FORT MYERS, Fla. – Three-time All-SEC outside hitter Lily Felts (Knoxville, Tenn./Berean Christian School) will officially join the FGCU volleyball program as a graduate transfer after a standout career at Tennessee. The current senior finished her career with the Volunteers with over 1,000 kills and over 900 digs and helped Tennessee reach a pair of NCAA Tournaments.
 
"Lily has been one of the premier players in the SEC and one of the nation's top six-rotation outside hitters. The way she attacks the game, the competitive fire she possesses, and her ability to play each phase at such a high level, will immediately strengthen our roster," said head coach Matt Botsford. "On top of the obvious on-court talents, Lily's shared vision for what can be accomplished here was also very apparent throughout the recruiting process and something that resonated with me. We are so excited that she chose to spend her final year of eligibility with us and can't wait to see the contributions she will undoubtedly make to the Green and Blue."
 
Felts adds another high-level offensive player to the Eagles line-up alongside two-time ASUN Player of the Year Erin Shomaker, ASUN All-Freshman Team honoree Skylar English, and All-ASUN Second Team selection Julianna Lentz who was in the midst of a terrific season before missing the final nine matches of the year due to injury. Felts had 285 kills last fall which will also fill the void by losing one of the all-time greats in program history, Cortney VanLeiw, who had 223 kills in her final indoor campaign.
 
"I chose FGCU because of the incredible family atmosphere, the high level of coaching, and the obvious competitive drive that every member of the program exhibits," said Felts. "I cannot wait to experience everything FGCU has to offer and to compete with one of the best programs in the country."
 
In addition to earning All-SEC honors during her career, Felts was a member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, a selection to the 2018 SEC All-Freshman Team, as well as a number of in-season All-Tournament teams including as the MVP of the 2018 Rocky Top Invitational.
 
As a senior, she posted her 1,000^th kill against Ohio State where she became the 22^nd player in Tennessee history to reach the milestone. In the NCAA Tournament, she had 11 kills against the Buckeyes and nine kills, 12 digs, and four blocks against North Carolina.
 
She led the Lady Vols as a junior with 242 kills with her 3.23 kills per set ranking 10^th for a single-season in program history during the rally scoring era. She also tied for the team-high in service aces (11). Several of her top performances came against nationally ranked teams: 16 kills and 18 digs in a win over No. 16 Missouri; 18 kills and 11 digs in a loss against No. 15 South Carolina; 19 kills and 19 digs in a win over No. 15 South Carolina.
 
As a sophomore in 2019, she posted 224 kills and 211 digs. She had a season-high 17 kills against LSU along with 11 digs. All told during the year, she had 10 games with double figure kill totals and eight with double-figure digs
 
Felts started 24-of-27 matches in 2018 during her freshman campaign. She finished the year averaging 2.53 kills per set and 2.32 digs per set with 11 double-digit kill performances and four double-doubles. In her first-ever NCAA Tournament match, she posted 19 kills in Tennessee's come-from-behind victory over Colorado State.
 
Before college, Felts played at Berean Christian School and competed for the K2 18 Elite-Jota Club. She earned state MVP honors while helping Berean Christian to a state championship as a senior. She hols two Tennessee State records with the most kills in a match (51) as well as the most kills in a set (17). She was a 2017 AAU All-American with K2 18 Elite-Jota and was named to the Ultra Ankle JVA All-National Team. That same year, she was also a member of the Under Armour All-American Team and selected as the National Athletic Association of Private Schools National Player of the Year.

The Eagles are coming off a historic season which saw FGCU post a 27-6 overall record en route to the ASUN Championship Title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. In the NCAA First Round, the Green and Blue was able to rally past Texas Tech but fell in the second round against eventual national champion Wisconsin. The championship title and NCAA berth marked the second time in program history (2018) for the Eagles to accomplish both.
 
The 27 wins tied the program record, alongside the 2016 and 2018 teams, while FGCU also posted its best-ever RPI at No. 31 during the year. Over the last five seasons, the Eagles have the 12^th most wins of any team in the country with 144 which is more than Stanford, Penn State, and Washington, but just behind Wisconsin and Minnesota.
 
The Eagles are set to return 12 veterans this upcoming season including three of their top-five point producers.
 
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.
 
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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 184-59 (.757) record overall, including a 96-20 (.827) 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 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 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.
 
#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 87 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 43 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. 25, 2021-22), 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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