ASUN Tournament Quarterfinals
Match 15	#1S FGCU (12-2) vs #4S Jacksonville (3-13)
Date | Time	Saturday, March 27 | 7 p.m.
Where	Fort Myers, Fla. | Alico Arena
Live Stats	StatBroadcast (here)
Video	ESPN+ | Tom James (PxP), J. Webb Horton (Analyst)
Tickets	FGCU Ticket Office
Twitter	@FGCU_VB
Instagram	@FGCU_VB
Facebook	FGCU Volleyball

FORT MYERS, Fla. --- The FGCU volleyball team (12-2), fresh off an ASUN South Division championship, will begin its postseason journey on Saturday night by hosting a conference tournament quarterfinal matchup against Jacksonville (3-13) at 7 p.m. inside Alico Arena.

Tickets are still available and can be purchased in person at the Alico Arena Ticket Office, online at FGCUtickets.com or by calling 866-FGCU-TIX. For fans unable to attend, the match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
The winner of the match will advance to the conference's final four, which will be hosted by Kennesaw State April 2-3. Should FGCU advance, they would face the lowest remaining North Division seed following their quarterfinal round.
 
Quarterfinals (Saturday, March 27)
1N Lipscomb vs 4N Bellarmine, 7 p.m.
2N Kennesaw State vs 3N Liberty, 6 p.m.
1S FGCU vs 4S Jacksonville, 7 p.m.
2S North Florida vs 3S Stetson, 7 p.m.
 
Semifinals (Friday, April 2)
Highest remaining north seed vs lowest remaining south seed, 4 p.m.
Highest remaining south seed vs lowest remaining north seed, 7 p.m.
 
Championship (Saturday, April 3)
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
 
The Eagles have advanced to the championship match four consecutive seasons, which includes winning it all in 2018 and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Overall, FGCU has made the final five times in 10 all-time appearances, which includes at least in a semifinal appearance every year and an 11-9 all-time record.
 
The Green and Blue is 24-11 all-time against Jacksonville, including a 4-0 record this year and a 3-2 record all-time against the Dolphins in the ASUN tournament. Their most recent tournament matchup resulted in a semifinal sweep by FGCU on Nov. 17, 2017, and the Eagles have won nine straight in the series overall.
 
IF THE SHO(MAKER) FITS
The all-around play of Erin Shomaker has been one of the many bright spots for this year's FGCU squad as the sophomore outside hitter has produced 184 kills, or a team-high 4.60 per set, over 12 matches played. On top of that, she has a team-high 25 aces and ranks second in digs with 122 while having produced 25 blocks.
 
Shomaker, who was named the ASUN's player of the week two weeks ago, enters the ASUN tournament with 20-plus kills in three of her past four matches. She has six double-doubles this year, including a career-high 14 digs against North Florida on March 7. Offensively, she is hitting .283 overall. Nationally, the Buckeye State native ranks fourth in points per set (5.58), fifth in aces per set (0.62) and 12th in kills per set (4.60).
 
STUFFIN' IT
Aja Jones has produced a team-high 51 blocks over 39 sets this year, or 1.31 per set. She has at least three blocks in 10 matches this year, including a pair with eight. Last weekend, she tallied a career-high 17 kills while hitting .667 to lead the Eagles over Jacksonville in the team's regular season finale. She is hitting .312 overall.
 
GREEN AND BLUE NOTES
Cortney VanLiew continues to stamp her name all over the FGCU record books as the senior leads the Eagles in kills (190) and ranks second in kills per set (3.96). She continues her ascent toward the program's Division I era career kills record held by Amanda Carroll, who produced 1,483 kills in her illustrious career. VanLiew is 81 shy of breaking the record. On top of that, her 3.65 kills per set in ASUN play this year is the eighth-highest average in program history.
 
Most Career Kills
FGCU's Division I Era (2007-present)
 

1.	1,483	Amanda Carroll (.259)	2015-19
2.	1,403	Cortney VanLiew (.234)	2017-present
3.	1,132	Olivia Mesner (.331)	2011-14
4.	961	Jessica Barnes (.194)	2010-14
5.	926	Kaitlin Holm (.227)	2011-13

  
Dana Axner leads the Eagles defensively with team-highs in digs (230) and digs per set (4.79). She currently ranks third on the program's Division I era career list after passing Carroll earlier this season, and she also ranks third on the program's ASUN regular season play career digs list. She has at least 13 digs in all but one match.
 
Most Career Digs - ASUN Regular Season Play
FGCU History
 

1.	966	Holly YOUNGQUIST (241 sets)	2008-11
2.	889	Whitney MASTERS (245 sets)	2011-14
3.	750	Dana AXNER (143 sets)	2018-present
4.	562	Amanda CARROLL (191 sets)	2015-19
5.	517	Courtney STEPHENS (206 sets)	2014-17

 
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 (273 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

Meanwhile, Chelsey Lockey continues to have a fantastic junior campaign as the Colorado native has at least 30 assists in all 14 of her matches, including 40-plus in six matches for an overall average of 39.5 per match. In the team's sweep of Stetson on March 13, she produced a program-record for a three-set match with 50 assists. The versatile setter also has five double-doubles in assists and digs this year and produced a season-high six blocks vs UNF on Feb. 14. On top of that, she has at least five digs 12 times this year, including a streak of nine straight. Her 11.68 assists per set in ASUN play is the second-best average in program history.

NATIONAL LEADERS
Several Eagles rank among the national leaders in individual statistical categories:
 
Aces Per Set - Erin Shomaker (5th, 0.62)
Assists Per Set - Chelsey Lockey (8th, 11.52)
Attacks Per Set -  Erin Shomaker (57th, 11.20), Cortney VanLiew (66th, 11.02)
Blocks Per Set - Aja Jones (35th, 1.31)
Digs Per Set - Dana Axner (62nd, 4.79)
Kills Per Set - Erin Shomaker (12th, 4.60), Cortney VanLiew (71st, 3.96)
Points Per Set - Erin Shomaker (4th, 5.58), Cortney VanLiew (95th, 4.25)
Service Aces - Erin Shomaker (48th, 25)
Total Assists - Chelsey Lockey (67th, 553)

AWARD-WINNING RIGHT ARM
On Feb. 16, Cortney VanLiew was named the ASUN's player of the week for the second time this year after averaging 16.5 kills and 8.5 digs in a weekend series at North Florida.
 
In doing so, the Hoosier State native not only extended her program-record number of career selections to seven, but she tied Jacksonville's Sammie Strausbaugh and UCF's Renata Menchikova for the third most in ASUN history behind Lipscomb's Carlyle Nusbaum (12) and Alex Kelly (8).
 
VanLiew eclipsed 1,400 career kills last weekend while also pushing her career dig total to 876. She has five double-doubles on the season, which gives her 25 over three-plus years in the Green and Blue. She has double-digit kills in five straight and 10 of 14 matches overall this year, which includes a 20-kill, 15-dig performance against Jacksonville on March 19.
 
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

 
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
FGCU freshmen Juliana Lentz and Hannah Rae Kivett were recently featured as part of the first episode of a student-ran ENTV segment, Welcome to The Nest, hosted by Ian Lynch. You can find the full video here.
 
Greg Hardwig of the Naples Daily News spoke with Cortney VanLiew and head coach Matt Botsford for a season preview. You can check it out here.
 
The ASUN's Kendrell Watkins sat down with Cortney VanLiew, Dana Axner and Chelsey Lockey as part of the conference's Lunch Box series. Check it out here.
 
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 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.
 
#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 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 40 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 23 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, and 2020 Fall 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.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--