The FGCU volleyball team (23-3, 11-1 A-SUN) continued to extend their streak as they shutout Stetson (10-12, 7-5 A-SUN) 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-9). With the win, the Eagles, who are now 23-5 against the Lady Hatters, earned their third sweep in conference play and snapped their eight-match winning streak while increasing their winning streak to 13. The Green and Blue's current streak is three shy of matching the program's Division I era winning streak record that was set last year and remains tied for the seventh-longest in the nation.
"It was outstanding," FGCU head coach Matt Botsford said of his team's performance. "It seemed we got a little bit better each set. It started off a little bit shaky. I thought we were a little tentative. I thought once their instincts kicked in and they just relaxed a little bit, we saw a nice trajectory throughout the match."
"Unfortunately, I don't think we brought our top game," Stetson head coach Yang Deng said. "You could see there were moments we tried to improve, but it just wasn't clicking this game. I think it is a great learning moment for us. How do you stay poised against a good team and be focused on your part and what you are supposed to do."
Prior to the match, the Eagles recognized three seniors on the team, Daniele Serrano, Giovanna Borgiotti and Amanda Carroll for their accomplishments and achievements.
Offensively, it was juniors Cortney and Snowy Burnam that led the Eagles. VanLiew finished with a team-leading 15 kills, five digs, an ace, an assists and two blocks (one solo), while Burnam finished with a double-double of 11 kills and 10 digs while adding an ace. Sophomore Chelsea Lockey also finished with a double-double of 40 assists and 13 digs while adding two kills, an ace and two blocks.
Senior Daniele Serrano finished with 10 kills to go along with five blocks (two solo) and two digs. With her 10 kills, Serrano now has 784 in her career and needs 16 more to become the eighth Eagle to reach 800 career kills and 54 shy of surpassing Ericka Fonseca (837, 2005-06) for seventh all-time. Meanwhile Serrano's five blocks put her at 450 and needs 25 to surpass ETSU's Meredith Hardy (474, 2010-13) as the all-time leader in total blocks.
Sophomore Dana Axner finished with 23 digs to go along with an ace and three assists.
Carroll finished with a kill, an ace and five digs. Carroll's lone kill put her at 1,451 while her lone ace put her at 134 and five digs put her at 1,189.
Borgiotti had two kills, which put her at 545 in her career and remains 28 shy of surpassing Leigh Pudwill (579, 2015-16) for 16th all-time.
Notes:
VanLiew's 15 kills put her at 1,138 as she pushed passed Olivia Mesner (1,132, 2010-14) for third all-time and is now on pace to surpass Brooke Youngquist-Sweat (1,173, 2004-07) for second all-time, while in digs, she now has 713 in her career and is 53 shy of passing Chandra Lefever (765, 2006-07, 09) for 12th all-time. VanLiew's lone solo block pushed her to 23 as she is now tied with Jacqueline Cowden (23, 2009-10) and Melissa Duffield (23, 2005) for 10th all-time.
Burnam became the 15th Eagle to reach 600 career kills as she now has 608 and needs 42 to surpass Jelena Simic (649, 2009, 2011) for 14th all-time. In digs, Burnam now has 553 as she surpassed Jill Hopper (552, 2011-13) for 17th all-time. Her next milestone is Christine Pinder (603, 2012-13) for 16th all-time.
Lockey's 40 assists put her at 1,333 career assists and needs 72 to surpass Roberta Santos (1,475, 2007-08) for fifth all-time.
Axner's 23 digs put her at 1,058 and needs 27 to surpass Courtney Stephens (1,084, 2014-17) for sixth all-time.
Botsford earned his 138th career win with the Eagles (379th overall) while longtime assistant coach Daniel Mahy earned his 289th career win (316th overall) and second-year assistant coach Stephanie Zelinski earned her 77th.
Carroll, Serrano and Borgiotti are on pace to become the first senior class in the program's Division I era to record at least 100 wins. The trio has helped lead the Eagles to a 99-26 record through Friday, including a 47-9 record in A-SUN play while advancing to three straight A-SUN tournament championship matches. Last year, they led the program to an A-SUN regular season championship and its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, where the Eagles knocked off No. 13 UCF in the opening round.
A-SUN Scores:
UNF (12-14, 5-6 A-SUN) shutout NJIT (1-26, 0-11 A-SUN) 3-0 in Newark. The Highlanders will remain at home as they welcome Jacksonville Sunday afternoon, November 3 at 2 pm.
Liberty (15-9, 8-4 A-SUN) defeated Lipscomb (11-11, 7-4 A-SUN) 3-1 on Halloween at home. The Lady Flames remain at home to face North Alabama Sunday afternoon, November 3 at 4 pm, while the Lady Bison will face Kennesaw State (16-7, 9-2 A-SUN) Saturday night, November 2 at 7 pm
Jacksonville (8-18, 4-8 A-SUN) shutout North Alabama (3-22, 1-11 A-SUN) in Jacksonville on Halloween.
A-SUN Conference Standings:
*1. FGCU - 23-3, 11-1
*2. Kennesaw State - 16-7, 9-2
3. Liberty - 15-9, 8-4
4. Lipscomb - 11-11, 7-4
5. Stetson - 10-12, 7-5
6. North Florida - 12-14, 5-6
7. Jacksonville - 8-18, 4-8
8. North Alabama - 3-22, 1-11
9. NJIT - 1-26, 0-11
*clinched A-SUN tournament berth
Up Next:
The Eagles will host their final home match of the season as they welcome UNF to the Alico Arena Sunday afternoon, November 3 at 2 pm. A a win on Sunday can also tie Western Kentucky for the most wins in the nation as the Hilltoppers don't play against until Nov. 8. Stephen F. Austin also has the chance to join the 24-win club on Saturday, while four others have 22 apiece - Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, South Dakota and Colorado State.
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