dana Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) finished with a team-high 18 digs. It was her 14th match with at least 15 this year, and seven of those have went just three sets. She is also now just 27 digs away from 1,000 in her career.
 
Outside of Shomaker, who hit .294 and has at least nine kills in five of her past six matches, the Eagles got 10 kills and five digs from VanLiew, along with eight kills at a .438 clip from Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS), who also added two block assists to her record totals.
 
Chelsey Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS) had a match-high 33 assists along with four digs. Defensively, Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) and Amanda Carroll each contributed nine digs, while Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) had a match-high three aces.

As a team, FGCU also held Florida International to a .108 hitting percentage. The Eagles have allowed opponents to hit over .200 just four times this year. Furthermore, the Green and Blue are now 44-10 over their past 54 matches.
 
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 133-48 (.735) record overall, including a 63-16 (.797) 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--