FORT MYERS, Fla. – After a standout year leading the FGCU volleyball team to a NCAA Second Round appearance, junior outside hitter Erin Shomaker (Granville, Ohio/Granville HS) has been named to the AVCA All-Southeast Region Team as announced Tuesday.
 
"Erin is one of the top collegiate volleyball players in the country and each season she continues to take steps that put her into an even more exclusive club. First-team all-region honors highlight how well respected she is among the coaching community and demonstrates a body of work that compares with the best in the entire Southeast," said head coach Matt Botsford. "Erin's growth on the court has been staggering, but certainly not surprising. To follow up last season with what she did this fall is remarkable. Her consistency and dependability represent the mark of a true competitor and I am so proud of Erin for all she has accomplished."
 
Shomaker earned her second consecutive ASUN Player of the Year honor in leading the Eagles to their second ASUN Championship title and NCAA berth. In leading the Green and Blue to a 27-6 overall record, she led FGCU in kills (413), kills per set (3.86), service aces (33), and points (478.5), while adding 215 digs and 58 blocks. During the season, she was a three-time ASUN Player of the Week.
 
She led the ASUN in total kills (69^th nationally), kills per set (70^th nationally), points (63^rd nationally), and points per set (4.47, 61^st nationally).
 
In the all-time record book, she's quickly climbing several lists for the Eagles. She ranks 7^th all-time for career kills (888), 4^th for kills per set (3.5), 9^th for total points (1,023), and 4^th for points per set. This season, her 413 kills were the 8^th most for a single-season as were her 478.5 points.
 
In her career at FGCU, she has been a two-time unanimous selection to the All-ASUN First Team, a two-time pick to the ASUN All-Tournament Team including the 2021 Most Outstanding Player, a member of the 2019 ASUN All-Freshman Team, and the 2019 ASUN Freshman of the Year. Nationally, she was an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American and Honorable Mention All-Southeast Region pick last season as well as a VolleyballMag.com Honorable Mention All-American.
 
Shomaker's selection to the 2021 all-region team represents the eighth FGCU selection to either the AVCA's First Team or Honorable Mention squads since 2016, joining Dana Axner, Cortney VanLiew, Sharonda Pickering and Amanda Carroll.
 
2016 - Amanda Carroll - Honorable Mention All-Southeast Region
2017 - Amanda Carroll - First Team All-Southeast Region
2018 - Sharonda Pickering - First Team All-Southeast Region
2018 - Cortney VanLiew - First Team All-Southeast Region
2019 - Dana Axner - First Team All-Southeast Region
2019 - Cortney VanLiew - Honorable Mention All-Southeast Region
2020 - Erin Shomaker - Honorable Mention All-Southeast Region
2021 - Erin Shomaker – First Team All-Southeast Region
 
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.
 
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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 184-59 (.757) 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.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--