DELAND, Fla. - The FGCU volleyball team (14-3, 4-1 ASUN) got several big performances individually in a 25-18, 25-14, 22-25, 25-13 win over Stetson (2-11, 0-4) on the road Saturday night in the J. Ollie Edmunds Center.
 
"The serving tonight was outstanding," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "(Assistant Coach) Stephanie (Zielinski) did a great job scouting some potential targets for us and the girls executed from the line extremely well. Stetson is a very good defensive team so we expected some long rallies. I thought our players stayed patient in looking for the right opportunity to terminate and managed well outside of those situations. Snowy and the middles really helped open things up for the offense, and Chelsey found a good balance with distribution throughout the match."
 
Snowy Burnam produced her best offensive performance of the season with 17 kills, while adding nine digs, four block assists, two aces and two assists. She fell just two successful attacks shy of matching her career-high. Meanwhile, Cortney VanLiew extended her double-digit kill streak to 15 straight with a 14-kill, 11-dig performance that also included a solo block.
 
In addition to the offensive output from Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) and VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS), the duo of Daniele Serrano and Erin Shomaker contributed nine kills apiece with Serrano hitting a team-best .381 among players with double-digit attacks.
 
VanLiew's double-double was her sixth of the season and the 29th of her career. Her teammate, Chelsey Lockey, produced the fifth double-double of her sophomore campaign with 52 assists, 10 digs, two block assists, two kills and two aces. Her assist output is the sixth-most in a four-set ASUN regular season match in program history.
 
Defensively, Dana Axner had a match and season-high 29 digs along with three aces. The sophomore libero had 25 digs through the first three sets alone while recording her 10th straight double-digit dig match. In fact, the dig output is her conference career-high, the most-ever in program history in a four-set ASUN match and the fifth-most in a regular season conference match of any length.
 
On top of all that, there's only been 10 matches in the program's Division I era (2007-present) where a player has notched 29 or more digs - and Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) has three of them.
 
"Dana was phenomenal, and as we have grown accustomed to, played at a very high level on the defensive end," Botsford said. "29 digs in four sets is a special performance. She is such a tough competitor and really has learned how to influence the course of a set and match."
 
Tori Morris (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellam HS), who had four kills, joined Burnam in recording a team-high four block assists, while three others had two apiece en route to 14 total as a team.
 
Shomaker (Granville, Ohio/Granville HS), in addition to her offensive output, notched a season-high six digs, while Amanda Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) also chipped in six. In fact, Carroll joined Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS) in pushing their career match participation total to 115, surpassing Olivia Mesner (2011-14) for seventh on the program's Division I era list.
 
As a team, FGCU's 12 aces is the fifth-most in a conference match in program history, and the team's 77 digs is tied for the seventh-most in a four-set ASUN match.
 
Next Up
FGCU returns home next weekend to host Jacksonville on Friday at 7 p.m. and Kennesaw State on Sunday at 2 p.m. The first one will be Cancer Awareness Night as fans are encouraged to wear pink, while Sunday's tilt will be a rematch of last year's ASUN championship match. With Liberty's loss on the road to Lipscomb on Saturday, FGCU is now in a two-way tie for second place in the conference standings with the Flames, just a half game behind Kennesaw State (4-0) for first place.
 
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 130-48 (.730) record overall, including a 61-16 (.792) 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--