FORT MYERS, Fla. - FGCU Volleyball travels to battle in-state foe FIU, Tuesday for its first and only midweek match of the season.

First serve against the Panthers is set for 6 p.m and will be streamed on CUSATV. FGCU enters Tuesday night's matchup 6-3 on the season after posting a 2-1 record at the Sunshine Invitational, hosted by #16 Florida.

FIU is 1-8 on the year having played against five Power Five opponents this season, Iowa, Oklahoma, Arizona State, No. 5 Georgia Tech and Arkansas. The Panthers' lone win of the season has come against Little Rock, winning 3-1.

FGCU holds an 11-5 all-time record against FIU as the Green and Blue have won the last 11 meetings. The last meeting between the two squads occurred in 2021 with FGCU winning 3-1 in Fort Myers.

Offensively, the Panthers are led by Emily Myers who has recorded a team-leading 97 kills. Myers currently ranks 9th in Conference USA in kills per set.

As a team, FIU is hitting .144 percent on the year, however, FIU's net defense has the overall edge in total blocks this season, 64 to FGCU's 59.5. Athina Dimitriadis leads all Panthers with 29 blocks, and Katie Turner ranks 51st nationally in digs per set (4.56).

THREE-HEADED EAGLES

Erin Shomaker (Granville, Ohio) recorded her 1,000th kill in the 3-0 sweep of Georgia Southern Saturday, helping the Eagles post a 2-1 record at the invite. Shomaker became the fifth Eagle in program history to ever reach the 1,000-career kill milestone. For the weekend, she recorded 33 kills with a high of 17 against VCU, her fifth double-digit outing of the season.

Shomaker hit .320 against Georgia Southern, adding nine kills. Her team-leading 119 kills on the year ranks fourth in the ASUN. She also ranks fourth in the conference in kills per set at 3.72. On the defensive side of the ball, she recorded a total of 17 digs and four blocks.

Chelsey Lockey (Eaton, Colo.) directed the Eagles to a combined .205 hitting percentage this past weekend. Lockey tallied 105 assists, averaging 10.50 assists per set. She posted a weekend high of 49 in a 3-1 win over VCU, her fourth 40+ assist outing of the season. She also recorded 27 assists in the matchup against the ranked Gators.

Lockey ranks fourth in the ASUN in assists per set this season at 10.13 (49th nationally) and leads the team with 324. Lockey also added a team-leading eight aces this past weekend, tying a season high of five against Georgia Southern to give her 17 on the season, ranking 28th nationally.

She posted her fourth double-double (assists and digs) of the year against Georgia Southern as well. Lockey currently ranks 14th in all of DI active career players in total career assists (3,808) and is 10th all-time in the ASUN.

Dana Axner (Dublin, Ohio) tallied a season-high 21 digs in the win over VCU, adding 12 against the ranked Gators. She recorded double-digit digs in all three matchups to give her seven double-figure dig outings on the year. Axner played a key role in keeping FGCU's opponents to a combined .169 hitting percentage this weekend.

Her team-leading 120 digs this season ranks 11th in the ASUN. Anxer was credited with her first kill of the season in the sweep of Georgia Southern. She ranks 4th in all of DI active career players in total career digs (2,078) and has also moved into second all-time within the ASUN.

As a team, FGCU ranks 27th nationally in aces per set at 2.89.

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 190-62 (.754) 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 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 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 10 plus 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. In five of the past six semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 2021), the Eagles reached another milestone 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.