Homewood Suites FGCU Invitational
Match 1 (Fri.)	FGCU (0-0) vs UMBC (0-0)
Match 2 (Fri.)	FGCU (0-0) vs Rutgers (0-0)
Match 3 (Sat.)	FGCU (0-0) vs South Florida (0-0)
Date //Time	Fri. Aug. 27 // 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Sat. Aug. 28 // 7 p.m.
Location	Fort Myers, Fla. | Alico Arena (all three matches)
Promotions	Free magnets and schedule posters (all weekend) White Out (vs Rutgers) Blue Out (vs South Florida)
Live Stats	StatBroadcast - vs UMBC | vs Rutgers | vs South Florida
Live Stream	n/a
Tickets	Friday All-Day Pass | Saturday All-Day Pass Adults - $7 | Youth/Military - $5
Twitter	@FGCU_VB | @FGCUEagles
Instagram	@FGCU_VB
Facebook	FGCU Volleyball

FORT MYERS, Fla. --- The FGCU volleyball team will begin the program's 18th all-time season this weekend by hosting the Homewood Suites FGCU Invitational inside Alico Arena.
 
The Eagles will open the event at 11 a.m. on Friday against UMBC before hosting Rutgers at 7 p.m. that night. A weekend finale against South Florida is on tap for Saturday evening at 7 p.m. Tickets are being sold on a daily basis as opposed to by match. Prices are $7 for adults, $5 for military and $5 for youth ages 4-12. More info on ticket options for this year can be found later in this release.

While sporting a 7-3 record all-time against USF, which includes four consecutive victories in the series, the Green and Blue is 1-0 all-time against Rutgers after a five-set win in a 2011 neutral-site matchup. Interestingly, former FGCU assistant coach Stephanie Zielinski competed for Rutgers (50 assists, 12 digs) in that matchup. The Eagles have never faced UMBC, which finished 52nd in adjusted RPI last year - three spots ahead of FGCU. USF ranked 77th and Rutgers was 232nd.
 
FGCU is 14-3 all-time in home openers with wins in two straight while compiling an 11-6 record all-time in season openers, including wins in four straight. Interestingly, the Eagles have never lost a season opener at home (6-0).
 
A pair of Eagles rank among the top career performers in all of Division I volleyball. Senior libero Dana Axner ranks fifth-best in the nation in digs per set (5.17) and 30th in total digs (1,468). Meanwhile, Cortney VanLiew checks in 11th in total attacks (4,006), 14th in kills (1,435), 22nd in attacks per set (10.30) and 25th in kills per set (3.69).
 
In fact, VanLiew needs 50 kills exactly to surpass Amanda Carroll (1,483, 2015-19) for the most in program history. She also ranks ninth in digs with 897 as she attempts to join Carroll and Brooke Youngquist Sweat as the only two players in FGCU annals with at least 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. Axner, meanwhile, needs 498 digs to surpass Whitney Hendry (1,965, 2004-07) for the program's overall career record, and she needs just 220 more to move past Whitney Masters (1,687, 2011-14) for the Division I era record.
 
FGCU Career Kills (2004-present)
 

1.	1,483	Amanda Carroll (.259)	2015-19
2.	1,434	Cortney VanLiew (.233)	2017-present
3.	1,173	Brooke Youngquist (.245)	2004-07
4.	1,132	Olivia Mesner (.331)	2011-14
5.	961	Jessica Barnes (.194)	2010-11, 2013-14
6.	926	Kaitlin Holm (.227)	2011-13
7.	837	Ericka Fonseca (.363)	2005-06
8.	827	Daniele Serrano (.338)	2016-19
9.	725	Jill Hopper (.203)	2011-13
10.	700	Heather Van Olst (.212)	2004-06

 
FGCU Career Digs (2004-present)

1.	1,965	Whitney Hendry (390 sets)	2004-07
2.	1,687	Whitney Masters (483 sets)	2011-14
3.	1,652	Holly Youngquist (418 sets)	2008-11
4.	1,468	Dana Axner (284 sets)	2018-present
5.	1,369	Brooke Youngquist (346 sets)	2004-07
6.	1,247	Amanda Carroll (451 sets)	2015-19
7.	1,084	Courtney Stephens (451 sets)	2014-17
8.	947	Gigi Meyer (474 sets)	2011-14
9.	897	Cortney VanLiew (388 sets)	2017-present
10.	884	Heather Van Olst (276 sets)	2004-06

 
Two more of the nation's top players - Erin Shomaker and Chelsey Lockey - were tabbed to repeat as the ASUN's player and setter of the year, respectively.
 
Shomaker, a junior outside hitter who was previously tabbed the conference's freshman of the year, was named an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American and a VolleyballMag.com Honorable Mention All-American in addition to earning ASUN All-Tournament Team recognition in the spring 2021 season. She totaled 242 kills, or 4.75 per set, while hitting .302 and adding 152 digs and 28 blocks. Nationally, she finished fourth in points per set (5.58), sixth in kills per set and 15th in aces per set (0.53). Her 4.75 kills per set ranks as the sixth best in ASUN history, and her 0.53 aces per set is the 11th best ASUN season. Furthermore, she tallied eight double-doubles over 15 matches while producing 10-plus kills in 14 of those, including five matches with at least 20 kills and 10 digs.
 
The senior Lockey produced 677 assists, 128 digs, 46 kills, 33 blocks and 11 aces over 17 matches this past spring. She led the ASUN and finished seventh nationally with 11.47 assists per set while also checking in 59th nationally in total assists. In the ASUN, she finished among the top 20 in total digs and blocks. Overall, she notched 50-plus assists four times, including a career-high 56 in the ASUN championship match. She tallied five double-doubles in assists and digs while producing a career-best 2.17 digs per set. In all, she nabbed 30-plus assists in all but one match and 40-plus assists seven times. She also had eight matches with 30-plus assists, six-plus digs and two-plus blocks. The former ASUN All-Freshmen Team selection was a Second Team All-ASUN honoree as a sophomore.

Some other key names to watch are Lauren Clark, a junior outside hitter who spent the past two seasons playing for Penn State, and reigning ASUN All-Freshmen Team selection, Juliana Lentz. Clark had nearly 20 kills while hitting over .600 in the team's only exhibition match. Graduate senior Snowy Burnam returns after missing last year due to injury, while middle blockers Aja Jones and Kortney Reynolds also look to make big impacts this year. Emma Szypszak is back on the outside, while local product, Skylar English, headlines a five-person freshmen class.
 
As a team, FGCU was tabbed to repeat as ASUN regular season champions, narrowly edging out Lipscomb 133-128 in total votes. Both FGCU and Lipscomb had five first place votes, while North Florida and North Alabama received one apiece. Kennesaw State (108) and North Florida (103) finished third and fourth in total votes.
 
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.
  
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 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--