JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Cortney VanLiew led all players with 18 kills at a .485 clip while the FGCU volleyball team (13-3, 3-1) racked up 15 blocks in a 25-11, 25-18, 25-22 win over North Florida (6-11, 0-3) on the road in UNF Arena Friday.
 
"It was a great road performance tonight, and it was really all kickstarted by the defense," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Our team defense was outstanding in the first two sets, and we were really making UNF work on the offensive end to score points. The third set developed much differently and became about the attacking of both teams, but we stayed poised and made some great plays at the end of the set. We got another big night from Cortney and Dani on the offensive end and our passers were all really solid throughout."
 
The Eagles opened up a 7-1 lead early as Daniele Serrano produced a kill and two blocks. The lead stretched to eight a little later following a back row kill from Amanda Carroll.
 
FGCU eventually led 19-6 following an ace from Alayna Ryan (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS) and a double block from Tori Morris and Snowy Burnam. VanLiew tallied three of the Green and Blue's final seven points in the set via kills and finished with six in the frame.
 
UNF took its first lead at 6-5 in the second set, but VanLiew added another kill and Chelsey Lockey followed with one of her own for a 14-9 lead midway through. The Ospreys pulled within one at 16-15, but the Eagles went on a 6-1 run to take control. Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS) finished off the frame with a kill.
 
Despite many stoppages that produced a nearly 40 minute third set, FGCU persevered to finish the sweep. Back-to-back kills from Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) and VanLiew gave FGCU an early 4-2 lead, although UNF fought back and took an 11-9 lead. Erin Shomaker, however, tacked on a kill to spur a 6-0 run and set up a back-and-forth finish.
 
UNF knotted the set at 20 apiece following a kill from Taryn Griffey, but Shomaker (Granville, Ohio/Granville HS) followed with another kill and a replay review confirmed a bad set from UNF. The Ospreys answered with a kill, but FGCU got back-to-back successful attacks from Shomaker and VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS). Burnam then closed the match with a kill from the left side.
 
VanLiew has now tallied double-digit kills in 14 straight and 15 of 16 overall this year. In ASUN play, she is averaging 17 per contest overall, including 5.5 digs over the past two. Shomaker (9) and Serrano (6) combined to tack on 15 more kills, with Serrano producing at a .357 rate.
 
Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS) had 37 assists along with seven digs, while Dana Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) had a match-high 13 digs. In fact, she is now two digs shy of 900 in her career. Carroll and Burnam each added seven digs in addition to Lockey as six players tallied at least five.
 
Tori Morris (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellam HS) had a match-high five block assists, while Burnam tallied three. Serrano, meanwhile, had a solo block along with her two block assists to tie Olivia Mesner's (62, 2011-14) program record for most solo swats in a career. Furthermore, she now has 415.0 total blocks in her three plus years on campus, which is seven shy of Rachel Templin (Campbell, 2003-06) for third most in ASUN history.
 
Serrano and Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) also each participated in their 114th career match, tying Mesner for seventh on the program's Division I era career list.
 
Next Up
FGCU concludes its weekend jaunt with a 6 p.m. matchup against Stetson on Saturday night.
 
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 129-48 (.729) record overall, including a 60-16 (.789) 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--