FORT MYERS, Fla. - FGCU Volleyball welcomes both Eastern Kentucky and Bellarmine to Alico Arena this weekend.

The Eagles will square off against Eastern Kentucky (14-12, 5-7 ASUN) on Friday starting at 7 p.m. On Saturday, FGCU will host Bellarmine (10-14, 4-8 ASUN) for Senior Night as the Eagles will commemorate the senior contributions of Lauren Clark, Lily Felts, Kortney Reynolds, Erin Shomaker, Dana Axner, Emma Szypszak, Chelsey Lockey and Julia Wohlert.

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. Both matches will be streamed on Facebook Live on FGCU Volleyball's main Facebook page.

FGCU enters the weekend 19-6 overall, 9-3 in the ASUN, in a four-way tie for second and one game back of ASUN leader Liberty at 10-2. On Tuesday with a sweep of Stetson, the Eagles clinched a spot in the upcoming ASUN Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee on Nov. 17-19.

The Green and Blue will host both the Colonels and the Knights for the first time in program history. FGCU holds a 2-0 all-time record over Eastern Kentucky and is 1-0 all-time against Bellarmine.

If the ASUN Tournament started today, Eastern Kentucky would be the last team in. The Colonels hold a one game advantage over three teams on the outside looking in, Stetson, Austin Peay and Bellarmine. FGCU's defense will be put to the test Saturday as Bellarmine's Jamie Scott looks to keep the Knight's postseason hopes alive. Scott leads the ASUN in kills per set (4.17) and is second in total kills (338).

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
As a team, FGCU statistically ranks top 25 in aces per set (1.82). The Eagles also place top 50 in assists per set, hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage and in team kills.

Head coach Matt Botsford is 14th among all active DI coaches in career winning percentage (.757%). Coach Botsford recorded both his 200th career win and 100th ASUN win earlier this season.

Lockey is 19th in the nation in assists per set this season (10.84) Shomaker (Granville, Ohio) is 41st in total kills (347) and Axner (Dublin, Ohio) is 46th in total digs (418).

The Eagles pace the conference in assists per set and in aces.

EAGLES TO WATCH
Lockey is 81 assists away from surpassinf  Maggie Rick (2015-18) to become the all-time leader in career assists at FGCU. The Eaton, Colorado native currently has 4,460 assists to her resume. She is 12th among all active DI student-athletes in career assists. Not only does Lockey lead the Eagles in assists season, she also leads the Eagles in service aces (34).

Shomaker now leads the ASUN in total kills with 347. She is averaging 3.90 kills per set, good enough for third in the conference. For her career, Shomaker is third all-time in career kills as an Eagle (1,235).

Offensively, Felts (Knoxville, Tenn.) is second on the squad in total kills this season with 263. Clark (Champlin, Minn.) is third and is just one shy of reaching the 200 kill benchmark.

Defensive specialist Axner is 81 digs away from becoming the ASUN's all-time leader, currently at 2,376. Axner became FGCU's all-time leader earlier this season. Her 4.64 digs per set this season places fourth in the ASUN. Axner is also 4th among all active DI student-athletes in career digs.

Up at the net, Lentz (Miami, Fla.) paces all Eagles in total blocks (50) despite missing some time due to injury.

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 203-65 (.757) record overall, including a 105-23 (.820) 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.