FGCU Volleyball Match Notes
Match 32	Round 1: Texas Tech (17-12, 7-9 Big 12) vs. FGCU (26-5, 15-1 ASUN)  Round 2: Winner of Colgate/#4 Wisconsin
Date // Time	Friday, Dec. 3 // 5:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. CT)  Saturday, Dec. 4 // 7:00 p.m. ET (6:00 p.m. CT)
Location	Madison, Wisc. // UW Field House
ASUN Notes	Standings // Stats // Scoreboard
Live Stats	NCAA Live Stats
Live Stream	ESPN+
Twitter	@FGCU_VB | @FGCUEagles
Instagram	@FGCU_VB
Facebook	FGCU Volleyball

 
FORT MYERS, Fla. – For just the second time in program history, the FGCU volleyball team heads to the NCAA Tournament as the Eagles take on Texas Tech on Friday evening in first round play. The match is slated for a 5:30 PM start for the University of Wisconsin's Field House and will be streamed live on ESPN+. Following the FGCU/TTU match, Colgate will look to upset host and fourth-seeded Wisconsin at 8 PM. The winners will advance to Saturday night's second-round game which is slated for a 7 PM start.
 
All-session tickets for NCAA First and Second Round matches are on sale. Single-session tickets go on-sale beginning at 9:30 AM the day of the matches. Tickets may be purchased in-person at the Wisconsin Athletic Ticket Office (Gate 1, Camp Randall Stadium), over-the-phone by calling 1-800-GO-BADGERS or 608-262-1440, or online at UWBadgers.com. Additionally, tickets will be sold at Gate C day of match.
 
All-Session

• General Admission Adult (age 18+): $12
• General Admission Youth (age 2-17) or Senior (age 55+): $8
• General Admission College Student: $3

 Single-Session (On sale Friday at 9 a.m.)

• Reserved: $9
• General Admission Adult: $7
• General Admission Youth or Senior: $5
• General Admission College Student: $24.

 
The Eagles (26-5 overall) are making their second all-time NCAA Tournament appearance since first going in 2018. That season, the Green and Blue defeated No. 13 UCF in the first round before falling to Florida in the second round.
 
The Eagles defeated Jacksonville State, 3-1, to win the ASUN Tournament title on Nov. 20 after going 15-1 during the league's regular-season. A total of four opponents from FGCU's regular-season schedule made the NCAA Tournament (Florida A&M, Florida State, Miami, and UCF).
 
Just prior to the tournament selection, FGCU held its best-ever RPI at No. 31 nationally. Heading into the tournament, the Eagles sit at No. 33 as part of four ASUN teams in the top 100: 75-North Florida, 91-Jacksonville State, 96-Kennesaw State.
 
The Eagles' season has been highlighted by a 15-game win streak, a 14-0 start to ASUN play to match the 2012 team for the best league start, and a 14-0 record at Alico Arena. Of the 26 wins, only four need more than three sets.
 
Over the last six seasons, FGCU has the 12^th most wins of any program in the country with 143 sitting just behind Washington (144) and Minnesota (145).
 
As a team this season, FGCU ranks among or just outside the NCAA's top 30 in four statistical categories: opponent hitting percentage (4^th, 0.127), blocks per set (13^th, 2.69), hitting percentage (21^st, 0.271), and total team blocks (33^rd, 269.5).
 
FGCU enters the tournament with perhaps one of its most seasoned rosters in program history. Dana Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS), Snowy Burnam (Palm City, Fla./Jensen Beach HS), Chelsey Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS), and Cortney VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) all played on the 2018 squad which defeated UCF in the first round – experience that will prove valuable this weekend.
 
Between VanLiew and Erin Shomaker (Granville, Ohio/Granville HS), the Eagles roster features the last four consecutive ASUN Players of the Year, while Axner is a two-time ASUN Defensive Player of the Year and Lockey was the ASUN Setter of the Year in 2020. The Eagles also feature three of the last four ASUN Freshmen of the Year selections in Burnam, Axner and Shomaker.
 
Shomaker leads the Eagles this year with 383 kills (3.87 per set) followed by VanLiew (207) and Aja Jones (202). Lockey has the 10^th most assists for a single season at 1,051 on the year directing the high powered offense. Defensively, Jones (Venice, Fla./Venice HS) leads the squad in blocks (114), while Axner has 466 digs and is just 32 away from setting a new FGCU career record.
 
This will be the first-ever meeting between FGCU and Texas Tech. It's the second time the Eagles have played a Big 12 opponent dating back to a 2018 loss against West Virginia (3-2)
 
Texas Tech broke a 20-year drought in NCAA Tournament appearances with its selection this season (just one year shy of the entire existence of FGCU Athletics). The Red Raiders sit just behind FGCU in terms of RPI at No. 38. Overall, Tech is making its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and is 3-8 all-time in those matches: 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2001. Tech's last tournament win came in 1995 when the Red Raiders defeated Arkansas State in the Gainesville Regional in five sets before falling to No. 4 Florida in five.
 
Kenna Sauer leads Texas Tech offensively with 346 kills (3.33/set), which ranks ninth in the Big 12. Karrington Jones' .356 hitting percentage is fourth best in the conference and her 211 kills are third on the team. Defensively, Brooke Kanas' 111 blocks are tops on the team while KJ Adams' 467 digs are seventh most in a single season by a Red Raider and her 4.36 digs per set rank second in the conference. 

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

 
 
For complete coverage of the volleyball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter at @FGCU_VB, on Instagram at @FGCU_VB, on Facebook at /FGCUVolleyball and online at FGCUathletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU volleyball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
 
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
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.
 
#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 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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