| FGCU Volleyball Information |
| When |
Match 1 at North Florida: Sunday at 2 p.m.
Match 2 at North Florida: Monday at 2 p.m. |
| Where |
Jacksonville, Fla. | UNF Arena |
| Live Stats |
Sidearm (same link for both matches) |
| Video |
UNF TV (Sunday) |
| Twitter |
@FGCU_VB |
| Instagram |
@FGCU_VB |
| Facebook |
FGCU Volleyball |
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - After seeing its weekend series at Stetson postponed due to Covid-19 related issues with its opponent, FGCU added a series at North Florida (1-5) on Sunday and Monday inside UNF Arena with each match starting at 2 p.m. The two teams were initially scheduled to play each other next weekend, but it was moved up to create future flexibility if needed.
For fans looking to watch the matches on a streaming platform, Sunday's match will be available on UNF TV online. A decision is still being made for Monday's match.
MILESTONE WATCH
Junior libero
Dana Axner is just six digs shy of passing Amanda Carroll for the third-most career digs in the program's Division I era.
| 1. 1,687 |
Whitney MASTERS (483 sets) |
2011-14 |
| 2. 1,652 |
Holly YOUNGQUIST (418 sets) |
2008-11 |
| 3. 1,247 |
Amanda CARROLL (451 sets) |
2015-19 |
| 4. 1,242 |
Dana AXNER (233 sets) |
2018-present |
| 5. 1,084 |
Courtney STEPHENS (451 sets) |
2014-17 |
Senior outside hitter
Cortney VanLiew continues her ascent toward becoming the program's all-time kills leader. Here's where she stands among the program's Division I era leaders.
| 1. 1,483 |
Amanda CARROLL (.259) |
2015-19 |
| 2. 1,257 |
Cortney VANLIEW (.235) |
2017-present |
| 3. 1,132 |
Olivia MESNER (.331) |
2011-14 |
| 4. 961 |
Jessica BARNES (.194) |
2010-11, 13-14 |
| 5. 926 |
Kaitlin HOLM (.227) |
2011-13 |
Junior middle blocker
Tori Morris will also look to move into the top five in career blocks this weekend as she currently sits two shy of surpassing Amanda Carroll for the fifth spot. She is also just seven shy of passing Kaitlin Holm for fourth place.
| 1. 483 |
Daniele SERRANO (442 sets) |
2016-19 |
| 2. 342 |
Olivia MESNER (428 sets) |
2011-14 |
| 3. 271 |
Ashley YANCE (296 sets) |
2007-09 |
| 4. 205 |
Kaitlin HOLM (359 sets) |
2011-13 |
| 5. 200 |
Amanda CARROLL (451 sets) |
2015-19 |
| 6. 199 |
Tori MORRIS (165 sets) |
2018-present |
SERIES HISTORY
The Green and Blue will carry a 24-6 all-time record into the road series against the Ospreys this weekend, which includes four straight victories - all in straight sets. FGCU has won 10 of the past 12 meetings with UNF pulling out a pair of five-set wins on Oct. 27, 2017 and Oct. 28, 2016. In fact, four of the six all-time UNF wins in the series have come in five sets, while 16 of FGCU's 24 all-time wins have been in straight sets. The Eagles are 10-4 on the road in the series.
UNF OUTLOOK
North Florida (1-5) is coming off a loss to Clemson on Friday to conclude its non-conference schedule. They dropped a pair of matchups to USF and UCF, while later defeating Georgia Southern on Feb. 9. Head coach Kristen Wright is in her third season and led the Ospreys to a 15-18 record last year. The program's first season of competition was in 1991 before jumping to the Division I level in 2005.
LAST TIME OUT
After 433 days away from competition, FGCU showed its rust by dropping the first two sets of the season-opening match at South Florida on Jan. 29. The Eagles, however, answered by winning the next six sets to sweep the weekend series.
The come from behind win in the season opener was the program's first after being down 0-2 since October 2014.
Cortney VanLiew recorded a career-high 30 kills in that match, breaking her previous career high of 29 that she set against West Virginia two seasons ago. In the finale, VanLiew tacked on 14 more kills while
Erin Shomaker notched 13 kills, eight digs, five aces and three blocks. The duo combined for just three errors over 69 attempts. In addition to those two,
Chelsey Lockey recorded a career-high 55 assists in the season opener, while
Dana Axner tacked on a pair of 20-plus dig performances.
ASUN STANDINGS/SCHEDULE
| Place |
Team |
Overall |
ASUN |
| 1. |
Kennesaw State |
2-0 |
2-0 |
|
Lipscomb |
5-1 |
2-0 |
| 3. |
FGCU |
2-0 |
0-0 |
|
Stetson |
1-0 |
0-0 |
| 5. |
Jacksonville |
2-2 |
0-0 |
|
North Florida |
1-5 |
0-0 |
|
North Alabama |
0-1 |
0-0 |
| 8. |
Bellarmine |
1-5 |
0-2 |
| 9 |
Liberty |
0-3 |
0-2 |
Sunday, Feb. 14
Bellarmine at Kennesaw State, 1 PM
FGCU at North Florida, 2 PM
Liberty at North Alabama, 3 PM
Monday, Feb. 15
FGCU at North Florida, 2 PM
AWARD-WINNING RIGHT ARM
Cortney VanLiew was named the ASUN's player of the week on Feb. 1 after leading FGCU to a pair of wins over South Florida. The senior outside hitter not only extended a program-record with her sixth all-time ASUN player of the week selection, but also moved into sole possession of fourth-most such awards in ASUN history behind Lipscomb's Carlyle Nusbaum (12) and Alex Kelly (8), Jacksonville's Sammie Strausbaugh (7) and UCF's Renata Menchikova (7).
In the season-opening win over USF, VanLiew produced a career-high 30 kills along with 12 digs, three blocks, one assist and one ace. In doing so, she notched her 21st career double-double and tied
Amanda Carroll (30 vs USC Upstate, 11/11/16) for the second-most kills in a Division I era match in program history.
Following that, the Hoosier State native tacked on a team-high 14 kills along with five digs and three assists in Saturday's straight-set win. In all, she averaged 5.50 kills per set and hit .353 while totaling 44 kills, 17 digs and three blocks.
For VanLiew, it was her third career match with at least 25 kills as her and Carroll (5) have now combined for half of the program's 16 all-time Division I era performances with at least that many. Her 32.5 points in the opening win is also tied for third-most in a single match in FGCU annals.
AMONG THE BEST IN THE NATION
The Eagles, who made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament two years ago and came within one set of making a return trip last year, will look to continue to the momentum the program has built over the past six years since head coach
Matt Botsford took over. Over the past four seasons alone, the program is tied with Kentucky for 11th nationally in total wins with 103.
| Rk. |
Team |
2019 |
2018 |
2017 |
2016 |
Total |
| 1. |
Stanford |
30 |
34 |
30 |
27 |
121 |
| 2. |
Nebraska |
28 |
29 |
32 |
31 |
120 |
| 3. |
BYU |
26 |
31 |
30 |
29 |
116 |
| 4. |
Western Kentucky |
31 |
20 |
31 |
30 |
112 |
| 5. |
Minnesota |
27 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
111 |
|
Pittsburgh |
30 |
30 |
26 |
25 |
111 |
| 7. |
Penn State |
27 |
26 |
33 |
24 |
110 |
|
Florida |
27 |
26 |
30 |
27 |
110 |
| 9. |
Creighton |
25 |
29 |
26 |
29 |
109 |
|
Stephen F. Austin |
31 |
32 |
26 |
20 |
109 |
| 11. |
FGCU |
27 |
27 |
22 |
27 |
103 |
|
Kentucky |
25 |
26 |
29 |
23 |
103 |
| 13. |
Wisconsin |
27 |
25 |
22 |
28 |
102 |
| 14. |
Colorado St. |
29 |
23 |
29 |
21 |
102 |
| 15. |
Washington |
27 |
20 |
25 |
29 |
101 |
|
Marquette |
28 |
28 |
22 |
23 |
101 |
SLEW OF TALENT RETURNS FOR FGCU
Individually, FGCU returns several of the best players in program history this year. Senior outside hitter
Cortney VanLiew is the two-time defending ASUN player of the year, while junior libero
Dana Axner is the two-time defending ASUN defensive player of the year. Both are selected to repeat with those awards this year, while junior
Chelsey Lockey was tabbed by the conference's head coaches to win the ASUN's setter of the year award. In addition to those three, sophomore outside hitter
Erin Shomaker was selected to the preseason all-conference team, and head coach
Matt Botsford is the back-to-back ASUN coach of the year after leading his team to consecutive regular season conference titles.
VanLiew is on pace to become the program's all-time kills leader, and her 1,257 career kills ranks 16th in the nation among active players. She is also on pace to record 1,000 career digs as she currently sits at 774.
On top of that, VanLiew is looking to join FAMU's Kim Funchess (1986-88) as one of just two players in conference history to be selected as a three-time ASUN postseason player of the year. She is currently one of only six two-time recipients of the award, and she can join a group of just three others in program history to be a three-time postseason all-conference selection.
Last year, VanLiew produced 423 kills, 222 digs, 53 blocks, 23 aces and 22 assists while registering 24 matches with 10+ kills, including a program-record tying streak of 15 straight from Aug. 31 through Oct. 5. She notched her 1,000th kill on Sept. 29, 2019 vs Lipscomb. Following the season, she was named Honorable Mention All-Southeast Region by the AVCA and was tabbed the conference's player of the year for the second-consecutive season.
The Hoosier State native is already one of just three players in program history to have at least 1,000 kills and 500 digs, along with Amanda Carroll and Brooke Youngquist Sweat, and she has registered 20 career double-doubles. She is on pace to become the program's all-time kills leader and is projected to finish among the top five in ASUN history. Furthermore, she has six career ASUN Player of the Week selections, which is fourth-most in ASUN history. In the summer of 2020, VanLiew was selected to the ASUN's All-Decade Team (2010-19).
Meanwhile, Axner ranks 41st in the country in career digs among active players with 1,242, but she ranks seventh nationally in career digs per set at 5.33.
Axner became the first player in conference history to open her career with back-to-back ASUN defensive player of the year awards last season. She totaled 574 digs, a career-best 5.47 digs per set, 203 assists and 26 aces while recording double-digit digs in all but two matches. She had 10 matches with 20+ digs, including seven in ASUN play and six over her final seven matches. She concluded her season with back-to-back 30-plus dig efforts in the ASUN tournament and posted 21 consecutive double-digit dig performances from Sept. 13 through Nov. 10.
The Buckeye State native became the youngest in program history to reach 1,000 career digs on Oct. 22 vs Bethune-Cookman. Her 5.47 digs per set led the ASUN, was ninth-most in the nation and ninth-best in ASUN history, while her 574 digs ranked second in the ASUN and 32nd nationally. In conference play, she recorded 5.54 digs per set and notched three of the program's top 10 all-time three-set dig totals in ASUN regular season play - 24 vs Liberty on Sept. 24, 23 vs Stetson on Nov. 1 and 22 vs North Florida on Nov. 3.
Along with VanLiew, Axner not only has a chance to join three others as a three-time all-conference selection, but she also has a chance to be a three-time First Team All-ASUN selection - something no one in program history has done. Furthermore, she is looking to join Amanda Carroll as one of two three-time ASUN all-tourney selections. Her five career ASUN Defensive Player of the Week selections are tied for the most in conference history, and she continues to hold the ASUN record for most Freshman of the Week selections with six, which is also twice as many as anyone else in program history. She enters her junior season ranked second in ASUN history for career digs per set with 5.32. In the summer of 2020, Axner was selected to the ASUN's All-Decade Team (2010-19).
Lockey took over as the team's full-time setter last season as a sophomore, recording 1,214 assists, or 11.24 per set, while adding 232 digs, 63 blocks, 55 kills and 28 aces. Following the season, she was named Second Team All-ASUN after producing at least 20 assists in every match, including 28 matches with at least 30, 12 with at least 40 and four with at least 50. She had a career-high 54 assists against UCF on Sept. 20 and San Diego State on Aug. 31, tallied seven double-doubles in assists and digs, including 41 assists and a career-high 14 digs against Kentucky on Sept. 13, and registered seven matches with 10+ digs.
Through two-plus seasons, Lockey has 1,776 assists, which is third-most in program history behind Maggie Rick (4,540) and Gigi Meyer (4,408). She enters her third year with 389 digs, 65 blocks, 59 kills and 41 aces. She is a former ASUN all-freshmen team selection.
Shomaker was named to the preseason all-conference team after becoming FGCU's third-consecutive ASUN freshman of the year last season, where she produced 233 kills, a .273 hitting percentage, 61 digs and 43 blocks. She had nine matches with double-digit attacks and a .300 hitting percentage, and she finished with six double-digit kill performances, including 11 vs No. 15 Kentucky. In the ASUN semifinal win over Lipscomb, she had a season-high 16 kills while hitting .389.
FRESH FACES
The Eagles feature a pair of true freshmen this year with
Hannah Rae Kivett (Chandler, Ind./Castle HS) and
Juliana Lentz (Miami, Fla./St. Brendan HS).
Kivett, who was named one of only 27 seniors nationally to be among PrepVolleyball.com's Senior Aces, is a three-time First Team All-Metro and All-SIAC selection. She was named her conference's player of the year as a senior and earned AVCA All-Region recognition. Born on Sept. 11, 2001, she broke her school's single-season record for assists. Lentz, meanwhile, led St. Brendan to the state semifinals for the first time in 39 years as a senior. She finished the season with 207 kills and 120 blocks while helping her team to a 25-5 record and earning all-county MVP recognition.
PRESEASON FAVORITE
As a team, FGCU was tabbed to win its third-consecutive ASUN regular season championship, edging out Kennesaw State for the top spot in the preseason coaches poll.
| Place |
Team (1st Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. |
FGCU (7) |
75 |
| 2. |
Kennesaw State (1) |
65 |
| 3. |
Liberty |
56 |
| 4. |
Lipscomb |
55 |
| 5. |
Stetson (1) |
45 |
| 6. |
North Florida |
38 |
| 7. |
Jacksonville |
28 |
| 8. |
Bellarmine |
22 |
| 9. |
North Alabama |
21 |
MEDIA CORNER
LOOKING AHEAD
FGCU's adjusted schedule following this weekend will be determined later. Stay tuned to FGCUathletics.com for updates.
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 seventh season as head coach of the FGCU women's volleyball program in 2019 after being hired on Feb. 10, 2014. In his tenure, Botsford-led teams have compiled a 145-50 (.741) record overall, including a 71-17 (.807) record in ASUN play. Including 2019, 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 five straight seasons and at least 10 wins in conference play six straight seasons. Furthermore, the team's offensive efficiency has drastically improved since Botsford started. In his first two seasons, his squad produced hitting percentages of .212 and .220. The next two, which saw .267 and .256 percentages, are the third and fourth highest in program history. 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 two straight regular season titles. 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. Last year, 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 82 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) 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 (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. 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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