FORT MYERS, Fla. - The top-ranked FGCU volleyball team (17-3, 6-1 ASUN) will continue conference play by hosting NJIT (1-20, 0-6) at 7 p.m. on Saturday night in Alico Arena as part of alumni weekend.
Return To The Nest
Head coach
Matt Botsford and the team will host an indoor alumni match at noon on Saturday, followed by a beach alumni match at 1:30 p.m. Former student-athletes expected to be around this weekend include: Laura Manovill, Ingrid Felicio, Brooke Youngquist Sweat, Lauren Puder, Audrey Campbell, Patricia Silva, Whitney Hendry, Ashley Yance, Alexa Napoleon, Holly Youngquist, Lindsey Childs, Christine Pinder, Karina Mambuca, Kaitlin Holm, Ashley Noble, Whitney Masters, Katie Gutmann, Marina Adami, Caroline Jordan, Courtney Stephens, Katie Puisis,
Maggie Rick and
Karissa Rhoades.
Series History
The one-sided series history has seen FGCU claim straight-set victories over NJIT in all eight matches dating back to the first one on Oct. 2, 2015. Those meetings have been split evenly between Fort Myers and Newark.
Among active players,
Daniele Serrano has competed in six of those matches while tallying 29 kills and 18 blocks. Of interest,
Cortney VanLiew has played NJIT four times, and in two of those, she has tallied the program's two highest single-match hitting percentages vs NJIT.
HIGHEST RPI
Last week, FGCU was ranked 44th in the season's first official RPI rankings, which was their highest in program history. This week, they're ranked 48th - just behind traditional power names such as Ohio State, Arizona, Michigan State and Arizona State - and ahead of schools such as Indiana, Iowa, South Carolina, Oregon and LSU.
Among ASUN teams, FGCU ranks atop everyone else.
#48 FGCU
#89 Kennesaw State
#136 Liberty
#168 Lipscomb
#236 Stetson
#243 North Florida
#280 Jacksonville
#298 North Alabama
#314 NJIT
GREEN AND BLUE NOTES
Erin Shomaker (Granville, Ohio/Granville HS), a freshman outside hitter, recorded a career-high 14 kills in Wednesday's win over Florida International. It was her second double-digit kill performance over the past three matches and her fourth of the season. Interestingly enough, she has five matches with nine and four with eight.
Dana Axner is approaching 1,000 career digs as the sophomore libero sits at 973. She is already ranked fifth on the program's Division I era career list, and she's looking to become the seventh player in program history to reach 1,000 in a career, joining teammate
Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS), who has 1,149.
Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) has also produced a season-high 13 straight matches with at least 10 or more digs. She had her career-high 28-match streak snapped on Sept. 13 against Indiana, which was the only time this year she failed to record at least 10 and was a streak that dated back to Sept. 21 of last year. Her 349 digs overall and 5.13 per set rank 35th and 23rd, respectively, nationally.
VanLiew, who is one of just three players in program history to achieve at least 1,000 kills and 500 digs in a career, has double-digit kills in two straight and 18 of 20 overall this year. She recently concluded a program record-tying streak of 15 consecutive matches with at least 10 or more kills, tying Eleonora Kazarian (Sept. 20 - Nov. 7, 2014) and Ana Kokanovic (Oct. 4 - Nov. 15, 2008). On top of that, she has seven of her 26 career double-doubles this year.
Furthermore,
VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) ranks among the top 50 nationally in attacks/set, kills/set, points, points/set, attacks and kills.
Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS), a senior middle blocker who already holds all of FGCU's career blocking records, continues her chase to become the ASUN's all-time blocks leader. She currently sits in third with 427.0, just eight behind second place and 48 shy of surpassing Meredith Hardy's (ETSU, 2010-13) all-time mark.
1. Meredith Hardy (ETSU, 2010-13) - 474.0
2. Morgan Van Alstine (North Florida, 2013-16) - 435.0
3. Daniele Serrano (FGCU, 2016-present) - 427.0
4. Rachel Templin (Campbell, 2003-06) - 422.0
5. Danielle Neville (Jacksonville, 2002-05) - 408.0
Quick Turnaround
After this weekend, the Green and Blue will close out non-conference play with a home tilt against Bethune-Cookman at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
ASUN Leaders (Top 10 through Oct. 17)
Kills - VanLiew (1st, 291)
Kills/Set - VanLiew (1st, 4.34)
Hitting Percentage - Shomaker (8th, .299), Serrano (9th, .291)
Assists - Lockey (3rd, 767)
Assists/Set - Lockey (1st, 11.28)
Aces - Carroll (T-7th, 21), Burnam (T-9th, 20)
Digs - Axner (3rd, 349)
Digs/Set - Axner (1st, 5.13)
Solo Blocks - Serrano (T-4th, 9), Morris/Shomaker/VanLiew (T-9th, 7)
Block Assists - Serrano (4th, 55), Morris (T-5th, 54)
Total Blocks - Serrano (T-4th, 64), Morris (T-6th, 61)
Blocks/Set - Morris (2nd, 1.17), Serrano (T-5th, 1.00), Jones (8th, 0.96)
Points - VanLiew (2nd, 325.0)
Points/Set - VanLiew (1st, 4.9)
NCAA Individual Leaders (Top 50 through Oct. 17)
Assists/Set - Lockey - 9th, 11.29
Attacks/Set - VanLiew - 30th, 11.27
Digs/Set - Axner - 23rd, 5.13
Kills/Set - VanLiew - 23rd, 4.34
Points - VanLiew - 26th, 325.0
Points/Set - VanLiew - 28th, 4.85
Assists - Lockey - 8th, 768
Attacks - VanLiew - 48th, 755
Digs - Axner - 35th, 349
Kills - VanLiew - 22nd, 291
NCAA Team Leaders (Top 50 through Oct. 17)
Assists/Set - 23rd, 12.84
Blocks/Set - 29th, 2.56
Hitting Percentage - 27th, .261
Kills/Set - 35th, 13.59
Opponent Hitting Percentage - 13th, .146
Blocks - 28th, 174.0
ASUN Standings (through Oct. 17)
1. FGCU - 17-3, 6-1
2. Kennesaw State - 12-6, 5-1
3. Liberty - 12-7, 5-2
4. Lipscomb - 8-9, 4-2
5. Jacksonville - 7-13, 3-3
6. North Florida - 9-12, 2-4
6. Stetson - 5-11, 2-4
8. North Alabama - 3-16, 1-5
9. NJIT - 1-20, 0-6
FGCU CAREER RECORD BOOK (DIVISION I ERA, 2007-PRESENT)
Kills
1. 1,433 - Amanda CARROLL (.256) - 2015- present
2. 1,132 - Olivia MESNER (.331) - 2011-14
3. 1,081 - Cortney VANLIEW (.237) - 2017-present
4. 961 - Jessica BARNES (.194) - 2010-11,13-14
5. 926 - Kaitlin HOLM (.227) - 2011-13
6. 750 - Daniele SERRANO (.336) - 2016-present
7. 725 - Jill HOPPER (.203) - 2011-13
8. 693 - Eleonora KAZARIAN (.225) - 2014-15
9. 678 - Ana KOKANOVIC (.281) - 2007-08
10. 649 - Jelena SIMIC (.206) - 2009,11
Attack attempts
1. 3,714 - Amanda CARROLL (1433-482-3714) - 2015-present
2. 2,982 - Cortney VANLIEW (1081-375-2982) - 2017-present
3. 2,725 - Jessica BARNES (961-433-2725) - 2010-11,13-14
4. 2,449 - Kaitlin HOLM (926-371-2449) - 2011-13
5. 2,356 - Olivia MESNER (1132-353-2356) - 2011-14
6. 1,889 - Jill HOPPER (725-342-1889) - 2011-13
7. 1,846 - Jelena SIMIC (649-269-1846) - 2009,11
8. 1,808 - Eleonora KAZARIAN (693-287-1808) - 2014-15
9. 1,722 - Daniele SERRANO (750-171-1722) - 2016-present
10. 1,621 - Snowy BURNAM (569-197-1621) - 2017-present
11. 1,574 - Ana KOKANOVIC (678-236-1574) - 2007-08
12. 1,528 - Giovanna BORGIOTTI (536-259-1528) - 2016-present
Digs
1. 1,687 - Whitney MASTERS (483 sets) - 2011-14
2. 1,652 - Holly YOUNGQUIST (418 sets) - 2008-11
3. 1,149 - Amanda Carroll (411 sets) - 2015-present
4. 1,084 - Courtney STEPHENS (451 sets) - 2014-17
5. 973 - Dana Axner (188 sets) - 2018-present
6. 947 - Gigi MEYER (474 sets) - 2011-14
7. 877 - Karissa RHOADES (379 sets) - 2015-18
8. 823 - Maggie RICK (467 sets) - 2015-18
9. 681 - Vanessa BENKE (164 sets) - 2013-15
10. 676 - Cortney VanLiew (292 sets) - 2017-present
Assists
1. 4,540 - Maggie RICK (467 sets) - 2015-18
2. 4,408 - Gigi MEYER (474 sets) - 2011-14
3. 1,668 - Chandra LEFEVER (201 sets) - 2007,09
4. 1,475 - Roberta SANTOS (180 sets) - 2007-08
5. 1,244 - Chelsey Lockey (178 sets) - 2018-present
6. 1,089 - Camil DOMINGUEZ (164 sets) - 2010-11
7. 510 - Courtney GREENBERG (115 sets) - 2012-13
8. 309 - Whitney MASTERS (483 sets) - 2011-14
9. 238 - Holly YOUNGQUIST (418 sets) - 2008-11
10. 179 - Dana Axner (188 sets) - 2018-present
Solo Blocks
1. 63 - Daniele Serrano (404 sets) - 2016-present
2. 62 - Olivia MESNER (428 sets) - 2011-14
3. 42 - Amanda Carroll (411 sets) - 2015-present
4. 41 - Ashley YANCE (296 sets) - 2007-09
5. 38 - Kaitlin HOLM (359 sets) - 2011-13
6. 24 - Sharonda PICKERING (168 sets) - 2017-18
7. 23 - Jacqueline COWDEN (171 sets) - 2009-10
8. 22 - Cortney VanLiew (292 sets) - 2017-present
9. 21 - Karina MAMBUCA (233 sets) - 2012-13
21 - Roberta SANTOS (180 sets) - 2007-08
Block assists
1. 364 - Daniele Serrano (404 sets) - 2016-present
2. 280 - Olivia MESNER (428 sets) - 2011-14
3. 230 - Ashley YANCE (296 sets) - 2007-09
4. 180 - Marlene MOELLER (301 sets) - 2013-16
5. 176 - Karina MAMBUCA (233 sets) - 2012-13
6. 167 - Kaitlin HOLM (359 sets) - 2011-13
7. 159 - Lauren TUTWILER (208 sets) - 2014-15
8. 155 - Amanda Carroll (411 sets) - 2015-present
9. 153 - Eleonora KAZARIAN (213 sets) - 2014-15
10. 152 - Sharonda PICKERING (168 sets) - 2017-18
Total blocks
1. 427 - Daniele Serrano (404 sets) - 2016-present
2. 342 - Olivia MESNER (428 sets) - 2011-14
3. 271 - Ashley YANCE (296 sets) - 2007-09
4. 205 - Kaitlin HOLM (359 sets) - 2011-13
5. 197 - Karina MAMBUCA (233 sets) - 2012-13
197 - Marlene MOELLER (301 sets) - 2013-16
197 - Amanda Carroll (411 sets) - 2015-present
8. 176 - Sharonda PICKERING (168 sets) - 2017-18
9. 170 - Lauren TUTWILER (208 sets) - 2014-15
10. 165 - Eleonora KAZARIAN (213 sets) - 2014-15
11. 157 - Snowy Burnam (271 sets) - 2017-present
Blocks per set (min. 150 sets)
1. 1.06 - Daniele Serrano (404 sets) - 2016-present
2. 1.05 - Sharonda PICKERING (168 sets) - 2017-18
3. 0.92 - Ashley YANCE (296 sets) - 2007-09
4. 0.85 - Roberta SANTOS (180 sets) - 2007-08
5. 0.85 - Karina MAMBUCA (233 sets) - 2012-13
Points
1. 1,674.5 - Amanda CARROLL (1,433k 122a 42-155b) - 2015-present
2. 1,338.0 - Olivia MESNER (1,132k 4a 62-280b) - 2011-14
3. 1,205.5 - Cortney VANLIEW (1,081k 58a 22-89b) - 2017-19
4. 1,087.5 - Kaitlin HOLM (926k 40a 38-167b) - 2011-13
5. 1,045.5 - Jessica BARNES (961k 43a 13-57b) - 2010-11,13-1
6. 997.0 - Daniele SERRANO (750k 2a 63-364b) - 2016-present
7. 877.5 - Jill HOPPER (725k 88a 18-93b) - 2011-13
8. 845.5 - Ana KOKANOVIC (678k 139a 9-39b) - 2007-08
9. 821.5 - Eleonora KAZARIAN (693k 40a 12-153b) - 2014-15
10. 718.0 - Jelena SIMIC (649k 43a 12-28b) - 2009,11
11. 682.0 - Snowy Burnam (569k 29a 11-146b) - 2017-present
Matches played
1. 131 - Maggie RICK - 2015-18
2. 126 - Gigi MEYER - 2011-14
126 - Whitney MASTERS - 2011-14
126 - Courtney STEPHENS - 2014-17
5. 123 - Karissa RHOADES - 2015-18
6. 119 - Caroline JORDAN - 2013-16
7. 118 - Amanda Carroll - 2015-present
118 - Daniele Serrano - 2016-present
9. 114 - Olivia MESNER - 2011-14
10. 113 - Holly YOUNGQUIST - 2008-11
ASUN CAREER RECORD BOOK (ALL-TIME)
Kills
1. Megan Devine (ETSU, 2010-13) - 1,940
2. Carlyle Nusbaum (Lipscomb, 2015-18) - 1,715
3. Alex Kelly (Lipscomb, 2007-10) - 1,746
4. Lauren Ford (Lipscomb, 2011-14) - 1,597
5. Paige Pridgeon (North Florida, 2009-12) - 1,593
6. Maggie Johnson (Belmont, 2008-11) - 1,558
7. Lindsay Cleveland (Belmont, 2002-05) - 1,552
8. Jewell Dobson (Lipscomb, 2011-15) - 1,525
9. Amanda Carroll (FGCU, 2015-present) - 1,433
10. Katie Plummer (Mercer, 2001-04) - 1,390
Total Blocks
1. Meredith Hardy (ETSU, 2010-13) - 474.0
2. Morgan Van Alstine (North Florida, 2013-16) - 435.0
3. Daniele Serrano (FGCU, 2016-present) - 427.0
4. Rachel Templin (Campbell, 2003-06) - 422.0
5. Danielle Neville (Jacksonville, 2002-05) - 408.0
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.
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