Gainesville, Fla. - FGCU Volleyball falls in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to (6) Iowa State in a five-set (14-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-16, 12-15) battle on Friday.

FGCU climbed out of a two-set hole to force a decisive fifth set, but the reminiscent comeback of last year's NCAA First Round reverse sweep of Texas Tech came up short by just three points.

The Eagles finished the 2022 campaign 26-7 overall, one win shy of tying the program's single-season record. In all, FGCU beat a Power Five opponent in Maryland, recorded 17 sweeps, posted a season-best RPI of 31 and won back-to-back ASUN Tournament Titles to punch its ticket to the Big Dance for the third time in program history. The Green & Blue is now 2-3 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

With the win, Iowa State (20-11) advances to play (3) Florida in the Second Round on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Head coach Matt Botsford: "My statement is about thanks and gratitude, certainly for these two young women sitting next to me right now (Dana Axner and Chelsey Lockey) that I've had the pleasure of spending five years with, and have helped us develop this into a program that can compete on the national scale. There's six other young women that will have worn the Eagle uniform for the last time, and again, so thankful for the things that they have given us, the effort that they've given us, the commitment -- it's just amazing. And of course, I wish that things could have gone a different way, but based on the start of that match and the way these young ladies turned things around, I walk away proud."

In the first ever meeting between the two squads, Iowa State catapulted itself to a 5-0 lead in the opening set. FGCU would never lead in the first as the Cyclones cruised to a 25-14 victory. Iowa State followed the opening-set win with a 25-19 victory, eying the sweep in set three.

The Eagles had another idea in mind as FGCU began to find its footing near the midway point of the third by shifting through some lineup changes and giving Iowa State different looks. FGCU started to slow the Cyclones' fury by taking a 7-6 lead courtesy of an Erin Shomaker (Granville, Ohio) kill during a 3-0 spurt. Later, a Dana Axner (Dublin, Ohio) ace forced an Iowa State timeout as the Eagles grabbed its largest lead of the night, 16-14.

Chelsey Lockey: "We've known that every single person on the team contributes and can contribute, so making the lineup change, it didn't rattle us. We knew that people could come in and make an impact. We kept it positive, remained positive and we continued to fight. I think that's all you can really ask for out of this team, in that effort and in that scenario."

Both squads traded points late into the third as Iowa State retook the lead 23-22. With its backs against the wall and just two points from season-ending elimination, FGCU rallied to effectively take the third set 25-23 fueled by another 3-0 run to extend the match.

The Green & Blue used its gained momentum to surge out to a 10-6 lead in the fourth. An ensuing 5-0 Eagles run would witness FGCU leading the Cyclones 13-6. Now in control, Botsford's squad extended the match yet again, winning the fourth 24-16. Defensively, FGCU held Iowa State to a .079 attacking percentage during the set.

However, the Eagles fell behind in the fifth, trailing 5-0. FGCU pulled two with two a few instances but could not overcome the Cyclones as the early deficit was too much, ending the Eagles' valiant comeback effort.

FGCU won the battle up at the net, edging the Cyclones in overall blocks 10-9. Iowa State outpaced the Eagles in kills by a large margin, 65-50, but both squads remained even at the service line with six aces apiece.

Three Eagles reached double figures in kills on the night as senior Shomaker (14), senior Lily Felts (13) and junior Juliana Lentz (12) led the way offensively. Lentz also posted five blocks, tying for the team lead along with senior Emma Szypszak (Mequon, Wis.).

Fifth-year senior libero Axner tallied 21 digs and fifth-year senior setter Lockey was credited with 44 assists. Both mainstays at FGCU took off the FGCU uniform for the final time. Axner capped her stellar career by becoming both FGCU and the ASUN's all-time leader in career digs (2,486).

Dana Axner: "From the first time I put on the FGCU jersey and from the last time that I just took it off, I've never been more proud to represent a university, a school or a volleyball program. And that's just a testament to the coaching staff, the teammates, the whole athletic department and just the culture at FGCU."

Lockey also etched her name in the FGCU lore this season by becoming Eagles' all-time leader in career assists (4,748).

Chelsey Lockey: "I just finished five years, and I was lucky enough to get a fifth year. And I would do all five years over again if I could. So don't be afraid to take a chance on FGCU, because it has been one of the greatest blessings, from the people, to the area, and just the support system. I could not be more thankful and appreciative."

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COACH BOTSFORD
Matt Botsford is in his ninth season as head coach of the FGCU women's volleyball program after being hired on Feb. 10, 2014. In his tenure, Botsford-led teams have compiled a 210-66 (.761) overall record, including a 109-23 (.826) mark in ASUN play. Botsford the winningest coach in FGCU history and ranks 13th in the nation among all active DI coaches in career winning percentage. He has taken the program to heights it has not seen in the Division-I era (2007-present), registering at least 20 wins in eight of the past nine seasons (excluding COVID 2020) and at least 10 wins in conference play every year. This season (2022), Botsford recorded his 200th career win at FGCU with a 3-0 sweep of Queens. In 2018, he led the Eagles program to its first regular-season championship since 2012 and its first-ever ASUNTournament 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, FGCU has made seven straight ASUN title match appearances, won four-straight regular season titles (five total under Botsford), including capturing three ASUN Tournament Championship crowns. On Sept. 10, 2016, Botsford led the Eagles 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 his squad 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, the Green & Blue posted its best-ever RPI of 31 and tallied 27 victories, tying the program record previously set in 2016, 2018 and 2019 seasons, and notched a NCAA First Round win over Texas Tech. The win over the Red Raiders marked the second NCAA First Round win for the Eagles following its 3-2 win over No. 13 UCF in Orlando in 2018. Furthermore, FGCU has now been the home to the ASUN's Player of the Year for the six consecutive season.

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/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 https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness. 

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 94 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 46 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an 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 & 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 six 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.

---FGCUAthletics.com---