FGCU VB vs Bethune-Cookman Preview

The FGCU volleyball team (18-3, 7-1 A-SUN) remain at home at the Alico Arena as they welcome Bethune-Cookman (6-15, 3-3 MEAC) Tuesday night, October 22 at 6 pm. This will be the last non-conference match for the Eagles. They played their second to last non-conference match against Florida International (FIU) shutting them out 3-0.

Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off of playing this past Saturday night against NJIT shutting them out 3-0 in A-SUN play. Currently, the Eagles are in first place in the A-SUN and will more than likely earned a spot in the A-SUN Conference Tournament.

Personal Opinion: Truth be told, FGCU didn't even have to put up a fight because NJIT is terrible in women's volleyball. Even I know that and I didn't even have to watch the whole match because I was confident that we were going to win.

What It Do 1,000!!!:
Junior Cortney VanLiew remains in tact to lead the Eagles offensively as well as defensively. VanLiew leads the team with 296 kills, 142 digs and 34 blocks (seven solo). In the match against NJIT, VanLiew was held to five kills, a block and a dig.

In her career, VanLiew has 1,086 career kills (fourth all-time), 677 career digs and 22 career solo blocks. VanLiew's 677 career digs remain five shy of passing Vanessa Benke (681, 2013-15) for 13th all-time, while her 22 career solo blocks are at 12th all-time and needs two to surpass Melissa Duffield (23, 2005) for 11th all-time.

Burn it Down:
Senior Daniele Serrano has also played strongly both offensively and defensively. Serrano currently has 142 kills (third on the team) and 64 blocks (nine solo). Serrano had seven kills and three blocks against NJIT.

In her career, Serrano has 757 kills and 430 blocks. Serrano needs 43 more kills to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and six blocks to surpass UNF's Morgan Van Alstine (435, 2013-16) for second all-time in A-SUN history.

Shoefly Pie:
Freshman Erin Shoemaker is second behind VanLiew offensively with 164 and 29 blocks (seven solo). Shoemaker had four kills against NJIT.

Lock it Up:
Still taking the reigns as setter, sophomore Chelsea Lockey leads the team with 794 assists to go with her 156 digs and 35 blocks (three solo). In the match against NJIT, Lockey had 28 assists and a block. In her career, Lockey has 1,262 career assists and needs 203 to surpass Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time.

Frozen, Unfrozen:
Junior Snowy Burnam has reached several milestones going into this season. Currently, Burnam has 129 kills, 147 digs and 47 blocks (two solo) in her name. Burnam had five kills, five digs and three blocks against NJIT.

In her career, Burnam has 574 career kills and surpassed Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 15th all-time. Her next milestone is Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time as she needs 76 to surpass.

In addition, Burnam has 518 career digs and needs seven to surpass Ingrid Felicio (524, 2004-05) for 18th all-time.

Return of Mrs. Aces:
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll currently leads the team 24 aces while adding 42 kills and 53 digs. Against NJIT, Carroll had three aces and five digs. Carroll's three aces put her at 122 and needs 15 to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader. Meanwhile in digs, Carroll has 1,154 in her career (fifth all-time) and 1,437 career kills.

Timber x 1,000:
Sophomore Dana Axner leads the team with 359 digs to go along with her 19 aces. Axner had 10 digs and two aces against NJIT.

In her career, Axner has 983 career digs and needs 17 to become the seventh player in the program's history to reach 1,000 digs, the first to achieve the milestone as a sophomore in the Division I era and the second to do it in her first two seasons since Whitney Hendry (1,965, 2004-07).

Longtime Wins:
Longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy enters his 14th season as assistant coach for the Eagles on two stints. In his career with the Eagles and with DII Barry University (2007-08), Mahy has 312 career wins with 285 of them with the Eagles.

Second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 73rd career win as a coach against NJIT.

Scouting Bethune-Cookman:
The Wildcats are coming off of facing Coppin State in MEAC play losing 3-0 at home and are currently in fourth place in the MEAC Southern Region.

Junior Jordan Jefferson leads the team with 178 kills and 238 digs (second all-time), while freshman Bailey Robinson follows with 163 kills. Against Coppin State, Jefferson had 10 kills and eight digs while Robinson had eight kills and five digs.

Sophomore Ryleigh Taylor leads with 464 assists and 18 aces. Taylor had a double-double of 24 assists and 11 digs against Coppin State.

Defensively, freshman Alleah Dallas and junior Faith Landreneaux lead the team in blocking (Dallas: 51, Landreneaux: 42). Against Coppin State, Dallas had three kills and a block. Landreneaux did not play in the match.

Series History:
The Eagles hold a 13-0 record against Bethune-Cookman dating back to 2007 when FGCU was just joining DI. Last season, the Eagles shutout the Wildcats 3-0 (10/16/18) in Daytona Beach.

How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available and will livestream on the FGCU volleyball Facebook page.

Livestats Link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=273134

Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/fgcuvolleyball