FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU volleyball team cruised past Jacksonville, 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-12) on Saturday night at Alico Arena to extend the nation's fourth-best win streak to 14 consecutive matches. The Eagles improved to 21-4 overall and remain unbeaten in ASUN play at 13-0, while the Dolphins fell to 4-21 overall and 1-12 in league action.
 
The victory also extend the Green and Blue's home win streak to 14 matches dating back to last season. With a pair of road matches next weekend at Liberty (Friday, Nov. 5) and at Kennesaw State (Sunday, Nov. 7), the Eagles will have a chance to surpass their best-ever start to ASUN play which FGCU set in 2012 with a 14-0 start to the league slate.
 
"There was a nice trajectory though out the match. I thought we started out a little bit slow in terms of our assignments, but that improved from set-to-set and I was happy with that," said head coach Matt Botsford. "We didn't have the same energy as last night, which is a tough ask at this point in the schedule, but I think we have to keep holding ourselves to a high standard there. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with tonight and the two matches this weekend."
 
Overall, the Eagles hit .273 on the night with 37 kills, while holding the Dolphins a 0.073 hitting performance on Saturday. The Dolphins committed 18 attack errors compared to 10 for FGCU. The Green and Blue also had a strong presence at the net with an 11-to-4 advantage in team blocks.
 
Erin Shomaker (Granville, Ohio/Granville HS) had a game-high 11 kills as the only player in the match to reach double-figures. She nearly posted a double-double with nine digs. Cortney VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) added eight kills, while Emma Szypszak (Mequon, Wis./Homestead HS) had six kills and a career-high eight blocks. Dana Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) had a match-high 15 digs, while Chelsey Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS) led all players with 27 assists.
 
"Emma did great from a blocking and an efficiency standpoint as she came to fill in for Juliana. That was exactly what we needed to build that cohesion when we have different lineups out there," said Botsford. "She did a good job coming out and making an impact."
 
Jenna McNamara led JU with eight kills, while Gyrani Rogers had 14 digs.
 
FGCU took control of the first set with a 10-to-2 run to go up 15-7. The Dolphins rallied back to cut the deficit to 18-14, but the Eagles scored six of the final eight points taking the early advantage in the match.
 
A pair of six-point runs in the second set saw FGCU build out a commanding 17-7 lead before extending it to as many as 13 down the stretch. A pair of kills by Shomaker around a Skylar English (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) kill sealed the set win for the Eagles.
 
In the final set, FGCU scored 11-straight points to build out an 18-7 lead en route to the match sealing victory. While the Eagles did not hit as efficiently in the set compared to the first and second, defensively, FGCU held Jacksonville to a -0.077 hitting percentage to close out the win.
 
Most Career Kills

1.	1,584	Cortney VanLiew (.227)	2017-present
2.	1,483	Amanda Carroll (.259)	2015-19
3.	1,173	Brooke Youngquist Sweat (.245)	2004-07
4.	1,132	Olivia Mesner (.331)	2011-14
5.	961	Jessica Barnes (.194)	2010-14

 
Most Career Digs 

1.	1,965	Whitney Hendry (390 sets)	2004-07
2.	1,849	Dana Axner (364 sets)	2018-present
3.	1,687	Whitney Masters (483 sets)	2011-14
4.	1,652	Holly Youngquist (418 sets)	2008-11
5.	1,369	Brook Youngquist Sweat (346 sets)	2004-07

 
Most Career Assists 

1.	4,540	Maggie Rick (467 sets)	2015-18
2.	4,408	Gigi Myer (474 sets)	2011-14
3.	3,203	Chelsey Lockey (347 sets)	2018-present
4.	3,108	Chandra Lefever (309 sets)	2006-09
5.	1,809	Laura Monovill (186 sets)	2004-05

 

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COACH BOTSFORD
Matt Botsford is in his eighth season as head coach of the FGCU women's volleyball program in 2021 after being hired on Feb. 10, 2014. In his tenure, Botsford-led teams have compiled a 177-56 (.759) record overall, including a 93-19 (.828) record in ASUN play. Including this past year's unprecedented spring 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 six of the past seven seasons and at least 10 wins in conference play every season. 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 and now the team has won three straight regular season titles, including a division title and ASUN tournament runner-up finish in the spring 2021 season. 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. In 2018, he led the team to a win over Miami (Fla.) - the program's first-ever road Power 5 win, and the Eagles followed that up with a straight-set win over the Hurricanes at a neutral site in 2019.
 
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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 85 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 42 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. 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 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 24 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. 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.
 
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