JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Behind a career night from Aja Jones, the FGCU volleyball team (12-2, 10-2 ASUN) concluded the regular season with a 25-20, 25-22, 25-16 win over Jacksonville (3-13, 1-11) on the road inside Swisher Gym on Saturday.
 
Jones (Venice, Fla./Venice HS) produced a career-high 17 kills, along with two blocks and two digs, to lead the Eagles. Her .667 hitting percentage over 24 attempts is also the fourth-best single-match performance in program history.
 
"I thought tonight's match was a much cleaner brand of volleyball," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "I thought we held up really well in the side out phase and first contact was consistent throughout. Chelsey was really putting our hitters in great position, and that was as good of a match as I've seen Aja Jones have, in particular on the offensive end and really disrupting their hitters as a blocker. It was quite a performance. That was really important to open things up for our other hitters as well. Kortney Reynolds had a great weekend, another solid night in the middle. The middle play this weekend was really nice to see. I think that they're getting better each week."
 
In addition to Jones, Cortney VanLiew added 15 kills and seven digs to help lead the offensive attack, while Reynolds (Plain City, Ohio/Jonathan Alder HS) added eight kills and two blocks. Those three combined for 40 kills over 82 attempts with just five errors.
 
Chelsey Lockey tallied 42 of the team's 45 assists along with six digs and two blocks. Dana Axner had a match-high 17 digs while Alayna Ryan (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS) finished second with eight. Shelby Beisner (Port Charlotte, Fla./Charlotte HS) tied VanLiew for third with a career-high seven.
 
Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) had a team-high two aces.
 
Notes
FGCU is 24-11 all-time against Jacksonville with nine straight wins in the series.
 
VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) moved within two digs of passing Karissa Rhoades for sole possession of seventh-most in program history.
  
Most Career Digs
FGCU's Division I Era (2007-present)

1.	1,687	Whitney Masters (483 sets)	2011-14
2.	1,652	Holly Youngquist (418 sets)	2008-11
3.	1,428	Dana Axner (271 sets)	2018-present
4.	1,247	Amanda Carroll (451 sets)	2015-19
5.	1,084	Courtney Stephens (451 sets)	2014-17
6.	947	Gigi Meyer (474 sets)	2011-14
7.	877	Karissa Rhoades (379 sets)	2015-18
8.	876	Cortney VanLiew (377 sets)	2017-present
9.	823	Maggie Rick (467 sets)	2015-18
10.	681	Vanessa Benks (164 sets)	2013-15

 
The Eagles have now won five straight entering the postseason, where they will open the ASUN tournament with a quarterfinal round matchup against Jacksonville at 7 p.m. on Saturday inside Alico Arena.
 
South Division

Place	Team	ASUN	Overall
1.	FGCU	10-2	12-2
2.	North Florida	8-4	9-9
3.	Stetson	5-7	6-7
4.	Jacksonville	1-11	3-13

North Division

Place	Team	Overall	ASUN
1.	Lipscomb	11-1	14-2
2.	Kennesaw State	10-2	10-2
3.	Liberty	5-7	5-8
4.	Bellarmine	3-9	4-12
5.	North Alabama	1-11	1-13

 
Saturday, March 20
Liberty 3, North Alabama 0
Lipscomb 3, Bellarmine 0
FGCU 3, Jacksonville 0
North Florida, Stetson 1
 
ASUN Championship Quarterfinals
March 27
3N Liberty vs 2N Kennesaw State, 6 p.m.
4S Jacksonville vs 1S FGCU, 7 p.m.
3S Stetson vs 2S North Florida, 7 p.m.
4N Bellarmine vs 1N Lipscomb, 7 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 155-52 (.749) record overall, including an 81-19 (.810) 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 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 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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