FORT MYERS, Fla. - FGCU Volleyball is primed for its final two regular-season matches of the season this weekend. The Eagles travel to face Jacksonville on Friday at 7 p.m. and then host North Florida for the regular-season finale on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Students, faculty and staff receive free admission with a valid Eagle I.D. For tickets, please visit the FGCU Ticket Office at https://bit.ly/3SXmsIr or stop by the FGCU ticket booth at Alico Arena on game day. Sunday is a White Out for Hometown Hero Appreciation.

The Green and Blue enters the final stretch 21-6 overall and 11-3 in the ASUN, winners of five straight. Jacksonville is 10-16 and 4-10 in the ASUN, while North Florida is 11-15 and 8-6 in the league, having clinched a spot in the upcoming ASUN Tournament from Nashville, Tennessee on Nov. 17-19.

FGCU has also clinched a spot in the conference tournament and is currently second overall in the ASUN regular season standings. Liberty sits atop the ASUN at 19-7 and 12-2 in the ASUN with the tiebreaker over the Eagles. The Flames have a favorable remaining schedule with Eastern Kentucky and Bellarmine left on its plate ready eyeing to snap FGCU's four consecutive regular-season crowns.

The Eagles would need to win out while Liberty loses out in order to capture the regular season title and the No. 1 overall seed in the conference tournament. FGCU enters the weenend with its highest RPI of the season at No. 49.

FGCU swept Jacksonville earlier this season but fell to North Florida on the road in an ASUN opener 3-2. The Eagles hold a 29-9 all-time record over the Ospreys and are 28-11 against the Dolphins. Friday's matchup at Jacksonville will be streamed on YouTube, while Sunday's battle will be streamed on Facebook Live.

ASUN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Lily Felts (Knoxville, Tenn.) garnered ASUN Player of the Week distinction as announced by the conference Monday. Monday's weekly honor was the first of Felts' career at FGCU and the eighth of the season for the Green and Blue.

The Tennessee transfer fired 39 kills over the course of a three-match span to guide FGCU consecutive sweeps of ASUN opponents Stetson, Eastern Kentucky and Bellarmine. In fact, Felts produced double-double efforts in the win over Stetson and Bellarmine, adding 10 digs each on the defensive side of the ball.

Felts averaged 4.33 kills per set with a three-match high of 14 kills against Stetson, holding a .370 attacking percentage during the span. At the service line, she also added seven aces to the Eagle cause.

For the season, the outside hitter is second on the team in total kills with 288, 12th overall in the ASUN. Her 3.24 kills per set this season ranks 8th in the conference. Felts is also second on the squad in total service aces (26).

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE EAGLES
Setter Chelsey Lockey (Eaton, Colorado) is 15 assists away from becoming FGCU's all-time leader in career assists. Her 10.85 assists per set ranks this season is second in the conference and ranks 20th nationally. Lockey has played a major role in lifting FGCU to a top 30 hitting percentage this season as the director of the Eagle offense. She also leads the squad at the service line with 38 aces.

Libero Dana Axner (Dublin, Ohio) is 54 digs away from becoming the ASUN's all-time leader in career digs. The fifth-year senior has produced seven matches of 20-or-more digs this year with a season high of 33 against Central Arkansas. Axner is third in the ASUN in total digs, 48th nationally, and is third fourth in digs per set (4.64). She has helped FGCU boast one of the nation's lowest opponent hitting percentages, No. 25 at .164 percent.

Outside hitter Erin Shomaker (Granville, Ohio) leads both the ASUN and FGCU in total kills 336, 50th nationally. The senior has recorded 10-or-more kills in 18 matches this season. Shomaker posted a season and career high of 29 kills in a win over Lipscomb. Her 3.85 kills per set ranks third in the ASUN, 69th nationally. Her four double-double efforts on the year have helped propel the Eagles to 20-plus wins for the seventh straight season.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Jacksonville's Haley Heart is fifth in the conference in total kills this year with 319. Her 1.14 blocks per set as a leading net presence for the Dolphins places fourth in the ASUN Libero Kariana Ayala-Drew's 4.92 digs per set mark ranks first in the ASUN, fourth overall in total digs (433).

North Florida's libero Rocio Moro leads the conference in total digs (483) and is second overall in digs per set (4.88). Offensively, Mahalia White is third overall in total kills, but leads the conference in kills per set with a 4.13 clip.

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 205-65 (.760) record overall, including a 107-23 (.823) 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 seven of the past eight seasons (excluding COVID 2020) 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.