Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of two-thirds of their final road trip of the season. The Eagles started in Nashville as they shutout Lipscomb 3-0 before traveling to Kennesaw and defeated Kennesaw State 3-1.
With the win against Lipscomb, the Eagles have swept the Lady Bison for the second straight season and the third in program history (2012, 2017, 2018). while with the win against Kennesaw, the Eagles gained sole possession of first place in the A-SUN. The Eagles have already earned a spot in the A-SUN Championship and can claim at least a share of the A-SUN Regular Season Championship and possibly win it if they beat Stetson and Liberty (13-14, 9-4 A-SUN).
What it Do VanLiew:
Sophomore Cortney VanLiew has still remained as the Eagles primary factor of offense. VanLiew leads the team and the A-SUN with 390 kills (4.06 per set). In the matches against Lipscomb and Kennesaw, VanLiew had 36 kills (18 in each match), 12 digs and three blocks.
VanLiew has 698 career kills after passing Eleonora Kazarian (693, 2014-15) for 9th all-time and is two away from becoming the ninth Eagle to reach 700 career kills. In addition, the Seymour native needs three to pass Heather Van Olst (700, 2004-06) for eighth all-time and 28 to pass Jill Hopper (725, 2011-13) for seventh all-time.
Maggie's Moment:
Senior Maggie Rick is now 26 assists away from passing Gigi Meyer (4,408 2011-14) as the all-time leader in career assists. Rick has 4,382 in her career so after getting 25 assists against Lipscomb and 33 against Kennesaw. Against Kennesaw, Rick earned her ninth double-double of the season and her 18th in her career.
The Spicy Serrano Wall :
Junior Dani Serrano still remains hot both on offense and defense. Offensively, Serrano currently has 178 kills in her name (fourth on the team).
In the weekend against Lipscomb and Kennesaw, Serrano had a combined 17 kills and 16 blocks. In fact Serrano's 17 kills put her at 568 in her career (17th all-time) and she is five away from passing Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 16th all-time
In the match against Kennesaw, Serrano had seven block assists, which helped her become the all-time leader as she passed Olivia Mesner (280, 2011-14) and now has 284 in her career. In total blocks, Serrano now has 333 and is 10 shy of passing Mesner (342) as the all-time leader in that category. In solo blocks, Serrano has 49 and is three away from passing Ericka Fonseca (51, 2005-06) for second all-time.
Blizzard Alert:
Sophomore Snowy Burnam continues to put her opponents in a cold spell as she is second on the team in kills (190). In the weekend series, Burnam had a double-doubles against Lipscomb (10 kills and 12 digs) and Kennesaw (13 kills and 11 digs).
Winning Assistant:
Long time assistant coach Daniel Mahy has also garnered career wins of his own. Mahy has been with the Eagles since the inaugural season (2004) with Jaye Flood and enters his 13th season as assistant coach for the Eagles.
Mahy left the Eagles from 2006-07 and joined NCAA DII Barry University before reuniting with FGCU in 2008 after head coach Dave Nichols (FGCU's 2nd head coach) took over the team before Botsford came in 2014.
Mahy has been an assistant coach for all three head coaches, and built up 261 total wins with FGCU and 289 in his overall coaching career in the NCAA, which includes the 28 wins at Barry.
Block Party in Alico:
The Block Party (Serrano, VanLiew, Burnam, seniors Sharonda Pickering and Kaiti Krivdo, junior Giogio Borgiotti and freshman Tori Morris) have a combined 479 total blocks with Serrano leading the team and the A-SUN in total blocks (132). The squad had 18 against Lipscomb and 23 against NJIT.
With blocks from the Block Party, along with total blocks from seniors Karissa Rhoades (1), an injured senior Amanda Carroll (7), Rick (15) and Lockey (1), the Eagles have 503 total blocks, which is #8 in the nation.
In addition, the Eagles hold their opponents to a .130 hitting percentage. The Eagles' opponent hitting percentage is #1 in the nation as they crept ahead of Nebraska (.131) by one point.
Paul Bunyan's Apprentice:
Freshman Dana Axner continues to "chop down" the opponents' opportunities of getting kills. In 16 straight matches, Axner has had at least 10 digs in a match. Axner leads the team and the A-SUN with 487 digs (5.07 per set).
In the weekend series against Lipscomb and Kennesaw and Lipscomb, Axner had a combined 49 digs with one ace and eight assists.
Axner already passed Brooke Youngquist-Sweat's 2006 record (464, 8th all-time) and Holly Youngquist's 2011 record (466, 7th all-time) for most digs in a single season. The Dublin, Ohio native is two digs away from passing Whitney Masters' 2006 record (488, 6th all-time) and 16 from possibly passing Masters' 2004 record (502, 5th all-time). In addition, Axner is 13 digs away from becoming the 17th player to reach 500 digs.
Nation's Best:
Senior Sharonda Pickering leads the nation in hitting percentage at .438 this season, while the Green and Blue are also holding opponents to a nation-best .130 hitting percentage.
Weekly Award Sweep:
Announced on Monday, the Eagles swept the A-SUN weekly awards for their performances as VanLiew was named A-SUN Player of the Week, Serrano was named A-SUN Defensive Player of the Week and Axner was named Freshman of the Week. It was the first time in program history that the Eagles swept all three awards outright. The only other week the program had three players win it was Oct. 19, 2015 when then freshman Amanda Carroll was named the co-player of the week and top freshman, while former libero Vanessa Benke won defensive player of the week.
For VanLiew, this was her second POTW this season and third in her career.
"Cortney continues to grow as a player and her performance this weekend in two huge matches is what we have come to expect," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "She is playing at such a consistent and high level right now. I just love the way she competes. The development of her all-around game was really on display, and you can see her hard work paying off."
For Serrano, it was her third DPOTW of the season.
"Dani is the best blocker I have coached, and I can't say enough about her ability to control the front line," Botsford said. "She has shown time and time again that her impact at the net can change the game in just a few plays. This weekend she was dialed in and came up with some huge stops when we needed them the most. What really stands out to me is just how much pride she takes in that skill and how much effort she puts into the smallest details of being a great blocker."
Already a one-time DPOTW, Axner earned FOTW for a record-tying fifth time this season. She has tied with UNF's Gabby O'Connell
"Dana continues to impress me with her reliability and poise at such a young age," Botsford said. "The moment is never too big for her. In fact, she is the kind of competitor who always seems to rise to the occasion. She was outstanding this weekend and really helped to put our offense in position to score by extending plays against some really talented attackers."
In the Polls:
The Eagles have also ascended to No. 25 in the latest VolleyballMag.com Mid-Major poll presented by the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
"It's always nice to see the program getting some national recognition," Botsford said. "Over the course of the season, we have now had three separate A-SUN teams represented, which really speaks to the level of play in our conference."
It is believed to be just the second time the program has been ranked following a No. 24 spot in the Aug. 29, 2017 poll. The team's current winning streak is the fifth-longest in the program's Division-I era.
Scouting the Lady Hatters:
Stetson clinched a spot in the A-SUN Tournament after sweeping UNF. They had their best moment when they shutout and upset Kennesaw at home, handing the Owls their first loss in conference play, and putting themselves in 5th place.
The Lady Hatters recently played North Alabama and NJIT in winning fashion as they defeated UNA 3-1 before shutting out NJIT.
Offensively, junior Evi Deisa and senior Hao Jin pave the way for the Hatters.
Deisa leads the team in kills (245) and aces (18). In the matches against North Alabama and NJIT, the Latvian had 16 kills and 34 digs, including a double-double against North Alabama.
Jin is second on the team in kills (214) and leads he team in blocks (97). Against North Alabama and NJIT, the native of Shijiazhuang, China was held to only five kills, but had six blocks.
Defensively, sophomore Chelcie Spence leads the team with 446 digs (third in conference). Against North Alabama and NJIT, Spence had a combined 31 digs.
Series History:
The Eagles are 20-2 overall against the Lady Hatters including a match earlier in the season at the Alico Arena where the Eagles won 3-0.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for the match and will air on ESPN+ (ESPN3). The app costs $4.99 a month to watch all livestream games available.
Fans can also keep up on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_VB
Stetson: @StetsonVB
Livestream link:
http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/85d6daf5-75e9-431c-9d44-d2ad56d8e3b5/florida-gulf-coast-vs-stetson
Livestats link:
https://gohatters.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary
Updated Standings:
1. FGCU (22-6,13-1 A-SUN)
2. Kennesaw State (21-6, 12-2 A-SUN)
3. Lipscomb (16-10, 11-3 A-SUN)
4. Liberty (13-14, 9-4 A-SUN)
5. Stetson (16-10, 8-6 A-SUN)
6. UNF (9-21, 4-10 A-SUN)
7. Jacksonville (5-22, 3-11 A-SUN)
8. NJIT (4-26, 2-12 A-SUN)
9. North Alabama (3-20, 1-13 A-SUN)
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