"Our sideout game was very sharp today," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "We continued to pressure from the service line, and our players were making good decisions on the court. We found a really nice balance as attackers that allowed us to keep FAU off balance."
VanLiew added six digs and two block assists while hitting .483. The junior outside hitter recorded 46 kills (.330) along with 24 digs, five block assists and two aces this weekend. Dana Axner, who combined for 55 digs and 11 assists, and Chelsey Lockey, who had 130 assists and six block assists, were also named to the all-tourney team.
"Cortney was outstanding today and did a nice job mixing up speeds and angles offensively while also managing first touch really well," Botsford said.
Daniele Serrano, who recorded seven kills at a .467 clip, had three block assists and one solo block in the win over FAU. In doing so, she now has 402.0 career blocks, becoming the first player in program history to surpass 400.
"Dani played very efficiently and her blocking impact jump started a lot of point scoring runs for us," Botsford said.
With her output this weekend, Serrano not only stands above all players in program history, but she moved into fifth place in A-SUN history - surpassing Stetson's Ellen Hawks, who had 400.0 from 2010-13. Next up on the list is Danielle Neville (Jacksonville, 2002-05), who had 408.0.
Against FAU, the Eagles held a slim 16-14 advantage in the opening set after two straight points from the Owls. However, FGCU got a kill and an ace from VanLiew and back-to-back kills from Erin Shomaker to spur a 9-0 run to close the set.
FAU was within three midway through the second frame, but the Green and Blue went on a 13-3 run and, despite three straight points from the Owls late, FGCU took a 2-0 lead following a kill from
Serrano. Following that, the Eagles scored 10 of the first 14 points in the third set and led by as many as nine while cruising to a 25-18 third set victory.
Outside of VanLiew, Shomaker finished second on the team with nine kills, three digs and one block assist. Snowy Burnam chipped in eight kills and tied for second on the team in digs with 10. She also had a team-high three aces and a block assist. Burnam's eight kills put her
Amanda Carroll joined Serrano in achieving a milestone. The senior had 10 digs to push her career total to 1,086, surpassing her former teammate Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for third place on the program's Division I era list. Axner, who had a match-high 19 digs, also moved up to seventh on the same list, pushing her total up to 831 and elevating her past Maggie Rick (823, 2015-18). She sits 47 shy of Karissa Rhoades (877, 2015-18) in sixth place.
Lockey led all players with 36 assists while adding three digs, two kills and a block assist. Aja Jones chipped in four kills and three blocks (one solo).
Burnam's eight kills put her at 522 and is in a neck and neck battle with senior Giovanna Borgiotti (523 career kills) for 16th and 17th all-time. Both are battling to surpass Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 15th all-time. Burnam needs 51 kills to pass Pudwill, while Borgiotti needs 52.
Longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 304th career win (277th with FGCU) while second year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 65th.
Next Up:
FGCU will now have a quick turnaround as they'll leave for Lynchburg, Va. on Monday to battle Liberty at 6 p.m. on Tuesday for A-SUN Conference play. Following that, the Eagles return home for the first time since Aug. 31 to host North Alabama on Friday at 7 p.m.
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