FORT MYERS, Fla. --- Erin Shomaker had a match-high 15 kills to lead the FGCU volleyball team (7-1, 5-1 ASUN) to a 25-22, 25-12, 25-11 win over Jacksonville on Saturday inside Alico Arena. It was the fifth-straight victory for the Eagles, with all of them coming in straight sets.
 
"I think the last two sets, we definitely elevated our level of competition," FGCU assistant coach Kate Morrell said. "It was kind of a shift from (Friday's opener). Our defense really picked it up, and our offense was a little lacking. I think Erin bailed us out and was great offensively. They didn't have an answer for her. Aja was working really hard in transition and serve receive. She was a big positive for us, as well."
 
Shomaker (Granville, Ohio/Granville HS) hit .355 while producing 15 of FGCU's 35 kills. She added eight digs, four blocks and four aces. Meanwhile, Aja Jones contributed in a big way with a career-high eight blocks along with five kills at a .375 clip. She now has at least three blocks in every match this year.
 
In the opening set, FGCU used a 6-1 run to open up a 14-8 lead early on. Jacksonville kept chipping away at the lead before unleashing a 6-0 run that gave them a 22-19 lead. From there, however, the Eagles responded with a timeout and scored the final six points of the set to take the early advantage behind the playmaking of Shomaker and Juliana Lentz. The two of them each had a kill and a block during the run with Lentz providing the clinching kill.
 
The next set went back and forth with FGCU clinging to a 13-12 lead. Shomaker, however, registered a kill on the next point as the Eagles scored the final 13 points off the set.
 
During the run to close the second frame, Emma Szypszak had four blocks, while Jones (Venice, Fla./Venice HS) added four blocks and a kill. Lentz (Miami, Fla./St. Brendan HS) served the final 12 points, as well.
 
"I think we found some momentum in our serving," Morrell said of the run, which also featured the first five points of the next set. "Juliana went back there confident and rattled off some points. In turn, that gave confidence to Erin. She rattled off some points there, too. So, I think one big positive is that we found momentum in our serving."
 
After Lentz and Szypszak (Mequon, Wis./Homestead HS) opened the third set with a block, Cortney VanLiew served the next four points while notching an ace and a kill as FGCU led 5-0. Moments later, Jones and Szypszak added another block as the Eagles led 9-4. Following that, Shomaker had a kill to begin an 8-0 run that saw her serve the final seven points while producing three aces. The Green and Blue led by as many as 15 in the final frame, cruising to their 15th consecutive set victory.
 
Aside from Shomaker, the trio of VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS), Jones and Lentz each finished with five kills. Szypszak finished second on the team in blocks with a season-high six, and Lentz chipped in three to finish fourth on the team just behind Shomaker.
 
Chelsey Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS), who also had two kills and seven digs, produced a match-high 30 assists, while Dana Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) had a team-high nine digs. VanLiew added six digs, and Alayna Ryan (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS) contributed four digs.
 
FGCU is now 22-11 all-time against Jacksonville, which includes seven straight wins and a 12-4 record inside Alico Arena. The Eagles will be back in action next weekend with a series rematch with North Florida, who handed FGCU its only loss this year.
 
Notes
With her 14 kills and 13 digs this weekend, VanLiew is now three kills shy of eclipsing Olivia Mesner (607, 2011-14) for the most in program history against ASUN competition, and she is five digs shy of surpassing Maggie Rick (823, 2015-18) for the eighth-most in the program's Division I era.
 
ASUN STANDINGS/SCHEDULE
 
North Division

Place	Team	Overall	ASUN
1.	Kennesaw State	7-0	7-0
2.	Lipscomb	8-2	5-1
3.	Liberty	2-5	2-4
4.	North Alabama	1-5	1-4
5.	Bellarmine	1-9	0-6

 
South Division

Place	Team	Overall	ASUN
1.	FGCU	7-1	5-1
2.	North Florida	5-7	4-2
3.	Stetson	2-3	1-3
4.	Jacksonville	2-6	0-4

Thursday, Feb. 25
North Florida 3, Stetson 2
 
Friday, Feb. 26
Kennesaw State 3, North Alabama 0
Stetson 3, North Florida 0
FGCU 3, Jacksonville 0
Lipscomb 3, Bellarmine 0
 
Saturday, Feb. 27
FGCU 3, Jacksonville 0
Lipscomb 3, Bellarmine 0
 
Sunday, Feb. 28
North Alabama at Kennesaw State, 2 p.m.
 
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 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 148-51 (.741) record overall, including a 74-18 (.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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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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