ATLANTA - Cortney VanLiew and Dana Axner earned weekly award recognition from the ASUN Conference office this afternoon after leading the FGCU volleyball team to the Sunshine State Classic championship over the weekend.
 
VanLiew joined Kennesaw State's Quin Sutphin as a co-player of the week recipient, while Axner was named the defensive player of the week. Both players now have two such awards this year.
 
VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS)  was named the MVP of the Sunshine State Classic as she totaled 46 kills, a .330 hitting percentage, two aces, 24 digs and five blocks over three wins. She averaged 4.60 kills and 2.40 digs per set while notching her 24th career double-double in Friday's win over UCF. It is her fifth career ASUN player of the week award.
 
The junior outside hitter leads the team with 181 total kills and an ASUN-best 4.31 kills per set this year. She has also totaled 11 aces, 94 digs and 21 blocks overall. On top of that, VanLiew is now 29 kills shy of becoming the third player in the program's Division I era with 1,000 in her career.
 
Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS), meanwhile, was named to the Sunshine State All-Classic team after totaling 55 digs and 11 assists over three matches for averages of 5.5 digs and 1.1 assists per set. In the win over UCF, she tallied 26 digs, which was two shy of her season-high. She has double-digit digs in five straight matches and 11 of 12 overall this year. It is her third career ASUN defensive player of the week award.

The sophomore libero has tallied 207 digs, 45 assists and eight aces over 42 sets this year. She now has 831 career digs, which puts her seventh on the Division I career list as she eclipsed Maggie Rick (823, 2015-18) this past weekend.
 
Overall, these selections are the fifth and sixth weekly awards of the season for the FGCU volleyball team over the first month of the season, which is the most among any ASUN school. The Green and Blue (10-2) will be back in action on the road tomorrow night at 6 p.m. against Liberty in a meeting that will represent the beginning of conference play.
 
2019 ASUN Season Award Winners
Sept. 23 | Player: Cortney VanLiew, FGCU and Quin Sutphin, Kennesaw State; Defensive Player: Dana Axner, FGCU; Freshman: Rocio Moro, North Florida
Sept. 16 | Player: Gabby O'Connell, North Florida; Defensive Player: Tori Morris, FGCU; Freshman: Julianna Askew, North Florida
Sept. 9 | Player: Lauren Chastang, Kennesaw State; Defensive Player: Karlee Groover, Kennesaw State; Freshman: Erin Shomaker, FGCU 
Sept. 3 | Player: Cortney VanLiew, FGCU; Defensive Player: Dana Axner, FGCU; Freshman: Rocio Moro, North Florida
 
Weekly Awards By School
FGCU - 6
North Florida - 4
Kennesaw State - 3
 
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 126-47 (.728) record overall, including a 57-15 (.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--