ASUN Tournament Semifinals
Match 16	#1S FGCU (13-2) vs #2N Kennesaw State (11-2)
Date | Time	Friday, April 2 | 7 p.m.
Where	Kennesaw, Ga. | KSU Convocation Center
Live Stats	StatBroadcast (here)
Video	ESPN+ | Nathan McCreary (PxP), Jona Braden (analyst)
Tickets	KSU Ticket Office ($10 for adults, $5 for children 3-17, students free with ID)
Twitter	@FGCU_VB
Instagram	@FGCU_VB
Facebook	FGCU Volleyball

KENNESAW, Ga. --- The FGCU volleyball team (13-2) will face Kennesaw State (11-2) in an ASUN semifinal matchup on Friday at 7 p.m. in the KSU Convocation Center.
 
It will be the latest edition of what has become a postseason tradition as the Eagles and the Owls have met in each of the past five seasons with the teams taking turns ending each other's season. A three-year streak of meeting in the championship game will end this year, but this will be the third all-time semifinal matchup between the two programs. The Green and Blue is 16-12 all-time against Kennesaw State.
 
FGCU vs Kennesaw State - ASUN Tournament History
11/23/19 - L, 3-2 in the championship game
11/17/18 - W, 3-2 in the championship game
11/18/17 - L, 3-2 in the championship game
11/18/16 - W, 3-2 in the semifinals
11/20/15 - L, 3-1 in the semifinals
 
The winner of Friday's semifinal will face either Lipscomb or North Florida in Saturday night's championship match at 7 p.m. All tournament matches will be on ESPN+ with Nathan McCreary on play-by-play and Jona Braden serving as analyst.
 
The Eagles, who have won six straight, are coming off a quarterfinal sweep of Jacksonville last Saturday, where FGCU hit .460 as a team for the fifth-best hitting percentage in program history. Erin Shomaker (14 kills, .609) and Cortney VanLiew (14 kills, .407) led the way offensively, while Chelsey Lockey (39 assists), Dana Axner (12 digs) and Juliana Lentz (4 blocks) also contributed. With her nine digs, VanLiew moved into sole possession of seventh-place on the program's career digs list with 885. She also pushed her kill total to 1,417, which is 67 shy of eclipsing Amanda Carroll's all-time program record of 1,483 set from 2015-19.
 
FGCU is 12-9 all-time in the ASUN tournament, including this year's win over Jacksonville and dating back to the program's first appearance in 2009.
 
FGCU's ASUN Tournament Finish Year-By-Year
2019 (as #1 seed) - lost to #2 Kennesaw State 3-2 in the championship
2018 (as #1 seed) - defeated #2 Kennesaw State 3-2 in the championship
2017 (as #3 seed) - lost to #1 Kennesaw State 3-0 in the championship
2016 (as #3 seed) - lost to #1 Lipscomb 3-1 in the championship
2015 (as #2 seed) - lost to #3 Kennesaw State 3-1 in the semifinals
2014 (as #2 seed) - lost to #3 Jacksonville 3-1 in the semifinals
2013 (as #4 seed) - lost to #1 Jacksonville 3-1 in the semifinals
2012 (as #1 seed) - lost to #4 North Florida 3-2 in the semifinals
2011 (as #3 seed) - lost to #2 Lipscomb 3-0 in the semifinals
2010 - did not qualify
2009 (as #3 seed) - lost to #1 Lipscomb 3-0 in the championship
2008 - did not qualify
2007 - not eligible due to Division I provisional status
 
ASUN Tournament History vs Opponents
Campbell - 1-0
Jacksonville - 4-2
Kennesaw State - 2-3
Lipscomb - 1-3
North Florida - 1-1
Liberty - 1-0
Stetson - 1-0
USC Upstate - 1-0
 
While they won't meet the minimum sets played requirements due to the shortened season, Shomaker and Lockey are on pace to produce some of the best seasons in program history. Shomaker's 4.60 kills per set and 5.51 points per set are both ahead of the top spots held by Carroll, who averaged 4.41 kills per set in 2016 and 2017, as well as 5.10 points per set in 2016. Lockey, meanwhile, is averaging 11.61 assists per set, which is ahead of the program-best 11.55 per set by Gigi Meyer in 2014.
 
VanLiew and Axner are both making their move up the ASUN career record book. VanLiew needs four more kills to move into sole possession of 10th place while Axner is nine digs shy of 18th place.
 
Career Kills - ASUN History

1.	Megan Devine	ETSU	2010-13	1,940
2.	Carlyle Nusbaum	Lipscomb	2015-18	1,751
3.	Alex Kelly	Lipscomb	2007-10	1,746
4.	Lauren Ford	Lipscomb	2011-14	1,597
5.	Paige Pridgeon	North Florida	2009-12	1,593
6.	Maggie Johnson	Belmont	2008-11	1,558
7.	Lindsay Cleveland	Belmont	2002-05	1,552
8.	Jewell Dobson	Lipscomb	2011-15	1,525
9.	Amanda Carroll	FGCU	2015-19	1,483
10.	Mallory Mattingly	Jacksonville	2016-19	1,420
11.	Cortney VanLiew	FGCU	2017-present	1,417

 
Career Digs - ASUN History

1.	Shelley Walroth	Jacksonville	2006-09	2,456
2.	Ann Mullins	Lipscomb	2005-07	1,969
3.	Nicole Baran	North Florida	2009-12	1,900
4.	Adriana Nieto	NJIT	2015-18	1,878
5.	Katarina Morton	Kennesaw St.	2014-17	1,861
6.	Liz Kane	Mercer	2003-06	1,843
7.	Whitney Masters	FGCU	2011-14	1,690
8.	Camille Pedraza	KSU	2010-13	1,683
9.	Holly Youngquist	FGCU	2008-11	1,662
10.	Claire Tucker	Mercer	2005-08	1,643
11.	Katie Plummer	Mercer	2001-04	1,639
12.	Brittany Thomas	Lipscomb	2014-17	1,562
13.	Kaleigh Kelly	USC Upstate	2014-17	1,556
14.	Cari Whitmire	North Florida	2011-14	1,532
15.	Megan Healey	USC Upstate	2007-10	1,499
16.	Megan Devin	ETSU	2010-13	1,472
17.	Amiee Frutchey	Mercer	2008-11	1,468
18.	Monique Russell	Stetson	2009-12	1,448
19.	Dana Axner	FGCU	2018-present	1,440
20.	Kaena Apana	ETSU	2006-07	1,387

 
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 156-52 (.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.
 
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