NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A 3-0 (25-21, 25-10, 25-23) win over Eastern Kentucky gave the FGCU volleyball team a sweep of the first ASUN divisional crossover weekend as the Eagles remained perfect to open league play and ran their win streak to four matches. FGCU improves to 11-4 overall (3-0 ASUN), while EKU fell to 4-12 overall (1-2 ASUN).
"I'm really pleased with the team's execution this afternoon. We did a great job with the side out phase and much of that started with a consistent first touch," said head coach
Matt Botsford. "Erin and Aja were outstanding on the offensive end and really established themselves early. That helped to open up some nice match ups for Chelsey to work with throughout the match."
Erin Shomaker (Granville, Ohio/Granville HS) led the Eagles with a match-high 12 kills along with seven digs, three blocks, and two aces.
Aja Jones (Venice, Fla./Venice HS) and
Juliana Lentz (Miami, Fla./St. Brendan HS) each had eight kills and five blocks.
Chelsey Lockey (Eaton, Colo./Eaton HS) had 32 assists on FGCU's 45 kills while adding four blocks.
Dana Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman HS) led all players with 14 digs and posted four assists.
Cortney VanLiew (Seymour, Ind./Columbus East HS) added six digs on the day giving her 997 for her career. She needs just three more next weekend to become the third player in program history to have 1,000 career kills and digs. After posting four kills today, she extended her program-record to 1,508. Amanda Carroll and Brooke Youngquist Sweat are the only other two Eagles to accomplish the feat.
EKU was led by eight kills from Anna Purichia and seven from Mikayla Logan. Sydney Schoen had 13 digs, while Taylor Grinley posted 13 assists.
Overall, FGCU finished the day hitting .290, while EKU hit 0.92 for the match. The Eagles held a 6-to-2 advantage in aces and a 10-to-7 edge in blocks.
The Eagles jumped out to a 10-4 lead to start the first set. A pair of kills by Jones sandwiched around an EKU error, extended the lead to 19-11. The Colonels scored eight of the next 12 points to close the gap to 23-19. A kill by Lentz put FGCU a point away from sealing the win, but EKU had back-to-back kills to pull back within three, 24-21. Shomaker posted the set-winning kill on the next serve to give FGCU the early 1-0 lead.
In set two, an early four-point run for the Eagles highlighted by three consecutive aces by
Shelby Kent put FGCU in control. Midway through, FGCU strung together a 7-to-0 run to go up 17-5. The Eagles closed out the match with a kill by Jones as they scored seven of the final eight points.
EKU took early control of the third set building out an 8-3 lead. A four-goal run by the Eagles cut the deficit to 9-8, but the Colonels were able to hold the lead before extending to 17-13. FGCU kept chipping away before a three-point spurt put the Eagles ahead 22-21. EKU tied the match on the ensuing serve and the sides traded the next two points. A kill by Shomaker followed by an EKU error closed out the comeback effort as FGCU took the set 25-23 to sweep the match.
The Eagles will remain on the road next weekend with a Friday night match (7 PM) at Jacksonville on October 7 before heading across town to take on North Florida on Saturday, October 8 (7 PM).
Most Career Kills
| 1. |
1,508 |
Cortney VanLiew (.229) |
2017-present |
| 2. |
1,483 |
Amanda Carroll (.259) |
2015-19 |
| 3. |
1,173 |
Brooke Youngquist Sweat (.245) |
2004-07 |
| 4. |
1,132 |
Olivia Mesner (.331) |
2011-14 |
| 5. |
961 |
Jessica Barnes (.194) |
2010-14 |
Most Career Digs
| 1. |
1,965 |
Whitney Hendry (390 sets) |
2004-07 |
| 2. |
1,704 |
Dana Axner (331 sets) |
2018-present |
| 3. |
1,687 |
Whitney Masters (483 sets) |
2011-14 |
| 4. |
1,652 |
Holly Youngquist (418 sets) |
2008-11 |
| 5. |
1,369 |
Brook Youngquist Sweat (346 sets) |
2004-07 |
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COACH BOTSFORD
Matt Botsford is in 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 167-56 (.751) record overall, including an 83-19 (.814) 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.
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ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 85 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ 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 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 24 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. 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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