FORT MYERS, Fla. --- The FGCU volleyball team will begin regular season play on Aug. 27 as the program finalized its non-conference schedule on Tuesday.
 
The Eagles will host the Homewood Suites Invitational on Aug. 27-28 with UMBC, Rutgers and South Florida competing inside Alico Arena. The Green and Blue will host UMBC at 11 a.m. and Rutgers at 7 p.m. on Friday before concluding against South Florida at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
 
"I'm really excited about this season's schedule and think it sets up well to prepare us for the ASUN conference slate," head coach Matt Botsford said. "Our preseason will include multiple matches with Power 5 opponents, conference champions, NCAA participants and in-state rivals. We will learn a lot in those first four weeks."
 
Following the opening weekend, FGCU is slated to host the Hilton Garden Inn Classic Sept. 3-4 with Florida A&M, Florida International and USC Upstate heading to Alico. The Eagles will host FIU at 7 p.m. on Friday with matchups against Florida A&M and USC Upstate on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.
 
Following that will be a pair of road weekends as FGCU heads to the UCF Invitational Sept. 10-11 before concluding non-conference play in the Sunshine State Challenge Sept. 16-17.
 
In Orlando, the Eagles will compete against UCF and Georgia at 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Friday before concluding against Florida State at 5:30 p.m. on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Then, after a short week, the Eagles will turn around and head to Boca Raton on Thursday, Sept. 16 for another matchup against UCF. They'll then conclude the Sunshine State Challenge against Miami and FAU on Friday at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.
 
ASUN play begins Sept. 24-26 with a weekend of matchups in Nashville against Lipscomb, Bellarmine and Eastern Kentucky.
 
"Heading into conference play, our group is excited that we will be crossing divisions and getting the opportunity to play everyone this year," Botsford said. "With three new additions, plus Bellarmine, who we didn't compete against last year, it will be interesting to see the different styles of play. The ASUN continues to improve year to year and the depth this season will be as good as I have seen since I arrived."
 
Match times have been added for the whole season and dates have been adjusted for some conference matches. All those updates can be found here.

For fans interested in purchasing single-game or season tickets for volleyball this year, feel free to visit FGCUtickets.com. You can also contact the ticket office by phone at 866-FGCU-TIX (866-342-8849) or by email at tickets@fgcu.edu with any questions. Single-game tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for youth and military. Fans can also purchase the Fall Frequent Flyer Pass in 15, 30 or 45 game increments, which gets you admission to any combination of volleyball, men's soccer or women's soccer home events.

HOMEWOOD SUITES FGCU INVITATIONAL (FORT MYERS, FLA.)
Friday, Aug. 27
FGCU vs UMBC, 11 a.m.
Rutgers vs South Florida, 1:30 p.m.
FGCU vs Rutgers, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 28
UMBC vs South Florida, 10 a.m.
Rutgers vs UMBC, 2:30 p.m.
FGCU vs South Florida, 7 p.m.
 
HILTON GARDEN INN FGCU CLASSIC (FORT MYERS, FLA.)
Friday, Sept. 3
Florida A&M vs Florida International, 11 a.m.
Florida A&M vs USC Upstate, 4 p.m.
FGCU vs Florida International, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 4
FGCU vs Florida A&M, 11 a.m.
Florida International vs USC Upstate, 2 p.m.
FGCU vs USC Upstate, 7 p.m.
 
UCF INVITATIONAL (ORLANDO, FLA.)
Friday, Sept. 10
FGCU @ UCF, 10 a.m.
FGCU vs Georgia, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 11
FGCU vs Florida State, 5:30 p.m.
 
SUNSHINE STATE CHALLENGE (BOCA RATON, FLA.)
Thursday, Sept. 16
FGCU vs UCF, 5 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 17
FGCU vs Miami, 1:30 p.m.
FGCU at FAU, 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 entering his eighth season as head coach of the FGCU women's volleyball program in 2021 after being hired on Feb. 10, 2014. In his tenure, Botsford-led teams have compiled a 157-53 (.748) record overall, including an 81-19 (.810) record in ASUN play. Including this past year's unprecedented spring season, 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 of the past six seasons and at least 10 wins in conference play every season. 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 three straight regular season titles, including a division title and ASUN tournament runner-up finish in the spring 2021 season. 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. In 2018, 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 42 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 3.38 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2021 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 24 consecutive semesters. The 2020 Fall, 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--