In the wake of the moment, the FGCU volleyball team (11-5, 4-0 A-SUN) shutout North Alabama (2-10, 0-3 A-SUN) for the first ever matchup between the two teams as the Eagles won 3-0 (25-21, 25-8, 25-18) at Flowers Hall in Florence, Alabama.
With this win, head coach Matt Botsford earned his 100th career win with the Eagles and became the second head coach in the program's history to reach 100 wins (side note: Jaye Flood was the first).
"I'm just very thankful for the opportunity that was given to me to lead this program," Botsford said. "I'm thankful for the amazing players, both past and present, that put their heart and soul into this sport. I'm thankful for the talented coaches on our staff and appreciative of all their hard work and commitment to FGCU volleyball."
Once again on the offensive side, sophomore Cortney VanLiew lead the way for the Eagles. VanLiew would finish with a double-double of 11 kills and 10 digs. VanLiew also added an ace to the mix.
Senior Maggie inched closer to Gigi Meyer's career assists record (4,408) as she finished with 27 assists and has 4,081 career assists. Rick also added three kills and an ace on the offensive side.
Defensively, freshman Dana Axner and The Block Party came in clutch. Axner finished with 22 digs and added an ace and two assists. In addition, the Dublin, Ohio native earned her first career collegiate kill.
The Block Party combined for 29 kills and 12 blocks with senior Sharonda Pickering leading the way in kills (8) and blocks (5).
Junior Giovanna "Giogio" Borgiotti had seven kills and two blocks, sophomore Snowy Burnam had six kills and two blocks as well as two aces, senior Kaiti Krivdo had five kills and two blocks and junior Dani Serrano had three kills and two blocks.
"I thought North Alabama did a very good job extending plays and taking advantage of our hitters once we entered transition," Botsford said. "We looked a bit slow off the floor and were far too indecisive as attackers. There was a lot of inconsistency in our play and that will come back to haunt us if not addressed. Dana had a great match defensively, and Sharonda was effective once again, but to get where we want to go, we will need a better and cleaner team effort."
Senior Karissa Rhoades (two aces, a block and seven digs), sophomore Alayna Ryan (one assist and three digs) and freshman Chelsea Lockey (11 assists and three digs) also contributed in the match.
With her seven digs, Rhoades now has 834 career digs and is 41 away from passing Heather Van Olst (884, 2004-06) for eighth all-time.
For the Lions, no player reached double figures in kills. The closest one to reach at least 10 kills was sophomore Christina Ellwanger. Ellwanger finished with seven kills and eight digs.
Sophomore Hannah Symonds, junior Joise Maldonado and senior Malaisia Stallworth followed with five kills each.
The only double digit stats came from senior Jayden Davila-McClary (13 assists) and freshman Catie Ladner (13 digs).
In addition, the Eagles earned their 55th shutout win with Botsford at the helm.
Up Next:
The Eagles return home to the Alico Arena as they welcome Kennesaw State and Lipscomb for the weekend.
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