Last Time Out:
The Eagles wrapped up non-conference play at the VolleyKnights Invitational, hosted by UCF. They would split on day one as they beat Yale 3-1 before falling 0-3 to host and eventual tournament winner UCF before defeating Alabama State 3-0.
Ms. 4,000:
Senior setter Maggie Rick is on pace to reach 4,000 career assists. The Alpharetta native currently has 3,987 assists in her career and is 13 await from reaching that milestone as one of two players with at least 4,000. At the VolleyKnights Invitational, Rick had 55 assists, 20 digs and five kills.
Rick needs 422 assists to surpass Gigi Meyer (4,408) as the program's all-time leader.
Seventh Nation Army:
Senior Sharonda Pickering has been on a tear recently on the national circuit. The Virgin Islander is currently 7th in the nation in hitting percentage (.437). Pickering currently has 72 kills and 37 blocks. At the VolleyKnights Invitational, Pickering had 22 kills and 11 blocks and was named a member of the All-Volleyknights Invitational team.
What It Do, VanLiew:
Sophomore Cortney VanLiew has been leading the way for the Eagles on the offensive end. VanLiew currently leads the team in kills (169) and has 107 digs. In fact, VanLiew has produced 10 or more digs in six straight matches. VanLiew had 33 kills and 34 digs at the VolleyKnights Invitational.
Swinging the Ax:
Freshman Dana Axner has been on fire as the starting libero. The Dublin, Ohio native set a DI program-record 39 digs and a season-high seven assists in a five-set match against West Virginia. Axner has 192 digs (4.47 per set), along with 47 assists and seven aces this season. At the VolleyKnights Invitational, Axner had 36 digs, nine assists and two aces.
Coach 100:
Head coach Matt Botsford is in his fifth season and needs just six more victories to reach 100 in his career. Botsford has 96 wins so far and needs four more and her will be the second FGCU head volleyball coach to reach 100 wins (first: Jaye Flood).
Block Party:
The Block Party (Pickering and fellow senior Kaiti Krivdo, juniors Daniele "Dani" Serrano and Giovanna "Giogio" Borgiotti, sophomore Snowy Burnam, and freshman Tori Morris) have lead the way in blocks. The squad has a combined 151 blocks this season.
The Dolphins will enter this weekend having lost six straight and 12 of 13 to open the season. The team's lone win came on Sept. 7 against Alabama A&M in a neutral site match in Macon, Ga.
They dropped a four-set match to Stetson in their only A-SUN match so far.
Junior Mallory Mattingly has recorded two straight matches with 20 + kills and leads the team with 182 overall this year, including 3.50 per set. However, she's attacking at just a .127 rate. Overall, Mattingly leads the team in kills, kills/set and aces (17).
In fact, as a team, the Dolphins are hitting .150, and freshman middle blocker Giao Huynh leads the team at .229.
In addition to Mattingly, grad student Sara Dyslin also has reached the century mark in kills with 120.
Defensively, junior Natalie Wehner leads the team with 143 digs. Interestingly enough, along with Mattingly's 103 digs, outside hitters are 1-2 on the team in digs.
Senior setter Lauren Petersen has the vast majority of the team's assists with 431 of 531 overall.
Sophomore middle blocker Hannah Marchand leads the team with 43 total blocks (seven solo).
Series History:
Overall, the Eagles are 15-11 against the Dolphins. Last season, the Eagles split the series with the Dolphins winning 3-0 at home and falling 3-1 in Jacksonville. In the A-SUN Conference Semifinals match, the Eagles defeated the Dolphins 3-0 to advance to the championship match.
Scouting UNF:
The Ospreys are coming off a straight-set victory over Bethune Cookman on Tuesday. Redshirt sophomore Gabby O'Connell notched her seventh double-double of the season with 15 kills and 10 digs, while sophomore Callie Workman had a career-high 20 digs.
Overall, UNF has three players in the top 10 of the A-SUN in kills: junior Taryn Griffey (184), freshman Solimar Cestero (128) and sophomore Devyn Wheeler (124).
Senior setter Madilyn McCarty is 33 assists away from 3,000 in her NCAA Division-I career, which started at Winthrop. She has six double-doubles this year. Half of North Florida's 16-member roster is in their first year at the school.
Series History:
The Eagles are 20-6 against the Ospreys. Last series, both teams split with FGCU winning at home and losing at UNF.
How to Keep Up:
Both matches will have livestats and will air livestream on ESPN+. The app is $4.99 a month to watch all A-SUN Conference games as well as many others.
Fans can also keep updated on the teams' Twitter accounts:
FGCU: @FGCU_VB
JU: @JAX_Volleyball
UNF: @OspreyVB
Links to Livestats:
http://judolphins.com/sports/wvball/2018-19/boxscores/20180921_zmnb.xml
https://unfospreys.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Links to ESPN Livestream:
http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3429888/florida-gulf-coast-vs-jacksonville-w-volleyball
http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3430290/florida-gulf-coast-vs-north-florida
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