The FGCU volleyball team (5-0) are off to one of their best starts in program history after completing day one of the Hurricane Invitational. The Eagles pulled off two 3-0 shutouts wins over USF (2-1) (25-13, 25-17, 25-14) and Power 5 Auburn (1-3) (25-22, 25-19, 25-14). With the win over USF, the Eagles are now 5-3 overall, while the win over Auburn not only put them at 1-1, but it was the first win against an SEC team (1-6 overall). Overall, this was the Eagles' first 5-0 start in program history
"Our team played extremely well today, particularly from the service line," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "We were able to put the opponents in some tough positions after first contact and that allowed our block and defense to work."
"FGCU is a great team who finished in the top 50 in the country last season and has a lot of experienced players back," said USF head coach Courtney Draper. "We had a lot of long rallies and played the first half of each set really well, but could not sustain that in the second half of each set. We hit extremely well in the final set but We needed to have a more aggressive mentality in all areas of the game. We are still working through some lineup adjustments, but Lauren (LaBeck) did a nice job setting and (Jac) St. Cin made some great attacking decisions."
"FGCU is an outstanding team and it is apparent why they have been successful," Auburn head coach Rick Nold said. "I really liked how we started out the match, but we just couldn't hold momentum against this hard-hitting FGCU team."
Junior Cortney VanLiew totaled 31 kills with just three errors in the two matches combined, including an 18-kill, .471 outing against Auburn in which she had 10 kills in a tight first set.
Sophomore Chelsey Lockey totaled 69 assists and 20 digs, including 37 assists and 13 digs against USF for her second double-double of the season. Classmate Dana Axner combined for 29 digs.
"Chelsey was outstanding finding favorable matchups in the offense and feeding the hot hitters when needed," Botsford said. "Erin (Shomaker) was a nice spark off the bench in both matches and came up with some key plays. Overall, I really liked the way our team finished sets. Everyone was dialed in on doing their job well, and I thought the execution was a step up from last week."
Against USF, VanLiew had a team-high 13 kills, although sophomore Tori Morris (9 kills, .571, five blocks) also had an impactful match. Freshman Erin Shomaker (8 kills, .727) and senior Daniele Serrano (7 kills, .294) also contributed offensively. Lockey's 13 digs was a team-high, while Axner chipped in 12 along with five assists. Shomaker added four blocks (two solo).
As a team, FGCU hit. 322 against the Bulls, including a 16-kill, zero error third set in which they tallied a .533 hitting percentage. Defensively, they held USF to a .115 finish.
VanLiew was the lone player in double figure kills against Auburn, but Serrano (8 kills, .500) and Shomaker (7 kills, .583) also contributed. Axner had a game-high 17 digs, and Morris led the way with three blocks. Lockey fell just three digs shy of another double-double. The Eagles hit .320 as a team compared to .158 for Auburn.
Notes:
With her 31 kills, VanLiew now has 873 career kills and is 27 shy of reaching 900 and 54 shy of passing Kaitlin Holm (926, 2011-13) for fifth all-time.
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll had two kills against Auburn to eclipse 1,400 in her career. She is the program's all-time leader and one of only nine in A-SUN history to record that many in a career.
For Serrano, her 15 kills put her at 653 career kills, surpassing Jelena Simic (649, 2009-11) for 13th all-time. Serrano is 12 shy of passing Devon Watts (664, 2004-05) for 12th all-time and 47 shy of becoming the 10th player to reach 700 career kills.
Defensively, Serrano's three total blocks on Friday moved her to 10th place in A-SUN history with 375.0 in her career as she surpassed Shelby Connors (Stetson, 2014-17) and is five shy of Alex Kelly (Lipscomb, 2007-10) for eighth. Her two solo blocks put her at 57 as she remains second all-time behind Olivia Mesner (62, 2011-13). Serrano need six more to become the all-time leader in solo blocks.
With her 29 total digs, Axner eclipsed 700 career digs and now has 722 in her career. Axner is 44 away from passing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 11th all-time.
Botsford earned his 121st win as head coach for FGCU. For the assistant coaches, Daniel Mahy earned his 270th and 271st wins as an FGCU coach and his 298th and 299th wins overall while Stephanie Zelinksi earned her 59th and 60th. Mahy enters his 14th season as a coach for FGCU, while Zelinski enters her second.
Senior Giovanna Borgiotti had seven kills in both matches and now has 516 in her career. Borgiotti is 57 shy of passing Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 15th all-time.
Junior Snowy Burnam had four kills in the match against Auburn and now has 469 kills in her career (18th all-time). Burnam needs 12 to pass Brittany Muse (480, 2009-12) for 17th all-time and 31 to become the 17th player to reach 500 career kills.
Other Scores:
George Washington would fall to Miami by a score of 3-2.
"It was definitely a battle with a lot of ups and downs, and with a young team you expect that, but we just have to learn how to manage our game," Miami head coach Jose "Keno" Gandara said. "We need to have the composure to play longer, longer and longer. I think we served good at the right times and offensively, we killed the ball enough but too many hitting errors."
A-SUN Scores:
UNF (2-3) would fall to Eastern Carolina and Wake Forest on the first day of the UNF Invitational by scores of 3-1. They will face former A-SUN Conference member Mercer University on day two.
Lipscomb (1-4) earned their first win of the season defeating IUPUI by a score of 3-2 at the Hyatt Regency Invitational at Georgia Tech. The Bison fell 3-1 to host Georgia Tech on the first day of the invitational.
Kennesaw State (3-2) defeated James Madison on day one of the three-day High Point Invitational. They will face Furman on day two of the invitational.
North Alabama (1-3) fell 3-0 to host Samford at the three-day Samford Invitational. They will face Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) and Jacksonville State on day two.
Jacksonville (0-4) fell 3-2 to Murray State at the two-day Troy Tournament. They will face Chattanooga and host Troy on day two.
Stetson (1-2) fell 3-1 to host FIU at two-day FIU Panther Fest. They will face Hofstra on day two.
Liberty (0-2) opened their season on the road at the Texas State Invitational. They will host the Liberty Invitational welcoming Elon, Virginia Tech and Davidson.
NJIT (0-5) fell 3-2 to Quinnipiac on day one of the Fairleigh Dickinson Invitational. They will face Morgan State and host FDU on day two.
Up Next:
The Eagles will close out the Hurricane Invitational on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against George Washington.
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