Last Time Out:
The Eagles are coming off finishing this past weekend of A-SUN play on the road as they shutout UNF 3-0 in Jacksonville before traveling to Deland and defeated Stetson 3-1. Currently, the Eagles sit in second place in the A-SUN.
Personal opinion: Realistically, I'm already confident that we will make it to the A-SUN Conference Tournament because of how they've been doing.
What It Do:
Junior Cortney VanLiew continues to lead the offense for the Eagles while achieving several milestones along the way. VanLiew currently has 263 kills in her name along with 14 aces, while also adding 122 digs and 28 blocks (five solo) on the defensive side. VanLiew had 32 kills, 16 digs, one ace and two blocks combined in the matches against UNF and Stetson, which included her sixth career double-double against Stetson.
Meanwhile, VanLiew has 1,053 career kills (fourth all-time) but has also moved up in several spots in solo blocks and digs. VanLiew earned her 20th solo block against Stetson, which tied Brooke Kohler (20, 2011-12) for 15th all-time. VanLiew needs one to pass Kohler and two to pass Cara Ziegler (21, 2006-07), Karina Mambuca (21, 2012-13) and Roberta Santos (21, 2007-08) for 12th all-time. In digs, VanLiew moved her up to 656 and needs 26 to pass Vanessa Benke (681, 2013-15) for 13th all-time.
Cold Spell:
Junior Snowy Burnam has been a big factor both offensively and defensively. Burnam is fourth on the team with 106 kills and tied for third in blocks (39, two solo). In her matches against UNF and Stetson, Burnam was held to four kills and three blocks against UNF before leading the offense with 17 kills and four blocks against Stetson.
Furthermore, Burnam has 551 career and is 22 shy of surpassing Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 15th all-time while battling senior Giovanna Borgiotti (535 career kills) in the top 20 in career kills.
In addition, Burnam's nine digs against Stetson put her at 483 as she surpassed Ana Kokanovic (476, 2007-08) for 19th all-time and needs 17 more to become the 19th Eagle to reach 500 digs and 41 to surpass Ingrid Felicio (524, 2004-05) for 18th all-time.
Sweet and Spicy:
Senior Daniele Serrano has also been making her marks offensively and defensively. Serrano is third on the team in kills (112) but leads the team with 54 blocks (eight solo). Serrano had a combined 15 kills and five blocks (one solo).
As far as milestones, the Sanford native has 726 career kills and 417 career blocks. Serrano's nine kills against Stetson passed Jill Hopper (725, 2011-13) for eighth all-time and needs 112 to pass Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile, her five blocks put her at 417 as she is now six shy of passing Campbell's Rachel Templin (422, 2003-06) for third most in A-SUN history. Serrano's solo block against UNF tied with Olivia Mesner's (62, 2011-14) program record for most solo swats in a career and needs one to become the all-time leader.
Timber!!!:
For sophomore Dana Axner, she currently leads the team with 303 digs while adding 15 aces in her name. In her matches against UNF and Stetson, Axner totaled a combined 42 digs and four aces, In her career, the native of Dublin, Ohio has 927 career digs (eighth all-time) and needs 21 to pass Gigi Meyer (947, 2011-14) for seventh all-time.
Lock and Load:
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey still leads the team with 658 assists while adding 134 digs, 14 aces and 28 blocks. In the matches against UNF and Stetson, Lockey had 89 assists, 17 digs, four aces and three blocks. In her career, Lockey has 1,135 career assists and recently surpassed Camille Dominguez (1,089, 2010-11) for sixth all-time in the match against Stetson. Lockey's next milestone is Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) and needs 341 to become fifth all-time.
Coach 300s:
As noted before, head coach Matt Botsford and longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy have been on track on their coaching careers.
Botsford earned his 129th and 130th win as a coach for the Eagles against UNF and Stetson, but in his career he has 371 career wins. The wins include as an assistant coach with Indianapolis (NCAA Division II, 1999-2000), IUPUI (2001-2004), Miami (2004-2008), Notre Dame (2008-11) and Colorado State (2012-14).
Mahy, who enters his 14th year as assistant coach, earned his 280th and 281st wins this past weekend as a coach for the Eagles and earned his 307th and 308th in his career. 28 of Mahy's career wins were with NCAA DII Barry University (2006-07) for two seasons before returning to FGCU in 2008.
Mahy has coached for all three head coaches for FGCU in his 14 seasons with the Eagles: Jaye Flood (2003-05), Dave Nichols (2006-13*) and Botsford (2014-present).
*Mahy was with Nichols at Barry prior to returning to FGCU.
Scouting Jacksonville:
The Dolphins are coming off of this past weekend in success after defeating NJIT 3-1 at home before shutting out North Alabama on the road. The Dolphins are currently in fourth place in the A-SUN.
Senior Mallory Mattingly leads the Dolphins offensively with 261 kills and 28 aces. Mattingly earned her 1,000th career kill against North Alabama.
Freshman Lexi Wierzbicki follows Mattingly with 193 kills, while sophomore Natalie Martin has 672 assists.
Defensively, freshman Sydney Bolding has 54 blocks in her name (five solo) while senior Natalie Wehner has 324 digs.
Scouting Kennesaw:
The Owls are coming off of defeating Lipscomb 3-1 last Friday and will play at home (Oct. 11) prior to playing FGCU.
Offensively, junior Lauren Chastang leads the Owls with 227 kills and 34 aces while classmate Quin Sutphin follows with 155 kills of her own.
Senior and defending A-SUN Setter of the Year Lexi Broadwater leads away with 701 assists.
Defensively, Sutphin (47 blocks) and sophomore Jasmine Brown (44 blocks) lead the way for the Owls in blocking while junior Karlee Groover has 266 digs.
Series History:
FGCU has won 15 of 25 all-time matchups against Kennesaw State with victories in the past two, both of which came on the road. They own a 7-3 record at home, and the Owls have taken the past two in Alico Arena.
Meanwhile, the Green and Blue are 18-11 all-time against Jacksonville with wins in three straight and seven of the past eight in the series, including wins in nine consecutive sets. FGCU is 9-4 in Alico Arena against the Dolphins.
How to Keep Up:
Livestats will be available for both matches and will air livestream. The match vs Jacksonville will air on the FGCU volleyball Facebook page while the match against Kennesaw will air on ESPN+. Commentary for the FGCU/Kennesaw match will done by play-by-play commentator John Vittas and color commentator and Florida Southwestern head volleyball coach Thais Baziquetto-Allen.
Fans can also keep up to date with all three teams on Twitter:
FGCU: @FGCU_VB
Kennesaw: @KSUOwlsVB
JU: @JAX_Volleyball
Promos:
On Friday, the marketing department will be promoting Cancer Awareness Night with all fans encouraged to wear pink. There will be "together we're stronger than cancer" t-shirts available for $15. On Sunday, fans are encouraged to wear white or beach gear as part of "Beach Bash in The Nest."
ESPN+:
The A-SUN will air on the new, subscription-based digital platform ESPN+, which will be the new home for select FGCU and A-SUN games and event broadcasts. Subscribers can try the new app for free for 30 days, which follows to $4.99 a month fee afterwards or a $39.99 per-year fee based on the viewers subscription choice.
A-SUN Standings (as of Oct. 9):
1. Kennesaw State- 11-5 (4-0)
2. FGCU- 14-3 (4-1)
Liberty- 11-6 (4-1)
4. Jacksonville- 7-11 (3-1)
5. Lipscomb- 7-9 (3-2)
6. North Florida- 7-11 (1-3)
7. North Alabama- 3-15 (1-4)
8. Stetson- 3-11 (0-4)
NJIT- 1-18 (0-4)
Livestats Links:
vs Jacksonville- http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=273131
vs Kennesaw- http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=273132
Livestream Link:
vs Jacksonville- https://www.facebook.com/fgcuvolleyball
vs Kennesaw- https://www.espn.com/watch?id=31e6fabf-55cf-4981-b054-8f17ba82df13
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