FORT MYERS, Fla. --- Erin Shomaker produced 10 kills and 13 digs to lead the FGCU volleyball team (6-1, 4-1 ASUN) to its fourth-consecutive victory in a 25-13, 25-16, 25-21 win over Jacksonville (2-5, 0-3 ASUN) inside Alico Arena on Friday. It was the first home match for the Eagles in 462 days.

Shomaker (Granville, Ohio/Granville HS) added three blocks (one solo) along with an ace and an assist while hitting .350 as she produced her fourth double-double over six matches played in her sophomore campaign. She is now averaging a double-double with 76 kills and 64 digs on the season.

"I think we were pretty focused on set distribution the first two sets," FGCU assistant coach Kate Morrell said. "Our passing progressively got a little sloppy, but that's something we can clean up, and we're always working to clean up. Overall, we had production from everyone offensively, so that's great. I am really impressed with our middles and how they keep working, even in transition. They want to get set, and I think that's giving confidence to our setters to set them, which in turn gives them a little more looks and open nets for our pin hitters as well."

Three others also notched at least seven kills, including Cortney VanLiew (9), Juliana Lentz (8) and Aja Jones (7). Lentz (Miami, Fla./St. Brendan HS), who added four blocks, hit a team-best .500 among players with double-digit attacks, while Jones (Venice, Fla./Venice HS) had a team-high five blocks.

Chelsey Lockey led the Eagles in assists with 30, which represented her 15th consecutive match with at least that many dating back to Oct. 29 of last season. Dana Axner had a team-high 14 digs and matched her season-high in assists with six. 

As a team, FGCU hit .307 over 101 attempts while racking up 17 blocks (one solo). While Jones and Lentz combined for nine, Emma Szypszak (Mequon, Wis./Homestead HS) chipped in three. VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) tied Lockey for third on the team in digs with seven, while Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS) had a team-high two aces. Alayna Ryan (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS) also contributed to the win with four digs, while Kortney Reynolds chipped in four kills and one block over one set of action.

The Eagles cruised through the first two sets by hitting .419 and .333 as a team. In the third set, however, they were somewhat error-prone with seven attack errors, which helped allow Jacksonville to score the first three points and jump out to an 18-14 lead. From there, though, Reynolds (Plain City, Ohio/Jonathan Alder HS) had three of her four kills during a 6-0 run by FGCU that gave her team a two-point lead. The two teams then exchanged points until VanLiew and Lentz combined for three kills that put the Green and Blue on the brink of the win.

Following that, Lentz and Jones teamed up for a match-winning block as FGCU won its 12th-straight set.

FGCU and Jacksonville will conclude the weekend series in Fort Myers on Saturday at 6 p.m. 



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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 147-51 (.741) record overall, including a 73-18 (.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.
 
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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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