The Eagles have tied Creighton and New Mexico State for the seventh-longest winning streak nationally. They are four shy of matching the program's Division I era winning streak record of 16 set last year.
Longest Division I winning streaks
1. Western Kentucky - 20
2. Colorado State - 19
3. South Dakota - 18
4. Stephen F. Austin - 15
5. Towson - 14
6. Fairfield - 13
7. Creighton - 12
FGCU - 12
New Mexico State - 12
10. VCU - 11
Meanwhile, FGCU's set streak is three shy of matching the 2017 team for the second-longest in the program's Division I era behind the 2007 team, who won 30 straight. Additionally, FGCU is now tied with Stephen F. Austin and Milwaukee for the second-most wins in the nation behind Western Kentucky (23).
Most Division I victories
1. Western Kentucky - 23
2. Stephen F. Austin - 22
Milwaukee - 22
FGCU - 22
5. Pittsburgh - 21
South Dakota - 21
7. Colorado State - 20
Towson - 20
"We found offense in some different places," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said. "Snowy had a huge offensive output for us. Tori obviously early on. Dani was having some success on the offensive end. So, I think it was a little easier to distribute. It makes it harder to defend us. We didn't hit for some outstanding numbers but we got a lot of good looks at some different locations along the net. So, that made things a little easier and the defense continued to do what it's been doing all season."
"FGCU played really consistent tonight and we didn't," said Liberty head coach Trevor Johnson. "I think we saw glimpses of how great we can be. We could never get into any kind of rhythm and sustain it. The leadership of Hannah and Anna has been awesome all year and I'm proud of what they bring in day in and day out. One practice to get better tomorrow and the Lipscomb Thursday. We need you Flames Nation on Thursday!"
Offensively, it was freshman Erin Shoemaker that led the Eagles. Shoemaker finished with a team-leading 10 kills and three digs, while sophomore Tori Morris and junior Snowy Burnam had eight kills each. Morris added two digs and solo block, while Burnam added seven digs and three blocks.
"Tori and Snowy were outstanding, right from the start," Botsford said. "Tori what she was doing at the net, impacting their hitters, but probably the most significant thing was what she did offensively. And because of the quick start she had, it started to open things up because they had to make sure they were honoring her presence up there. And that was part of the reason Snowy had the success she had and that started to move around the court."
Sophomore Chelsea Lockey finished with 35 assists, one kill, two blocks and three digs.
Although her offensive game was a struggle, junior Cortney VanLiew finished with seven kills, 16 digs, an assist, an ace and two blocks.
Defensively, it was senior Daniele Serrano and sophomore Dana Axner that led the Eagles. Serrano finished offensively with six kills, but lead the way with seven blocks (one solo), while Axner finished with 16 digs.
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll had an ace and three digs while junior Alayna Ryan had an ace, an assist and a dig.
Senior Casey Goodwin and redshirt junior Amelia Johnson lead the Lady Flames with nine kills each, while senior Hannah Morris had a double-double of 15 assists and 10 digs.
Defensively, senior Anna Gragg had five blocks while junior Macy Phillips had 20 digs.
In the opening set, FGCU produced a pair of 5-0 runs that proved crucial. The first one was capped by a kill from VanLiew and put the Eagles up 15-8, while the final run came to close the set and featured a pair of kills from Shomaker, including a ferocious overpass kill on the set-winner.
Another kill from VanLiew capped a 12-2 run for the Eagles early in the second set, but the Flames responded with a 7-0 run that trimmed their deficit to three. Despite that, FGCU didn't let their lead dip below that mark as Morris and Burnam capped the set with back-to-back kills.
The final set saw Liberty take several leads including a 14-13 advantage following a 3-0 run. Shomaker and VanLiew, though, answered with back-to-back kills to spur a 5-1 run for the Green and Blue. Although the teams exchanged the final eight points back and forth, FGCU never trailed by fewer than two the rest of the way.
Notes:
Morris' solo block put her at 145 in her career and needs nine to surpass Roberta Santos (153, 2007-08) for 14th all-time in total blocks.
Burnam's eight kills put her at 597 and remains three shy of becoming the 15th Eagle to reach 600 career kills while needing 53 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time.
In digs, Burnam's seven digs put her at 543 and needs 10 to surpass Jill Hopper (552, 2011-13) for 17th all-time.
Burnam's three blocks were all block assists that put her at career total blocking at 167 (156 block assists) surpassing Elenora Kazarian (165, 2013-15) for 12th all-time and tying Devon Watts (156, 2004-05) for 10th all-time. Burnam's next milestone in block assists is a neck-and-neck battle with Carroll for the top 10 as Carroll has 157 block assists (six this season), while the milestone for total blocks is Lauren Tutwiler (170, 2014-15) for 11th all-time.
Lockey's 35 assists put her at 1,293 career assists and needs 112 to surpass Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time.
VanLiew's seven kills put her at 1,107 and needs 26 to surpass Olivia Mesner (1,132, 2011-14) for third all-time. Meanwhile her 16 digs put her at 708 in her career as she became the 13th Eagle to reach 700 career digs. Her next milestone is Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time.
Serrano's six kills put her at 774 in her career and needs 26 more to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and 64 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile Serrano's seven blocks put her at 445 and needs 30 to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks.
Axner's 16 digs put her at 1,035 and needs 50 to surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
Carroll's lone ace put her at 133 in her career and need eight to to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader while her three digs put her at 1,184.
Botsford earned his 137th career win with the Eagles (378th overall) while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 288th career win (315th overall) and second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 76th.
The Eagles clinched a spot in the A-SUN tournament with Tuesday's win and have also now won 10 or more matches in conference play in six consecutive seasons.
A-SUN Scores:
Kennesaw State (16-7, 9-2 A-SUN) shutout NJIT (1-25, 0-10 A-SUN) 3-0 Tuesday morning at home. The Owls will return to action Saturday night, November 2 at 7 pm as they remain at home to take on Lipscomb. The Highlanders will return to action Friday night, November 1 at home as they welcome UNF (11-14, 4-6 A-SUN) to Newark.
The Flames will return to action on Halloween as they return home to take on Lipscomb (11-10, 7-3 A-SUN) at 7 pm.
Stetson (9-11, 6-4 A-SUN) will be in action at home as they welcome Jacksonville (7-17, 3-7 A-SUN) Wednesday night, October 30 at 6 pm. The Dolphins will play North Alabama (3-21, 1-10 A-SUN) on Halloween night in Jacksonville at 7 pm.
A-SUN Standings:
1. FGCU (22-3, 10-1 A-SUN)
1. Kennesaw State (16-7, 9-2 A-SUN)
3. Lipscomb (11-10, 7-3 A-SUN)
4. Liberty (14-9, 7-4 A-SUN)
5. Stetson (9-11, 6-4 A-SUN)
6. North Florida (11-14, 4-6 A-SUN)
7. Jacksonville (7-17, 3-7 A-SUN)
8. North Alabama (3-21, 1-10 A-SUN)
9. NJIT (1-25, 0-10 A-SUN)
Up Next:
The Eagles remain at home for their final two home matches on the weekend as they welcome Stetson Friday night, November 1 at 7 pm before playing UNF Sunday afternoon, November 3 at 2 pm. The match will be dubbed as senior night for Giovanna Borgiotti, Daniele Serrano and Amanda Carroll, while the match vs UNF will be dubbed as a green out.
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