FORT MYERS, Fla. – Erin Shomaker posted her second straight double-double with 18 kills and 14 digs to lead the FGCU volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-17, 17-25, 25-20, 25-21) win over Jacksonville State on Saturday night at Alico Arena to claim the 2021 ASUN Championship crown. With the win, the Eagles (26-5) punched their ticket to the upcoming NCAA Tournament which begins Dec. 2-4.
 
The victory marked the second time in four years, and overall, that FGCU has won the ASUN championship title. The first league title came in 2018 where the Eagles also defeated No. 13 UCF in the NCAA First Round. The Green and Blue advanced to the championship match for the sixth consecutive season.
 
FGCU entered the ASUN Championship Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the East Division, while Jacksonville State was the No. 1 seed in the West Division.
 
"I couldn't be happier for our team; there was a lot of hard work and effort that's gone into this season. You want that sort of ending for that special of a group," said head coach Matt Botsford. "I thought Jacksonville State really pressured us from the service line and we had some hard times digging ourselves out of holes because the first contact wasn't what we wanted. We persevered and found some big moments for us. I think Erin was outstanding and took some big swings in some tough spots."
 
Shomaker was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after tonight's performance where she hit .289 while adding an ace and a block. Joining Shomaker on the All-Tournament Team were Dana Axner and Cortney VanLiew.
 
VanLiew finished the night just shy of a double-double herself with 11 kills and eight digs. She also added three service aces. Aja Jones notched 10 kills on a .316 hitting percentage, while Skylar English had eight kills, including the match-winner, six digs, and two blocks.
 
Behind Chelsey Lockey's 45 assists, the FGCU offense hit .264 for the match highlighted by a .438 effort in the first set and a .333 performance in the third set. She finished with a double-double as well with 12 digs. Axner led the floor defense with 22 digs and had five aces at the service line.
 
JSU saw Lena Kindermann tally 17 kills, while Addie Halverson had 12 kills.
 
FGCU used a five-point run late in the first set to open the match 1-0. The Gamecocks controlled the second set early building out a 13-5 lead which the Eagles could not recover. The third set saw FGCU again use a late five point run in taking a 24-19 lead before a Shomaker kill made it a 2-1 lead two points later. With the fourth set also going back-and-forth, a pair of JSU errors coupled with kills from VanLiew and English gave the Eagles a 24-20 lead. The Gamecocks got a point back before English sealed the title win with a kill to close out the night.
 
The Eagles held JSU to just a .180 hitting percentage on the night, though the Gamecocks took advantage of the service line with a 7-to-2 advantage. Both teams finished the match with seven blocks.
 
FGCU will find out its NCAA match-up on Nov. 28 during the airing of the NCAA Selection Show on ESPNU. More details will be shared when available.
 
The Eagles improved to 16-10 in ASUN tournament play with the win and remained a perfect 14-0 at home. FGCU entered the weekend with the No. 43 RPI in the nation, while the other semifinalists in the tournament had top 110 RPIs – North Florida (76), Kennesaw State (90), and Jacksonville State (106).
 
Most Career Kills

1.	1,642	Cortney VanLiew (.226)	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.	1,934	Dana Axner (384 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.	3,417	Chelsey Lockey (377 sets)	2018-present
4.	3,108	Chandra Lefever (309 sets)	2006-09
5.	1,809	Laura Monovill (186 sets)	2004-05

 
Most Career Total Blocks 

1.	483	Daniele Serrano (442 sets)	2016-19
2.	342	Olivia Mesner (428 sets)	2011-14
3.	287	Ashley Yance (313 sets)	2005-09
4.	247	Ericka Fonseca (216 sets)	2005-06
5.	209	Aja Jones (177 sets)	2019-present

 
 

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IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!

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 183-58 (.782) record overall, including a 96-20 (.827) 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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