PREVIEW: @FGCU_VB opens home ASUN schedule this weekend

FGCU Volleyball Information
vs North Alabama	7 p.m. \| Friday \| Live Stats \| Video \| Blue Out
vs Lipscomb	2 p.m. \| Sunday \| Live Stats \| Video \| White Out
Location	Fort Myers, Fla. \| Alico Arena
Twitter	@FGCU_VB
Instagram	@FGCU_VB
Facebook	FGCU Volleyball

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The FGCU volleyball team (10-3, 0-1 ASUN) will host its conference home opener against North Alabama (2-11, 0-0) at 7 p.m. on Friday. The Eagles will then turn around and meet Lipscomb (4-7, 0-0) on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Alico Arena.

On Friday, fans are encouraged to wear blue and there will be free post game pizza for fans while supplies last. Following that, there will be a white out for Sunday's afternoon contest.

Green and Blue Notes
The Green and Blue opened conference play on Tuesday with a close, straight set loss (25-22, 25-23, 25-22) to Liberty on the road. In the match, though, sophomore libero Dana Axner recorded 24 digs, which was the third most in a three-set ASUN regular season match in program history - just behind Holly Youngquist's 26 against Campbell on Oct. 8, 2010 and her own total of 28 against Stetson on Oct. 10 of last year.

Furthermore, Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) now has 322 career digs in conference play alone, which places her 10th on the program's career list. The reigning ASUN defensive player of the week is also six assists shy of moving into the program's top 10 career totals in that category and 145 digs away from becoming the seventh in program history to reach 1,000 in a career.

Speaking of being on millennial lookouts, Cortney VanLiew is 17 kills shy of that career milestone, while Chelsey Lockey needs 27 assists to become the seventh in program history to reach 1,000.

VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) is currently in third place on the program's all-time kills list and sits in second place behind Amanda Carroll (3,685) for attack attempts with 2,750 following her outing against Liberty. She is just one of four players in program history to have a spot in the program's top 10 career charts in both kills and digs, joining Carroll, Brooke Youngquist Sweat and Heather Van Olst.

Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS) has at least 20 dishes in each outing this year, while also producing four double-doubles in assists and digs.

Daniele Serrano (Sanford, Fla./Seminole HS) needs three more solo blocks to take over the top spot on that career list. She already holds the records for block assists and total blocks, and she is currently holding off Sharonda Pickering (1.05, 2017-18) for the most blocks per set for a career with 1.06. The senior middle blocker eclipsed 700 career kills in Tuesday's tilt at Liberty, which places her ninth in program history.

Carroll (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia HS) sits at 538 career kills in conference play, which is second-most in program history, just 69 shy of Olivia Mesner (607, 2011-14) in the top spot. She would need to average 4.6 kills per match in conference play to seize the top spot. Additionally, she needs 49 more digs to become the fifth player in program history with at least 500 in ASUN regular season play.

Opponent Previews
North Alabama enters Friday's tilt having lost six straight matches - all in straight sets. They are in their second year of NCAA Division I probationary status after elevating from the Division II ranks last year. Offensively, Alyssa Dutton leads the Lions with 95 kills, but is hitting .098. Morgan Madasz has added 78 kills, while Annakatherine Griggs has 61 kills and a team-high .253 hitting percentage. Breylee Linder has 234 assists overall (5.71 per set) while Mackenzie Sullivan has a team-high 108 digs (3.60 per set). The trio of Sullivan (26), Griggs (24) and Nura Abakar (21) lead the way in blocks.

Lipscomb, meanwhile, has been a perennial contender within the conference having won three of the past five regular season titles as well as two of the past four tournament crowns. This year, however, they're working on replacing one of the best players in program history in Carlyle Nusbaum, who was a two-time ASUN player of the year, and they have faced a tough slate so far with losses to Power 5 schools Iowa, Iowa State, then No. 23 Purdue, Georgia Tech and TCU. Overall, Lanie Wagner (108, 2.63 per set), Garrett Joiner (101, 2.46) and Maddie Phillips (98, 2.39) are leading the offense. Morgan Elmore is the primary setter and has 387 assists, or 9.44 per set. Defensively, Alyssa Zwolensky has 159 digs at a rate of 3.88 per set, while Phillips has 30 blocks.

Next Up
After this weekend, the Green and Blue will be back on the road with meetings against North Florida and Stetson on Friday and Saturday. The team's next home action will be the following weekend against Jacksonville and Kennesaw State.

ASUN Leaders (Top 10 as of Sept. 25)
Kills - VanLiew (1st, 193)
Kills/Set - VanLiew (1st, 4.29)
Hitting Percentage - Shomaker (9th, .281)
Assists - Lockey (3rd, 497)
Assists/Set - Lockey (2nd, 11.04)
Aces - Carroll (8th, 14)
Digs - Axner (3rd, 231)
Digs/Set - Axner (1st, 5.13)
Solo Blocks - Serrano/Shomaker (T-4th, 6), Morris (T-8th, 5)
Block Assists - Serrano (T-5th, 36), Morris (T-8th, 33)
Total Blocks - Serrano (5th, 42), Morris (T-8th, 38)
Blocks/Set - Morris (3rd, 1.19), Jones/Serrano (T-7th, 1.00)
Points - VanLiew (2nd, 218.0)
Points/Set - VanLiew (1st, 4.8)

ASUN Standings (as of Sept. 25)
1. Liberty - 8-5, 1-0
1. Jacksonville - 4-10, 1-0
1. Kennesaw State - 9-5, 1-0
4. North Florida - 6-8, 0-0
4. Lipscomb - 4-7, 0-0
4. North Alabama - 2-11, 0-0
7. FGCU - 10-3, 0-1
7. Stetson - 2-8, 0-1
7. NJIT - 1-16, 0-1

FGCU CAREER RECORD BOOK (DIVISION I ERA, 2007-PRESENT)

Kills
1. 1,424 - Amanda Carroll (.256) - 2015-present
2. 1,132 - Olivia MESNER (.331) - 2011-14
3. 983 - Cortney VanLiew (.230) - 2017-present
4. 961 - Jessica BARNES (.194) - 2010-11,13-14
5. 926 - Kaitlin HOLM (.227) - 2011-13
6. 725 - Jill HOPPER (.203) - 2011-13
7. 701 - Daniele Serrano (.333) - 2016-present
8. 693 - Eleonora KAZARIAN (.225) - 2014-15
9. 678 - Ana KOKANOVIC (.281) - 2007-08
10. 649 - Jelena SIMIC (.206) - 2009,11

Attack attempts
1. 3,685 - Amanda Carroll (1,424-480-3,685) - 2015-present
2. 2,750 - Cortney VanLiew (983-351-2,750) - 2017-present
3. 2,725 - Jessica BARNES (961-433-2,725) - 2010-11,13-14
4. 2,449 - Kaitlin HOLM (926-371-2,449) - 2011-13
5. 2,356 - Olivia MESNER (1,132-353-2,356) - 2011-14
6. 1,889 - Jill HOPPER (725-342-1,889) - 2011-13
7. 1,846 - Jelena SIMIC (649-269-1,846) - 2009,11
8. 1,808 - Eleonora KAZARIAN (693-287-1,808) - 2014-15
9. 1,604 - Daniele Serrano (699-159-1,604) - 2016-19
10. 1,574 - Ana KOKANOVIC (678-236-1,574) - 2007-08

Digs
1. 1,687 - Whitney MASTERS (483 sets) - 2011-14
2. 1,652 - Holly YOUNGQUIST (418 sets) - 2008-11
3. 1,090 - Amanda Carroll (388 sets) - 2015-present
4. 1,084 - Courtney STEPHENS (451 sets) - 2014-17
5. 947 - Gigi MEYER (474 sets) - 2011-14
6. 877 - Karissa RHOADES (379 sets) - 2015-18
7. 855 - Dana Axner (165 sets) - 2018-present
8. 823 - Maggie RICK (467 sets) - 2015-18
9. 681 - Vanessa BENKE (164 sets) - 2013-15
10. 633 - Cortney VanLiew (271 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. 1,089 - Camil DOMINGUEZ (164 sets) - 2010-11
6. 973 - Chelsey Lockey (155 sets) - 2018-present
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. 175 - Courtney STEPHENS (451 sets) - 2014-17
11. 170 - Dana Axner (165 sets) - 2018-present

Solo Blocks
1. 62 - Olivia MESNER (428 sets) - 2011-14
2. 60 - Daniele Serrano (382 sets) - 2016-present
3. 42 - Amanda Carroll (388 sets) - 2015- present
4. 41 - Ashley YANCE (296 sets) - 2007-09
5. 38 - Kaitlin HOLM (359 sets) - 2011-13

Block assists
1. 345 - Daniele Serrano (382 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 (388 sets) - 2015-present
9. 153 - Eleonora KAZARIAN (213 sets) - 2014-15
10. 152 - Sharonda PICKERING (168 sets) - 2017-18

Total blocks
1. 405 - Daniele Serrano (382 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 (388 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

Blocks per set (min. 150 sets)
1. 1.06 - Daniele Serrano (382 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. 1,658.5 - Amanda Carroll (1,424k 115a 42-155b) - 2015-present
2. 1,338.0 - Olivia MESNER (1,132k 4a 62-280b) - 2011-14
3. 1,098.5 - Cortney VanLiew (983k 56a 19-81b) - 2017-present
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. 935.5 - Daniele Serrano (701k 2a 60-345b) - 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

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. 114 - Olivia MESNER - 2011-14
8. 113 - Holly YOUNGQUIST - 2008-11
9. 111 - Amanda Carroll - 2015-present
    111 - Daniele Serrano - 2016-present

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) - 1,424
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. Rachel Templin (Campbell, 2003-06) - 422.0
4. Danielle Neville (Jacksonville, 2002-05) - 408.0
5. Daniele Serrano (FGCU, 2016-present) - 405.0

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 126-48 (.724) record overall, including a 57-16 (.781) 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--

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Players Mentioned

#15 Sharonda Pickering: MB; 6' 2"; Senior

#7 Dana Axner: L; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#14 Amanda Carroll: OH; 5' 10"; Redshirt Senior

#10 Chelsey Lockey: S; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#3 Daniele Serrano: MB; 6' 1"; Senior

#12 Cortney VanLiew: OH; 5' 11"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#15 Sharonda Pickering
: 6' 2"; Senior
: MB

#7 Dana Axner
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: L

#14 Amanda Carroll
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Senior
: OH

#10 Chelsey Lockey
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: S

#3 Daniele Serrano
: 6' 1"; Senior
: MB

#12 Cortney VanLiew
: 5' 11"; Junior
: OH