JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The top-ranked FGCU volleyball team (20-3, 8-1 ASUN) stretched its winning streak to 10 straight in a 25-8, 25-16, 25-16 win over Jacksonville (7-16, 3-6) on the road in Swisher Gymnasium on Friday night behind one of the best team hitting performances in program history.

The Green and Blue are now tied with Pittsburgh for the fourth-most wins in the nation at 20. Western Kentucky, Stephen F. Austin and Milwaukee are all tied for the most with 21 apiece. At .870, FGCU's winning percentage is also 13th-best in the nation. The Eagles will be back in action on the road Sunday at North Alabama at 2 p.m. ET.
 
"That was a really clean and balanced performance with contributions across the board," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "The offense had a nice flow and rhythm to it and defensively we were outstanding. We have been talking a lot about consistency and working to sustain a certain level of play, and tonight we did that very well."
 
FGCU hit. 438 as a team, which is the sixth-best performance in the program's Division I era and the second-best percentage all-time against an ASUN opponent, just behind a .451 finish against USC Upstate on Sept. 26, 2008. While Chelsey Lockey and Aja Jones each went 4-for-4 in attempts, it was Cortney VanLiew who had a match-high 16 kills at a .469 pace, while Snowy Burnam added seven kills at a .353 clip. Overall, five players hit at least .400 for the Eagles.
 
Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS) orchestrated the offense with a match-high 36 assists and added three digs, two aces and two block assists. Six different players also recorded at least one assist, including three from VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS), who chipped in eight digs, too.
 
Daniele Serrano pushed her career block total to 433.0 behind two block assists and five kills. She needs just three more to surpass Morgan Van Alstine (North Florida, 2013-16, 435.0) for second-most in ASUN history. Meredith Hardy (ETSU, 2010-13, 474.0) remains No. 1.
 
Defensively, Dana Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) led three players in double-figure digs with 16, which was also her 16th consecutive match with at least 10. Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) also tallied 11 digs, which is her ninth career double-digit performance against Jacksonville in 10 career attempts. Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) was the third player to reach the mark with 10.
 
With the victory, FGCU remains in a tie for first place in the ASUN with Kennesaw State, who defeated North Alabama on Friday, and also improved to 20-11 all-time against Jacksonville - which includes wins in five straight and nine of the past 10 meetings.
 
Below are the updated conference standings:

1. FGCU - 20-3, 8-1
1. Kennesaw State - 15-6, 8-1
3. Lipscomb - 11-9, 7-2
4. Liberty - 13-8, 6-3
5. Stetson - 7-11, 4-4
6. North Florida - 10-13, 3-5
6. Jacksonville - 7-16, 3-6
8. North Alabama - 3-20, 1-9
9. NJIT - 1-24, 0-9
  
Notes
Burnam now needs 14 more kills to become the 11th player in the program's Division I era with at least 600 in a career. She also needs just three block assists and five total blocks to move into the top 10 in both of those categories, and she remains 14th in career digs - 21 shy of surpassing Jill Hopper (552, 2011-13).
 
Carroll and Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS) each played in their 121st career matches on Friday. They need two more to match Karissa Rhoades (123, 2015-18) for fifth-most in program history. 
 
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 135-48 (.738) record overall, including a 65-16 (.802) 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.