FGCU Volleyball Information
When	Match 8 vs North Florida: Saturday at 12 p.m. Match 10 vs North Florida: Sunday at 1 p.m.
Where	Fort Myers, Fla. | Alico Arena
Live Stats	StatBroadcast (Friday | Saturday)
Video	Facebook Live (here) | Tom James (PxP)
Twitter	@FGCU_VB
Instagram	@FGCU_VB
Facebook	FGCU Volleyball

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The FGCU volleyball team (7-1, 5-1) will host North Florida (5-7, 4-1) inside Alico Arena on Saturday (12 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) as the Eagles will look to avenge their only loss of the season.
 
Both teams currently sit atop the ASUN's South Division standings heading into the fourth week of conference play and, with a sweep, the Green and Blue would be up at least three games on everyone else in the division with four matches left.

North Division

Place	Team	Overall	ASUN
1.	Kennesaw State	8-0	8-0
2.	Lipscomb	10-2	7-1
3.	Liberty	2-5	2-4
4.	North Alabama	1-8	1-7
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

Friday, March 5
Jacksonville at Stetson, 6 p.m.
Liberty at Kennesaw State, 8 p.m.
 
Saturday, March 6
North Florida at FGCU, 12 p.m.
Bellarmine at North Alabama, 5 p.m.
Jacksonville at Stetson, 6 p.m.
Liberty at Kennesaw State, 7 p.m.
 
Sunday, March 7
North Florida at FGCU, 1 p.m.
Bellarmine at North Alabama, 5 p.m.

On Friday, fans are encouraged to wear white, while Sunday's tilt will be Eagles Against Injustice day with fans asked to wear green. Tickets are still available and can be found by stopping by the ticket office inside Alico Arena, visiting www.FGCUtickets.com or by calling 866-FGCU-TIX. For fans not able to attend, the matches will be streamed on the FGCU volleyball Facebook page with Tom James on the call.
 
FGCU is 25-7 all-time against North Florida with the two teams splitting their two matches so far this year. That includes a 22-4 record in regular season play and an unblemished 12-0 record inside Alico Arena. In fact, the Eagles have lost just three total sets in those 12 meetings.
 
The visiting Ospreys had their three-match winning streak snapped last Friday in a three-set loss to Stetson, although sophomore libero Rocio Moro continued her fine play by racking up two ASUN defensive player of the week awards this year. She leads the ASUN in total digs and ranks 25th nationally.
 
FGCU, meanwhile, is coming off a pair of sweeps over Jacksonville at home last weekend. Erin Shomaker tallied another double-double as well as two more double-digit kill performances while hitting .353. Freshman Juliana Lentz averaged 6.5 kills, 3.5 blocks, 2.5 digs and an ace while hitting .357, and Aja Jones had a big weekend by totaling 13 blocks and 12 kills over six sets, including a career-high eight blocks in the series finale. Head coach Matt Botsford will return to the sidelines against North Florida after missing the past two weekends due to Covid-19 protocols. Assistant coach Kate Morrell went 4-0 in his absence. 
 
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 (109) and ranks second in kills per set (4.04). Recently, the outside hitter surpassed Amanda Carroll (572, 2015-19) for the program's second-most career kills in ASUN regular season play, and she now sets her sight on the top spot currently held by Olivia Mesner (607, 2011-14).
 
Most Career Kills - ASUN Regular Season Play
FGCU History

1.	607	Olivia Mesner (.365)	2011-14
2.	605	Cortney VanLiew (.237)	2017-present
3.	572	Amanda Carroll (.245)	2015-19
4.	521	Jessica Barnes (.207)	2010-14
5.	497	Kaitlin Holm (.270)	2011-13

 
Should she eclipse that milestone, VanLiew will then move toward the program's Division I era career kills record currently held by Carroll, who produced 1,483 kills in her illustrious career. VanLiew is 162 shy of breaking the record.
 
Most Career Kills
FGCU's Division I Era (2007-present)

1.	1,483	Amanda Carroll (.259)	2015-19
2.	1,322	Cortney VanLiew (.233)	2017-present
3.	1,132	Olivia Mesner (.331)	2011-14
4.	961	Jessica Barnes (.194)	2010-14
5.	926	Kaitlin Holm (.227)	2011-13

 
In terms of the program's ASUN regular season record book, VanLiew also moved past Carroll for the most career attack attempts recently, and she is approaching Mesner and Carroll for the career points record.
 
Most Career Attack Attempts - ASUN Regular Season Play
FGCU History

1.	1,686	Cortney VanLiew	2017-present
2.	1,560	Amanda Carroll	2015-19
3.	1,450	Jessica Barnes	2010-14
4.	1,216	Kaitlin Holm	2011-13
5.	1,207	Olivia Mesner	2011-14

 
Most Career Points - ASUN Regular Season Play
FGCU History

1.	724.0	Olivia Mesner (607k 2a 40-150b)	2011-14
2.	686.5	Amanda Carroll (572k 60a 19-71b)	2015-19
3.	680.0	Cortney VanLiew (605k 30a 13-64b)	2017-present
4.	588.5	Kaitlin Holm (497k 13a 28-101b)	2011-13
5.	575.0	Ana Kokanovic (459k 95a 7-28b)	2007-08

 
Dana Axner leads the Eagles defensively with team-highs in digs (135) and digs per set (5.00). 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 14 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.	655	Dana AXNER (122 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.	1,333	Dana Axner (252 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.	823	Maggie Rick (467 sets)	2015-18
9.	819	Cortney VanLiew (356 sets)	2017-present
10.	681	Vanessa Benks (164 sets)	2013-15

Sophomore outside hitter Erin Shomaker has produced four double-doubles over seven matches played this year. She is second on the team in kills (91) and tops the squad in kills per set (4.14) with double-digit kills in six of seven matches and at least two blocks in every match. In the three outings she didn't record a double-double, she had eight digs.
 
Meanwhile, Chelsey Lockey has at least 30 assists in all eight matches as she eclipsed 1,000 career assists in ASUN regular season play last weekend. After tallying a career-high 51 assists in the season opener vs USF, she notched her second-highest output of the season two weekends ago with 41. She also has a pair of 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 six times this year.

NATIONAL LEADERS Several Eagles rank among the national leaders in individual statistical categories:
 
Aces Per Set - Erin Shomaker (10th, 0.68)
Assists Per Set - Chelsey Lockey (24th, 10.89)
Attacks Per Set - Cortney VanLiew (37th, 11.59)
Blocks Per Set - Aja Jones (47th, 1,30)
Digs Per Set - Dana Axner (46th, 5.00)
Kills Per Set - Erin Shomaker (51st, 4.14), Cortney VanLiew (62nd, 4.04)
Points Per Set - Erin Shomaker (11th, 5.30), Cortney VanLiew (92nd, 4.35)

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 1,300 career kills and 800 career digs two weeks ago and is now just five digs shy of passing Maggie Rick (823, 2015-18) for the eighth-most digs in the program's Division I era. She has two double-doubles on the season, which pushes her career total to 22, and double-digit kills in five of eight matches with a .236 hitting percentage.
 
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 recently sat down with Cortney VanLiew, Dana Axner and Chelsey Lockey as part of the latest episode of The Lunch Box. 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 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.
 
#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 84 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.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--