FORT MYERS, Fla. - FGCU Volleyball is set to compete at the Sunshine Invitational this weekend, hosted by the University of Florida.
The Eagles will face both VCU (Noon) and #16 Florida (7:30 p.m.) on Friday and then Georgia Southern (1 p.m.) on Saturday. Friday night's matchup against the ranked Gators will be aired on SECN+.
FGCU is 2-8 all-time in program history against the SEC. The Green and Blue has wins over both Auburn (2018) and Georgia (2021).
Last time out, the Eagles lost 3-0 to Arkansas at the Colorado State Invite. FGCU's lone ranked win in program history occurred in 2018 as the Eagles took down No. 21 UCF 3-2 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
As a team, FGCU is holding opponents to a .189 attacking percentage this season. The Eagles rank 20th nationally in aces per set, 2.23.
The Eagles enter the Sunshine Invitational 4-2 overall after dropping its last two matchups. VCU is 3-3 on the year and took Michigan State to a five-set battle its last time out. Georgia Southern is 5-1, winning five straight matches after a season-opening loss to Stetson. In those five straight matches, Georgia Southern has swept its opponents 3-0.
No. 16 Florida is now 3-2 on the season, also suffering back-to-back losses (No. 12 Sanford and No. 4 Minnesota). The Gators three wins have come against North Florida, East Tennessee State and Virginia.
Florida holds a top-25 hitting percentage at .291 percent as the Gators are offensively led by both Merritt Beason and Marina Markova, each posting 60-plus kills thus far. Markova ranks ninth in the SEC in overall hitting percentage this season (.395), and Beason ranks sixth in the conference in service aces with 11. The Gators net defense is led by Bre Kelley, who ranks ninth in the SEC with 25 total blocks.
FGCU is led by the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year in Erin Shomaker (Granville, Ohio). Shoemaker has recorded a team-leading 86 kills this season. She is just 26 kills away from the 1,000 career kill mark to become the fifth Eagle in FGCU history to accomplish the feat.
| Place. Name (Year) |
Career Kills at FGCU |
| 1. Cortney VanLiew (2017-21) |
1,657 |
| 2. Amanda Carroll (2015-19) |
1,483 |
| 3. Brooke Youngquist (2004-07) |
1,173 |
| 4. Olivia Mesner (2011-14) |
1,132 |
| 5. Erin Shomaker (2019- |
974 |
Shomaker had posted 20-or-more kills in seven matches throughout her career, two this season. She currently ranks third in the ASUN this season in both kills per set (3.91) and in total kills (86).
The now all-time leader in career digs at FGCU, Dana Axner (Dublin, Ohio), ranks fourth in all of Division I for career digs among active career players ( 2,034). This season, Axner has recorded 76, currently 12th in ASUN.
| Place. Name (University) |
Active Career Dig Leaders (DI) |
| 1. Jenna Story (Wright State) |
2,436 |
| 2. Katie Forsythe (Loyola Maryland) |
2,282 |
| 3. Tatum Ticknor (SMU) |
2,112 |
| 4. Dana Axner (FGCU) |
2,034 |
| 5. Gina Rivera-Ortiz (Tennessee St.) |
1,982 |
At the service line, Skylar English (Naples, Fla.) is fourth in the conference in aces per set, 0.68. English has recorded a team-leading 15 aces thus far and is second on the squad in kills with 56. She also leads the Eagles in total blocks with 17.
Setter Chelsey Lockey (Eaton, Colo.) ranks fifth in the ASUN in assists per set at 9.95. Lockey has recorded three 40-plus assist games this season directing the Eagle offensive attack. For her career, she has posted 28 outings of 40-plus assists.
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 188-61 (.755) 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.
