FGCU VB vs NJIT Preview

The FGCU volleyball team (17-3, 6-1 A-SUN) return home to the Alico Arena to resume A-SUN play as they welcome NJIT (1-20, 0-6 A-SUN) Saturday night, October 19 at 7 pm.

Last Time Out:
The Eagles recently on the road in one of their last two non-conference matches shutting out Florida International 3-0 in Miami. The Eagles have continued their dominance as they enter the match vs NJIT on a seven-match winning streak while remaining in first place in the A-SUN

What It Do VanLiew 1,000:
Junior Cortney VanLiew remains in tact to lead the Eagles offensively as well as defensively. VanLiew leads the team with 291 kills, 141 digs and 33 blocks (seven solo). In the match against FIU, VanLiew had 10 kills, a block and five digs.

In her career, VanLiew has 1,081 career kills (fourth all-time), 676 career digs and 22 career solo blocks. VanLiew's 676 career digs and remains six 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.

Spicy:
Senior Daniele Serrano has also played strongly both offensively and defensively. Serrano currently has 135 kills (third on the team) and 64 blocks (nine solo). Serrano had eight kills and two blocks against FIU.

In her career, Serrano has 750 kills and 427 blocks. Serrano needs 50 more kills to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and nine blocks to surpass UNF's Morgan Van Alstine (435, 2013-16) for second all-time.

Lock it Up:
Still taking the reigns as setter, sophomore Chelsea Lockey leads the team with 766 assists to go with her 150 digs and 35 blocks (three solo). In the match against FIU, Lockey had 33 assists and a block. In her career, Lockey has 1,234 career assists (sixth all-time) and needs 231 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 124 kills, 142 digs and 44 blocks (two solo) in her name. Burnam had four kills, nine digs and a block against FIU.

In her career, Burnam has 569 career kills and needs four to surpass Leigh Pudwill (572, 2015-16) for 15th all-time. In addition, Burnam has 513 career digs and needs 12 to surpass Ingrid Felicio (524, 2004-05) for 18th all-time.

Back to Mrs. Aces:
Redshirt senior Amanda Carroll currently leads the team 21 aces while adding 38 kills and 147 digs. Against FIU, Carroll had three aces and nine digs. Carroll's three aces put her at 122 and needs 18 to surpass Ana Kokanovic (139, 2007-08) as the all-time leader. Meanwhile in digs, Carroll has 1,149 in her career (fifth all-time).

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 311 career wins with 284 of them with the Eagles.

Scouting NJIT:
The Highlanders enter the match on a 15-match losing streak after recently losing to Stetson 3-0 Friday night. The 15 straight losses is the longest losing streak in program history.

Sarah Merritt leads the team with 154 kills, while Madi Busler follows with 150 kills of her own. Defensively, Olivia Welsch leads with 257 digs while Courtney Branch has 61 blocks (nine solo).

Series History:
The one-sided series history has seen FGCU claim straight-set victories over NJIT in all eight matches dating back to the first one on Oct. 2, 2015. Those meetings have been split evenly between Fort Myers and Newark.

Alumni Weekend:
Head coach Matt Botsford and the team will host an indoor alumni match at noon on Saturday, followed by a beach alumni match at 1:30 p.m. Former student-athletes expected to be around this weekend include: Laura Manovill, Ingrid Felicio, Brooke Youngquist Sweat, Lauren Puder, Audrey Campbell, Patricia Silva, Whitney Hendry, Ashley Yance, Alexa Napoleon, Holly Youngquist, Lindsey Childs, Christine Pinder, Karina Mambuca, Kaitlin Holm, Ashley Noble, Whitney Masters, Katie Gutmann, Marina Adami, Caroline Jordan, Courtney Stephens, Katie Puisis, Maggie Rick and Karissa Rhoades.

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

Livestats Link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=273133

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