JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - FGCU Volleyball overcame a 2-1 deficit to defeat Jacksonville State in a five-set battle (25-15, 21-25, 17-25, 25-19, 15-12) on Friday.

The Eagles' momentous win helps FGCU keep pace in the ASUN Conference regular-season race at 7-3, 17-6 overall. FGCU effectively traded spots with Jacksonville State and moved into fifth place. Jacksonville State fell to 19-5 and 7-4 in league play, sixth overall. FGCU also remained perfect all-time against the Gamecocks at 3-0.

Kennesaw State, Liberty and Lipscomb remain tied atop the ASUN standings at 9-2, each winning on Friday. Kennesaw State and Lipscomb are the only two ASUN teams to clinch a spot in the upcoming ASUN Tournament on Nov. 17-19.

"Great team win in a match with a lot of shifts in momentum," head coach Matt Botsford said. "I love that the team stayed poised and worked through the tough moments. I thought our team defense really stood out against a very good offensive team, and I was especially pleased with all the players coming off the bench finding ways to contribute. Rylen and Oreva in particular were excellent in that regard."

Friday marked just the third FGCU match all season that went the distance. FGCU was previously 0-2 in five-set matches this season.

FGCU looked like the preseason favorites to begin the night. The Green and Blue was firing on all cylinders to hit .438 percent, securing the first set 25-15.

Set two and set three witnessed an entirely different story. The Eagles did not lead in either the second or the third. Jacksonville State opened up a 11-0 advantage in the third.

FGCU would not go quietly into the night and battled back in the fourth, trailing two sets to one. The Gamecocks used a late 5-0 run to tie the fourth at 17 apiece. With their backs against the wall, the Eagles responded with a 8-2 run out of a timeout to force a decisive fifth set.

The Green and Blue pulled out a 15-12 victory in the fifth to clinch the match.

FGCU won the battle up at the net, 8-4 in total blocks, but Jacksonville State controlled the service line 10-6. Entering the day, FGCU ranked No. 20 in aces per set.

Erin Shomaker (Granville, Ohio) and Lily Felts (Knoxville, Tenn.) matched each other's kill efforts with 17 on the night. Shomaker added 12 digs to give her second double-double outing of the season, including a team-leading four blocks.

Chelsey Lockey (Eaton, Colo.) tallied 48 assists, one shy of tying her season high of 49 against VCU. Dana Axner (Dublin, Ohio) scored a team-leading 12 digs.

Freshman Rylen Reid (Rolling Meadows, Ill.) collected a team-best three aces.

FGCU will now set its sights on first-place Kennesaw State (16-5, 9-2 ASUN). The Eagles-Owls showdown commences tomorrow (Saturday) from Kennesaw, Georgia. The match will air on YouTube via the Owl Network starting at 5 p.m.

EAGLES ON THE RISE

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 finished 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 201-65 (.756) record overall, including a 103-23 (.817) 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 in six of the past seven 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. Now, the team has won four-straight regular season titles, including two ASUN Tournament Championship 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. In 2018, he also 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. In 2021, Botsford led the Eagles to 27 victories, tying the program record previously set in 2016, 2018 and 2019 seasons, and a NCAA First Round win over Texas Tech. The win over the Red Raiders marked the second NCAA First Round win for the Green and Blue following its 3-2 win over No. 13 UCF in Orlando in 2018.

#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 92 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four 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 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative 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.