FORT MYERS, Fla. – One of the top awards in the nation, the Senior CLASS Award announced its top-30 candidates for the 2021 volleyball honor last week with FGCU's Dana Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) and Cortney VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) among the group. The award annually recognizes student-athletes who excel in the classroom, on the court, in the community, and display high character.
 
Both Axner and VanLiew are the first representatives from the volleyball program to be recognized among the initial top-30 since the award began in 2010. It also marks the first time a FGCU program has had two representatives on the initial list while the Eagles joined Wisconsin this year as the only programs to have two players among the group.
 
"These two young women have committed themselves to this sport, this program, this University, and this community in a way that truly exemplifies the spirit of the Senior CLASS Award. I am so proud and happy to see them being recognized for the contributions they have made," said head coach Matt Botsford. "Cortney and Dana are so much more than just great student-athletes and competitors; they are compassionate individuals who want to positively impact the environment they are in along with those they are in contact with. Their greatest qualities have nothing to do with their amazing physical gifts and everything to do with the way in which they care for and interact with those around them. Intelligent, driven, empathetic, selfless, and loyal, Cortney and Dana are a special pair that I am inspired by on a daily basis."
 
Axner became the first Academic All-American in the program's history and only the fifth CoSIDA Academic All-American in FGCU history following the 2021 spring season. She entered the 2021 fall with a 3.909 cumulative GPA in secondary mathematics and was honored to the ASUN All-Academic Team and CoSIDA Academic All-District team last spring as well. She has been recognized on the FGCU President's List, a member of the Dean's List, a member of the AD's Honor Roll, and a member of the ASUN Honor Roll throughout her career.
 
In the community, Axner has over 80 hours of volunteer hours within the community on top of her work as a student teacher at a local middle school. She has worked with the Stop Foundation, Path of Love, Beach Cleanup and Night at the Nest. She has also been an integral member of the FGCU Eagles Council (SAAC) where she has taken part in campus and community initiatives.
 
On the court, Axner is a two-time ASUN Defensive Player of the Year and a former ASUN Freshman of the Year. She currently has 1,764 career digs which ranks as the second most in program history and the seventh-most in ASUN history. She currently ranks 17^th among active NCAA players for most career digs. In terms of accolades, Axner has been a three-time ASUN All-Conference selection with two first team honors, was named to the 2019 AVCA All-Southeast Region First Team, and has been a two-time VolleyballMag.com Honorable Mention All-American (2019) and Second Team Freshman All-American (2018). Her 5.2 digs per set ranks third all-time in ASUN history and she is on pace to become FGCU's all-time leader in digs as well as just the second player in conference history to eclipse 2,000 digs. In the summer of 2020, Axner was selected to the ASUN's All-Decade Team (2010-19).
 
VanLiew received her undergraduate degree in accounting with a minor in Spanish this past spring 2021 and has commenced working on her master's degree in business administration. She returned for the 2021-22 campaign to utilize the extra year of eligibility due to the COVID pandemic. She has compiled a 3.678 cumulative GPA for her undergraduate career and has been a President's List selection, a Dean's List selection, an AD's Honor Roll selection, and a member of the ASUN Honor Roll. She is the program's first two-time CoSIDA All-Academic Team selection and is just the second three-time ASUN All-Academic honoree in program history. To highlight her undergraduate career, she was inducted into the FGCU Hall of Fame as announced this past spring.
 
In the community, VanLiew has compiled over 250 community service hours during her time at FGCU at places such as LEAD Like a Girl SWFL, Project Life Movement, Read Across America, Naples Humane Society and more. She served twice as the President of Eagles Council (SAAC), and she's been heavily involved with the ASUN's Student Athlete Advisory Committee, as well. Additionally, she has been an advocate and outspoken ambassador for FGCU on mental health for student-athletes. She is at the forefront of working with young children during camps and clinics and has been heavily involved in outreach on and off campus.
 
She is also one of the all-time top players in program history after setting the all-time career kills record earlier this year. She currently has 1,540 in 134 matches played. She also became one of three players in program history to record 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs joining fellow FGCU Hall of Famer Amanda Carroll and Olympian Brooke Youngquist Sweat. VanLiew now has 1,029 digs for her career which ranks as the eighth most in program history. She is a two-time ASUN Player of the Year (2018, 2019) for indoor volleyball and an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American in 2018. Historically, the outside hitter is looking to become the first in program history and the fifth in conference history to become a four-time First Team All-ASUN honoree. In the summer of 2020, VanLiew was selected to the ASUN's All-Decade Team (2010-19). Among her NCAA peers, she currently ranks 18^th nationally for career kills among active players. In the ASUN, she ranks 8^th all-time in conference history for career kills as well.
 
 
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior or graduate student and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. 

The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. 

The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in December.

For more information on all of the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
 
FGCU Senior Class Top-30 Candidates
2011 – Adam Glick – Men's Soccer (1^st Team Honors)
2013 – Deion Jones – Men's Soccer
2013 – Sarah Hansen – Women's Basketball
2016 – Whitney Knight – Women's Basketball
2016 – Tabby Tindell – Women's Soccer (1^st Team Honors)
2016 – Tyler Selesky – Baseball
2017 – Garrett Anderson – Baseball
2018 - Holly Fritz – Women's Soccer
2019 – Riley Randolph – Softball (2^nd Team Honors)
2021 – Dana Axner – Volleyball
2021 – Cortney VanLiew - Volleyball
 
Volleyball 2021 Candidates

Name	Position	School
Rachel Ahrens	OH/O	Pepperdine
Dana Axner	L	FGCU
Tina Boe	MB	Denver
Julia Brown	MB	William & Mary
Miajavon Coleman	OH	Coppin State
Ciara Debell	OH	Marshall
Dani Drews	OH	Utah
Kennedy Eschenberg	MB	BYU
Emma Granger	MB	Robert Morris
Thayer Hall	OH	Florida
Sydney Hilley	S	Wisconsin
Paige Jones	OH	Michigan
Bailey Keith	OH	Air Force
Nicole Lennon	OH	Rice
Kayla Lund	OH	Pittsburgh
Grace Massey	DS/L	Oregon State
Mac May	O/OH	UCLA
Jonni Parker	RS/S	Penn State
Jamie Peterson	OH	Dayton
Dana Rettke	MB	Wisconsin
Sydney Rowan	OH	Charlotte
Avery Skinner	OH	Baylor
Samantha Slaughter	OH	South Dakota
Alli Stumler	OH	Kentucky
Lexi Sun	OH	Nebraska
Maya Taylor	OH	Saint Louis
Hannah Thompson	OH	Bradley
Cortney VanLiew	OH	FGCU
Kayla White	OH	UNCG
Jaela Zimmerman	OH	Creighton