"It was an amazing team effort today against two quality opponents," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Our serving was a big factor, and I thought our floor defense was spectacular. We played very consistent throughout, which was a great sign of the progress being made by this group."
Offensive leaders on the day included Cortney VanLiew (30 kills, 18 digs), Erin Shomaker (20 kills), Snowy Burnam (19 kills, 16 digs) and Daniele Serrano (17 kills, eight blocks.). Chelsey Lockey recorded 94 assists, while Dana Axner had 36 digs combined. Six different players had at least three blocks, as well.
The nightcap featured a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament first round matchup in which FGCU upset UCF in five sets.
The Eagles dropped a back-and-forth opening set after failing to capitalize on match point. Neither team led by more than two in the frame. After the Eagles opened up a 9-5 lead in the next set, UCF rallied to knot things at 16 apiece, but Amanda Carroll produced a solo block and a pair of kills to spur a 4-0 run. Burnam then evened up the match with a tip shot kill.
UCF held a 16-13 lead in the third set, but FGCU scored six straight behind a kill and a solo block from Aja Jones. Back-to-back kills from VanLiew then finished off a 25-21 set win.
Behind several big plays from Serrano, the Eagles then maintained control in the fourth before claiming a 25-22 clincher on a double block from Jones and Burnam.
"Aja brought a ton of energy into the UCF match and was a big factor in the result," Botsford said. "She played well beyond her years and came up with some key plays."
Lockey tied her career-high with 54 kills while adding eight digs and three block assists. VanLiew had a team-high 18 kills, while Serrano added 11 and Burnam had 10. Axner had a match-high 26 digs, while VanLiew and Burnam each finished double-doubles with 12 and 10 digs, respectively.
"Chelsey just keeps getting better every time we hit the floor and our offensive balance was good all day," Botsford said.
In the opener against Miami, FGCU produced its second consecutive sweep of the Hurricanes in as many seasons behind 12 kills apiece from VanLiew and Shomaker. Lockey led the way with 40 assists, while Axner had 10 digs. Serrano also contributed a team-high five blocks.
The Green and Blue maintained control throughout the match until the final set when the Hurricanes held a 21-15 lead, but FGCU ultimately rallied.
Notes:
Serrano now has 398.0 career blocks, surpassing Kylie Jacob (Jacksonville, 2010-13) and Sara Jacobson (Belmont, 2002-05) for seventh place on the A-SUN's career list. Next up is Brittany Rusin (Campbell, 2003-06) with 399.0 and Ellen Hawks (Stetson, 2010-13) with 400.0.
With her 19 total kills in both matches, Burnam became the 17th Eagle to reach 500 kills in her career and the fifth active player to do so (Carroll, VanLiew, Serrano and senior Giovanna Borgiotti). Burnam now has 518 in her career.
Longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 302nd and 303rd career wins (274th and 275th with FGCU) while second year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 63rd and 64th career wins.
Offensive leaders on the day included Cortney VanLiew (30 kills, 18 digs), Erin Shomaker (20 kills), Snowy Burnam (19 kills, 16 digs) and Daniele Serrano (17 kills, eight blocks.). Chelsey Lockey recorded 94 assists, while Dana Axner had 36 digs combined. Six different players had at least three blocks, as well.
The nightcap featured a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament first round matchup in which FGCU upset UCF in five sets.
The Eagles dropped a back-and-forth opening set after failing to capitalize on match point. Neither team led by more than two in the frame. After the Eagles opened up a 9-5 lead in the next set, UCF rallied to knot things at 16 apiece, but Amanda Carroll produced a solo block and a pair of kills to spur a 4-0 run. Burnam then evened up the match with a tip shot kill.
UCF held a 16-13 lead in the third set, but FGCU scored six straight behind a kill and a solo block from Aja Jones. Back-to-back kills from VanLiew then finished off a 25-21 set win.
Behind several big plays from Serrano, the Eagles then maintained control in the fourth before claiming a 25-22 clincher on a double block from Jones and Burnam.
"Aja brought a ton of energy into the UCF match and was a big factor in the result," Botsford said. "She played well beyond her years and came up with some key plays."
Lockey tied her career-high with 54 kills while adding eight digs and three block assists. VanLiew had a team-high 18 kills, while Serrano added 11 and Burnam had 10. Axner had a match-high 26 digs, while VanLiew and Burnam each finished double-doubles with 12 and 10 digs, respectively.
"Chelsey just keeps getting better every time we hit the floor and our offensive balance was good all day," Botsford said.
In the opener against Miami, FGCU produced its second consecutive sweep of the Hurricanes in as many seasons behind 12 kills apiece from VanLiew and Shomaker. Lockey led the way with 40 assists, while Axner had 10 digs. Serrano also contributed a team-high five blocks.
The Green and Blue maintained control throughout the match until the final set when the Hurricanes held a 21-15 lead, but FGCU ultimately rallied.
Notes:
Serrano now has 398.0 career blocks, surpassing Kylie Jacob (Jacksonville, 2010-13) and Sara Jacobson (Belmont, 2002-05) for seventh place on the A-SUN's career list. Next up is Brittany Rusin (Campbell, 2003-06) with 399.0 and Ellen Hawks (Stetson, 2010-13) with 400.0.
With her 19 total kills in both matches, Burnam became the 17th Eagle to reach 500 kills in her career and the fifth active player to do so (Carroll, VanLiew, Serrano and senior Giovanna Borgiotti). Burnam now has 518 in her career.
Longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 302nd and 303rd career wins (274th and 275th with FGCU) while second year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 63rd and 64th career wins.
Up Next:
The Eagles will close out the event on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against Florida Atlantic.
The Eagles will close out the event on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against Florida Atlantic.
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